Life Isnt Fair

LIFE ISNT FAIR

Life Isnt Fair Spiro Drake the Greek October 1, 2012

Life Isnt Fair

2 Introduction

In 1970, I purchased an existing 89 acre farm as a site to house both my landscaping operation as well as a facility I intended to create for the less fortunate. Now as far as life isnt fair, the trials of Garden Falls, the Stone Museum and Greeks Playland.

Life Isnt Fair

3 Life Isnt Fair

The town issued me a summons for having a party where there were 15 people in paddleboats. When I went to the local court, the judge said he knows about all the parties and he said, even though you have been doing this for years, they are illegal. He said if you were riding every day with the Chief of Police and went through a stop sign without stopping only one time, and he gave you a ticket because you are breaking the law, this is the same thing and you cant have parties if it is not zoned for it. I asked him what the difference is if I have a party on my farm or you have a party at your home. The judge replied that if he had a party of 50 of his friends, 25 of them would probably be retarded (his idea of a joke). I asked him if I introduced myself to my guests when they arrive, would that be ok, and he said you cant have more than 5 people at any one time. He did not fine me because it was a gray area. After my court appearance, I asked Bob Tucker, who gave me the summons, to come to my office so I can show him my place. I also showed him my tax return for the past 10 years showing I only made approximately $6,000 a year. I do not own a home nor do I have money in the bank. All the money I make is in the farm. He said he feels bad, and would never take anyones word without his own investigation. We became friends after that. In 1986, Monroe Township asked me if Mt. SEPA (Special Ed Parents Association) could use our site for the summer for they no longer could use East Brunswick. They used it all summer. I wanted a heli-stop so that I could give my guests helicopter rides. Catherine H. Nickolaisen, Director of the Office of Aviation, issued me a license to operate The Greek Heli-stop, license #H-353 in September of 1988. We have renewed this license every year

Life Isnt Fair since.

Mayor Garibaldi called me and said that I was having parties for drug addicts and I told him that all guests are from State Agencies. I invited him to come to my place and visit the site so he could see for himself. He then said that I had an illegal heli-stop and I told him that I was looking at the heli-stop license on my wall. He said that he is the Mayor, he knows what is going on in his town and that I had an illegal heli-stop. The next day, and for weeks later, Chief Garvey (the Police headquarter, right up the street from my facility) stopped every truck that came out of the yard for inspection. This went on for quite a while. Many years later I met Chief Garvey and I told him that what he did was illegal, exclusively targeting my trucks. He said Greek, when the Mayor tells you to do it, you do it. At that time, Mr. Appleby was City Planner, head of Construction Office for Monroe Township. I contacted the Farm Bureau and told them that I wanted to put an addition on the back of the house for farm labor and asked how many bathrooms you need. She told me you need one for every 50 people. I had 14 people so I was having 7 rooms and 7 separate bath and showers. She said she would like to take photos of this and put it in the farm news when its complete. She also told me that since its farm assessed you dont need a building permit but it must meet codes. The town did not agree, and they made me furnish them with architectural and engineering and a site plan. I also had to donate approximately one-half acre of road frontage to the county. At this point, all of the buildings except Mahal Gardens were constructed and being used (bathrooms, covered walk-way, etc). Mr. Appleby contacted me and told me I will never get a CO. Concerned, I asked a Monroe Police Officer who was working for me part-time, if Appleby could stop me from getting a CO. He told me that if Appleby said that, I was in trouble because he was very

