Who ya gonna call?

Large crowd starting to form Townhouse Apartments around noon

A huge contingent of UMass police helped APD prevent another "Blarney Blowout" yesterday with a great number of officers patrolling in a highly visibility manner the usual hotspots, especially in North Amherst:  Meadow Street, scene of the "Blarney Blowout riot" and Hobart Lane, home of the infamous "Hobart Hoedown," and all along North Pleasant Street which cuts through the heart of UMass, our omnipresent neighbor for 150 years.

Townhouse Apartments main entry

At one point around 4:00 PM Hadley Police called for UMPD's special tactical unit (a four person rapid response team stationed at AFD North Station) to assist with an out of control party, but had to fend on their own as the unit was busy dealing with problems in North Amherst.

But the problems in Amherst never reached the level of a month ago when a great number of State Police were required to quell the rowdy throng at Townhouse Apartments.

Let's hope our local PDs can maintain this level of vigilance over the next five weeks.

UMPD officers help disperse large crowd starting to gather Townhouse Apartments

Townhouse Apartments West entrance

Bumper to bumper Meadow Street traffic early afternoon

Rooftop party Meadow Street, North Amherst center

Joint APD UMPD checkpoint Hobart Lane

Party House North Pleasant Street

He Said, She Said

The accidental Sunday fire, caused by careless disposal of a cigarette,  killed two; the next day Gregory Levey purposely immolated himself in town center using two gallons of turpentine

The 911 call came in early Sunday morning at 6:21 a.m. while most of Amherst was still fast asleep.  Smoke was billowing from the roof of a large two family dwelling on North Pleasant Street on the northern outskirts of town center, the kind of report -- called a "box alarm" -- that gets the undivided attention of emergency dispatch, who then instantly radios APD and AFD.

 284 North Pleasant Street

Despite the desperate attempts of first responders to quell the flames,  two students died from smoke inhalation.  The house was divided into two apartment units, each with six occupants, a violation of Amherst's zoning ordinance limiting unrelated tenants to only four.

Additionally the attic, where the deaths occurred, had been turned into bedrooms without a second means of egress, a clear violation of building safety codes.   

That was February 17, 1991.  Fast forward to September 19, 2012: A fire starts in an (illegal) basement bedroom apartment at #28 Gilreath Manor on Hobart Lane, quite possibly due to an overloaded electrical circuit.  Fortunately the blaze starts near high noon rather than late at night, so it is quickly extinguished by AFD.

 Gilreath Manor, Hobart Lane, Amherst

The basements are not zoned as a sleeping space, do not have an approved second means of escape and some lacked working smoke detectors.

Later that day town authorities receive an email and phone calls from residents concerned that building owner Grandonico Properties systematically wants students to hide evidence of illegal basement bedrooms from town inspectors.

Town officials keep the matter quiet (this is after all Amherst, where even the H is silent), but managed to get Grandonico to make basic safety upgrades to all the units. 

But now Grandonico Properties is fighting an official order from Building Commissioner Rob Morra to cease and desist renting to more than four unrelated tenants, a violation of town zoning bylaw.  The owners response mimics the three monkeys:   see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil.

In other words, it's all the students' fault.  Grandonico only allows four tenants to sign the lease, therefore they cannot be legally held responsible if more than that occupy the space.

Interestingly, however, their lease states:  "Any payment not received from a Lessee shall only be accepted, if at all, on behalf of the Lessees and shall not constitute any relationship or tenancy with said party."  In other words, we will take the money but the look the other way from who may be contributing to the final amount.

In an official response to the Building Commissioner's order, Grandonico Properties, LLC is taking the matter to the Zoning Board of Appeals on December 20 ... Unfortunately when UMass is on break, thus making it unlikely students will come testify about what they were told by the owners when first signing a lease.

Even more interesting, the owners are trying to force the "legal" residents to sign a statement "under the pains and penalties of perjury" that they are the only occupants authorized to live in said premises. 

