HOWELL – Residents of the Reuben Court and Aldrich Road area of Howell have been coming to the last several Town Council meetings with concerns over several sober living homes that opened up in the area.
Their concerns largely had to do with what they said was shady activity that was coming from the houses, the fact that the state of New Jersey had no record that a sober living home was operating out of those houses, and that the facilities were violating the state’s mandatory distance from each other and from schools’ policy.
This time, they came to the meeting on a much happier note. According to Inderdeep Kaur, one of the main spokespeople for the group of concerned citizens, the illegal facilities that called themselves sober living homes, the same ones that have been causing these safety concerns – have been removed from the area. In addition, ordinances have been passed to ensure stronger protection from a situation like this happening again in Howel.
“Thanks to your vigilance, leadership and teamwork, especially Mayor Leggio and the council team, this issue was addressed heads on. You guys worked with the (State Department of Community Affairs), listened to our voices at meetings, reviewed the data we shared and took decisive action. The illegal facility was removed and an ordinance was passed to ensure stronger protection in the future. For that we are truly grateful,” Kaur said.
With this development, the residents of Reuben Court hope this matter can be put behind them. According to the residents, before the facilities were removed, several instances of dangerous behavior was reported originating the facilities. This includes residents of the facility taking pictures and videos of their neighbors, which made them feel unsafe and harassed.
Another incident, which was caught on camera according to Kaur, involved one of the residents of the facility hitting a car that belonged to one of their neighbors before leaving the scene without notifying the owners. According to nearby residents, people were reportedly coming in and out of the home at all hours of the night despite sober living homes having strict curfew requirements that are set in place by the state.
When the concerned group of residents originally brought this issue up to the town and state, they received conflicting information from both parties. The town originally told them the sober living homes were under state jurisdiction while the state said the opposite, according to Kaur.
State officials came to the site to scope it out and inspect it for the future site of a sober living facility and were refused entry by residents already living there. When the officials were approached by neighbors, they claimed to have no record of a sober living home already in operation there.
In addition to her gratitude of the issue being solved, Kaur also warned the council that something like this can happen again. She also spoke on the behalf of her neighbors who want to see legal action taken against the facility’s owner in order to show that these actions will not be tolerated in Howell.
“At the same time, we feel it is important to look ahead. The property at 4 Rueben Court was the site of an illegal establishment and we as residents believe that the owner must be made fully aware that this kind of action in unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” she said. “We respectfully ask that the council consider taking legal action to formally inform the owner that illegal facilities cannot simply be placed in our neighborhoods. Until we know that the owner has been held accountable and understands the seriousness of what happened, the residents of Rueben court will be on pins and needles”
