By Kevin Coughlin
How far does free speech go?
In Gregg Bruen’s case, as far as his neighbor’s property. Morristown police on Tuesday had him remove anti-stacking signs he had stacked outside a vacant house next door.
But plenty more placards — accusing town officials of ignoring overcrowded houses, and exhorting citizens to “Vote 4 Trump” — remained in front of his own Speedwell Avenue home.
And that did not sit well with members of the Hispanic community, who took exception to hand-painted billboards referencing “Columbians” from Montenegro and blaming undocumented residents for rising school taxes.
“He should call the town and have the town address” any housing complaints, said Diego Diaz, a native of Colombia. “He should not be insulting people.”
Bruen, a 52-year-old furniture maker, said 18 years of calls to town hall only have resulted in inspectors slapping him with costly directives to install aluminum siding and new windows at his place.
“This is not about the individuals” in the neighborhood, said Bruen, whose second language is Spanish. “It’s about my taxes going up. It’s about living next to a fire hazard.”
Morristown Code Enforcement Director Joe Costa referred questions to Mayor Tim Dougherty.
All resident complaints “are investigated equally, and by the letter of the law,” said the Mayor, who described the lawn signs as “despicable.
“It’s a shame someone resorts to this type of use of free speech in a very hurtful way,” Dougherty said.
Police remained outside Bruen’s house on Tuesday night, waving rubber-neckers past the yard.
‘LAST STRAW’
Bruen said he has received nine death threats over the years, and claimed that federal authorities prevented a “cartel” from buying the house next door. A Secret Service agent interviewed him several years ago, he said.
The Secret Service does not comment on investigations and could not confirm Bruen’s account, said Special Agent Max Milien, a spokesman for the agency. He noted that the Secret Service primarily investigates financial crimes, not drug cartels.
Town records indicate the vacant house is owned by a loan trust company in Houston, Texas.
Bruen said the last straw came one night about three weeks ago, when his dog, Brownie, alerted him to a neighbor allegedly attempting to abscond with a power saw from his backyard.
Now, Bruen said, he is trying to enlist neighbors to sue the town for stricter enforcement of housing codes. “Everybody in this neighborhood is too scared to complain,” he said.
One neighbor, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution, said she grew up nearby but now is afraid to let her young daughter play outside by herself.
There is a high turnover of tenants in some of the rented houses, she said, adding that she has seen public drinking and what she believes were drug deals.
“People are concerned about stacking. That’s why we need to work together for better housing, affordable housing, for everyone,” said Diana Mejia of Wind of the Spirit, a Morristown-based immigrant aid organization.
While acknowledging Bruen’s free-speech rights, Mejia also worried that such demonstrations only sow hostility.
“With all the anti-immigrant rhetoric, it gives a green light to people like this gentleman,” she said.
FOR SALE
Miriam Cardona said her father, 97-year-old Antonio Cardona, came here from Colombia 44 years ago, worked for Morristown Memorial Hospital, and started a small business.
“We try to do the right thing, to follow the law. That’s not right,” Miriam Cardona said of Bruen’s signs.
If landlords are unscrupulous, she said, “that’s not our problem. He can complain to the town or to the police.”
Councilman Stefan Armington and his neighbors in the Cutler Park and Sherman Park sections of town have been diligent about reporting suspected stacking.
The administration has followed through, he said, but shady landlords are crafty and inspectors must operate within legal constraints.
“People have a right to live in a house without being bothered by a zoning officer every week,” Armington said. “If the town doesn’t have evidence that supports a summons or a search warrant, there’s not a whole lot you can do. People who do stack have learned not to be so obvious.”
Bruen said he plans to leave New Jersey. The widower’s sharply worded for-sale sign is unlike anything you will find in realtor school:
4 Sale: 3 Family & Basement
At least 30 people can fit here,
Allowed by town (LOL Not)
$498,000
Must move! Not safe anymore.
I was just robbed 3 weeks ago.
