POST OFFICE PROJECT WORK STILL SLOPPY: BROKEN GLASS AND OPEN WINDOWS

We really would like to believe that the Township and developer JMF Properties are following all procedures and doing everything they must to keep the former Maplewood Village Post Office project safe and in accordance with policies and codes. 

But the continued problems with something as simple as the removal of windows in the pre-demolition stage require continued scrutiny.

JMF, which purchased the property from the Township, is in pre-demolition mode for the three-story building with 20 apartments and five retail shops.

Just this morning we found that several of the openings where windows had been removed remained easily accessible with the tarp placed over them ripped open in several spots.

We also found glass still in some street-level former window spaces and on the ground under those openings in the area by the Ricalton Square parking lot side.

When JMF Properties began removing windows on Friday and left the openings as a potential attractive nuisance, Township officials ordered them to board up the windows or at least install a fence to keep out intruders and curious youngsters.

Neither has been the case as of today. Some windows have been boarded up, but several of the openings still have only the tarp, with some ripped open.

Township officials on Tuesday night claimed that the work was being done properly and that they had "no problem with how they are doing it," to quote one Township official.

Stay tuned!