By JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer
NORTH BRUNSWICK – The public portion of the Jan. 17 North Brunswick Township Council meeting was comprised of comments from various residents about quality of life issues in town.
Gwendolyn Anderson of Pershing Court asked why her cul-de-sac near Farrington Lake is never cleaned.
“The street was just bananas” in December, she said, due to leaves, dirt and pine needles. She said she has reached out to the North Brunswick Department of Public Works (DPW), but had not received follow up information.
DPW Director Eric Chaszar said that the street sweeper had been to the neighborhood three times from March to September 2016. He noted that it is expensive to clean streets from November through March, especially since the tanker needs water which tends to freeze. He suggested that residents participate in the brush and debris pickup offered by the township.
Anderson also alluded to a major water project scheduled in town, though officials were not sure of her reference. However, she complained that her water is yellow and that she must run the tap through a Brita filter.
“This is my family and we are drinking this water,” she said, disputing a laboratory document that states the water is acceptable to drink.
“I need to make sure we are on the same page,” she said. “The property is ours, the street is ours and the taxes we pay is ours. We shouldn’t be dealing with this situation,” she said.
Ruth Rosen, who lives in Oak Hollow, focused on graffiti on the overpass to Livingston Avenue, near the Amtrak railroad tracks.
“That’s a constant battle we are battling with Amtrak,” Councilman Carlo Socio said. “We are trying to get them to take care of that.”
Michael Hritz, the director of Community Development, said that Amtrak referred Mayor Francis “Mac” Womack to the N.J. Department of Transportation (DOT) regarding the graffiti, but despite writing a letter to DOT in November, the mayor has not yet received a response.
Socio said the main issue is that the fence does not block trespassers, and therefore the graffiti occurs almost immediately after being cleaned up.
“It has been repainted before,” Hritz said, calling it an “eyesore,” “but they’re not going to come out every three months or every six months and repaint it.”
Rosen also mentioned a recent overflow of styrofoam or some type of white material littering Route 1 from Fashion Plaza down to North Oaks.
“It makes North Brunswick look disgusting,” she said. “I just want to keep this town looking good.”
Tony Nastus then mentioned several properties throughout town that he feels are not up to his satisfaction.
He said that parking signs on Livingston Avenue are bent and vandalized, and should be removed.
Hritz said that township officials, Traffic Safety representatives and the municipal engineer are reviewing the parking regulations and deciding whether or not to remove the one-hour parking restrictions along the highway, though officials would have to appeal to the state for an adjustment in hours or a complete removal of restrictions.
He also said the town has been told not to remove the signs in the meantime.
“No one wants to do anything, that’s the problem,” Nastus said. “If they’re not respondent, yank [the signs] out. You’ll see a response come quickly.”
Nastus then cited Jerome Place, which he said “looks like a used car lot.”
Hritz explained that because Livingston Avenue is commercially zoned, the side streets up to a certain distance are considered commercial, too. He said that the particular area Nastus mentioned is C-1 or C-2 before the residential area, and that the property is licensed and permitted properly.
The two men had a difference of opinion about 702 Hollywood St.: though Nastus said the garage came down and now cars are parked on mud, Hritz said, “It is not a violation. We don’t consider it mud.”
At 1156 Livingston Ave., Nastus complained of a broken fence and debris.
At 681 Adams Lane, he noted a single family house with a commercial sign – which Hritz agreed is supposed to be removed.
At 777 Adams Lane, he observed a car stuck in the field for a significant period of time.
“You are correct. You have a right to be impatient,” Hritz said.
However, Hritz did note improvements to 1050 Cozzens Lane, which had been on Nastus’s radar for some time.
“A significant volume of debris has been cleared,” under the direction of the bank that owns the property, Hritz said. He said about 50 percent of the property was cleaned in December.
Contact Jennifer Amato at [email protected].