ZBA Drones On

Crotty Hall rendering looking from the Northwest

As usual the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting last night went on for over four hours, and as is also somewhat usual they did not come to a final vote on any of the three major items discussed.  And you thought Amherst Town Meeting took forever!

First up was Stephan Gharabegian, arguably the most notorious absentee landlord in the town of Amherst.  Mr Gharabegian owns almost half the houses on Phillips Street, the most notorious street in Amherst.

33 Phillips Street

In this case he wishes to expand capacity for 33 Phillips Street, probably the most notorious house in all of Amherst.

The house is a 3-family unit meaning it can have 12 "unrelated" tenants.  But Mr. Gharabegian had, without official permit, refinished the basement for a 4th unit, thus increasing monthly rental income significantly.

And since the bootleg apartment had major health/safety violations -- no second means of egress in case of fire -- it came to the attention of Building Commissioner Rob Morra who shut down the basement apartment until the ZBA hears his case.

Which started on October 2, continued to November 6, continued to last night, and now continued yet again until June 11.

 Stephan Gharabegian addresses 3-member Zoning Board of Appeals last night

Neighbors repeatedly pointed out the detrimental impact that 33 Phillips has already had on the surrounding neighborhood (Fearing Street and Sunset Avenue) as a 3-family, so allowing it to become a 4-family will only make matters worse.

Besides, town officials should not be rewarding bad behavior, since the 4th unit was illegally created to begin with and only comes before the ZBA because he got caught.  Member Tom Ehrgood, waiving a police summary report, said the location was a "magnet for police attention."

The board was a little more receptive to another rental property with a less than sterling reputation, 164 Sunset Avenue.  They generally came to the conclusion that formalizing the house as a two family unit was reasonable, with some conditions that will be hammered out at the hearing continued to February 12.

The most surprising event of the night was a 2+ hour discussion (borderline heated) over Crotty Hall, a sleek new building proposed for 418 North Pleasant Street at the very gateway to UMass.

The Dover Amendment allows religious and educational institutes to pretty much run roughshod over local oversight except for the setback zoning requirements, which are enforced by the Building Commissioner.

In fact they are made even more stringent as the requirements in the Amherst Zoning Bylaw have to be doubled since educational and religious buildings are oftentimes HUGE and can be plopped down in the middle of a residential neighborhood.

In this case the designers did not realize that the 10 foot side setback touching Phillips Street needed to be doubled to 20 feet.  But the Amherst Building Commissioner did. 

Gordon & Crotty Hall. Dotted line top right Phillips Street property

Thus the building was totally designed, at a current investment of $222,000 (85% of which is lost if the building requires redesign), with a 10 foot side setback in mind.  Neighbors on Phillips Street are not happy.  The ZBA is caught in the middle.

Neighbors also complained that the twin building, Gordon Hall, has a noisy HVAC system that drives them crazy from April until October, and the new building will be much closer to them.

Sounding troubled, ZBA Chair Eric Beal said, "This is a hard case for me.  You relied on the 10 foot setback in good faith."

The proposed building is named for Jim and Pam Crotty, who have lived in Amherst for 40 years.

Mr. Crotty, UMass Professor Emeritus of Economics and Sheridan Scholar, spoke about bringing faculty who now work in Thompson Hall to the new building to work alongside colleagues in Gordon Hall:  "It would be superb to get this synergy between faculty and grad students."

Two members of the ZBA, Mark Parent and Tom Ehrgood, seemed convinced the extra intrusion into Phillips Street was not  "unreasonable", especially since the main UMass campus is only a snowball throw away.

Chair Eric Beal was not 100% convinced, however, and wished to see "renderings" of the new building.

The board took a five minute break so architect Sigrid Miller Pollin could pull them up from her computer.  But when the meeting resumed the renderings only showed the impact from North Pleasant Street and not from Phillips Street.

The appeal hearing was continued until February 12.  The building plan will also need review by the Amherst Planning Board for a Site Plan Approval.

Net Zero Building Approved

Red oval location Crotty Hall, Phillips Street red underline, Gordon Hall above oval

After surprising setbacks at earlier municipal meetings the new Crotty Hall, somewhat a twin to Gordon Hall at the Gateway to UMass/Amherst, received unanimous Site Plan Approval at the 2/18 Planning Board public hearing.

