Town Of Secaucus Holds Meeting With Hartz Over Crime At The Harper

SECAUCUS, NJ — On Wednesday, the town of Secaucus held a sit-down meeting with the CEO of Hartz Mountain and Secaucus Police over the problem of escalating crime at The Harper, the luxury apartment building next to Walmart.

This comes after there was a seven-hour standoff at The Harper Saturday night, where a man was holed up inside an apartment and ultimately killed his girlfriend's dog in a standoff with police.

"It's awful," said one female resident at The Harper who does not want to be named. "Secaucus Police are always being called here. On Friday night, there was a brawl at the pool and there were at least six police officers in the courtyard. Drugs flow in and out of here; there have been arrests for drug possession. I am always hearing fights from apartments and people are always getting locked out of their apartments by their significant others. Package theft happens all the time; the package room is not monitored."

"We don't have real security here; the guards sleep on their shifts or they smoke weed outside," she continued. "The doors are always propped open and anyone can enter. They don't know who they are renting to."

Hartz Mountain owns The Harper, which is advertised as a 469-unit luxury apartment building with a gym, pool and lounge areas. Greystar is the property manager. The woman pays $2,800 for a one-bedroom and lives very close to the unit where the police stand-off occurred Saturday night.

"Since March the man and woman who lived there have been having very aggressive fights," said the woman, 41. "I've called the front desk guards before on them, and they always say, 'Oh well, we'll go check.' They never do anything."

She paused: "I wish I had called the police on Saturday to prevent the dog from being killed. I feel awful."

"I can state we have a large amount of police, fire and medical service calls at The Harper," said Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller.

Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli was more specific:

"Police have been called there probably 150 times in the past six months," he told Patch Thursday. "Compare that to XChange, another large apartment complex in town, where they've probably been called a third of that."

It was Gonnelli who called for Wednesday's meeting with Hartz, after getting similar complaints from other Harper residents.

"I can't say exactly what was said in the meeting, but it was a very productive meeting; we told them exactly what's going on there," he said of Hartz. "They are very aware of what's going on and I hope they are going to take the necessary steps to make it better."

Gonnelli said he even floated the idea of opening a Secaucus Police annex at The Harper to deter crime.

Hartz Mountain is a major Secaucus developer: They are the builders of Harmon Cove, Harmon Cove Towers and other buildings in town. Hartz also owns other luxury apartment buildings along Hudson County's "Gold Coast," including The Estuary in Weehawken.

Hartz released a long statement to Patch Thursday:

"In cooperation with the town of Secaucus, Hartz is committed to the safety and wellbeing of its residents and will not tolerate any disruptive activity or nuisances caused by its residents or their guests, "said Hartz Mountain. "While the police have been dispatched to the property a number of times over the last several months, it should be noted that not all these calls are related to criminal activity or disruptions and include calls for aid and other mundane matters."

Hartz also said that the tenants causing problems are being "removed from the property on an expedited basis."

"Those calls that are related to disorderly activity are disproportionately attributable to a select few residents and their guests," said Hartz. "Residents violating the quiet enjoyment of other residents or the rules of the complex are provided with a Notice to Quit and are being removed from the property on an expedited basis. The Harper screens all new residents under the most stringent criteria permissible under New Jersey law. Additionally, The Harper contracts with a private security company that provides regularly scheduled coverage at the property. It should be noted that the same contractor, provides security services for the greater Harmon Meadow complex and has a supervisor on-site 24/7/365. The contractor is instructed to call the Secaucus Police Department immediately for any matter that they are unable to address. Lastly, The Harper maintains a robust video camera system that allows both management and the police to quickly resolve and events occurring at the property."

The woman said her lease is not up until December, but after Saturday night's incident — because she lives so close to the unit where the dog was killed — Greystar management company told her she can break her lease early and move out.

"I plan to move out of here soon," she said. "I moved here from Newport in Jersey City because it was more affordable. The community is beautiful and I love the easy commute to Manhattan. But I can't take this anymore."

"The ball is in their court," said Gonnelli, of Hartz Mountain.

Man Kills Dog After 7-Hour Standoff At The Harper In Secaucus: Police (June 5)