Clarus Mention at Town Meeting

2 tenants at the Clarus spoke at the town meeting tonight. They were reasonable in their complaints,their 2nd appearance. It mostly was about noisy early morning deliveries to King's. In earlier discussions on line people mentioned that these apartments would never have children. Well,one tenant mentioned that she has 8 year old twins who had a problem with the bright exterior lighting which was later remedied with appropriate blinds. I believe she said they had moved from Stockton,NJ.and are enjoying Jefferson School.You honestly can't judge if children will reside in any apartments.

Some people believe a rule isn’t proved until there’s an exception. That is, why would a family ... ?

Thanks for the report.

who said there would never be any children in apartments?

Kids are being educated in SOMa schools and enjoying it? Terrible!!! I hope that gets resolved.

My takeaway from all the discussions is that apartments don't significantly add to the population of school-aged kids. One, some folks move into them from other SOMa addresses. Two, the studio and 1BR apts likely don't include kids. There are some 2BRs, and yes, some of those will include kids. As suggested, if anyone said there would "never" be children in these apartments s/he wasn't being accurate, and I'm not sure why anyone would have accepted that opinion.

And I guess not everyone moves here from Brooklyn.

Regarding the actual complaint, I don't know what to make of it. You move directly across from a supermarket that opens early in the morning, you should assume there's going to be some noise and activity associated with that. Stockton is a pretty small and sleepy town, I hope they can make the adjustment.

my recollection is that at least two people who looked at data for new apartment complexes in South Orange and Maplewood concluded that the number of children added to the school district from the apartments was very small in comparison to those that are expected to move into single family homes in the district.

if new data from Avalon, Clarus and other new apartments in SOMA indicates that past assumptions are no longer holding for new construction, then of course that changes what should be expected from new development going forward.

ml1 said:

my recollection is that at least two people who looked at data for new apartment complexes in South Orange and Maplewood concluded that the number of children added to the school district from the apartments was very small in comparison to those that are expected to move into single family homes in the district.

But single family homes are already here.  Adding additional housing when the schools are pretty much full is just stupid.  

ml1 said:

who said there would never be any children in apartments?

Not “never,” but here’s a sample MOL quote:

“My contention was that no New Yorkers WITH KIDS would be likely to pay $4000 a month to move into a 2 bedroom apartment above a dry cleaner at 97 Baker.  I also said that New Yorkers with kids would be unlikely to move to Claris or any other small apartment. “

For the record, it must be acknowledged that the parent who addressed the TC did not come from New York.

But do they need to leave their engines running during the entire delivery?

spontaneous said:

ml1 said:

my recollection is that at least two people who looked at data for new apartment complexes in South Orange and Maplewood concluded that the number of children added to the school district from the apartments was very small in comparison to those that are expected to move into single family homes in the district.

But single family homes are already here.  Adding additional housing when the schools are pretty much full is just stupid.  

NJ's population is growing, even if fairly slowly compared to some other state. No state should be able to say "we do not want any children".

apple44 said:

Regarding the actual complaint, I don't know what to make of it. You move directly across from a supermarket that opens early in the morning, you should assume there's going to be some noise and activity associated with that. Stockton is a pretty small and sleepy town, I hope they can make the adjustment.

The newcomer from Stockton mentions that they knew they were moving into a bustling center, and embraced the change. Just that there are limits. Her appearance starts at 21:54.

Sometimes it is a matter of doing your research before you move into a new residence.  Maplewood Village is predominantly a commercial area.  With a supermarket right across the street, parking lots on either side of the building, and restaurants and retail businesses throughout the area, it is reasonable to assume that there will be truck deliveries.  With limited parking and few defined loading zones, it is reasonable to assume these deliveries will be made for the most part during non-business hours.  With several establishments serving alcoholic beverages in the immediate area, including one in the building, it is reasonable to assume that some of these businesses will be open past an eight year old's bedtime.  All of this contributes to the reasonable assumption that the area will be noisy and busy much of the day and night. The township committee did a good job of assuring the Claris residents that they would try to address the complaints; but, realistically I am not sure how much they can really do.  

I think that is illegal. Though reefers need to run their (separate) refrigeration engine at all times.

rhw said:

But do they need to leave their engines running during the entire delivery?

rhw said:

But do they need to leave their engines running during the entire delivery?

They do if the truck is refrigerated.  Kings sells a number of items that require refrigeration including meats, dairy products, fruit, vegetables, and frozen foods to name just a few.  

joan_crystal said:

rhw said:

But do they need to leave their engines running during the entire delivery?

They do if the truck is refrigerated.  Kings sells a number of items that require refrigeration including meats, dairy products, fruit, vegetables, and frozen foods to name just a few.  