Since Building Commissioner Morra has yet to actually issue a fine to Grandonico Properties, it's unclear what legal standing can be created by the Zoning Board of Appeals, as only Amherst Town Meeting can modify or change the four unrelated tenants bylaw.  And an appeal of a monetary fine would go before a judge in District Court.

The permits acquired when the basement egress windows were installed were for an occupied space to be used as a study or entertainment room not a bedroom.  Thus the owners may not find the Zoning Board overly sympathetic to their cause. 

Either way, Grandonico Properties should have realized they got off easy.  What if that blaze on September 19, 2012 had been a replay of the tragic 2/19/91 fire?  They would now be facing jail time.

Obviously somebody has failed to learn from history.

Blarney Blowout 2015

Sagacious Fade user figured it out well before noon

UPDATE Sunday afternoon:

Ultra-reliable source confirms the total number of Law Enforcement Officers involved with snuffing out the Blarney Blowout yesterday was 225.

Since the Western Mass Mutual Aid regional agreement calls for the "host community" to cover the bill for a "pre-planned event," UMass has graciously stepped up to accept full responsibility, rather than the town of Amherst.

Classy move UMass/Amherst!

#####

A sea of uniformed officers strategically stationed in all the usual trouble spots snuffed out the Blarney Blowout.  Decisively. With very few arrests and NO violence.

 Brisk start to the morning

The main difference this year was advance planning, a seemingly endless supply of police personnel and of course THE WEATHER.  Townhouse Apartments, ground zero the last few years for rowdy behavior, remained a cold barren tundra.

 Hard to miss contingent of state and local PD at Townhouse and North Village Apartments

Hobart Lane

Lincoln Avenue/Fearing Street intersection near UMass Southwest

Puffton Village

Police also blocked off the main entrances to these trouble spots and allowed only residents entry.  A modus operandi that was also used at North Village, Puffton Village, Phillips Street, Nutting Ave and of course Hobart Lane.

Phillips Street

 No guest policy at UMass and no visitor parking at apartment complexes kept down the crowds

The MSP helicopter paid a visit bright and early to North Amherst and maintained a highly visible -- and auditory -- presence.

 MSP Air One

The Mullins Center concert attracted thousands of students off the streets so that too was a BIG help.

  Long line of students waiting to get into Mullins Center concert 11:30 AM

And yes, maybe having the half dozen downtown bars not open until 4:00 PM also contributed since it certainly kept college aged youth from swamping town center like they did in previous years.

Long line waiting for Stacker's to open at 4:00 PM

Girl Scouts cookies for sale town center

Equipment:

UMPD Incident Command vehicle set up at Puffton Village Apartments

 

APD Personal Transport Vehicle 

 Mass Fire Services Special Operations vehicle staged at Wildwood School

Many police vehicles staged at Wildwood School 

 

The price tag for all the additional personnel and equipment plus the free concert at the Mullins Center is indeed sizable. But the damage done last year to the town, University and student body is incalculable.

Whatever the cost for today ... it was worth it!

Only 365 days until Blarney 2016.
— ZooMass (@ZooMass) March 8, 2015

Let's get Physical

 45 Phillips Street

Student rowdyism escalated yet another notch late last night as Amherst Police officers had to physically defend themselves against combative college aged youth jet-fueled by alcohol, a danger to innocent bystanders, first responders and themselves.

Last week two drunk students unabashedly fighting in a downtown restaurant got physical with a female Amherst police officer who was attempting to break it up, and early this morning the violent response to APD officers continued unabated.

Around 12:30 AM an officer noticed a disturbance at 45 Phillips Street with about 20-30 males on the front porch yelling and throwing punches at each other.  In trying to break up the melee one of the perps "attempted to free his friend" from the cops hold and had to be pinned against a fence and placed under arrest.:


Officers later cited the house, owned by Stephan Gharabegian, with a $300 ticket for violation of the town's Nuisance House Bylaw.

