Jefferson and Maplewood Avenue

You might be surprised.  When the town proposed closing off the end of Lexington where it intersects with Burnett and Tuscan Street, the residents on Lexington were overwhelmingly in favor of the change even though it meant loss of access and putting up with extensive construction.  They saw it as a safety issue.  

joan_crystal said:

You might be surprised.  When the town proposed closing off the end of Lexington where it intersects with Burnett and Tuscan Street, the residents on Lexington were overwhelmingly in favor of the change even though it meant loss of access and putting up with extensive construction.  They saw it as a safety issue.  

that's pretty different from not being able to get your car within a block of your house for months. And those folks were likely concerned about the safety of their own families. 

So you're right, I'd be very surprised if people living on Jefferson came out in favor of regarding their street. 

Is there anyone posting on Facebook or here who lives between brookside and dunnel? I would like to hear what they think about regrading the roadway. Remember that there are underground gas, water and sewer lines to deal with. I’m still for traffic lights or four ways stop with rumble strips from woodland as a warning to slow down. 
I’m happy with the closure of Lexington, the Hilton neighborhood is a close knit neighborhood and having trucks barreling down Burnett is unnerving for anyone with little kids trying to get to dehart. The four way stop at Rutgers did temper the traffic somewhat because people coming up from Union are still thinking it’s a 40 mph zone. 

jfinnegan said: "I go out of my way to avoid that intersection."

I did that too, when living in SOMA:  used either Walton/Woodland or Parker/Dunnell.  Maybe there's some kind of force field at Jeff & Mpl that makes people forget who has the stop?

Jaytee said:

Is there anyone posting on Facebook or here who lives between brookside and dunnel? I would like to hear what they think about regrading the roadway. Remember that there are underground gas, water and sewer lines to deal with. I’m still for traffic lights or four ways stop with rumble strips from woodland as a warning to slow down. 
I’m happy with the closure of Lexington, the Hilton neighborhood is a close knit neighborhood and having trucks barreling down Burnett is unnerving for anyone with little kids trying to get to dehart. The four way stop at Rutgers did temper the traffic somewhat because people coming up from Union are still thinking it’s a 40 mph zone. 

I don't know if it helps, but I recently noticed that Union had changed the speed limit on Burnett to 25 mph.

sac said:

I don't know if it helps, but I recently noticed that Union had changed the speed limit on Burnett to 25 mph.

yeah, I was referring to the stretch from Vauxhall rd over the 78 to Stanley terrace. 

Jaytee said:

sac said:

I don't know if it helps, but I recently noticed that Union had changed the speed limit on Burnett to 25 mph.

yeah, I was referring to the stretch from Vauxhall rd over the 78 to Stanley terrace. 

It's still 40? I thought I had seen a sign indicating otherwise. I guess I'll have to look again the next time I drive through there.

joan_crystal said:

GoSlugs said:

joan_crystal said:

Problem is few drivers in town obey stop signs

That's really just an enforcement problem, isn't it?

Write a couple dozen tickets and people will stop.

No.  The entire town has an enforcement problem when it comes to traffic violations.  

I agree. Overall enforcement for traffic violations and parking in Maplewood is pathetic. I understand we don't want to live in a police state but there needs to be some balance.  Right now, drivers are out of control.

yahooyahoo said:

joan_crystal said:

GoSlugs said:

joan_crystal said:

Problem is few drivers in town obey stop signs

That's really just an enforcement problem, isn't it?

Write a couple dozen tickets and people will stop.

No.  The entire town has an enforcement problem when it comes to traffic violations.  

I agree. Overall enforcement for traffic violations and parking in Maplewood is pathetic. I understand we don't want to live in a police state but there needs to be some balance.  Right now, drivers are out of control.

I'm generally the last person to call for more police presence, or crackdowns of any sort. But even I'm in favor of more overt and evident enforcement of traffic violations in and around the village in particular. It's pretty lawless out there right now, and drivers seem to be doing whatever they please with impunity. Probably because they know the chances of a citation for driving too fast, ignoring signs, parking wherever are just about nil. 

