There have been a lot of high profile cases in Perth Amboy recently that have been turned over to the Prosecutor’s Office. The one that has been the most controversial so far in the past year has been the Dixon Rodriguez case which happened in early December 2013. To this day there are residents who come to the meetings who have been very dissatisfied with the handling of this case.

Editorial

We have occurrences of run-of-the-mill cases dealing with drug possession and breaking and enterings. During the summer, there was a shooting where 6 individuals sustained non-life threatening wounds. There also was an incident of a drive-by shooting.

There have probably been other incidents that I’m not aware of. There is one factor that has been the same in all of these incidents, except for perhaps some break-ins. That factor has been that there have been witnesses.

At the Council Meeting of 10/8/14 two speakers said that none of these crimes were being reported in the paper.

The incident that took place involving the multiple shootings were reported in this paper.

Fortunately, there were two other individuals who came up later to dispute what the two previous speakers had incorrectly stated about multiple shooting not being reported.

As far as the drive-by shooting that took place on Watson and Fayette Streets on 8/30/14 (reported in other news sources) there have been individuals that have come to meetings to speak about this incident. I didn’t remember anyone from that neighborhood come up to speak about the shooting. This I find to be very puzzling. I understand that people might be afraid to speak in front of the Council because of the meetings being televised. There have been times where there is one spokesperson who represents the neighborhood to speak before the Council about problems they were having.

If a person still feels uncomfortable about doing so, they always have the option of writing a letter to the editor. If you sign your name and provide a phone number for verification, you can always ask for your name to be withheld upon request. I remember about two years ago when tenants of a Senior Building in Perth Amboy were concerned about a rash of burglaries taking place inside their building. The residents were not happy with the slow response of the Police Department. Some of them called and requested a meeting with me and gave me some of the details and I wrote a little article about their concerns.

When an incident such as a drive-by shooting takes place, the Council Chambers should be packed with people from that neighborhood concerned about what further steps can be taken.

In the last couple of years I can recall a few times when the Council Chambers were filled and there was a spillover into the hallways. These were as follows: when the Blue Collar Workers came in to voice their complaints about RBMC taking over the EMT services; promotions of the Fire Chiefs; the Harbortown Residents complaining about the high water bills; and when the First Lady of the Dominican Republic came to Perth Amboy in 2010. These are just a few examples. I may have missed a couple.

It’s sad to say over the last 6 years there may have been a lot of people to come in to complain about the crime taking place, but not that many where there was spillover into the hallways.

What is this saying about the residents of Perth Amboy?

It is well known that there is a large amount of illegal housing in the City. If a neighborhood is saturated with that type of housing, will the tenants be afraid to speak out?

There is a saying: “If you see something, say something.” Unfortunately, because of this illegal housing situation, those who are in jeopardy may feel it’s safer to say nothing at all.

As always, I welcome your comments.

C.M.