Arrested for Disorderly Conduct and possession of liquor under age 21:

Kevin John Defusco, 5 Depot Road, Westford, MA, age 19  (UMass student)

Gilreath Manor, Hobart Lane 

 Around 2:00 AM police were called to Hobart Lane apartment #26 Gilreath Manor for reports of a fight involving ten individuals.  In breaking up the disturbance an officer was hit with pepper spray and required a response from AFD to rinse his eyes.

Arrested for Assault & Battery on a police officer, A&B with a dangerous weapon (pepper spray), Resisting Arrest, and Disorderly Conduct:

James M Robinson, 10 Truman Circle, Springfield, MA, age 19   (UMass student)

Around 2:45 AM police responded to 15/17 Fearing Street for reports of a "highly ETOH" (drunk) individual "throwing bottles at people."

 15 Fearing Street    (managed by Kendrick Management)

The responding officer was greeted by a dozen young men on the front porch who stated Jonathan Jacobs was "going crazy," throwing bottles and other items at them.  Due to his violent behavior they had evacuated the house.  Jacobs was located in his upstairs room but immediately became combative, assaulting one officer with his shoulder and knocking over another.  At APD headquarters he refused to identify himself and was held on $2,500 bail.

Arrested for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (bottles), Disorderly Conduct, Resisting Arrest, A & B on a police officer:

Jonathan Daniel Jacobs, 225 Maryann Way, North Attleborough, MA, age 22  (UMass student)

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Meanwhile around 1:15 AM police responded to a report of a motor vehicle crash on Mattoon Street near Amherst Regional High School.  The driver reported swerving to avoid a pedestrian and lost control because of the "wet roads", but an eyewitness had another different version not involving a pedestrian.  The driver was given a field sobriety test and failed. 

Arrested for OUI Liquor and Marked Lanes Violation:

Daniel T. Kearney, 21 Wing Rd, Lynnfield, MA, age 21  (UMass student)

#####

Sadly, at 1:43 AM, UMass police, APD and AFD responded to a male who fell and hit his head near the Newman Center, UMass.  The first officer on the scene reported the male was on the ground surrounded by friends who confirmed he "had been drinking" and suddenly collapsed, hitting his head.  

AFD transported the unconscious young man to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, where he is reported to be on a breathing machine in the Critical Care Unit.

UPDATE (Monday afternoon): The young man was released from the hospital Sunday at 2:30 PM.  Let's hope he learned a lesson.

Yet Another Smoking Gun

Email sent by AFD to select influential Amherst individuals:

From: "McKay, Donald" <McKayD@amherstma.gov>
Date: September 18, 2012 1:44:49 PM EDT

I thought that I would apprise you of a situation in which your assistance would be welcomed. Last Thursday the Fire Department responded to a basement fire at # 28 Hobart Lane. 28 Hobart Lane is one of the 14 units that Lincoln Realty owns and manages in the 3 apartment buildings collectively called Gillreath Manor Apartments. The basement contained 2 illegal bedrooms. One of these would be considered to be OK as a bedroom with some modifications as directed by the Building Commissioner. The second bedroom 1) physically cannot be used as bedroom and 2) exceeds the maximum occupancy of 4.

Currently, the Fire Department, Health Department, and Building Commissioners office are awaiting the opportunity to inspect all 14 units in the complex. On Monday the 17^th of September, we were invited to inspect 2 of the 14 units. We observed two rooms, constructed without permits, in each basement with no beds contained therein. We did observe two beds that had been stacked beneath the stairs in each occupancy.

The issue: We have one email and now one phone call from the displaced occupants that clearly indicate that they have been instructed by Lincoln reality to remove the evidence of the two illegal bedrooms until after the combined inspections. We are working with the University to acquire permanent residence hall accommodations for the 14 students who will be displaced from the 5^th bedroom in each unit. It appears that the 28 students displaced from the basement bedrooms are in need of temporary accommodations and I believe that Lincoln Realty needs to step up and procure these temporary living arrangements.

