Freehold does its share to provide all types of housing

The authors of some recent editorials accusing Freehold Borough residents of NIMBY thinking probably do not live in Freehold Borough. We have "looked different" for many years, and have gotten along rather well.

It is troublesome that Collaborative Support Services, in anticipation of their purchase at Crestwood Drive, did not reach out to neighbors simply because they did not legally have to. They did, however, manage to meet with neighbors, which was also not legally required, after hearing their reaction. Collaborative says they are familiar with such reaction in their many other placements. Shame on them for not better paving the way for their clients and sparing them devastation, as was reported.

I work with people with disabilities and this is not personal in nature. I am concerned, however, with the general direction in which our borough seems to be headed.

We do more than our fair share to provide affordable and other types of housing. Freehold Borough often accepts other towns’ affordable housing obligations. There are some issues here that are difficult to remedy. There are an inordinate number of rental properties.

There are newspaper reports of overcrowding, as well as recent articles on undocumented people living in our woods. I wonder how garbage and waste is being dealt with in these situations, as we incur the drain on our goods and services. How much more must a taxpayer absorb?

Now we have a company purchasing a home for $300,000 which will be removed from our tax rolls because it is nonprofit. In addition to bearing a bigger tax burden, some people question the wisdom of spending that amount of money for this housing purpose. Some folks doing the questioning do not even live in $300,000 homes themselves.

Now we learn that this can happen anywhere at any time, where such an organization can seemingly at will pluck a home from our tax rolls, and they are legally required to do little else. It is of little comfort to know that a decision would be made by yet another government entity as to our saturation point in this regard.

NIMBY thinking for Freehold Borough residents? Possibly. Never-ending Increases, More Burden for You.

Phyllis DeFonzo

Freehold Borough