 Rendering from North Pleasant Street

Building Commissioner Rob Morra had determined the 10' side setback bordering Phillips Street was not in compliance (should be 20') with one of the few zoning regulations that can apply to tax-exempt educational institutes protected by the Dover Amendment.

That order was appealed to the Zoning Board of Appeals and at their 1/29 meeting a two-hour discussion ensued with neighbors complaining about noise from the current Gordon Hall and the new building possibly stealing a sliver of land from #23 Phillips Street.

Phillips Street is the most notorious street in all of Amherst mainly because it's almost entirely non-owner occupied.  Jim Turner, #23 Phillips Street, and main complainant to this new building is the only owner occupied unit on Phillips Street which directly abuts the proposed Crotty Hall.

Mr. Turner also pointed out that Crotty Hall will be tax-exempt and perhaps the Planning Board could work out a deal for Payment In Lieu Of Taxes that could go toward the forever talked about new fire station in South Amherst.

At the ZBA meeting last month some critics pointed out the  building was not directly under the control of UMass and portrayed it as almost a rogue development.  My usually reliable UMass sources could provide little information at the time because  Political Economy Research Institute is a tad hands-off from UMass proper.

But at the follow up ZBA meeting 2/12 the three member board unanimously overturned the decision of the Building Commissioner on the side setback issue.

And this time with the Planning Board they took no chances and had rookie Deputy Chancellor Robert Feldman show up to tell the PB UMass was "extremely excited" and that the "innovative building fits into their long range plans."

The Planning Board then voted unanimously (5-0 with 2 absent) to approve the Site Plan for Crotty Hall.  To the celebration of the UMass crowd in attendance. 

Baptist Church (rt), Gordon Hall (center) Phillips Street (left)

Bermuda Triangle For Civility

The first weekend of renewed joint patrols between University Massachusetts PD and Amherst PD has yielded (rotten) fruit as officers on foot patrolling Lincoln Avenue/McClure Street had to dodge a bottle thrown from the bushes by John Moffitt of Andover, MA, age 19, who was arrested for underage drinking and disorderly conduct. 

"Disorderly conduct" is an apt description for that entire area, a kind of town/UMass DMZ border, although -- as usual -- problem houses made their presence known in other areas far from the UMass campus.  Take for instance 120 Amity Street, almost in the center of town.

120 Amity Street, Amherst

APD was called at 1:39 AM early Saturday morning to clear a crowd of 150-200 "uncooperative" guests from the "one family" residence and arrested two uncooperative party hosts: Nikoli Sotil, 209 E Granby Rd, Granby, MA, age 21 and Nick Freiter, 257 School St, Taunton, MA, age 21

Police were called to #25 Hobart Lane yet again for a party of 100-150 inside the apartment and another 200 milling around the road in front around 12:30 AM early Saturday morning.  Two residents were issued noise tickets and another cited for underage drinking.

A half hour later on North Pleasant Street, within spitting distance of Hobart Lane, Andy Thach, 7 Olympia Drive, Amherst, MA, age 22 was arrested for disorderly conduct and was noted to be "extremely ETOH" (drunk).

Around that time (1:02 AM) a patrol car was flagged down on Sunset Ave by a female advising the officer another very drunk young man was trying to fight with people and he appeared to have urinated on himself.   After running down Sunset Avenue onto UMass property, he was arrested by UMPD

In the furthermost reaches of North Amherst (1:10 AM) police were breaking up a party at 198 Sunderland Road because of loud noise and with 30-40 guests near the road a car barrelled by almost hitting some in the crowd.

Police chased the gray sedan and pulled it over on Rt 116 (yes, the same highway where a UMass student only weeks away from graduation was killed last year by a drunk driver going the wrong way) and arrested the driver Kevin Chan, 352 Silver Lane, Sunderland, MA for drunk driving.

Also in North Amherst  (2:21 AM) at the intersection of Meadow Street and North Pleasant the commercial center of N. Amherst police arrested Christopher Wade for drunk driving.


