Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty has ordered a review of parking security, following the arrests of two teens on Sunday afternoon after a rock thrown from Morristown’s DeHart Street parking deck struck the moon roof of an occupied vehicle below.
Police said the driver, a 53-year-old Florham Park man, escaped without injury but his BMW X3 wagon had extensive damage.
In July of 2013, a 32-year-old Morristown woman sustained a concussion after being hit in the face with an apple hurled from the DeHart Street deck. A 16-year-old Morristown male was charged with aggravated assault and weapons offenses in that case.
‘LIKE A GUNSHOT’
Councilwoman Alison Deeb was exiting the garage around 3 pm on Sunday, two cars behind the stricken BMW.
“When it happened it sounded like a gunshot,” she said, adding that the driver was extremely fortunate that his roof was not open at that moment. The man told her he was heading home from brunch at a downtown restaurant when the incident occurred.
Morristown Parking Authority employees got descriptions of two suspects leaving the area, and police quickly arrested a 15-year-old male from Morris Plains and a 14-year old-male from Wharton.
Juvenile complaints were filed against the Morris Plains teen, and both youths were released to the custody of guardians, said police Lt. Stuart Greer.
The youths had been on the next-highest level of the seven-story deck, apparently dropped off by one of their mothers who went shopping, according to Patrick Geary, operations manager for the parking authority.
In response to the incident, the MPA directed management of the nearby 40 Park luxury condos to remove all stones from flower beds in an adjoining piazza. That was accomplished swiftly, said Geary.
The authority is working with police to comply with the Mayor’s request for a report on all security incidents for the last two years, along with information about the authority’s security measures, he said.
“Thank God nobody was seriously injured,” the Mayor said.
While noting that he often sees security vehicles patrolling MPA garages, he said he plans discussions with the authority and Police Chief Pete Demnitz about ways to improve safety for residents and visitors.
“Their security is paramount,” said the Mayor.
Pranks from highway overpasses have turned deadly for motorists hit by thrown objects, he said.
“People do not realize the stupid things they do, and the consequences of their actions… This cannot be tolerated, anywhere. It can cause serious bodily injury, and we take it very seriously.”
CAT-AND-MOUSE GAME
In July, a 21-year-old Basking Ridge man plunged from the parking deck at Headquarters Plaza–a facility not run by the MPA–in an apparent suicide attempt.
Special netting or bars might be worth considering for upper levels of these garages, Councilwoman Deeb suggested.
But Geary said such steps would not thwart object-throwing “idiots”; instead, thousands of customers might be discouraged from using the decks.
“Netting and fencing gives people a sense of claustrophobia,” said Geary.
In addition to patrols and surveillance cameras, the parking authority takes special measures to counter problems as they arise, Geary said.
When the Metropolitan apartments were built right next to the DeHart deck a few years ago, the proximity made it possible for kids to clamber up to the apartment rooftop. So the authority erected a 14-foot-wall between the two structures to stop them, Geary said.
At the request of Council President Rebecca Feldman, pyramid-shaped structures were placed atop high ledges, to deter anyone from walking on them, Geary said. But in this cat-and-mouse game, it’s impossible to anticipate every dumb move someone could make.
At the train station, he said, the MPA installed an enclosure around a parking pay station, to shield customers from rain and snow.
Someone hurled a rock through the glass.
