Township Buys Woman's Club, Historic House Razed, This Week In Maplewood

Township to Purchase Woman's Club for $1 Million

Maplewood Township will purchase the beleaguered Maplewood Woman's Club property for $1 million -- half its listing price -- according to a statement made by Mayor Vic DeLuca at Tuesday's Township Committee meeting.

The committee voted 5-0 to move ahead with the purchase and to authorize the debt to be included in the capital budget.

Northfield: Historic House "Couldn't Be Saved"

Many residents lamented when a buyer tore down the historic Hezekiah Dare house on Valley Street earlier this week. Commenters on Patch were up in arms about the affair - one wrote, "So I guess this is OK in Maplewood now, tear down historic houses to make a buck? I thought we were better than that..."

Virginia Kurshan, chair of the Maplewood Historic Preservation Commission said that while the house was listed in the town's partial inventory of historic buildings, "it was not a locally designated landmark and therefore there were no restrictions on its demolition."

Man Involved in St. James's Gate Case Asks For Apology

Ethan Kresofsky, the 24-year-old South Orange man who accused a St. James's Gate bartender of assault in January, appeared before a judge in Bloomfield Municipal Court Thursday morning to respond to the bartender's counter-claim of assault against him.

The Hezekiah Dare house, a historic house on Valley Street in Maplewood, was demolished Tuesday by its new owner. 

Township historian Susan Newberry noted the house's historic significance. "An old newspaper article said that Hezekiah Dare, an English immigrant who was a carpenter, purchased the house from the Crowell family around 1860," said Newberry. "The Crowells had run the Cider Mill that stood near the Shell Station by the high school and had orchards in the area. They also owned the general store which stood near Town Hall."  

Maplewood Pool Will Open Memorial Day Weekend

The Township Committee voted 4-1 Tuesday night to approve a pilot program to open theMaplewood Community Pool on Memorial Day weekend, and to add an additional $30 to membership rates to cover associated costs. The vote will be memorialized at the next meeting on March 5.

Typically, the pool opens on Father's Day weekend. The new plan will mean the pool will be open for a total of seven additional days, or three extra weekends.