And of course what would a weekend of revelry be without Phillips Street?

 45 Phillips Street

Early Sunday morning (1:16 AM) police responded yet again to 45 Phillips for a loud stereo and guests up on the roof who were "very uncooperative."  One of the guests tried to prevent the arrest of his brother and he was also arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Arrested for both Noise and Nuisance House:
Ian Reeb, 285 Highland St, Dedham, MA, age 21
Alex Bazin, 112 Country Club Rd, E. Longmeadown, MA, age 20
Joshua Scott, 33 Portulace Dr, Spfld, MA, age 20
Matthew Scott, 33 Portulace Dr, Spfld, MA, age 26
Joseph Dingmann, 814 Shore Rd, Rocassett, MA, age 21

Late Friday around midnight police observed two youthful looking individuals exiting #19 Phillips Street carrying a 12 pack of beer, an address where police had visited previously to speak to tenants about civility.  Both were issued summons for underage possession of alcohol.  

 19 Phillips Street

Around midnight Saturday police were called to 84 Sunset Avenue, a one family home actually occupied by a family, for a Breaking & Entering.  Arrested for underage drinking, open container, and destruction of property over $250 in value:

Joseph Murphy, 6227 82nd St, Middle Village, NY, age 19
Amasith Phrommavanh, 5 Fawn Circle, Old Saybrook, CT, age 18

51 Phillips Street Monday morning. Rooftop party remains.

 AFD kept busy at our institutes of higher education with ETOH (passed out drunk) and  false fire alarms

AFD Mid October Weekend 

Phillips Street Filibuster #Fail

11 Phillips Street, Amherst

By not showing up for his original "show cause hearing" before a Clerk Magistrate, Joshua Reiss, age 20, set himself up for a criminal proceeding in Eastern Hampshire District Court on Friday before a Judge for a possible felony conviction.  

He lost his case -- bringing a $1,000 fine for tampering with smoke detectors in his humble abode -- but the complaint was diverted to a civil offense, so he will not be stained for life with a felony conviction.

But considering the acts he was found guilty of, his lesson could have been a lot more costly ... like contributing to the death of a roommate.  Or the lesson you can't learn from, because you're dead.  

 APD report

AFD report

Smoke detector 11 Phillips Street: In the bag

Phillips Street has one of the largest concentrations of problem houses in the town (most of them owned by Stephan Gharabegian), but these days no neighborhoods are safe from "real estate investors" who buy up single family homes and pack them with student renters. 

 778 North Pleasant Street, Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity

Just up the road from Phillips Street, AFD Fire Prevention Officer Mike Roy recently fined the fraternity at 778 North Pleasant Street $500 for the second offense of tampering with smoke detectors. 

   UMass Frat fined safety violation

11 Phillips Street also had a second offense

Frightening Weekend Party House (s)

Hobart Lane late Saturday night.  

APD deployed the PTV (Personal Transport Vehicle) for the numerous alcohol related busts. Although kids kept referring to it as the "Paddy Wagon."

 33 Phillips Street:  come out come out wherever you are

Yeah, I guess that's the most frightening thing about my headline title:  the weekend is not even over yet and already there are enough party house contenders to bring on writers cramp from recording all the details.  With Halloween on a Wednesday the excuse to party with frightening vigor impacted this weekend, probably next weekend, and of course the actual "holiday" dead center between the two.

And now that UMass cancelled all classes Monday because of #Frankenstorm, that will -- for a tiny but destructive minority -- become yet another excuse to party all the time, party all the t-i-m-e.

But Paul Markham, Phillips Street most infamous resident, will probably not be in a celebratory mood.  Three weeks ago the young, white, hipster rap star wanna-be removed his childish ode to UMass "Welcome to the Zoo" from YouTube after garnering almost 100,000 hits and a plethora of negative comments.

 Next door to #33 Phillips

Hopefully it was something I said ...

Late last night after a patrol car spied two under aged residents consuming alcohol from an open container a black-and-white armada descended on #33 Phillips Street where police arrested 8 college aged youths, three of them for open container and underaged drinking and the other five (including Markham) for two usual town bylaw infractions, Noise and Nuisance ($300 each), as well as the unusual state charges of "keeping a noisy and disorderly house" and "disturbing the peace."

