By MADDY VITALE
A nearly 120-year-old home in Ocean City’s Historic District has become more than just a part of a bygone era.
Neighbors continue to fight for the Edwardian era house built around 1902 and located at 615 Wesley Ave.
They want it restored and, at the very least, maintained by the current owner until it is sold, so that it doesn’t continue to be an eyesore on a block of homes that are well-kept.
But anger is building in the neighborhood following the owner’s apparent failure to clean up the property after it was cited by the city for property code violations.
The hope, neighbors say, is that one day soon, someone will come in who appreciates the old architecture and return it to its original splendor.
Until then, the concerned residents, historians, and community, continue to speak up.
They recently sought the help of city officials. And they got results. The city is promising to continue pressuring the homeowner to comply with the summonses.
The city cited the owner, RJGVB LLC of Shippensburg, Pa., with a litany of violations.
The owner had until Aug. 26 to clean up the property. While some things were done — the grass was cut — the majority of the work that was to be completed under the violations notices was not.
“The neglect is shameful, and it is precedent setting,” Richard Barth, a resident near the home, said in an email exchange with a group of concerned residents.
Some of the items within the violation notices include removal of grass and weeds from sidewalks and gutters, and repair and maintain the front stairs, front deck, rear deck, side stairs, overhang extensions, fence and chipped and peeling paint.
In addition to those issues, the city wants the owner to repair and maintain shingles as well as roof repairs.
Barth held a meeting several weeks ago with other concerned residents at his home to discuss the problems and frustrations they were having living next to or near the house.
Frank Rosso, of Wesley Avenue, went into great detail about the condition of the property in an email exchange with the neighborhood group.
“In addition to the standard documented violations, living next to what is rapidly becoming a local landfill is becoming more than frustrating,” Rosso said.
Jay Hogan, a Wesley Avenue resident who has corresponded with the city, notified city official Michael Allegretto, aide to Mayor Jay Gillian, that the owner of the property did not clean up the property by the Aug. 26 deadline.
“I’m sure your code enforcement officer has reported that most of the issues addressed in the city’s citations for 615 Wesley have not been resolved,” Hogan said in an email to Allegretto. “What can the city and our neighborhood do next to be assured that these outstanding violations are taken care of?”
The home price dropped from $999,000 to $849,000 recently. There have been offers, according to neighbors. If the owner does not sell, the home will be demolished.
Avery Teitler, an Ocean City-based attorney representing the homeowner, did not return a call seeking comment Wednesday, as well as prior calls from OCNJDaily.com over the past year.
The house has five bedrooms and 4.5 baths. It has been classified by the city as a “key building” in the Historic District, the highest ranking for historically significant structures.
Later in the evening of Aug. 26, Hogan wrote to Allegretto and members of City Council, “We are at the end of the day on Thursday, August 26th. It is obvious that the owner has no intention off fulfilling his obligations regarding the clean-up of 615 Wesley Ave… It’s as if the owner has thumbed his nose and worse at the city administration and our neighborhood group.”
Allegretto told Hogan that code enforcement would go by the property on Aug. 27.
“The city is monitoring the property, and we will continue to go to ensure that the owner complies with the summonses that have been issued,” Allegretto said in an interview Wednesday.
Neighbors continue to join together to try to save the home. The deteriorating house is located in the middle of the city’s Historic District and has become a symbol of what a community can do together.
Over the years it has variously served as the Genevieve Guest House and the Koo-Koo’s Nest bed and breakfast, according to online real estate records.