I can’t sleep.
MorristownGreen.com contributor Berit Ollestad contributed to this report.
I was renting a nice house on Speedwell for a few years and moved 3 years ago. The crime was becoming rampant, drug deals in daylight, packages were being stolen from my house, the neighbors had an illegal daycare with a ton of kids (this was shutdown by a property management company), a drunk illegal broke into my house and passed out. Anyone remember that guy who use to sell hotdogs on the street at all hours? There was/is a large drug ring operating on that street by illegals.
It sounds a lot like the problems with “Little Dublin” to me.
Morristown is a sanctuary city for the illegals. Plain and simple.
This is what happens when a nation opens its borders to unfettered illegal entry by people of different cultures, language, mores, education, and civic ignorance…especially when those peoples have no intent to assimilate into the host country. As this story shows, this breakdown is destroying our society and will drag us down to the level of other underdeveloped countries
Think it can’t happen? It’s happening and it’s being orchestrated by the progressive left, with the likes of Obama and Pope Francis leading the way.
I’m mexican. Live and work in this country legally.
I’m looking to buy a house and the other day stopped by and open house I though was far enough from speedwell. The house was nice, but we went to the yard, I saw the neighbors house… packed with people and the yard was full of trash, while were there we saw one of the neighbors throw a bag of trash to the yard!… we are not buying that house obviously.
There is a problem in speedwell and it’s not brown vs white people, it’s civil culture vs not. It’s knowing how to behave properly in a civilized country and town, how to relate to neighbors and basic rules of conduct.
Morristown has people of so many different races and cultures and the majority take pride in that,@ Little Columbia,Every student at mhs who has a hard time with English are trying their very best to learn and they shouldn’t be penalized for not being there quite yet.I think your child should take a different look on the whole Spanish speaking in MHS.How do you think the Spanish speakers feel during school not knowing what all the announcements are saying,having to have everything translated for them,having to be taught in Spanish speaking math,English,etc classes?Having to only talk to the people who speak their language?Living in a country that for the most part only uses English? Probably more uncomfortable than your child.Put yourself in their shoes.
Sincerely,
A MHS student and Morristown resident.
Sherman Park is an area that includes Mills Street, Kenmuir Avenue, Sherman Place, Tuxedo Place, Early Street and Woodland Place.
I am 50/50 on this subject. My family and friends call the area Little Columbia as in Little Italy or China Town.
I tend not to give directions to my house from this part of town, or want to even drive through it for safety and security issues. Now we are currently looking to move and would love to be in the Cutler section as the houses have such charm and character, but I look but if it’s too close to Speedwell I nix it off the list as I don’t want to be near a place that may bring down my property value.
I am sorry if that sounds very negative, but it is the truth.
I have a child at MHS and just said to me yesterday “I hate all the Spanish speaking that goes on during the day” I feel uncomfortable not knowing what they are saying. I think its rude too. English should be spoken in school unless you’re in Spanish class”
To have a hazardous situation as my neighbor would bother me too!
Hope things change sooner than later!
Where is the Sherman Park neighborhood?
I understand, but this sounds like something that could easily be handled by code enforcement alone. If they can’t handle it, they should be replaced with people who can. It just sounds like micromanagement to me. This might be a big deal for a couple of neighbors, but that’s about it. And the police are there to tell the guy to remove the signs?
Help me out here: Code Enforcement doesn’t write summonses for violations, they go to the cops?
The mayor weighed in because his administration oversees housing code enforcement, which was questioned by the gentleman posting the signs. I called the mayor for his response to the man’s statements.
I was thinking the same thing about the mayor. It’s pretty funny that he has the time to deal with stuff like this.
Seems as though there are better ways to find a solution listing everyone to work together instead of insulting each other. I respect the Mayor for taking an interest in the actual problem rather than simply throwing fuel on the flames of misinformation, as other politicians have done.
Is there anything that the mayor doesn’t weigh in on?