Which looks to me like officials are clearly sending a message to #33 Phillips Street.  Since Markham is tone deaf, no guarantee he will get that  message.

#####

 Town Center late last night.  Bars were very busy all night up to 1:00 AM closing

 Police arrested young man for causing a disturbance in town center late last night

Late Friday around midnight police were called to 985 North Pleasant Street and discovered about 100 youth milling about outside and another 50 in the house.  One young lad got things off to a bad start by being particularly uncooperative and attempted to flee on foot.  He then resisted arrest, assaulted an officer and broke his expensive flashlight.

 985 North Pleasant Street

Andrew DeAngelo, 44 Auriga St, Dorcherster, Ma, age 20 arrested for open container, underage drinking, A&B on an officer, resisting arrest, disorderly, and destruction of property.

Arrested for Noise and Nuisance:

April Dawn Huff-Ring, 6 Hathway, Arlington, Ma, age 21
Jonathan Weingart, 200 Hudson St, Northborough, age 22
Cathryn Alyse Carmichael, 62 Reardons Field Ln, Attleboro Falls, Ma, age  21
Daniel Harold Fenichel, 985 N Pleasant st, Amherst, Ma, age 21


Arrested for noise:
William Hickey, 182 Hollaston Ave, Arlington, Ma, age 22
Scott Baron, 3 Stonecleave Ln, Swampscott, Ma, age 22

Ownership card for 985 North Pleasant Street, Amherst

 #####

Around 1:00 AM early Saturday police busted up a loud party at 219 East Pleasant Street because of noise and "lots of people spilling into the street."

219 East Pleasant Street

Arrested for noise:

Erik Doty, 26 Plain Rd, Hollis, NH, age 21

Nicholas Powers, 5 Nolan Ave, Milford, Ma, age 21

Cameron Smith, 11 Maple St, Upton, Ma, age 21

David Hoch, 219 East Pleasant, Amherst, Ma, age 21

#####

And a party weekend would not be complete without an apartment complex joining in the fray: 1:10 AM Salem Place Condos lower Main Street. Loud noise and stereo. "Clearly unreasonable" according to APD first responder.

And the reporting party said they had warned the residents earlier to quiet down or they were going to call the police.

Arrested for Noise: Ashley Ann Zimmerman, 120 Curtis Ave, Attleboro, Ma, age 20 Kelly Elizabeth Marsh, 7 Ward Ln, Medway, Ma, age 20 Deryn Lee O'Brien, 652 Lynn Fells Parkway, Melrose, Ma, age 20

#####

Which leads me to me to just one more, exceedingly sobering thing.

An old friend and long-time Amherst resident forwarded me an email response she received just this morning that left her in tears, from a 26 year old, Chinese-born American woman serving in Afghanistan as an occupational therapist.

Hello XXX,

Thank you so much!!! I just got your box of goodies and we love them. The cookies are all gone. 

I have 10 soldiers (wounded) with me from a smaller military location of only 200-300 total soldiers.  A few days ago they were under attack and many were injured.  According to them, they do not have hot showers and food most of time. Their living condition is similar to a 3rd world country ... if not worse.

They loved your cookies and some of the younger soldiers (18-20yr) cried while they were eating them.

You made my day with all the sweet and lovely reading materials. I gave them to the soldiers who needed them more.  

I am really proud to be an American and really proud of myself and the job I do here. God placed me in this location.  This job allows job me to assist others, while giving me a bigger dream and better appreciation of life and freedom.

Thank you for being my supporter and friend. Please, pray for our Soldiers

 

Party House of the Weekend

45 Phillips Street

Once again a weekend that was relatively quiet compared to the bad ol' days of just two or three years past.  Our only Party House, with two arrests for Noise & Nuisance, occurred on Phillips Street the most notorious street in Amherst.

 Click to enlarge/read

45 Phillips Street to be exact, owned by the most notorious absentee landlord in Amherst, Stephan Gharabegian, who also owns another three houses on Phillips Street, #37,#33, and #11.

Only one house out of all nine on the street is owner occupied.  And the front bookend on North Pleasant Street is a fraternity.