Life Isnt Fair

powerful. So, the house is built partly with framing, a roof and siding but was never completed. In 1992, 1 met with Mayor Richard Pucci and a group of concerned individuals who wanted to resolve the problems so that deserving groups could continue to enjoy the Playland. At that meeting, Mr. Appleby was asked if he had ever visited the facility and he replied No. I reminded him that he had formerly visited with Mr. Lawrence the taxassessor and had, at that time, instructed me to put up two firewalls (which I did). He again said, No, I was never there. I then called Mr. Appleby a liar and the mayor followed with This meeting is over. All the Mayor had to do was go down the hall and ask Mr. Lawrence if this was true. Still in August of 1992, the Mayor sent a number of representatives from his office, including Mary Ann Neder, Director of Public Information and Development of the ARC of Raritan Valley, to visit the Playland in the hope of rectifying the situation; I was encouraged by their enthusiasm, but never heard any further comments from the Mayor. I was however, granted permits in 1992 to operate fire truck rides and paddleboats from the State of NJ, Dept of Labor Division of Workplace Standards. Yet later, once again a complaint was made to D. C.A. in 1993.1 received a letter from Patricia A. Swartz, Supervisor, Office of Recreation, Department of Community Affairs stating that after inspecting my place, we have demonstrated commitment to providing recreational opportunities to individuals with disabilities long before the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 mandated accessibility. Since 1972, weve had approximately 700 free parties for the less fortunate. Mr. Applebys office sent a letter to Allan Steam, who was

Life Isnt Fair

with Wetland DEP Enforcement and directed him to give Greek a series of summons. Mr. Steam issued me wetland summonses for work that was done in the early 70s; the Army Corp of engineers handled wetland issues until 1977 and then DEP took over. The DEP never fined me. On August 16, 1997, when the fire destroyed the office and Museum, the Monroe Fire Chief called Sergeant Gross, who was on duty, was informed that Greeks place was on fire and please barricade the comer of Spotswood-Englishtown Road and Mounts Mill Road so that they can hook up fire hoses. Sergeant Gross told the Chief that Greeks place is off the road and to let it burn, he would not barricade the road. When the tanker came from a distance away, the Sergeants police car was blocking the entrance to the site, and the Chief said to the Sergeant that if he didnt move his car, the tanker would move it. He moved the car. When I told Wayne Hamilton, the township administrator, he said he was in the second fire truck and arrived on the scene from Spotswood and it was the first time he went to a fire and they wouldnt let him into the property to put the fire out. Mr. Cellar, The Fire Chief told me about Sergeant Gross and said I should sue the town. I told Bob Tucker about it and said I do not want to sue the town; I just want to continue with Greeks Playland. Mr. Cellar is no longer the Fire Chief. Later we installed city water from Mounts Mill Road and the town installed the water meter, which happened to be a defective meter. I was overcharged thousands of dollars; one bill was $5,000.00 for a three-month period. I went to a hearing and told Mr. Appleby, who was the head of MUA, to install a new meter with a check valve and wait one year to see

Life Isnt Fair

what the bill should be. This was done and my average water bill was approximately $200.00 every three months. To this date, we have not received credit for any overpayments. Our last bill dated 9/25/10 was for three months usage and was for $151.35. Kara Homes, Toll Brothers and Anatol Hiller were all building in Monroe. They approached me to buy my farm; I told them I was not interested. I wanted to continue with Greeks Playland. Later, Hiller called my cell phone and left a message. I asked Bob Tucker to listen to the message. It said that the town was going to take my property and he would like to meet with me. When Bob heard the message, he was surprised and said he knew nothing about it. On July 27, 2004, the day when our use permit application was to be heard by the Board, Mr. Appleby sent a letter to the members requesting that they deny my approval. Fortunately, the Board recognized all the good the Playland and the Stone Museum had done in the past, did not want to curtail its mission in the future, so they granted the Use Permit, and gave approval to the site plan at the following meeting. In August of 2004, the Site Plan and Use Variance were approved by Monroe Township and the only thing left for me to do was to seek Municipal Inspections from the Building Department, which is headed by Mr. Appleby. On August 3, 2004, Mr. Appleby, Director of the Monroe Township Building Department, said that I should furnish him with engineering and architectural plans of all of the buildings except the office and the open storage sheds behind the office. He said, After this is submitted, approvals will begin. (Compliance with New Jersey IBC 2000 Edition. For the two membrane structures, compliance with the IBC 2000 Edition, Section 3102). The plumbing must meet the National Standard Plumbing Code and Barrier free ICC/ANSI, and