I don't want to be the guy who gets hit by a car and becomes the catalyst for better enforcement. But I'm afraid it's going to take someone getting run down in a crosswalk on Maplewood Ave before anything is done about pedestrian safety.

I could be mistaken but I think 80% of the price of a ticket goes to court court costs.  If that's the case, adding a couple of officers for traffic may not even be revenue neutral. And we all know that as soon as there is an enforcement action everyone jumps online and screams about it.  So it always ends up being an expensive unpopular action by the police that is not sustainable.

sac said:

Jaytee said:

sac said:

I don't know if it helps, but I recently noticed that Union had changed the speed limit on Burnett to 25 mph.

yeah, I was referring to the stretch from Vauxhall rd over the 78 to Stanley terrace. 

It's still 40? I thought I had seen a sign indicating otherwise. I guess I'll have to look again the next time I drive through there.

It's all 25MPH.

DanDietrich said:

I could be mistaken but I think 80% of the price of a ticket goes to court court costs.  If that's the case, adding a couple of officers for traffic may not even be revenue neutral. And we all know that as soon as there is an enforcement action everyone jumps online and screams about it.  So it always ends up being an expensive unpopular action by the police that is not sustainable.

According to the most recent police blotter, a 67 year old woman was recently struck by a hit and run driver at the intersection of 44th and Chancellor.  That is not sustainable either.  

Listen, don't mistake what I'm writing for a lack of caring.  Nothing exists in a vacuum, though.  We all want everything but there are plenty of people also advocating for tax breaks or freezes, so money has to be part of the equation.  The other thing that we have to consider when we advocate for more police  writing tickets is that we are mostly old white people.  Ask other communities in town how they feel about more policemen pulling them over.  

DanDietrich said:

Listen, don't mistake what I'm writing for a lack of caring.  Nothing exists in a vacuum, though.  We all want everything but there are plenty of people also advocating for tax breaks or freezes, so money has to be part of the equation.  The other thing that we have to consider when we advocate for more police  writing tickets is that we are mostly old white people.  Ask other communities in town how they feel about more policemen pulling them over.  

That's a good point.

I'd be happy if they just wrote more parking tickets in the village. That would definitely be revenue positive.

Last two days --- cops monitoring traffic/speed.  

For the last year, I have only seen cops parked off of Parker, within a block or so of the Jewish center.

--- nowhere else.

The last two days, 3 different locations on Prospect. And this evening, there actually was a cop on Maplewood Ave at the intersection of Jeff.

A few years ago the SO police carried out a highly publicized and visible crackdown on drivers not stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks. It was very effective. When I was out walking the dog, drivers would screech to a stop if I was anywhere near a crosswalk. They eventually returned to their usual ways, but quarterly refreshers might be helpful.

I have to say - I don't see how the summit is that steep that someone coming over the hill won't see a stopped car in time.

As a backup place a stop sign here as a precaution.  

jamie said:

I have to say - I don't see how the summit is that steep that someone coming over the hill won't see a stopped car in time.

Problem is excessive speed plus inattention plus misconception that Maplewood Avenue not Jefferson in the roadway with the right of way.

jamie said:

I have to say - I don't see how the summit is that steep that someone coming over the hill won't see a stopped car in time.

see, right where that yellow intersection sign is on the right, put the rumble strips right there and another set 50 feet from maplewood avenue intersection. Not white paint, but raised rumble strips that makes the noise when you drive over them. 
There’s no reason to grade the slope down, if you’re driving at 25 or even 30 you can see the signs and the flashing lights. But like Joan said, it’s the excessive speed. 

kthnry said:

A few years ago the SO police carried out a highly publicized and visible crackdown on drivers not stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks. It was very effective. When I was out walking the dog, drivers would screech to a stop if I was anywhere near a crosswalk. They eventually returned to their usual ways, but quarterly refreshers might be helpful.

south orange police got a grant to do the crackdown. That’s why you never see a repeat. They had to pay officers extra to catch people who didn’t stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk. Apparently it costs a lot of money to pay officers in plainclothes to step into crosswalks in order to catch the culprits. It’s overtime pay. I could never figure that one out. The revenue from those tickets shouldn’t be enough to cover the costs for the police? 