The charade needs to end and these kids need safe housing.. To date, we believe that we (the combined inspection departments) have not proceeded in an untoward manner, we have withheld action through an administrative search warrant instead seeking to act cooperatively with Lincoln Realty to inspect the apartments and we are very cautiously approaching a cease and desist order to compel Lincoln Realty to reduce the occupancy of the apartments to 4.

Any assistance you may be able to provide in motivating Lincoln Realty to provide the necessary temporary housing would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Don

Assistant Chief Donald R. McKay, EMT-P, MPH

Amherst Fire Department

Discussion on UMass Reddit 

Busy Super Bowl weekend for AFD

Hobart Lane's much maligned dumpster

Not to confuse anyone with the headline, because the on-campus revelry did not seem to add much of a burden to the Amherst Fire Department above and beyond their "normal" hectic routine for weekends in a "college town."

The dumpster at Hobart Lane, scene of 30 previous fires before a perp was recently bagged red handed (currently no longer enrolled at UMass) was again the scene of wasteful, destructive fires late Friday and Sunday evenings. As Chief Nelson points out, when AFD responds to such a nuisance fire that ties up resources so they can't respond instantly to a "real" emergency.

And notice once again a cluster of ETOH (passed out drunk) calls late Friday early Saturday once again tied up ALL our on-duty resources, leaving the entire town (and regional towns who rely on our EMS) under the protection of the volunteer Student Force.

And in spite of their impressive capabilities, not a super situation.

You Can't Get There From Here

You may have noticed all those bright yellow additions appearing on our regular street signs that almost resemble stickers, informing drivers not to come sightseeing unless they have a good reason.

Maybe it's part of being a "green community," reducing the extra gas consumed when a lost vehicle goes down the wrong street, or just an easy way to keep the peace in neighborhoods where some folks don't like lost vehicles using their driveway to turn around.

DPW Chief Guilford Mooring reports the signs come with no additional cost to taxpayers because the new "No Outlet" is simply added to the routine design and then used whenever a street sign is replaced.

A sign replacement costs the town $250.  So in case you ever wondered why the (infamous) Hobart Lane street sign is twice as high up as a regular sign ...

Hobart Lane (also a "no outlet" street)

No Scarlet Letters Here

Abandoned house (but not the property) on South East Street

So to repeat what I wrote yesterday about the coordinated PR surge Amherst and UMass are now jointly putting forth on the their solutions to problem party houses in town, I question if either has the will to actually back up their tough talk.  And now, for your consideration, I present exhibit B:

Board of Health Problem Houses

Interesting that this "list" of dwellings the Board of Health has dealt with since the June 30 start of FY13 does not give exact addresses?

When a public health problem rises to the level of being placed on a watch list, that list becomes a public document.   And since the Board of Health is an investigatory body with state mandated powers I assume they put the exact address on their list.

So why protect them from public exposure?  Don't neighbors have a right to know about a problem house in their neighborhood (although they are usually all too familiar).  Isn't that why the state has a Sex Offender rule for public exposure of their whereabouts?

Notice the Board of Health has issued only one fine (to a house somewhere on Glendale Road) out of the 60 or so locations on the list, or under 2%.  No indication if it was for the $50 minimum or $1,000 maximum, or anywhere in between.

And it's also interesting that this fine was issued only last week.  Since this powerpoint slide is to be presented tomorrow night to the Amherst Select Board as part of the Town Manager's report on "Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods", a conspiracy theorist might think they just randomly picked one token house to fine in order to demonstrate toughness. 

At least the 9/13 basement apartment fire at Gilreath Manor on Hobart Lane shows up (but only as "Hobart Lane").  At least we now have an official admission from the town that those basement apartments were indeed illegal.  And they have given the owners an "Order To Correct"... at least.

