Resident: Boarded-up bldgs. make city unsafe Owner asks city to keep properties in good condition BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer CHRISTINE VARNO A boarded-up building on Broadway in Long Branch. LONG BRANCH - - Properties slated for redevelopment should be maintained in good condition to make the city safer, a resident of lower Broadway said last week. Kevin Brown, who owns a building in the lower Broadway redevelopment zone, told the City Council at the Jan. 9 meeting developers have acquired property in redevelopment zones, boarded them up and left them to deteriorate until the project begins. "Lower Broadway is being acquired parcel by parcel," Brown said. "I am asking you seriously that you sit down with the designated developer for lower Broadway and make them keep the properties viable, to code and even use them. "You will not see gang tags, gang logos or gang crime in an area that has high, positive traffic," Brown said. "These buildings should not look unused. "I hope you put into action," Brown said, adding, "It is a sincere, yet serious concern." Brown's comments follow a period of violence in the city that saw four murders, some gang related, within a four-month period. A resident in the Beachfront North, Phase II redevelopment zone, commented on Brown's concerns. "That is part of eminent domain," said Denise Hoagland, a resident of Ocean Terrace and member of the Marine Terrace and Ocean Terrace and Seaview Avenue (MTOTSA) alliance. "A developer owns property in our neighborhood that was boarded up ... to seem blighted and appear blighted. It is all part of the plan," she said. Broadway Arts Center, (BAC) LLC were designated in November as the potential developers of the two-block zone that extends from Second to Memorial avenues and from Union Avenue to the north and Belmont Avenue to the south. The Katz and the Siperstein families, who own Siperstein's in Long Branch, have partnered with the Pereira family, who own Pax Construction Co., on the lower Broadway redevelopment to restore the city's arts district. BAC proposes to raze the properties in the zone and construct an estimated $180 million project consisting of retail space, residential units, restaurants and theaters. City Attorney James Aaron said that BAC could come before the council for site plan approval for the project as soon as next month. The next step would be for the developers to receive approval form the Long Branch Planning Board. Also at the meeting, Gabor Barabas , producer of the NJ Repertory Company on Broadway, said the theater will be hosting six new plays this year. "Individuals are becoming aware of the city," he said. "I am hoping everyone recognizes that if you want good theater, you don't have to go to Broadway in New York. You have Broadway right here in your backyard." At the meeting, Council introduced Ordinance 1-07, authorizing the city to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a cap bank. Long Branch Chief Financial Officer Ronald Mehlhorn explained that the ordinance is not allocating funds, but rather an allowance. "This is not dollars," Mehlhorn said. "It is an allowance. If we exceed, we are allowed to use it. According to the ordinance, by law, a municipality shall limit any increase in its budget to 2.5 percent, unless authorized by ordinance to increase it to 3.5 percent over the previous year's budget. "We opted to pass this," Mehlhorn said, "even though we don't need it right now, but you don't know what will happen next year." Aaron added that the ordinance "actually keeps options open." The public hearing on the ordinance is scheduled for the Jan. 23 council meeting.