Morristown luxury condo residents talk trash at council meeting

Put luxury condos next to a bunch of bars and you’re bound to get some tension.

Residents of 40 Park vented their frustrations at Tuesday’s council meeting, where they raised concerns about trash and crowds from a new bar on the block, and pleaded for a respite from noisy garbage haulers who collect the bars’ bottle-heavy refuse outside their condo windows in the wee hours of the morning.

“Our quality of life is severely impacted,” said Barbara Hoyt, who along with fellow 40 Park resident Craig Everett described a year-long battle to stop early morning trash pickups.

Town Attorney Vij Pawar told them they should call the police, who can enforce the town’s noise ordinance.

“We’ve done that, and they tell us to talk to town hall,” Barbara said.

Residents have met with owners of the restaurant Pamir and with Villa Enterprises, owner of the Office restaurant, she told the council.

Another 40 Park resident, Greg Gerson, said he has called the police at 4 a.m. to  complain about noisy garbage collections. He has followed up with calls to the Mayor’s office and the public works director, all to no avail, he said.

Residents voiced concerns that the problem will get worse when the Iron Bar opens its doors on South Street this fall. One resident added that she fears trash from the Iron Bar will block an emergency passage behind the condo complex.

The noise is not confined to the 40 Park area, asserted Linda Carrington, who lives a few blocks away on Macculloch Avenue. Haulers rumble through her neighborhood to nearby medical- and telecom offices as early as 5 a.m., she said.

Mayor Tim Dougherty said he knows Iron Bar owner Jimmy Cavanaugh to be a responsible businessman who will keep his area clean.  He said the town’s health-, zoning- and property maintenance departments frequently monitor that right-of-way, which passes the rear entrances of several bars and restaurants.

“We are on that every day,” the Mayor said.

Two of three haulers have changed their pickup schedules in response to complaints, continued the Mayor, who pledged to to meet with all the affected parties after his vacation next week.

What he wants to avoid is antagonizing haulers to the point where they refuse to collect Morristown’s trash–or where they start rolling into town during busy times of the day.

“You’ve got to strike a balance,” the Mayor said. “It’s just about getting the stakeholders together to find a reasonable solution everyone can live with. There shouldn’t be anybody outside anybody’s window at 4:30 in the morning.”

A few weeks ago, the Mayor brokered a truce between Braunschweiger Jewelers and owners of the Dark Horse Lounge and Tashmoo. The jewelry store’s owner was angry about garbage trucks spilling beer bottles in his parking lot. The Mayor said that matter appears to be resolved.

Councilwoman Rebecca Feldman asked 40 Park residents to keep calling police if the noise continues, so the town can compile a record of it.

The 40 Park condos and their sister luxury apartment building, the Metropolitan, opened last year on the site of the former Epstein’s department store near the Morristown Green.