Toms River Residents' Halloween Spirit Snuffed Out As Landlord Demands Decoration Removal

TOMS RIVER, NJ — When Joey and Anthony Krupocin put up their Halloween decorations at their Toms River townhouse in late September, they were looking forward to a festive Halloween season.

So was Bill Novak, their neighbor in Gabrielle Run, who hung lights and put up his decorations shortly afterward at his townhouse.

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But that festive spirit has been zapped away in the midst of a battle with Gabrielle Run's property management company, which has demanded the Krupocins, Novak and other neighbors take down their decorations, claiming they are violations of the residents' leases and safety issues.

It's a battle that has left them perplexed, because it's the first time the property management company has objected to holiday decorations.

"We weren't putting up anything gory," Novak said Wednesday morning.

"We decorated for Halloween and Christmas last year. Nobody said boo," Joey Krupocin said Tuesday.

Gabrielle Run is a high-end townhouse and apartment community managed by Edgewood Properties. Rent for a two-bedroom unit starts at $1,925 per month, according to the property management site, and residents pay a $400 yearly fee for amenities, Krupocin said.

"There is no comment from any of us," said a woman named Kim who answered the phone at the Edgewood Properties' office when asked for comment. "Please don’t call again, thank you," she said, before hanging up.

Krupocin and her husband put up the decorations on Sept. 26, "my birthday," she said. They consisted of a cotton spider web, a couple of fake tombstones, a coffin-shaped "Welcome" sign and a witch that makes noise that they aren't turning on until Halloween.

"Forty-five minutes later we got an email," she said. The email, the text of which she shared with Patch, said holiday decorations and lights are a violation of the lease.

"As per your signed lease agreement: Rules and Regulations: General Policies regarding Balconies and Window Treatments States: The use of balconies/patios for storage, cooking, maintenance of wash lines, bedroom purposes, hanging of personal property, or any other use which detracts from the neat and orderly appearance of the building in which the apartment is located or causes inconvenience to other Residents is expressly prohibited. Clotheslines, and hanging clothes outside to dry, is prohibited. *This includes but is not limited to holiday décor. This rule applies to townhomes & apartment homes. Please refrains from hanging lights on trees & bushes or disturbing the mulch beds with any type of outdoor décor," said the email, which Krupocin said went to all of the Gabrielle Run residents.

There is nothing in the lease that bans holiday decorations, Krupocin said.

"My husband even searched the lease," she said. "Nothing at all mentions holiday decor."

Krupocin and Novak said other residents have been pressed by the property management company to take down their decorations.

"One of our neighbors was banned from even putting out a pumpkin," Krupocin said. That neighbor was told "she was too excessive in decorating."

"She had a cute Halloween fence, a ghost, a skeleton hanging, some pumpkins on her stoop," Krupocin said, a description Novak confirmed.

Novak said another neighbor had Halloween signs. "She took them down," he said.

"What's she supposed to tell her son, that they can't celebrate Halloween?" Novak said.

In early October, the property management company raised the stakes with a certified letter addressed to the Krupocins, threatening them with eviction if they did not remove the decorations.

The letter, dated Oct. 7, alleges the decorations are "destroying the affected property/landscaping" and that the couple is "acting in a disorderly manner as to destroy the peace and quiet of the occupants or other tenants" in the community.

"If you do not immediately cease doing the acts complained of, you will be EVICTED," the letter said.

In an interview with ABC7, property manager Kelsey Triozzi said the couple is not being evicted, but said the spider web poses a safety hazard to children.

The threat, however, was disconcerting for the couple, Krupocin said.

"I'm 35 weeks pregnant," she said. "There's no way we could move on short notice, let alone find a place in this market."

Novak said the fight over Halloween decor is just part of a growing list of "don'ts" from the property management company, which he said claims it's about aesthetic appeal.

If a family has two vehicles, they are told they have to park the second one at the complex's clubhouse, instead of parking both in their driveway, he said.

"I pay $3,000 a month, and they want me to park at the clubhouse," he said.

Krupocin said the property management company has claimed the 4-inch plastic stakes that hold the web in place are damaging the landscaping, "but we've been telling them for 10 months that our sprinklers don't work."

"They're so worried about damaging their landscaping, but want you to drag the garbage can around the back across the grass," Novak said.

And while the property management company has pressed residents claiming the decorations are damaging the property — "there's nothing nailed to the walls," Novak said — they both noted the company said nothing when another neighbor ripped out the community landscaping and replaced it with completely different plants.

Krupocin and Novak said other residents have been pressed by the property management company to take down their decorations.

"One of our neighbors was banned from even putting out a pumpkin," Krupocin said. That neighbor was told "she was too excessive in decorating."

"She had a cute Halloween fence, a ghost, a skeleton hanging, some pumpkins on her stoop," she said of the neighbor.

Novak said another neighbor had Halloween signs. "She took them down," he said.

Novak said he has tangled in the past with the property management company because it wanted him to take down his Trump flag last year.

"That's my freedom of speech," he said, adding he took the flag down after the election was over.

"It's funny because this isn't an HOA like people think it is," Krupocin said. "They make up rules as they go along. You can't just make up rules."

"They say it's all about aesthetics and looking nice," Novak said. "You think it would be a plus that there's festive people living here."

"I just feel they need to lighten up with these things," he said. "Especially with the pandemic, everyone's miserable."

Note: This article has been updated with full comments from Bill Novak.

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