Problem neighbors

When a police officer pulls over a speeding motorist, lead foot is directed to immediately lighten the press on the gas pedal. Once apprehended, a shoplifter who pilfers items from a store is quickly arrested. The hosts of a raucous late-night party that disturbs the neighbors are told to turn down the volume when law enforcement shows up.

If a homeowner is found committing a zoning violation, however, there’s often a lack of immediacy in remedying the infraction. The court process can take months.

And that’s after the violators are caught.

The interim between a zoning summons and an ultimate resolution can be a maddening wait for other nearby homeowners, particularly if the infraction impacts on the neighborhood’s quality of life.

Businesses operated out of residential homes and poorly maintained properties – sometimes equating to junkyards – can strain the patience of nearby law-abiding residents. Excessive numbers of cars piling up at a nearby home might indicate an illegal boarding house is operating.

Middlesex is no stranger to residential zoning violations. The borough’s community Facebook pages periodically bring allegations of illegal rentals, unkept properties and other disturbances.

Mayor Jack Mikolajczyk and the Borough Council were told of alleged zoning violations at two Dayton Avenue properties during the governing body’s Tuesday, April 8 session.

A husband and wife couple who reside on that street said one neighbor appears to be operating a business out of a residential home. The site includes a dumpster where rats have been spotted and “barrels of chemicals.” Men have been observed “urinating in the yard,” according to the husband.

The second property has had an excessive number of cars parked near it, blocking the street, and some on the lawn. It could have as many as 20 people living there, the couple said. The living spaces appear to include the home’s basement.

Such reports do not happen at every meeting. But it’s not that unusual for the mayor and council to receive complaints of alleged zoning violations. They sometimes include comments that the municipality had been contacted previously, but no action was taken. That was again the case with the Dayton Avenue properties.

“I’ve been complaining about this for three years and nothing has been done,” the husband told the governing body.

Mikolajczyk asked for the addresses of the two properties in question. Borough officials offered no explanation for the prior lack of response. “We want people to comply to the laws,” the mayor said.

Zoning violations can take time to resolve due to several factors, including complex ordinances, potential municipal court appearances, and a period granted to rectify an alleged offense before penalties are imposed.

Inside – Middlesex found online sources that mention a truck wash company located at the Dayton Avenue property said to be housing a business.

The second property – allegedly with an excessive number of residents – is owned by a Flushing, N.Y.-based LLC, according to borough tax records. The LLC’s registered agent is connected to multiple New York City properties in online sources.

At another point in the meeting, MIkolajczyk commented on the borough’s rat population. The Board of Health discussed rat problems in two different neighborhoods during meetings in the latter months of 2024, according to minutes of those sessions.

“What happens is, they congregate somewhere – wood piles or beneath a shed,” the mayor said.

“I think the floodwall going up has chased a lot of them out of their habitats and until they can get back in there, there’s nowhere for them to go,” Mikolajczyk added. “So, they just go to the next place.”

He urged property owners to “not have anything that gives them a home.”

Council President Michael Conahan said there had been rat infestations in dumpsters outside Hazelwood and Mauger schools. The school district has taken steps to deal with the problems, he said.

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