Some of the attendees at the 7/9/14 City Council Meeting
*Photos by Carolyn Maxwell

PERTH AMBOY – Quality of Life issues came to the forefront at the 7/9/14 Council Meeting. Most of the residents who spoke were not happy with Code Enforcement or the lack there of.

A resident of Sherman Street was not happy with the neglected empty lots on Patterson Street. “The City broke ground and there is a hole in one of these lots and there’s no maintenance. Suspicious trucks are parked there overnight. Our houses are depreciating. We want to know what is the status of these neglected lots.” He specifically mentioned Patterson, Grant and Meade Streets.

Miriam Quiles who lives on Market Street near Watson Avenue spoke next. She and her neighbors were concerned about the backup of water in their basements after the 7/2/14 thunderstorms. “The insurance will not cover the damage and I was told to call the sewer department. I can’t believe that water from the gutters did that much damage. I was told to talk to the Mayor. It’s been 3 days since I called and I have not yet received a return call. I walked around my neighborhood and they all had the same problem or worse. I think the valve was not properly closed. Where can we receive compensation for damage we received?”

PERTH AMBOY – New B.A. Jillian Barrick with representative from Middlesex Water Company, Rick Risoldi.

A representative from Middlesex Water Company Rick Risoldi said, “We found that there was no failure of the pumps, but we are investigating the problem.

David Torres, a 15 year resident of Mary Street said, “My street is very overpopulated. We have called Code Enforcement several times but they haven’t come out. There are a lot of illegal houses. There are 25 cars for 4 homes. Sometimes I have to park on Krockmally Avenue.” He also said, “The residents were blind sided by the street being converted to a one-way street. We were given short notice about this. I’ve worked 2 jobs for the last 12 years. This whole town is loaded with people living in attics and basements.” Torres wanted to know if there is a Code Enforcement Office.

When one of the Council Members answered, “Yes.”

Torres said, “You could have fooled me.”

PERTH AMBOY – Mary Street – Residents said that they received short notice that their street would be changed to one-way.
*Photos by Joe Bayona

Two other Mary Street residents  said, “Instead of converting the street to one-way, they should have put yellow lines on the corners so fire trucks could make the turns easily.”

Business Administrator Jillian Barrick said, “We can talk to the City Engineer and the Police Department about additional parking on Mary Street.

Council President Joel Pabon said, “Code Enforcement has been to Mary Street several times but the landlords have had a hard time evicting tenants.”

A resident from Broadhead Place complained, “Code Enforcement does nothing but ride around in air-conditioned cars.” He complained about the work being done on the gas lines, “On my street the concrete along with the dust, dirt and debris has caused damage to my car. They are messing up the City. I’ve had to get permits to get work done on my property, yet out-of-towners don’t have to get permits.”

Penn Street Resident Angel Leon said, “Some of my neighbors will talk to me about loud music playing until 3 a.m. I’ll call the Police Department about this. They’ll come and the music will be turned down, but after the Police leave, the music will be turned back up. We need to enforce noise ordinances because every weekend this happens. In other municipalities there are no second chances. They take care of the disturbances the first time they are called out.”

Businessman and resident David Caba read a statement: “Every department is lacking leadership and morals. At a meeting the Mayor and former B.A. Greg Fehrenbach attacked critics. I respected the former B.A., but not how he attacked the critics at his last meeting. The Council and Mayor have done unethical acts that will come out. I’m just leaving it at that. I see the leadership deteriorating. It is our right to come and question what is wrong. This room is packed because we are concerned and have a right to complain. Complaints should make you better.”

Another resident from Sherman Street complained about the littering problem and possible drug dealing going on.

Former 2012 Mayoral Candidate Sharon Hubberman talked about the elderly woman with the unusually high water bill. (See Amboy Guardian 3/19/14) Hubberman said, “The infrastructure should be up to date.” She also talked about a technology company that shows where water damage to infrastructures can cause inaccurate water readings. “Our quality of life is deteriorating. My mother has a business on Amboy Avenue. You can hear the loud noises from radios blasting music while you are sitting in her waiting room. I hope there can be a remediation on this lady’s high water bill.”

Council President Joel Pabon said, “This issue (high water bill) has been discussed and investigated for months.”

Former Council President Ken Balut said, “The biggest mistake I made when I was on the Council was not calling the State about the illegal housing in the City. I also turned in 20 businesses about their illegal housing.”

A resident who lives on Madison Avenue near the Waterfront complained about the kids playing baseball near his house and occasionally hitting the side of his house. “There used to be a net which was removed. If I come out to talk to the kids, they’ll curse me out so I’m always calling the Police about this.”

Resident Reinaldo Aviles said, “The problem is that we don’t have proper representation in this town. That’s why we need a ward system. We need to have neighborhood meetings and the wards need to be reshaped. I’m surprised the Attorney General hasn’t looked into this. I’m hoping that with the new Business Administrator we will have new eyes to see what’s overlooked.”

A woman from Water Street summed up how the quality of life has deteriorated, “Tenants are running amuck because landlords are just interested in collecting rent. No one picks up their litter. I see work being done on houses with no work permit signs. You can tell by the amount of people walking downtown that we are overcrowded. There are drugs, needles and guns on the streets.”

In reference to the high water bill of the City Resident, the Council asked the Representative from the Middlesex Water Company to speak about their findings.

He said, “After a thorough investigation, we found no fault with our equipment.”

Paul Danielczyk, who is the son of the resident who received the high water bill rose out of his seat to speak.

Council President Joel Pabon told Danielczyk, “You had the opportunity to do so at the public portion of the meeting.” Danielczyk said that he wanted to reply to the comments made by Middlesex Water Co. Pabon denied Danielczyk and said, “You had your chance during the public portion.”