The Atlantic Highlands Borough attorney’s letter to the resident on 8th Avenue who wants the public Stairway to remain open throughout the year makes it clear the borough has no obligation to do so, yet wants to accommodate the resident as best as it can.
Borough Attorney Marguerite Schaffer’s letter to Debbie Kirsh came after the 8th Avenue resident received an e-mail from borough administrator Caleb Stratton calling for a meeting to discuss the matter.
Ms Kirsh’s property does not have any steps either from her front door, down the steep hill to 8th Avenue, or from the rear of the house, several feet down from Prospect Circle. Since she purchased the property many years ago Kirsh has used the adjacent public steps, no more than 20 feet from her back door and directly abutting the side of her property, for access to her home.
But the attorneys letter indicated “the borough does not have any obligation to maintain this staircase and the Joint Insurance Fund (JIF) has advised us (the borough) not to maintain the staircase during winter months” even though the borough has apparently maintained it as municipal owned public property since Kirsh purchased the house.
The attorney went on to explain that if the borough did leave the staircase open “it would be your responsibility as the property owner to maintain it.” The borough did offer, the letter continues, to “close the staircase and adjacent sidewalks in order to avoid your undertaking of that obligation.”
The letter did not indicate how the borough would recognize Kirsh as “the property owner who had to maintain it.”
While the letter did not disclose how the borough would make that determination, it did include portions of the borough ordinance governing clearing sidewalks in front of private property, apparently indicating Kirsh would be held to that same ordinance even though the property adjoins, but does not front, on her property.
Stratton’s e-mail had asked for a meeting September 1, giving the resident the option of whether she wanted the borough attorney or other professionals present, but suggesting it “may be helpful to start with a high-level conversation in advance of winter operations.” While the attorney’s letter after the e-mail did not mention how Kirsh could own the property, Stratton’s e-mail gave the optional discussion to “either follow the risk assessment or deed the staircase to the property owner (you).”
The administrator pointed out the borough is seeking an alternative that maintains the adjacent property owner’s access to her home via the staircase while still complying with the risk assessment report, but did not include with the correspondence.
While all questions concerning the administrator’s e-mail and Kirsh’s concern for access to her house throughout the winter have been referred to the administrator, who is out of the office until next Monday, former borough Police Chief David Rossback has taken a definite stand in support of the borough maintaining the stairs. He compared the current issue to two roads in the borough that he said had been closed. Similarly, he said, the action with Ms Kirsh appears to be similar to an action he said was attempted for Sears Landing Road in deeding the property to adjacent property owners.
In two separate posts on Face Book, in response to the article in VeniVidiScripto, Rossbach wrote:
”What a shame – this is a town that touts history and walk ability. I’m not sure most residents even know that they can utilize these stairs. Great for commuters walking to the ferry, people looking to exercise, residents out for a walk, and history hunters. I personally use these stairs several times a week on my walks (great to get the heart rate up). The stairs are charming and beautiful. Functional history.
So after 100 years we cannot maintain these historical stairs ?
What is happening here seems to be in line with Sears Landing Road which was not maintained and had to be closed. The town installed metal gates. The same with Bayside Drive, metal gates and the road closed. Both of these roads are needed in the event of an emergency.
I believe the town tried to “deed” Sears Landing Road to the homeowners, to no avail, and presently maintain the road.
That road as it stands now is a mess and suffers from severe undermining, held together by patchwork. Definitely erosion issues for the home owners who live in the area and no way vehicles could use the road safely in an emergency. There is now only one way in or out of these residential areas. Both streets allowed emergency access from another point in the event of a problem (fire, trees down, wires down, road damaged)
Preserve our history, heritage and open space as well as our safety and accessibility.
Priorities … eyes on everything while keeping our town affordable, Rossback concluded.
In a separate post response, Rossbach continued “The public stairs should be preserved much like the stone bridge – which is a block away. Waiting until things are in such disrepair should never be an option. Let’s maintain and protect what we have rather than letting things quietly slip away. It seems our eyes are always on something that we don’t have. It’s a fine line – priorities, safety, heritage, and moving forward. Sorry if anybody’s feelings are hurt…NOT ! It shouldn’t have to be that
When the staircase, which is made of native peanut stone and extends from Prospect Circle to Ocean Boulevard, was first built has never been identified completely. Many believe the present set of steps was built or rebuilt after the Depression, when the borough had many WPS projects underway, including what some people have called the “Pirate’s Stairs” at Henry Hudson Spring, another railroad stop on the train from New York.
The late Paul Boyd, a long time local historian, has said he always “ assumed the original idea for the steps was to shorten the route for people living on the hill to walk down to the bay and the steamboats and railroads north to NY and south down the shore. When presented with a story that the peanut stone steps were built in 1809, he questioned whether there was any evidence to support that anniversary. In further conversation, Boyd was told the upper segment of peanut stone steps may have been built under a separate construction contract, either before or after the lower segment, citing an article from the Red Bank Register in 1909 that noted “Two flights of wooden steps that connect Bay View Avenue to Eighth Aevenu are to be replaced with stone steps by Monmouth Contracting Company at a cost of $486. Iron railings are to be placed on both sides.”
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