Residents cite concerns
at Knob Hill development
KATHY BARATTA Residents of Knob Hill, Route 33, Manalapan, discuss their concerns about the stagnation of water in the housing development’s retention basin (pictured) with Mayor Stuart Moskovitz (second from left) and Township Committeewoman Mary Cozzolino (third from left).
MANALAPAN — The builder of the Knob Hill residential development on Route 33 promises "country club living at its finest," but some residents say the builder is falling short of that promise.
Thomas Pallozzi-Haynes is chairman of the transition committee, a panel formed to handle the turnover of the maintenance of the development from builder K. Hovnanian to the homeowners association.
In a recent conversation, Pallozzi-Haynes told the News Transcript that before the homeowners can agree to take over the development, there are three areas of concern that must be addressed by the builder. To date, he claimed, those concerns have been ignored.
Pallozzi-Haynes and several other residents recently invited Mayor Stuart Moskovitz, Deputy Mayor Mary Cozzo-lino and a reporter from the News Tran-script to the development in order to illustrate firsthand what they say are the problems the builder has so far not addressed.
"We are talking about health and safety issues, not just quality-of-life issues," said Pallozzi-Haynes.
Top on the list is a retention basin at the rear of the development near the Daum Road entrance.
The retention basin, which is supposed to flush itself clean every two days, according to Moskovitz, is visibly stagnant and almost completely covered with algae growth.
"The basin clearly is not working," the mayor said.
Pallozzi-Haynes said that as summer comes into full bloom, he is concerned about the basin turning into "an ideal mosquito breeding ground."
Also at issue is what he said is a lack of lighting in an area of Knob Hill in which homes are sold to families whose income meets state guidelines, so-called "Mount Laurel" units. According to Pallozzi-Haynes, that darkened area has become a spot for underage drinking.
"This is not country club living, which is what the builder said he was selling us," Pallozzi-Haynes said.
According to Moskovitz, K. Hovnanian has yet to provide GPU Energy with a lighting plan that will allow for the installation of needed street lights.
Finally, also in the area of the Mount Laurel homes, only one garbage bin is being provided for all garbage and recyclables, the Knob Hill residents said.
Since the township has entered into a deal with its trash hauler that nets revenues for Manalapan on recyclables, Cozzolino noted that not only is the law regarding the separation of recyclables being ignored, but the township is also losing money because of the infraction.
Cozzolino and Moskovitz said much effort has gone into trying to get the builder to comply, but to no avail.
Pallozzi-Haynes said he has "communicated the problems to K. Hovnanian for three years and they still haven’t done anything."
Karen Beane, vice president of the homeowners association, The Fairways at Knob Hill, said she feared that publicity could adversely affect property values and declined to comment on the concerns expressed by the residents who are bringing the matter to the public’s attention.
Pallozzi-Haynes said anyone coming to Knob Hill during the day can see the retention pond. At night, he said, the lighting concerns can be confirmed.
"If we don’t do something to force K. Hovnanian to do something now, nothing will get done and our property values will suffer then because of it," he said.
Lewis Kurland, an attorney representing K. Hovnanian, said the builder deals with condominium associations regarding complaints and concerns, "not individual homeowners."
"K. Hovnanian and its representatives will be meeting with authentic representatives of the condominium association. I’m not going to deal with the issues in the press," Kurland said.
Moskovitz noted that since K. Hovnanian is scheduled to appear before the township Planning Board on July 13 in the matter of its Villages application for the same area of Route 33, the Knob Hill matters will be addressed before the board moves ahead on the builder’s newest application.