That seems to be an apt description for the efforts the town and UMass are showing for enforcement action:  At least.

And a sternly worded letter too!

DUI Dishonor Roll

Mass State Police arrested just over 5,000 drunk drivers last year

Just as last month's "Blarney Blowout" acted as a terrible turning point for town and UMass officials who now, finally, seem serious about addressing rowdy off campus student behavior (besides handing out oatmeal cookies) Saturday's shenanigans should also act as a wake up call on drunk driving.

Before someone gets killed.

Again!

At the very least it's time for another State Police "sobriety checkpoint" and this time it should be in the heart of UMass (North Pleasant Street) or Amherst town center.

Amherst police arrested four drunk drivers on Saturday late afternoon into early Sunday morning.  Yes, four.  All of them UMass students.  Most of them at times of the day when working folks and their families are going about their daily routine.

Like the head on, wrong way collision in the busiest intersection in Amherst town center at 4:55 PM on a busy Saturday which resulted in the arrest of Taylor Estupinan, age 22.  How many of you were out and about Saturday around that time, sharing the road with a potential killer?

 Raymond F. Racine

Or how about Raymond F. Racine also age 22, who almost ran over a cop at the Hobart Lane checkpoint?

Joint APD UMPD checkpoint Hobart Lane, hard to miss, but not if you're drunk

Or Matthew Collins, age 20, who committed hit and run on a grove of arborvitaes on Pine Street before dusk on Saturday.   Arrested for DUI and a bevy of other charges related to negligent operation of a deadly weapon.

Or Briana Virginia Roy, age 21, arrested for DUI early Sunday morning after drawing attention to her drunken self by speeding and following a car to closely.  A potentially deadly combination.

Like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, drunk drivers bring on sorrow and misery. These four Perps were lucky to have survived.

And so were we.

DUI Dishonor Role

 Drunk driver jumped curb, hit building, early Saturday morning

The name, address, age and link to a Facebook page I would love to lead with is Missing In Action because the perp managed to slink away -- even though the car rolled off on a front tire flattened by hurtling over a granite curb and hitting a proverbial brick wall.

Anyone who was out late Friday night knows how busy it was (mostly with college aged youths dressed up in Halloween costumes), even after the midnight hour, so I would image there were still a few pedestrians staggering home around 2:33 AM when the drunk driver lost control of his vehicle and slammed into the side of a brick building on Main Street.

After the crash two occupants tumbled out and were picked up and driven back to 675 Main Street by a person they had met earlier at a party on Hobart Lane.   Soon thereafter, someone from that Main Street address called authorities requesting medical attention for two college aged youths who had been "car crash victims".

Hmm...

Hobart Lane, a party house on lower Main Street and a drunk driver ... doesn't it all just fit?  Fortunately the only thing missing is a coroner's sheet.

You got away this time pal, and you probably have driven drunk all too many times before.  But your time is coming.  I just hope it happens before you kill someone.

#####

Cell phone callers reporting a yellow jeep that hit a utility pole at the new Atkins Corner roundabouts led police to the vehicle crashed a second time into a ditch on nearby Bay Road, South Amherst.  Arrested for DUI, driving while unlicensed, operating to endanger and leaving the scene of property damage:

Jeremy Carroll, 23 Hulst Road, Amherst, Ma, age 21

#####

Failing to stop at a stop sign around midnight Saturday, led to the arrest of James Ryan Macgregor, 819 Summer Street, Manchester, NH, age 19 for running the stop sign and DUI.

#####

And Friday around midnight police arrested Robert Danielson, 24 Hillcrest Rd, Burlington, VT, age 23 who appeared to have "blood shot, glassy eyes" and blew a .156% on the Portable Breathalyzer Test but later refused a breath test at APD headquarters.