Reefer units have a separate engine to run the refrigeration unit. That needs to run. The truck or tractor engine itself does not need to run. And it is illegal idling to do so.

Vic DeLuca and Sheena Collum. 

Technically they didn't say "never" but close enough.

ml1 said:

who said there would never be any children in apartments?

So they moved into an apartment building sandwiched between a commuter rail line and a supermarket and they are complaining about noise?

galileo said:

2 tenants at the Clarus spoke at the town meeting tonight. They were reasonable in their complaints,their 2nd appearance. It mostly was about noisy early morning deliveries to King's. In earlier discussions on line people mentioned that these apartments would never have children. Well,one tenant mentioned that she has 8 year old twins who had a problem with the bright exterior lighting which was later remedied with appropriate blinds. I believe she said they had moved from Stockton,NJ.and are enjoying Jefferson School.You honestly can't judge if children will reside in any apartments.

ska said:

joan_crystal said:

rhw said:

But do they need to leave their engines running during the entire delivery?

They do if the truck is refrigerated.  Kings sells a number of items that require refrigeration including meats, dairy products, fruit, vegetables, and frozen foods to name just a few.  

Reefer units have a separate engine to run the refrigeration unit. That needs to run. The truck or tractor engine itself does not need to run. And it is illegal idling to do so.

Does that separate engine make noise?  Exhaust issues were not mentioned by either tenant, though that subject may be raised in the future.

It is a diesel engine. So it does have noise and exhaust. It is smaller than the truck or tractor engine however.

Collum, DeLuca:  New Developments not Creating Influx of School-age Children

Sep 29, 2016 - New multi-family housing developments in South Orange and Maplewood are not generating a large influx of school-age children to the South Orange-Maplewood School District, according to South Orange Village President Sheena Collum and Maplewood Mayor Vic DeLuca. 

https://villagegreennj.com/uncategorized/collum-deluca-new-developments-not-creating-influx-school-age-children/

joan_crystal said:

Sometimes it is a matter of doing your research before you move into a new residence. 

yahooyahoo said:

So they moved into an apartment building sandwiched between a commuter rail line and a supermarket and they are complaining about noise?

Nothing suggests to me that the Clarus residents didn’t do their research. (The parent spoke almost fondly about the train noise.) Maybe something is going on with the truck deliveries that warrants complaints. I don’t know.

"Large influx". That still seems correct. Nowhere does it say "none"

The train station directly behind the Claris is a clear indication that trains will be passing by the property.  If anything, this proximity may have been used as a selling point for potential commuters into the City.  Truck deliveries in the wee hours and patrons leaving a bar in the building at 2 am closing, are less obvious sources of noise and may not have been included in promotional materials.

I've got to say I'm impressed. She moved to Maplewood, and within weeks she was at a Township Committee Meeting complaining about something. Sounds like she fits right in!   

Joan, I’m just saying that I wouldn’t want to be a newcomer to town whose introduction to MOL might be speculation about my homework.

I suspect the dropping of the lift gate, the rolling up of tailer doors, and other staccato noises associated with a delivery may be more disturbing to one's sleep than any continuously running engine.  Edited for spelling

joan_crystal said:

ska said:

joan_crystal said:

rhw said:

But do they need to leave their engines running during the entire delivery?

They do if the truck is refrigerated.  Kings sells a number of items that require refrigeration including meats, dairy products, fruit, vegetables, and frozen foods to name just a few.  

Reefer units have a separate engine to run the refrigeration unit. That needs to run. The truck or tractor engine itself does not need to run. And it is illegal idling to do so.

Does that separate engine make noise?  Exhaust issues were not mentioned by either tenant, though that subject may be raised in the future.

rhw said:

But do they need to leave their engines running during the entire delivery?

That is an EPA violation and could lead to a fine if it is enforced.

joan_crystal said:
.... patrons leaving a bar in the building at 2 am closing....

This could present a marketing opportunity for Mpl. village. 

Hoboken is unhappy with the Santa Crawl. We could offer to host it here next year, complete with Starbucks to sober up with.

We could pass an ordinance for no deliveries of stuff before 7 a.m. and then complain about the traffic on Maplewood Avenue being fubar'ed.

Color me shocked to hear that the very trucks the developers had to shift the entire building sideways to accomodate might be disruptive to its residents. 

DaveSchmidt said:

Joan, I’m just saying that I wouldn’t want to be a newcomer to town whose introduction to MOL might be speculation about my homework.

More an observation of a pattern than a criticism.  My all time favorite complaint from a new resident was the person who moved into a house on the residential stretch of Valley Street by the county club and wanted to ban truck traffic on what is in fact a truck route.