Phillips Street located adjacent to UMass

In Eastern Hampshire District Court this morning both underage individuals took the standard plea deal offered by the Commonwealth: Pay one of the $300 tickets and stay out of trouble for the next four months.

Adrian Lech, age 20

Jason Rubenstein, age 20

More Beds Than A Barracks

 11 Phillips Street, Amherst (but touching UMass)

The crackdown continues on Phillips Street, the slummiest street in Amherst.  Over the weekend police busted 33 Phillips Street, arresting eight young men (including UMass party anthem "singer" Paul Markham) for rowdy behavior, and now 11 Phillips Street is in the crosshairs.

Of course both dwellings are owned by the "King of the Decadent Street", Stephan Gharabegian.  And yes, notice 11 Phillips is catagorized by our assessor as a "one family" dwelling, meaning only four (4!) unrelated housemates can set up shop under that particular roof.

From: McKay, Donald, Assistant Fire Chief
To: amherstac
Sent: Wed, Oct 31, 2012 1:51 pm
Subject: 11 Phillips St.

Larry,

              The following is the verbatim copy of the email I sent to the Building Commissioners office yesterday:            

At approximately 10:00 am today the Fire Department was contacted by APD Lt Ron Young who had concerns about the fire safety of the occupants residing at 11 Phillips St.

APD had obtained a criminal search warrant and discovered the fire safety concerns upon gaining entry to the residence. I responded and conducted a fire safety inspection.

My findings are as follows: The fire alarm system panel was in trouble and I question whether or not it was serviceable.  No permit has been issued for the new panel. I found a first floor pull station that had been activated and not reset.  I have no record of a fire department response to this address.

14 students in residence in the single family occupancy per APD. 1 bedroom with 2 beds on the 1^st floor with 2 additional mattresses stored under each bed, 2 bedrooms with 2 beds each on the 3^rd floor (# 7 & 8). Covered, disabled, or missing smoke detectors east and west bedroom, basement rooms 4, 5, 6, 9, 2^nd floor rooms 7, 8, 3^rd floor. Access to the fire alarm panel obstructed. Egress from the kitchen obstructed.

This spring and summer, Health, Fire, and Building inspected this residence on the 29^th of June and the 17 of August.  Each inspection found the same number of bedrooms or possible bedrooms.  The owner did not allow us entry into most of the bedrooms as they were occupied and locked.

The students will not be allowed to sleep in the building until the fire alarm system is returned to service. I was able to make contact with the owner who was in New York and he did arrange to have the fire alarm system placed back in service.  I checked on this about 5:30PM last night.

Mike Roy is at the National Fire Academy this week but he and I have talked and upon his return we will issue fire safety violations to the owner.

Assistant Chief Donald R. McKay,
EMT-P, MPH Amherst Fire Department

The (Springfield) Republican reports

Yet Another Underground Frat

45 Phillips Street: Broken Window (bottom left) theory in action 

If you are not zoned for it you probably should not create a public frathouse Facebook page and post to it pictures of a front porch full of residents in a "one family" house that can legally shelter only four (4) unrelated tenants.

Or, interestingly enough, register at UMass/Amherst as an RSO and use that illegal address for official contact information. Apparently UMass does not do much vetting for Fraternities and Sororities.

Even more interesting the photo shown of the house on the official town assessors card shows a "Grand Opening" banner across the upper floor!  Gotta wonder whether it was for the grand opening of Alpha Delta Phi, or a late night bar ... or both.

Naturally this bootleg building is owned by Stephen Gharabegian who also owns 11 Phillips Street currently under investigation for being an "underground Frathouse" and an "illegal bar" as well as being a Station Nightclub waiting to happen.

Frat paraphernalia on side porch of 45 Phillips Street this morning

No wonder this neighborhood is such a late night weekend attraction!

Town officials and UMass need to get serious about substandard housing on Phillips Street, which pretty much means the entire street.

The Amherst Redevelopment Authority should take the property by eminent domain, flatten it, and rebuild high-end housing that would attract more responsible graduate students and faculty with families and would pay way higher property taxes than the current undervalued properties.