Life Isnt Fair

in compliance with the Electrical Code. I furnished the material requested and after they received it, Mr. Appleby wanted my entire place inspected by a structural engineer to be sure everything was safe and up to code. Mr. Jonathan Dixon previously did this and a copy of his report was provided to Mr. Appleby on February 6 1996. To facilitate the process I called Mr. Brian Mitchell, who was formerly the Electrical Inspector for Monroe Township, and is now an inspector for the State Dept. of Community Affairs and asked Mr. Mitchell if he would take a walk-through of the facility and advise me accordingly. He informed me that he would provide his expertise at no charge. Originally, Mr. Mitchell had performed the footing inspection for our new Stone Museum building after a fire caused by lightning destroyed the original structure in 1977. It happened to be his first footing inspection (he was properly qualified for such inspections) for the township, and at the recent walk through he indicated that he had been sent years ago by the building department because none of the other officials wanted to come to my place. According to Mitchell, he was also told to make the process as difficult as possible for the Greek. During his walk through, Mr. Mitchell toured the entire facility and pointed out a few minor things that would not meet todays electrical codes. He explained, however, that since the structures were pre-existing, they would fall under the less-stringent Rehab Code. He advised me to have DCA inspect my facility instead of Mr. Appleby, because if Appleby does the inspection, It would be a long drawn out process. It turned out he knew what he was talking about... On October 5, 2004, Mr. Tucker stopped by my office. He told me that he spoke with Appleby and asked him if he would have a problem if I went to the State DCA for inspections. He said Appleby said no but also said he felt his office would be lenient with

Life Isnt Fair

me, so I decided to stay with the town. That was a big mistake. On October 12, 2004, Mr. Lawrence Katchem, Consulting Engineer, PE, NJ License GE009296, inspected all structures and walkways and found them to be structurally sound and safe for public use. His detailed report was sent to Mr. Appleby. The Monroe Township Construction Office claimed to have lost all of my paper work, so I hand delivered another compete package of everything they had previously requested. I asked and was given a receipt by JoAnn from the construction Office. I gave another duplicate package to the Zoning Office of Monroe. They didnt understand why I wanted to give them a copy, so I told them just in case the Construction Office loses their copy again. I went to the Zoning Office and picked up the complete set of plans that I had previously left with them and I then took them to JoAnn. She asked, Why are you giving us another set of plans because we already have them?. On April 16, 2005,1 called JoAnn and asked her what the status is on my inspections. On May 14, 2005, 1 went to the Construction Office and asked JoAnn again about my inspections and asked if she needed anything else. She said that she didnt need anything, but for me not to come to the office anymore and not to call her because when she knows something she will call me.

Santora Electric changed two indoor disconnect switches to outdoor switches. The Monroe Township Electrical Inspector inspected and approved the work. We installed insulation over hot water piping, and we installed more handicapped and accessible signs in the restrooms as requested by Mr. Gamer.

Life Isnt Fair

10

On October 26, 2005, 1 received a call from Mr. Montanti from Monroe Township indicating that the site would be inspected the following week. On January 1, 2005, 1 paid a yearly registration fee to the Bureau of Fire Prevention, Dist. #1, Township of Monroe, 24 Harrison Avenue, Monroe Township, New Jersey 08831, as requested under the Monroe Township Municipal Code Chapter 43. Our facility has been inspected for over ten years. On December 1, 2005, 1 called Consumer Affairs and I told them that I built a number of buildings and lean-tos in the early 70s without any building permits. I explained that Mr. Appleby wants to make sure that everything complies with the UBC 2000 New Jersey Edition. He told them that New Jersey adopted a Uniform Building Code in 1977. Since the buildings and lean-tos, with the exception of the tents, were previously constructed, they cannot be expected to adhere to todays codes, though they should be inspected under the rehab code and they should be inspected to ensure safety for public use. He also told me that if I give the Construction Office everything they ask for, (they should know what they need when they ask), and inspection should be done within 96 hours. Wayne Hamilton called me again and said, I have good news for you. He said that all I had to do was go to the Township Construction Office and apply for permits for all of the fire exit lights and signage, and then I would get my CO in two days. Now its been over a month and I cant even get a simple permit. When I went to the Construction Office and filled out the permits the electrical official was out sick, and the next day I just left the paper work at the Construction Office. I was notified that I need a licensed electrician to sign the permit application. I explained that the

