ABANDONED HOME SPARKS NEIGHBOR PETITION, GETS TC REVIEW TONIGHT

For neighbors of a Mountain Avenue home that has been empty, and many say abandoned, for about five years, time is up for the house to either be sold, fixed up or knocked down.

The house at 4 Mountain Avenue, which sits near the NJ Transit railroad tracks and two blocks from Maplewood Village, has sparked a petition of local residents and a plea to Township officials to do something.

At the last Township Committee meeting in October, next door neighbor Ben Garber

raised the issue and asked the TC to step in. The governing body will consider the issue again tonight at its regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall.

"It has totally changed our lifestyle," Garber, a 35-year resident of the street, told Maplewoodian.com. "I feel very reluctant to invite people to my home, especially during the spring and summer. We have spent a lot of money fixing up our house."

At the last TC meeting, Garbar presented the governing body with a petition signed by 26 of the neighbors demanding action.

See it below:



The home is listed on real estate notices as owned by Claydes Ahmad Smith. Tax records indicate a lien had been placed on the property for more than $70,000 in back taxes. But it was paid off on Oct. 23.