UPDATE:  9:10 PM

So I just heard from Matt a "representative from the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity" stating that my post "constitutes libel, and if it is not removed immediately we will pursue legal action."  Of course he then goes on to admit that Alpha Delta Phi frat members did indeed occupy 45 Phillips Street but "we do not live there anymore"

He then goes on to rat out another unnamed frat:  "In regards to the paddles that you saw at the residence, those do not belong to the Alpha Delta Phi and are in fact a different fraternities paddles. Currently a few members of a different fraternity which is not associated with us in anyway live there."

Not that I keep score, but that makes the third legal threat this week (up from the normal one or two).  Truly, I'm on a roll.

No Expansion For You!

33 Phillips Street this morning

Last night in the 4th hearing stretching out over 9 months the Zoning Board of Appeals denied the Special Permit for 33 Phillips Street; perhaps the most notorious rental property in all of Amherst; located on the most notorious street in Amherst,; owned by Stephan Gharabegian, perhaps the most notorious landlord in all of Amherst.

Building Commissioner Rob Morra had discovered an illegal 4th unit in the basement with improper fire safety protection and other violations.  A cease and desist order was issued 5/20/14 requiring Gharabegian "remove the basement unit."

 Stephan Gharabegian (leaning forward chin in hand)

Instead the owner appealed the decision by applying to the ZBA for a Special Permit to formally allow the 4th unit. The Building Commissioner put a stay on his order, although no tenants were allowed in the basement unit over the past 9 months.

Normally a Special Permit process like this takes two or three months.

The hearings were continued numerous times because Gharabegian failed to provide basic information required by the ZBA, including updated floor plans and approval from the Conservation Commission for the parking lot expansion and realignment near a wetland.

After about 45 minutes of discussion it became clear the Special Permit, which requires a unanimous vote, was not going to be approved.  Gharabegian then stated his "best option was to withdraw the application."  But that too requires a unanimous vote of the board.

 Eric Beal Chairs his final ZBA meeting after 8 years of service

In his final meeting, after 8 years of service on the ZBA, Chair Eric Beal stated he would deny the permit both on its merits and because of a lack of due diligence submitting all the paperwork on the part of Mr. Gharabegian.

   33 Phillips Street Timeline

At 7:45 PM, one hour after the start of the hearing, the board voted unanimously to deny the permit.  Gharabegian cannot reapply for two years and by then Building Commissioner Morra will have enforced his original order to "remove the basement unit."

186 College Street

Two hours later the ZBA took up  another Gharabegian Special Permit request concerning his property at 186 College Street, where he wished to legalize a 3rd unit in a house only permitted for two units.

Senior Planner Jeff Bagg pointed out that, similar to the 33 Phillips Street situation, Mr. Gharabegian has "made some effort" but not nearly enough to consider the paperwork complete.

The ZBA quickly turned the tone of discussion to allowing a "withdrawal without prejudice."  Mark Parent said he was fine with that but would allow only 7 days for a new and complete application to be submitted or the $100/day in fines start accumulating.

Member Tom Ehrgood thought 10 days was too draconian saying "If we allow the withdrawal we should allow a reasonable time period for the reapplication."  Looking at Mr. Parent he then said, "How about 10 days?"  Parent slowly nodded his head up and down saying, "Yes."

Although Mr. Parent originally assumed it was 10 calender days, and had to be convinced to change it to 10 business days.  

Just before the board came to a unanimous vote allowing the withdrawal Mark Parent looked directly at Gharabegian and said, "I hope you get it done, and that there's no fines necessary."

Time will tell.  And not all that much time, as the ten day period starts today.

   186 College St timeline

#####

The ZBA is one of the most important public bodies in Amherst.  With Mr. Beal's retirement the Select Board will be looking for a dedicated, patient volunteer (with thick skin) to replace him.  Citizen Activity Forms can be accessed here. 

King of the decadent street

Sunday Morning after a rough Saturday night

Decadence and student party houses go together like pizza and beer. Take Phillips Street for instance (and the Amherst Redevelopment Authority could), scene of a major disturbance last weekend--specifically 33 Phillips Street, where 11 arrests occurred on Saturday night starting as early as 6:46 PM.