Life Isnt Fair

11

exit lights and signage were installed from eight to thirty years ago. On December 20, 2005, 1 called Santora Electric and asked if they would please sign the permit because I needed a licensed electrician. The reason I chose Santora Electric is that I understand he is a good friend of Mr. Applebys. Mr. Santora knew the work was finished years ago. He told me that he could not sign the permit because the work was already completed and not by him. He said he could lose his license if he did that. He said he would call Mr. Appleby and find out what he wants. I called Mr. Gamer and explained the situation. He said that an electrical engineer already inspected all of the exit lights and signage lights and that he would call Mr. Downey to ask him what he wanted The Greek to do now. Mr. Downey told Mr. Gamer that Santora Electric can inspect my place and then he could sign for the permit. Ive been telephoning Santora electric and leaving messages, and until this date I have not received a return call. I understand he does a lot of work in the town of Monroe and probably does not want to ruffle any feathers. Sidney N. Gamer, N.J. Professional Engineer who is licensed in six states said that the two membrane structures comply with Section 3105 of the N.J. Edition of the International Building Code 2000 and certifying NFPA 702 compliance. If I had the DCA inspect my facility, they would inspect under the Rehab Code and if, as stated by the certified professionals, everything in my facility is in compliance, the process would have been completed over a year ago. In the end, I had to involve the Department of Consumer Affairs in order to finally get a certificate of occupancy. I told Wayne Hamilton that Tom from DCA informed me that Mr.

Life Isnt Fair

12

Arthur Appleby, the Township Building Inspector, had told them that there were unresolved zoning and usage issues. These were false allegations. Mr. Hamilton called Appleby and said that I want this off of my desk today. The 18-month hold up was due to Mr. Applebys continued desire to see the Playland fail. He had openly made comments about his desire to close my operation. February 1, 2006 Mr. Downy from the building department hand delivered a C.O. for the entire 89 acres allowing us to continue having parties as we have for 30 years. I hired Patricia Ciecko to operate Garden Falls; a professional event planner that worked for the Victorian Manor in Edison, New Jersey for 28 years. When she did an analysis of our operation, she found out that it is only a seasonal facility and could not generate enough money to pay the expenses. She said the only way you could make this place survive is to take the rear portion and double its size to accommodate larger receptions. I then realized that I had to do what Patricia said. My lifes dream was to have a facility that would be self-sufficient and could be used for fundraisers and free parties for the less fortunate. When I went for the last variance that was approved I said that was all that I wanted to build on the property and I meant it, but I found out that it wouldnt generate enough income to survive. I proceeded to make the back area larger. My thought was to rely on the Department of Consumer Affairs to assure Township Officials would treat me fairly. There was no question that Mr. Appleby would have made it impossible for me to get the approvals needed. I now know that this was not the best decision I could have made, but at the time I felt I had no alternative. In January 2006 Mahal Gardens was built in one month, it is a pole bam with a metal roof and no heat or air conditioning. It is closed in the winter months.

