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Message |
    
zoe
Citizen
Username: Zoe
Post Number: 272
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 10:37 pm: |     |
It is no coincidence that Irvington is as it is. It did not become that way overnight. It happened gradually at first, then picked up in pace. And over time it has gotten to become the way it is because the people living there have learned to live that way. They don't seem to care being responsible for the neighborhood. They accept it without challenge. Are they lazy?
Did anyone grow up in a neighborhood? That's what makes Maplewood special. It still has that quality, it has neighborhoods. It's a place where people know their neighbors and care to know what's going on. The block where I grew up was like that. People took care with how their homes looked, and how their children behaved.
I've known other towns, where neighbors really didn't know one another, their kids may have had some contact, but not the parents. And most of those were on larger plots of land, in the suburbs, built in the fifties, sixities and seventies. Most hired people to care for their yards. So, at least they had money.
I'm not suggesting the folks in Irvington don't know their neighbors, but I bet a large number of residents don't want to know each other. And I'll bet its a major reason behind the failure to maintain the physical look of property, when others on the block don't care. It comes as a blight that started at the end of the block, or around the corner. It now makes no sense to care properly for your property, its the neighborhood that surrounds it that determines value.
I may be wrong, but Maplewood seems to have a spirit that cares about what is going on. It is that spirit that we must nurture. I think it stems from people who are willing to take on responsibility. To be responsible for the property that you own and the children you raise.
Now, don't think it's all about money, my mother raised me as a single parent. She didn't make much money, but I was taught to clean up the yard and paint. We did own our own home, but not all of our neighbors did, and they took care of there homes too. How much does it cost to make things look taken care of? To be neat?
What is different? No, it cannot be a racial thing, yet some of you may try that route. Is it a social thing, economic in origin? Perhaps, but if you ask me, it all boils down to taking responsibility. Too frequently our society seeks to blames others for its problems.
Check it out, some whacko's are now pursuing the fast food industry. Trying to blame them, when instead they should be addressing the core issue; making people aware of their inherent responsibility to themselves, their children and others. Sure bet I lost some of you, but my point is this, It is just another example of the direction our society is taking, avoiding responsibility. |
Nohero
Citizen
Username: Nohero
Post Number: 1848
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 10:57 pm: | |
You know, I can agree with a lot of what you say.
Being a "good neighbor" cuts across any social, racial, or income categories. The same goes for being a "bad neighbor". I don't know if "society" has changed all that much. There have always been people who do the right thing, and there are people who don't. Personally, I don't subscribe to the theory that people have gotten any worse.
That being said, I can especially agree with what you wrote above about our town:
quote:Did anyone grow up in a neighborhood? That's what makes Maplewood special. It still has that quality, it has neighborhoods. It's a place where people know their neighbors and care to know what's going on.
Hey, that's what we're here for. Any other differences of opinion, are minor compared to what we have in common.
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Dave Ross
Supporter
Username: Dave
Post Number: 4914
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 11:13 pm: | |
Just took a look at NJ.com's local forums. The Irvington topic shows some complaints by locals regarding wealthy suburban kids visiting them to buy drugs. And there's some carping about spillover from Newark's East Ward. |
growler
Citizen
Username: Growler
Post Number: 210
Registered: 11-2001
| | Posted on Friday, July 25, 2003 - 6:06 am: | |
It would probably help if Irvington found a Mayor that did not embezzle money and used the money for the town and their services. Just a crazy thought. |
Dave Ross
Supporter
Username: Dave
Post Number: 4915
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, July 25, 2003 - 8:36 am: | |
Bost was found guilty of witness tampering, not embezzlement. |
growler
Citizen
Username: Growler
Post Number: 211
Registered: 11-2001
| | Posted on Friday, July 25, 2003 - 10:06 am: | |
I'm sure it's there or at least gross mis-management of the money already there. |
Redsox
Citizen
Username: Redsox
Post Number: 291
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Friday, July 25, 2003 - 10:17 am: | |
check points at the border
your papers are not in order, please exit the vehicle. |
zoe
Citizen
Username: Zoe
Post Number: 273
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Friday, July 25, 2003 - 10:18 am: | |
Blaming the leaders? Blame the "wealthy suburban kids visiting them to buy drugs?"