The house is owned by STEPHAN GHARABEGIAN under protection of a Limited Liability Partnership KNIGHT PROPERTIES LLC (with his wife, Angela.)

In addition to this party house the pair own three others on Phillips Street (#11, #37, #45) thus making a total of 4 out-of-nine, almost half the housing for a street the ARA consultant deemed "decadent".

Color schematic of the Gateway area showing properties with decadent conditions (Phillips Street, where all but one wins the prize)
#########################################
To: Larry Kelley
Sent: Mon, May 2, 2011 8:43 pm
Subject: towns reputation...

Hi Larry,

My teen daughter had a soccer game on Sunday on the UMass campus against a team from Maine. As we waited for a game against a Rhode Island team to end, I heard the out of towners talking. They were going on about how disgusting it was on their way to campus and said they "would NEVER send their kids to school there." They were talking about the party remnants, beer cans, trash, etc. I started to defend our town and explain the Hobart mess and just stopped. It isn't just that weekend, and we all see it. I was actually embarrassed and didn't say another word. Do you think sharing this with someone at UMass or the town manager would make any difference at all?

Mary

Let's hope Mary...let's hope.

A Decadent Crown Jewel

11 Phillips Street, Amherst/UMass border

Since Stephan Gharabegian is the "King of the Decadent Street", owning almost half the hovels on Phillips Street, the slum capital of Amherst & UMass,  I hereby dub (dripping in sarcasm) 11 Phillips Street his crown jewel. 

Exhibit A:  The most recent Board of Health investigation report that found 11 Phillips Street to be "in violation of the Minimum Standard of Fitness for Human Habitation."

11 Phillips St Health Dept report




Exhibit B:  The most recent Amherst Fire Department investigation citation that found dangerous shortcomings in fire safety requirements and flagrantly ignoring an order to stop using a one-family dwelling (maximum of 4 unrelated tenants) as a boarding house with 13 tenants.

An overcrowded abode, lots of alcohol and defunct fire alarms is a sure fire formula for catastrophe.

11 Phillips St AFD Ticket

And clearly, a recent Worcester Housing Court decision reaffirms the ability of cities and towns to enforce unrelated tenant zoning restrictions.  The town has known about the overcrowded conditions at 11 Philips since at least last June when the Health Department did their inspection.

Yet when Amherst police raided the address on October 30, to shut down an illegal basement bar, that busload of students still lived there.  The town needs to get serious about overcrowded illegal living conditions.  Before a tragedy occurs.

Preventable Deaths = Priceless

11 Phillips Street

Any good fire prevention expert will tell you the best way to prevent fire related deaths is not to let The Beast form in the first place.  And nothing is better at accomplishing that then a sprinkler system.

Number two on the list is an early warning system that allows notification to residents to get out of the structure as quickly as possible i.e. smoke or heat detectors as well as simultaneously sending notification to a professional alarm monitoring company.  

But those detectors are worthless if they have been purposely disabled or simply not maintained properly, like changing the battery every year.

Take 11 Phillips Street -- and I wish somebody with eminent domain powers would take that entire street -- for instance:   In Eastern Hampshire District Court last week Fire Prevention Officer Mike Roy won yet another "disabling a smoke detector" case.

 Click to enlarge/read

While an $800 fine may seem steep for Mr. Weiner had AFD pressed to keep the mater criminal he would could have served up to two years in jail because the charge is a felony.

Instead, in a Clerk Magistrate Hearing, he was found "responsible" but as long as he abides by the four conditions the matter will be dismissed in November.

 Terms of settlement written up by his lawyer

And since he is one of only four who supposedly lives at 11 Phillips (but notice he identified himself as a "Fraternity Vice President ... hmmm) and rent is a whopping $4,800 per month, I think he -- or his Fraternity -- can well afford the fine. 

Beats being dead.

