At least 23 mattresses were piled curbside for pickup.
Since Plainfield does not officially have an overcrowding problem (see links below), my attention was caught by the scene on Central Avenue on my dawn patrol for the papers Monday morning.
It was not light enough for a good snapshot, so I came back a little later. What I saw was a bulk pickup that took up the entire width of the property at 508 Central Avenue. But what was most eyecatching was the mattresses -- I counted 23 of them.
Checking with the Assessor's office later in the morning, I found that the property is a legal 4-family.
You will note from the picture below that there are SIX mailboxes, one of which has a plastic bag apparently filled with many pieces of mail dangling from it. For yet more residents?
Six mailboxes for a four-family?
One of the other signs that a property may be being used illegally by the owner as an 'enhanced' multi-family or an illegal rooming house is the number of utility meters visible on the outside of the building. Here you see FIVE meters.
Five meters for a four-family?
Lastly, who's watching TV? Sometimes a number of satellite dishes can be spotted, presumably for individual households, that is at variance with the assessor's description. Or, if there is cable service, there may be a thicket of coaxial cables coming in from the street -- again, each presumptive of an individual household. I can count SIX at a minimum in the picture below, but there may be more.
At least six Comcast cable lines come into the house.
So, since we have no overcrowding in Plainfield -- thanks to the Robinson-Briggs' administration's repeal of the 'Safe Homes' initiative -- what are we to make of the evidence before our eyes?
Plainfield Today - 4/28/2006: "What ever happened to the 'Safe Homes' initiative?"
Plaintalker - May 2, 2006: "City Council Seeks Repeal Of Anti-Overcrowding Ordinance"
-- Dan Damon
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ARCHIVED POSTS OF PLAINFIELD TODAY FROM 11/03/2005 THROUGH 12/31/2006 ARE AT
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6 comments:
Dan, This is obscene. Where are the city council members and their oversight? They trashed the safe homes initiative on a whim, buckling under to pressure from the local realtors and landlords and Sharon (Jerry Green) Robinson-Briggs administration. Van Blake, Davis, Carter, Storch supported this during the McWilliams administration and Burney also supported it. They are still on the council so what has changed? In reading the old stories you posted in the past where they defended dropping the initiative, they sound like idiots and they have done nothing to increase safety. They put nothing in the place of the initiative. You can see old mattresses and illegal meters and mailboxes all over Plainfield. Do the council members ever even drive around this city? They have a duty to drive around their wards and talk to residents about what is going on in the wards. It will be an eye opener. 23 mattresses equals an inevitable major fire in Plainfield. Those same councilors and the mayor who trashed this program will be the first on the scene to comfort the distraught families and cry crocodile tears. Maybe the Van Wyck Brooks association can tackle this next, by taking photos of these illegal activities and filing a lawsuit against the city for allowing conditions that have already been brought to their attention to fester. Then maybe the city council will pay attention, because they sure will have to pay the piper then! Dan, if you send this story and the photos as an email to the mayor's office, does that constitute notice? If it does, and the city does nothing about this particular case, what is to stop the residents from filing a class action suit against the city? We know the city council will settle the case since they are in the wrong. Why not deal with the situation? There are 3 councilors representing each ward so what are they going to do? I fear they will do what they always do, nothing, and a tragic event will occur. Sad that it's national night out week. Plainfield and its politicians are pathetic.
who owns that property? Matresses are notoriously flammable! Also that pickup GREATLY EXCEEDS the PMUA guidelines! Someone oughta be arrested!
Oh, and I forgot to mention -- the house appears to be fully occupied STILL.
There is a 'For Sale' sign in the front yard which I think is new.
I'm hoping all those mattresses didn't come from the attic and the basement...
Dan
Dan, love your blog but....
1. It isn't unusual for a four family to have 5 meters. One for each unit and the last one for the common areas. (The front porch, hallway lights, even basement lights).
2. Just because someone places 23 mattresses on the curb doesn't mean that it came from the house Perhaps they were stored in the basement and were finally being disposed of.
3. As a landlord (none in Plainfield) I have seen folks put extra boxes on my home when unrelated adults are living together. This is usually done for privacy or when one tenants recieves a ton of mail.
4. As for the number of satellite cables entering the building. I can only say that I have four lines entering my home and I am the only person living there as, unlike cable, satelitte cables cannot be split and must go to each location directly.
This is not to say that there is no overcrowding in town, only that there could be explanations for what was witnessed.
As for the person who suggested prison time for placing so mattreesses on the curb....COME ON! Summons? Yes. Fines? Okay. Jail? Geez.
Dan, why don't you call the owner as a potential seller? You could visit the house and know for certain what it's status.
V
I haven't been back in Plainfield long enough to know how bad the problem is with illegal multi-family or illegal boarding houses, but I do want to point out that we should be careful when using the number of meters as evidence of illegal use of residence. I own a legal 2 family but I have 3 meters. One is the owner's meter for miscellaneous safety utilities such as hallway, porch, and outside lighting. In the picture posted on the site, notice that one of the meters is different than the others. This, to me, looks very much like an owner's meter. Having said that, the other evidence that you have displayed should certainly raise some red flags. I am firmly against slum-lords overcrowding their properties putting tenant's safety at risk. All while ripping these people off and keeping our property values down.
I think your story has great merrit. I would greatly appreciate any guidance you can give regarding who to contact and what to do in this situation. We need to ensure that laws on the books are enforced, and people need to become involved if Plainfield is to improve. Guidance? Comments? All welcomed.
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