Wayne pays to lock down site of infamous 'pop-up party'

By: Philip DeVencentis
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

WAYNE - The township has taken the unusual step of dipping into its own pocket to pay for emergency repairs to an abandon office building, which was burglarized repeatedly and trashed by party-goers.
..... Mayor Christopher Vergano said public works crews also spent hours cleaning up litter at the 5.3-acre site, at 65 Willowbrook Blvd. less than 500 yards from the entrance to Willowbrook Mall. Expenses incurred by the township to secure the 132,000-square-foot building form intruders will be filed as a lien against the property, he said.
..... "I was embarrassed that this was Wayne Township," the mayor said.
..... The township council passed a resolution at its most recent meeting to hire a local contractor for $30,500 to make repairs to the building. A chain-link fence was also put around the property for an additional cost that Vergano said may be approved as early as next week.[06/07.2023]
..... Before officials steeped in, the building was a nine-story safety hazard.
..... It has six floors of empty office suites, with a parking deck underneath. A broken door to an elevator on the fifth floor presented one of many perils to trespassers, Vergano said.
..... "It was just an invitation for people wandering around it fall down the elevator shaft,: the mayor said.
..... In July 2022, nearly 50 people were charged with breaking into the building to throw a "pop-up party." Authorities from at least four jurisdictions were called to the scene to disperse the revelers that night.
..... But the building was burglarized multiple times, and Vergano said it was a source of aggravation for police and volunteer firefighters who had to respond whenever someone tripped an alarm. Utilities are now shot off at the premises, he said.
..... The property was purchased for $6.4 million by a Brooklyn-based limited liability company called Willowbrook Suites in November 2019.
..... That transaction has been the subject of foreclosure proceedings in state Superior Court in Paterson since February 2022.
..... According to an early filing in the case, Willowbrook Suites borrowed most of the money to buy the property.
..... The lender alleged Willowbrook Suites never intended to repay the loan or to mortgage the property in a manner that would maintain its value. Instead, it allegedly sold rooftop antennae rights to a third party shortly after it assumed title to the site, and "once its pockets were lined with cash" from that deal, it abandoned the property.
..... "Because of this," the lender claimed, "the value of the mortgage property continues to decline exponentially by the day.
..... On April 12, [2023] Judge Frank Covello entered an order against Willowbrook Suites. The ruling will allow the lender to foreclose on its mortgage.

HOME