APD Community Liaison officer Bill Laramee (left) and absentee property owner Stephan Gharabegian this morning at 45 Phillips Street after first meeting at 11 Phillips Street

 AFD Fire Prevention Officer Mike Roy files complaint with Eastern Hampshire District Court on 4/26

A Ray of Hope

 Sunset Avenue:  A Street On The Brink

Six years ago in testimony before our Zoning Board on a hearing to allow a house to become a fraternity, neighbors described Phillips Street, the street contiguous with our number one employer UMass, as being at a "tipping point", with almost half the homes on the street owned by absentee landlords renting mostly to students.

Today eight-out-of-nine houses are non owner occupied, and Phillips Street is the slum capital of Amherst.

So I hate it when residents of nearby Lincoln Avenue and Sunset Avenue describe their bucolic residential neighborhood as being at a "tipping point," which indeed they are.  And I fear that they too will go the way of Phillips Street.

While enforcement of nuisance house bylaws is only one component of the "safe and healthy neighborhood" initiative, it is a vital one.  And I firmly believe it is making a difference.

But everyone needs to do their part.  As with the war on terror: if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

#####

Dear Resident of Sunset Avenue,

I graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in May 2012. While a student at UMass I lived at 164 Sunset Avenue during the fall of 2011. 

I am writing to you to apologize for my role in the public disruptions that came from my house last fall, and the ensuing problems they may have caused you and your family.

To give you some background, I moved into 164 Sunset Avenue because it was the most affordable off-campus living option I could find at the time ($350/month). As someone who financed their own education, I did not have many economically feasible options for off-campus housing. 

Moreover, as someone who did not own a car, the house’s location and its proximity to campus was appealing to me. Unfortunately, I only knew one resident in the house before I moved in, and I soon learned that it was a “party house.”

My decision to move into this house still pains me to this day. Most notably, because of the night I was arrested. On this night, I was in my bedroom in the basement watching a movie with a friend. Upstairs, my roommates had company (as they usually did) and were playing loud music.

While in my bedroom I heard a knock at the backdoor. This person turned out to be a police officer. He asked me if I lived in the house, to which I responded yes. He then requested that I step outside to speak to him. I obliged, not entirely sure of what was going on. Immediately, he arrested me for a noise violation.

After my arrest, I was so worried that I could again get in trouble for something my roommates did that I slept on a friend’s futon for the remainder of the semester, in order to avoid any possible future problems. When the fall semester I ended, I immediately found someone to sublet my room to, and I finished my senior year in a dorm on campus. 

I am writing to you over a year after the incident occurred because time passed has provided time for reflection. Despite not playing an active role in the partying that came from my house, I did not play an active role in stopping it. Perhaps if I did, I would not have been arrested, and you would have had a quieter street.

Moreover, as a resident of 164 Sunset I was equally responsible for what took place inside my house, and because of this I owe you and your family an apology.
 
I hope you accept this letter of apology on behalf of my roommates and I, and I wish you the best as Amherst Police continue their crackdown on rowdiness. As someone who lived on Sunset Avenue I know how difficult it can be.

Hopefully, my letter of apology offers some kind of solace or at the very least an empathetic perspective from a former UMass student.

Regards,

Former Resident of 164 Sunset Avenue

164 Sunset Avenue, in the shadow of UMass

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Good Fence = Good Neighbors

45 Phillips Street now fenced in

So I could not help but notice a spiffy new fence enclosing the postage stamp front yard at 45 Phillips Street, one of the more decadent houses on a street that wears decadence like a charm, and a regular stopping place for Amherst Police Department.

 

45 Phillips Street 3/29/13 (note cars on front "lawn" )

I asked Building Commissioner Rob Morra under Public Documents Law for the letter/threat he sent to owner Stephan Gharabegian that resulted in a pang of remorse for bad housekeeping, but was told the exchange took place over the phone.

"I made a call to Mr.Gharabegian a couple weeks ago to explain that improvements were necessary to address the parking issues at 45 Phillips Street.  The following Monday this fence along with a couple of plantings were installed.  At this point, I am satisfied with his response and will monitor the property to determine if the improvements are effective."

The good news represented by this new fence is that if the most notorious landlord in Amherst can respond to a little official coaxing there's solid hope for the new Residential Rental Property Bylaw that will pass Town Meeting next month.

After all, the vast majority of landlords in Amherst are conscientious law abiding citizens who care about the quality of life in our little college town. 

We hope.