Life Isnt Fair

13

The Monroe PTA for a fundraiser used Mahal Gardens in May 2007 with 750 people, and in June, 2008; they raised $30,000 at each affair. When Mr. Tucker the head of the Zoning Department was informed on 5/15/08, he issued a stop construction notice on the project. He said that he would talk to Mr. Appleby to see what could be done about it. Mr. Tucker explained to me that Mr. Appleby had no intentions of working with me on this issue. I contacted my attorney, Jonathan Heilbrunn, to represent me in resolving this. Bob Tucker, zoning officer of Monroe informed the Greek that Gaydos was selling his property to a builder who was going to build 5 homes in the rear of the land. When the builder found out that the front 10 acres were wetlands that would not allow him to access the rear 20 acres of land, he backed out of the sale. The property to the right of Gaydos is all wetlands and the only way he could use his property is through Greeks property. Greek told Gaydos and all the builders that wanted to buy Greeks property it was not for sale because it is for the future of Greeks Playland and The Stone Museum. The builder who was also going to build homes on Tony Totos property, which was behind Gaydos property, donated his 32 acres to the Spotswood Church of God in 2006, when he learned that he couldnt access the property because of wetlands. Trying to appease Gaydos once again, on a weekday Greek told him that he had a sound system installed so noise will never bother him in the future. At that time, Greek also said he would give Gaydos the easement that he wanted along with 10 acres of land he wanted for nothing. Greeks only concern was to get the approvals needed to make sure this facility continues. Since Gaydos is the only neighbor against him, he thought this might settle issues. Gaydos told him that he would ask his wife and his lawyer. Instead, the following Saturday, he once again called the police, complaining that the noise was too loud.

Life Isnt Fair

14

I had problems with Mr. Heilbrunn and I couldnt understand why he would let the town engineer, the opposing lawyer and Mr. Bignell bring up things that had nothing to do with what we were trying to accomplish. I also found out that Heilbrunn and Bignell were fishing friends. At that time, Mr. Heilbrunn said that we should hire a different lawyer. So Dr. Mittman hired Heilbrunns partner Kenneth Pape to represent her in the new application. He instructed me not to have anything to do with it. In 2004, we obtained approvals for everything but Mahal Gardens. He then said to me they liked you then, they hate you now, so you have to stay out of this and let Bea call all of the shots.

Much of what Gaydos, his lawyer and Mr. Geller (the engineer) said was not factual. Mr. Bignell had all of the documentation about the application; he knew the real facts, but said nothing. The board has to assume that under oath, people are telling the truth, and this was not the case. Without a doubt, Mr. Bignell, Mr. Gaydos and Mr. Pape have proven that their only interest is to close down the operation, regardless of whom it may hurt. The Army Corp of Engineers handled this entire issue in 1970-1971; DEP did not take over permits and the like until 1977. When we received site plan approval in 2004, DEP signed off on the entire site and there were no issues.

So with the last application that was turned down, Pape offered to do one million dollars worth of improvements of things that were already approved in 2005. I did not know this nor did Bea. He was doing this on his own. When she was turned down, I read the transcript, I went with Bea to Papes office, and he told Bea not to appeal it because if she did it would cost $100k and they would send it back to the town and the town would turn it down again.

Life Isnt Fair

15

Pape said that if you get a site plan we might be able to go back. I met with Greg (the engineer) and Pape along with Bea and they gave us an estimate of approximately $290,000 for the site plan. Bea was very depressed and Ken asked me what the property was worth. I told him that Toll Brothers called and said they can put in 3 14 attached units per acre. I told them it was 3 acre zoning. They said if it is over twenty acres, we could get that changed. I also told him that Henry Patel was interested in buying twenty acres on Mounts Mill road. Pape said, I am going to write a figure of what it is worth. Then he asked me what I thought it was worth. I told him that five years ago I turned down $15,000,000 for the property so now it could be worth at least $6,000,000. He showed me the paper and he wrote $3,000,000. Bea was very upset and said, I cant afford to put any more money in this. I will have to sell it. It was a bad day. I went to see Bob Tucker and explained the whole situation with Bea, Pape and myself. He told me the only way you can come back to the board after you have been turned down is to change the application drastically. He said you were approved for everything but Mahal Gardens. That is what you have to address. Bea changed the occupancy from 700 to 490 people and will remove 3500 sq ft. of the building. That is a drastic change. Bea went back before the board on Nov 30, 2010 at 7:30pm with a new attorney Mr. Tim Hiskey. He is not from this area and was not worried about coming back to the board again in the future. He questioned Mr. Bignell about the parking requirements and the sound as well as the town engineer about the storm water. Mr. Hiskey proved that all the speakers on at the same time does not reach the 50 decibel limit and he proved that when Spotswood had their 100th Anniversary over here and there were over 3000 people and it was 103 degrees and nobody had to wait in line to use restrooms. At that time we werent able to use