Note high volume of ETOH (alcohol poisoning) AFD handled last weekend

Weekend Run Summary 10-26-2012

APD Bags Arsonist Red Handed

Barbecued Dumpster at Hobart Lane. "Arson Watch" sign was at top left.

Heads up police work by a patrol officer in an unmarked car early Sunday morning (12:45 AM) may have brought an end to the serial dumpster arson cases that have plagued North Amherst for over a year now. When the officer spotted three young men near the dumpster and detained them for questioning, one individual--Travis Consolo--was acting particularly nervous.

And for good reason: While the officer was questioning him, the dumpster--which had ArsonWatch reward poster affixed to it-- exploded into a conflagration. AFD put out the fire; Consolo, a UMass student, was arrested.

Since August of 2010 this particular dumpster has been torched 30 times. Police and Firefighters distributed informational flyers to the immediate neighborhood around Hobart Lane back in October, reinforcing the reward offer posted on the abused dumpster.

Arrested for "Burn Personalty":
Travis William Consolo, 143 Birch Bark Drive, Hanson, MA, age 21

A recent (bad) example

ArsonWatch reward poster like the one attached to burned dumpster

Party House of the Weekend

15 Sunset Court

Yes, this now makes two weekends in a row for a humble abode to make my ignoble Party House list.  But three or four years ago around this time it was not unusual for 4 or 5 addresses to be in contention for the top spot. 

 Click to enlarge/read

In Eastern Hampshire District Court this morning Tanner Baloh, Caleb Engelbourg, Alex Mercer, and Alfred Schofield -- all of them UMass students -- took the standard deal offered by the prosecution:  Pay $300 each for one of the charges ("Noise") which will be converted from a criminal to civil violation, and the other one ("Nuisance") will be dropped.

Contrite crew stands before Judge John Payne this morning

Twitter DM 6:18 PM

Did they ask MassLive to do the same?

Perhaps another reason the weekend was relatively light on arrests was the heavy presence of police.  Early Saturday afternoon I counted six Mass State PD vehicles staged at the entry to Hobart Lane.

 MSP on scene Hobart Lane Saturday afternoon

Many Amherst PD vehicles were stationed around Townhouse Apartments on Meadow Street most of Saturday afternoon, as the east quad area started to fill up, but petered out by 6:00 PM.

Next weekend is the last one prior to UMass graduation so it's a safe bet police will not be taking any chances and will once again be out in force.

 Townhouse east quad Saturday 3:30 PM

Drunk runs (ETOH) to UMass were w-a-y way down over the weekend. But to Amherst College and Hampshire College, not so much:

AFD runs Late April 2015 by Larry Kelley

Somewhat Sultry Saturday

Butterfield Terrace 12:30 p.m.

The rains held off today.  A good thing if you're into frisbee, running or cycling.  Not so good if you're a public safety first responder dealing with the final weekend before graduation in a college town.

— Barstool UMASS (@UMassBarstool) May 3, 2014

College Street (Rt 9) 3:00 p.m.

 

Corner Main Street and South Whitney 5:00 p.m.

 

Town center midnight.  Somebody plugged in the Merry Maple

UPDATE:  Sunday morning

So no, thankfully, there were no Hobart Hoedown or Blarney Blowout type incidents last night into the early morning.  

As usual the bewitching hours (10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.) produced the usual alcohol related calls:  Large noisy party at 351 Potwine Lane around 1:30 a.m. and another one busted up 15 minutes later at 310 West Street and around that same time a backyard camp fire/party at 140 Sunset Avenue doused. 

Hobart Lane private security also caught and detained a young man trying to set fire to the dumpster that was torched a couple dozen times last year. 

Police were also requested by a reporting party who sounded drunk, complaining that his girlfriend was escorted into a Party House on the corner of Main Street and South Whitney (pictured above), but he was rejected.

And APD also responded to an apartment complex on East Hadley Road for another caller, who also sounded drunk, complaining he had been, "punched in the face."

Yeah, it's all fun and games until somebody gets punched in the face.