Town Watch Applauds Sea Isle Cops’ War on Noise

CORRECTION: This story originally listed a Town Watch/Town Pride meeting scheduled for Aug. 21, however the date of that meeting has been changed to Tue., Aug. 17.
SEA ISLE CITY — “Our police department, particularly our Quality of Life Squad, has been a very busy group,” the most recent newsletter from Town Watch/Town Pride stated.
Even though the season isn’t over, the newsletter reported 163 calls to police for excessive noise led to 41 incidents and 169 citations written by police for violations of the city’s so-called Animal House law, which is aimed at reducing excessive noise and disorderly conduct by seasonal tenants to protect neighborhood quality of life.
Under the two-strike aspect of the measure, the city can require landlords whose tenants had at least two convictions for noise or other disorderly persons violations during a 12-month period to post a cash bond of up to $5,000 for up to four years as security against police and court expenses incurred in repressing future violations.
Two of the residences cited were bonded in 2009 and eight of the properties have two or more offenses for the year.
In December, the city will hold hearings to present its expenses to be recovered from the 2009 bonds and to levy new bonds on cited properties.
Bob Lynch, director of Town Watch/Town Pride, said that since the newsletter came out, police have responded to noise violations at three more properties and issued 12 more citations.
Of the dozens of properties receiving noise violations this summer, Town Watch/Town Pride picked one as particularly bad.
The group named a building with four individually owned units in the 300 block of 43rd Place the “Worst of the Worst.”
Between May 3 and July 4, the four units received a combined 68 noise summonses, four trash violations and each received a littering summons.
The newsletter pointed out that it took an officer two and a half hours to write 29 tickets for one unit on the Fourth of July.
“For many years our city administration and TW/TP have believed that hitting the owners of unruly properties in the pocketbook is the key to reducing our problems,” the newsletter stated. “Thus far it is working.”
Town Watch/Town Pride will hold a public meeting at the Sea Isle City Community Center on Tue., Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. City Administrator George Savastano, Police Chief Tom D’Intino and Quality of Life Squad leader Sgt. Tom McQuillen are scheduled to attend.
“The record of success at solving problems presented at these meetings is very high,” the newsletter stated.
Lynch said if a homeowner attends the meeting to give the address of a problem house, it would be remedied.
“When somebody comes to them with a problem house, we can assure the residents that it would receive special police observation,” he said. “Police have been paying particular attention to problem streets that receive multiple complaints.”
“Chief D’Intino, Sgt. McQuillen and the Quality of Life Squad do an outstanding job,” Lynch said. “Town Watch/Town Pride is very pleased with the cooperation we receive from police.”
Lynch noted that previous police administrations were not as receptive to the group’s problems and concerns.
“Some other chiefs called us (Town Watch/Town Pride) vigilantes,” Lynch said. “And nobody wrote tickets.”
Lynch said his group realizes that owners of rental properties sometimes have a difficult time renting to families “because there just aren’t that many around any more.”
“So they’re forced into group rentals to young kids even though they would rather rent to families,” Lynch added.
His group provides landlords with a list of suggested actions to reduce the likelihood of outrageous and excessive behavior by some renters.
Suggestions include:
• Screen potential renters.
• Inform renters about responsibilities regarding noise, trash, profanity, group size.
• Include addendum to rental agreement with conduct requirements and eviction remedy.
• Visit the rental property periodically to evaluate tenant conduct.
• Exchange phone numbers with neighbors and solicit feedback.
• Stay abreast of excessive behavior on property by contacting the city.
• Evict tenants who violate rental agreement.
• Review city ordinances.