Jaytee said:

kthnry said:

A few years ago the SO police carried out a highly publicized and visible crackdown on drivers not stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks. It was very effective. When I was out walking the dog, drivers would screech to a stop if I was anywhere near a crosswalk. They eventually returned to their usual ways, but quarterly refreshers might be helpful.

south orange police got a grant to do the crackdown. That’s why you never see a repeat. They had to pay officers extra to catch people who didn’t stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk. Apparently it costs a lot of money to pay officers in plainclothes to step into crosswalks in order to catch the culprits. It’s overtime pay. I could never figure that one out. The revenue from those tickets shouldn’t be enough to cover the costs for the police? 

no, it isn't.  There are relatively few officers per shift, so tying up 2 or so for the day may actually be 25% of the force.  Plus, something like 75% of the ticket cost supports the courts.  And people screamed bloody murder. Entrapment was the favorite complaint .  

.

^^^ Vulture Capitalism comments, right? (Noting just as a heads-up before further replies.)

Elle_Cee said:

I believe NYC's interest ceiling is 12%.  It also has speed bumps in place before the owner even gets to the point of being liable for a tax lien.  I don't know why Maplewood has hung on to such a harsh law without providing the social services to help before things go too far.  I wonder how many people have lost their equity because of this law over the years.  

https://www.nyc.gov/site/finance/taxes/property-lien-sales.page

NYC allows people to file a request for a payment agreement:

Payment agreements are available whether or not your property has been noticed for a tax lien sale. Any property owner who is interested in paying their property taxes in installments may apply.

If your property has been noticed for a lien sale, entering into a payment agreement or bringing an existing payment agreement up to date will remove your property from the lien sale list. Use our payment agreement estimator to help you estimate what you will owe for each installment.

The NYC Department of Finance recognizes that an unexpected event or hardship may make it difficult for you to pay your property taxes. If you qualify for the Property Tax and Interest Deferral (PT AID) program, you can defer your property tax payments so that you can remain in your home. The Property Tax and Interest Deferral program removes properties from the tax lien sale once an application is complete.

If you have defaulted on a property tax payment agreement, you may be eligible to file an Extenuating Circumstances Payment Plan Reinstatement Request.

Me thinks you're in the wrong thread.

Elle_Cee said:

I believe NYC's interest ceiling is 12%.  It also has speed bumps in place before the owner even gets to the point of being liable for a tax lien.  I don't know why Maplewood has hung on to such a harsh law without providing the social services to help before things go too far.  I wonder how many people have lost their equity because of this law over the years.  

https://www.nyc.gov/site/finance/taxes/property-lien-sales.page

NYC allows people to file a request for a payment agreement:

Payment agreements are available whether or not your property has been noticed for a tax lien sale. Any property owner who is interested in paying their property taxes in installments may apply.

If your property has been noticed for a lien sale, entering into a payment agreement or bringing an existing payment agreement up to date will remove your property from the lien sale list. Use our payment agreement estimator to help you estimate what you will owe for each installment.

The NYC Department of Finance recognizes that an unexpected event or hardship may make it difficult for you to pay your property taxes. If you qualify for the Property Tax and Interest Deferral (PT AID) program, you can defer your property tax payments so that you can remain in your home. The Property Tax and Interest Deferral program removes properties from the tax lien sale once an application is complete.

If you have defaulted on a property tax payment agreement, you may be eligible to file an Extenuating Circumstances Payment Plan Reinstatement Request.

NYC's municipal government has resources far beyond those of the Township of Maplewood or the The Township of South Orange Village.  Our towns simply do not have the budget or the staffing to provide a comparable program here.  What we can and should do is identify existing resources at the County and State level, available through not for profit organizations, and in the private sector that can provide counseling and support, and make that information readily available to municipal tax payers.  What we can't do is support deferral of property taxes and interest without raising everyone's taxes even higher.

Apologies for misposting!  I'm going to move my post to the proper topic and reply there to what you've said here, Dan and Joan.  

I read in the Village Green today that a four way stop IS being installed at the intersection of Maplewood Avenue and Jefferson.  

yay - it's about time.    

I think four-way stops have become increasingly common since the last study was conducted years ago.  So many people already think it is a four way stop when they approach.