This website
is dedicated to the Michelin Plant on Ford Avenue, the Evans Family, Dr Forney and his sons, who
they have given so much
to the town of Milltown and for playing an important role in forming the town we
love and respect. Also dedication goes to the remaining historical sites that
are remaining that we hold dear to our heart, also to the ones that we have lost
to the senseless disregard of our town history and to what makes this town so
special, the residents that live and work here. We need to stop the senseless destruction of our historical
landmarks and Milltown's history now before its to late and is lost forever.
Talking about
our Town History is one Thing- Saving it is Another
Opponents lose
fight to save Forney House Historic home demolished Friday; bank to be built
A work crew
begins the demolition of the Forney House Friday.
Friday marked the end of a losing battle for preservationists in Milltown, when
the historic Forney House met its demise.
A group of about a dozen residents, including
Mayor Gloria Bradford and Councilman Brian Harto, gathered to watch as
demolition began on the nearly 150-yearold house.
"It was definitely sad to see it come
down," said Harto, a member of the town's Historic Preservation Committee.
The Evans family, whose son served as
Milltown's first mayor, built the Forney House in the 1860s. It was converted
into a medical facility by John C. Evans and operated as such from 1907 until
the 1970s. During many of those years, Dr. Norman C. Forney Sr., the borough's
first surgeon, ran it.
While Harto was not happy to see the borough
landmark meet its end, he said there was nothing the council could have done to
prevent it, as the house is privately owned.
"If we stepped in on that, we would just
be opening ourselves to a lawsuit," Harto said. "It wouldn't have
helped at this point, but it would have helped 20 years ago when Dr. [Bhudev]
Sharma started neglecting the property."
Controversy surrounding the Forney House began
in 2006 when Valley National Bank brought an application before the borough's
Zoning Board of Adjustment to bring a branch to the North Main Street site.
Despite vocal opposition on the part of a number of residents, the Zoning Board
granted a use variance to allow for the bank, complete with drive-through
facilities, in March 2007.
Soon after, those determined to save the Forney
House mobilized to form the John C. Evans Project, a group whose members reached
into their own pockets to fund efforts to prevent demolition of the landmark.
Efforts to have the Zoning Board decision overturned in state Superior Court
proved unsuccessful for the group, but not to be discouraged, they subsequently
filed an appeal with the New Jersey Appellate Division.
Valley National Bank was equally determined to
see their plans through. The bank filed a counterclaim against the John C. Evans
Project in August 2007, alleging that the citizens' group interfered with its
economic advantage, as well as with its rights under the sale contract between
the bank and Sharma, who still owns the house.
Amid the litigation, the John C. Evans Project
worked with preservation groups at the county, state and national levels in
order to gain support for saving the house. In the process, they learned that
the house's status as a medical facility made it eligible for the state and
national registers of historic places.
In the end, the grassroots movement did not
prove strong enough to stand in the way of the bank, whose resources far exceed
those of the Evans Project.
Resident Michael Shakarjian, president of the
citizens' group, said the demolition of the house could have been prevented if
there had been greater scrutiny of the process on the part of elected officials.
"The mayor and council are elected to
represent the residents," Shakarjian said. "At the very least, they
have some clout."
Shakarjian particularly called out Bradford,
saying she did not do anything to help matters during the process when he sent
her a letter outlining what he, and 400 others who signed the letter, perceived
as a failure to follow protocols on the part of the federal Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), whose approval was necessary before the bank
could move forward.
"She does not think it's a serious
situation," Shakarjian said of Bradford. "That's what the problem is
— none of these people think it's serious."
Bradford said in the past that there was no
money available to save the aging structure, which had fallen into a state of
disrepair. Shakarjian said the borough should have sought funds from the county
in order to save the house, but acknowledged that county officials, including
the late David Crabiel, a resident of Milltown, did not express much interest.
Resident Michael Lewycky was one of the
residents who came out to take one last look at the house and take photographs
before it was destroyed.
"I thought it would be a lot more
emotional, but I felt numb," Lewycky said. "I was probably more upset
to see our elected officials watching it like it was a spectator sport after not
doing anything about it for four years."
Lewycky took issue with Bradford and other
council members, saying that Bradford watched the demolition in the company of
the borough's code enforcement officer, who should have levied fines against
Sharma for allowing the house to fall into disrepair.
Shakarjian agreed, saying the zoning officers
over the years failed to do their jobs.
Councilwoman Stacy Waters, council liaison to
the Historic Preservation Committee, applauded the efforts of those who worked
to save the house, saying she was sorry to see it go. Like Harto, she said there
was nothing township officials could have done to prevent the demolition.
"I absolutely disagree with that,"
Shakarjian said.
Shakarjian pointed out that Waters had been a
consulting party on all three conference calls that took place among the OCC and
other involved parties. She was not a council member when the first two calls
took place, but she could have done more to help the group during the third one,
when she had taken her seat on the council, he said.
"She does need to know that she has a
responsibility to the people," Shakarjian said.
Bradford was also on hand for the third call
with the OCC, Shakarjian said, adding that he was disappointed with her lack of
support, as well.
"There was a lot of silence,"
Shakarjian said. "Their silence was enabling. It's like a sick
family."
On a positive note, Waters said, at least some
pieces of history from within the house have been preserved and given to the
Historic Preservation Committee.
Both Harto and Waters are pushing for an
ordinance that would create a historic district in the town, a move that would
designate historic homes and help to ensure that they maintain their unique
characteristics.
"I've gotten a lot more positive feedback
on this than negative feedback," Waters said.
The proposal was met with some resistance
several months back, from those concerned that it would place too many
restrictions on homeowners. Those in favor of the move say it could help to
prevent repetitions of the Forney House situation.
Those who sought to hold onto a major piece of
the borough's history assert that the destruction of the house should not have
been allowed to happen in the first place.
"It's one of those situations where
officials have clout when they want to have it," Shakarjian said. "And
when they don't think the situation is serious, they don't have clout. I just
think the destruction of the house was wrong. A bank branch is not important to
the character and quality of life in Milltown. It could have gone anywhere, but
the house was important."