Life Isnt Fair

16

Mahal Gardens since we didnt have a CO. Mr. Hiskey was able to produce all this information and Mr. Pape who was from the area never brought up any of the facts that were in our favor. On Saturday March 6, 2010, there was tremendous amount of rain and the whole township was flooded. Greek was checking out the property and none of the water entered into the Gaydos property. Gaydos came over and said, you did such a good job with the water here, can you come on my property and help me fix mine? Greek then told him that the Stone Museum, Greeks Playland, and the golf range are now closed. Greek then asked Gaydos how do you feel about all of the people who will no longer be able to use the facility? Gaydos just asked when are you going to take the building down...? On Saturday, September 18, 2010, the Greek saw four private property signs that were on Greek Corp. property. Written on the signs were Terrorists stay off. Greek removed 4 of the signs because he didnt want guests to feel threatened or offended. Bea Mittman, the owner, and Pat, the manager were both in Florida so Greek called Jack Ballo, an in-house photographer. Jack said he would handle it. Jack called the police and saw on 9/19/10 more signs. Some of the signs were on the Gaydos property and some were on Bea Mittmans property. The signs that were visible had Terrorists stay off written on them. Jack left the signs in the back of the property up and the police officer said he would have a detective come down on Monday to handle the situation. The detective has not called or visited the property since. Mr. Hiskey was successful in getting 100% approval from the town. Mr. Gaydos sued the town and Greeks Corp. Judge Hurley ruled against us, and we are appealing it.

Life Isnt Fair

17

Judge Hurley stated that he did not know how loud the music would be if all of the speakers were on at the same time. Banana sound productions (sound engineers) said if all of these speakers are on at the same time it will not exceed 49 decibels. Judge Hurley stated that Pat, the banquet mgr. said the owner said not to book any parties. She meant that she was not to book any parties at Mahal Gardens and all music had to stop at 10:00 pm. Judge Hurley stated that our place is no different from a Food Town that sells Girls Scout Cookies. 2:30 pm attendance Monroe Community Church 3 years Greekss Playland has had 700 free parties since 1972 The Stone Museum has given free tours to over 20,000 people Monmouth Daycare Center Borough of Spotswood 100 year anniversary, 3,000 people in Tents installed 1996 Monroe fire inspected 1993 Helipad Sept 30'1989, helicopter rides for guests May 19, 2007 PTA-750 people, they raised $30,000 June 2008 PTA- 750 people, they raised $30,000 October Fest Rutgers 9 years October 10, 2012 may be our last party ever from 10:00 am until

including scouts, schools etc.

Life Isnt Fair

18 Monroe's own Magic Kingdom- The township of Monroe used our

facilities all summer in 1986 A list of organizations that used the place for free functions. Approximately 700 parties Jerry Kliner was a Yale professor that gave tours from 1997 to 2007. He had three to four hundred groups with several thousand people a year running from spring until Christmas. He gave tours to approximately 20,000 people throughout his years The reason Jerry Kliner stopped giving free tours were because of our finances. In the future, if we do get approval, we will continue with what we have been doing for the past forty years. Since our complex was designed to have free parties, functions, and tours, we would like to make our business nonprofit, which will ensure it will go on forever. If for some reason we cannot get approval, we will sell the property and keep 100 feet buffer around Gaydos' property, which would prevent him from selling his property to builders. .