Why, how original. Willie Sutton, when asked why he robbed banks replied, "cause that's where the money is." So if the drugs are there, no wonder drug users visit, "cause that's where the drugs are."
growler, you can find "gross mis-management of the money," in any governmental organization, and at any level. It is not just at Worldcom and Enron. |
#9Dream
Citizen
Username: 9dream
Post Number: 506
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Friday, July 25, 2003 - 11:07 am: | |
It works both ways, Zoe. The dealers are there because there is a demand for their "wares." If there wasn't, the dealers would go somewhere else. Drug dealing is a supply and demand business like anything else, which is why I happen to think the "war on drugs" is being waged at the wrong end. While I support the efforts to intercept drugs at our borders, and support efforts to put pressure on countries that are suppliers, the most important battle in the war on drugs is the one getting the least funding -- education, and helping create a social environment in which kids will not have as much motivation to get high. You cut the demand, and the supply doesn't matter as much. |
Dave Ross
Supporter
Username: Dave
Post Number: 4918
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, July 25, 2003 - 12:12 pm: | |
This reminds me of the Python skit, where someone says "society's to blame" and the cop says "right, I'll go arrest them." |
ml1
Citizen
Username: Ml1
Post Number: 1150
Registered: 5-2002
| | Posted on Friday, July 25, 2003 - 2:28 pm: | |
This whole Irvington discussion has passed us through the looking glass. The usual "liberal" suspects are in favor of bringing in the State Police to clean things up. Our "conservative" friends seem to be saying that environment (i.e., lack of strong families) is causing the problems and arresting people won't do any good.
(cue Twilight Zone music...) |
ErinS
Citizen
Username: Erins
Post Number: 25
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 4:22 pm: | |
Part of the problem with towns like Irvington is that the folks who own property there, don't live there. And since the people that do live there, don't own the property, they don't feel compelled to clean it up....that's the owner's responsibility. And an owner who won't take care of the exterior of his/her property is most liekly not taking care of the interior. Why would a renter be concerned about how the outside of their home looks when they may be dealing with no heat/exposed pipes/lead paint issues inside their home? Or maybe these folks feel that keep the exterior nice is a losing battle because their neighbors aren't making the effort.
I grew up in Montclair and one town that has remained consistantly nice over the years is Glen Ridge. Why...Glen Ridge is mainly made up of single family homes. There is one apartment building in the entire town and it is a co-op. Glen Ridge doesn't have to deal with absentee landlord issues that plague other towns and cities in the area. |
ErinS
Citizen
Username: Erins
Post Number: 26
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 4:27 pm: | |
When we lived in Montclair, we were renters in a 3 family house for a time. I remember my mother calling the owners (who lived 3 blocks away) to tell them the house needed to be painted. It took them FOREVER to paint the house and when they did, they only applied one coat of the paint to the FRONT of the house. It was then that my mother decided she didn't want to live in a home where the owners didn't even care about the property. So we moved... |
tom
Citizen
Username: Tom
Post Number: 1065
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, July 27, 2003 - 3:31 pm: | |
As Larry Summers is fond of saying, "Never in the history of the world has anyone washed a rented car." |
bklyntonj
Citizen
Username: Bklyntonj
Post Number: 55
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, July 27, 2003 - 4:08 pm: | |
I have to give to you Tom, I never heard that before. That's powerful and oh so true... |
Dave Ross
Supporter
Username: Dave
Post Number: 4923
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, July 27, 2003 - 4:55 pm: | |
IRVINGTON
Owner Occupied: 6552
Renter Occupied: 15480
Vacant: 2048 |
zoe
Citizen
Username: Zoe
Post Number: 276
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Monday, July 28, 2003 - 11:31 am: | |
ErinS, “Why would a renter be concerned about how the outside of their home looks?”
Hey, make any number of assumptions you want. They may also suffer from any number of things, but they are still messy and there is truly no excuse, even if you rent, it is your home. There should be a clause in every contract to maintain a property’s appearance.
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Mr. Reingold
Citizen
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 283
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Monday, July 28, 2003 - 11:49 am: | |
There might well be a standard clause in the leases about maintaining the home. The fact remains that people have a bigger vested interest in a property that they own. I heard about a project to explain home ownership to poor folks in the DC area. For those who get on board, it makes a big difference. A lot of people don't understand the benefits of ownership, and many also don't realize that it might be within their reaches.
I just moved out of a rental apartment, and I kept it up nicely, but there were a few things here and there that I let go, even though they were mildly annoying. Now that I (and the bank) own my home, I'm going to fix whatever I can manage to. This is a law of nature acting upon me and our neighbors, like it or not.
Tom Reingold
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zoe
Citizen
Username: Zoe
Post Number: 277
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Monday, July 28, 2003 - 12:09 pm: | |
Tom, I believe many consider home ownership as a part of the American Dream.
Best of luck to you. |
Mr. Reingold
Citizen
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 287
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Monday, July 28, 2003 - 12:17 pm: | |
Certainly owning your home is a big part of the American Dream. It took me a long time, as I'm 42 years old, but I'm happy. I live on Plymouth Ave, which is gorgeous right now. In fact, a friend visited us from Manhattan. I picked him up at the train and drove him through the neighborhood, and he said, "This is the American Dream!"
Disenfranchised people don't know what it takes to get out of their hell holes. Maybe what's needed more than mandates is a program like the one I heard on the radio, where the locals learn about how they can own their own homes. I have no idea how those things work, though.
Tom Reingold
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virgilian
Citizen
Username: Virgilian
Post Number: 70
Registered: 7-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 9:09 am: | |
Irvington needs wood-framed windows. |
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