>I work hard to do my bit to keep the standards up in Ridgewood, jumping through expensive hoops to do improvements. Over a year ago, I complained to the Village about a house on my street that was clearly being used to house transient day laborers. The house has an almost constant room-for-rent sign on the door, with an occasional extra for rent sign in the train station tunnel. The owner doesn’t live there. No, the owner lives in Ho-Ho-Kus, and she is also a Ridgewood-based real estate agent. The tenant sub-lets rooms out to short-term day laborers. I have no doubt that these men are undocumented immigrants. This boarding house is not designated as such by the Village. The place is shabby-looking, with un-cut grass, and I wonder if this situation would have gone on for as long as it has if it was located in the Heights? I have nothing against rental properties. I’ve lived in a few in my time. My issue is with slum lords who should know better.
and it goes….The land lord just brushes you off with comments like “they are nice young men”. Some neighbors have had confrontations with her when she occasionally stops by. Zoning laws are being broken. We complained again to the Village this week and we are again waiting with baited breath, even though the Building Dept representative acknowledged that the rental situation was against zoning laws! In the better weather, the tenants sit on the porch drinking beer, hissing at females who walk by.