Junk continues to pile up on the trailer and other vehicles parked outside 90 Bank Street, seen in the background. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
A Bank Street resident who owes the borough nearly $10,000 in fines over conditions on his junk-laden property is suing the borough and another property owner over what he says is an unrelated hazard they failed to address themselves: a raised curb that cause him to trip and fall.
The raised curb outside 117-119 Monmouth Street William Poku argues in a lawsuit created a tripping hazard that sent him to the pavement. Below, William Poku at a meeting of the Mayor and Borough Council. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
William Poku filed a personal injury lawsuit May 3 against the Borough and DEEZEE Inc. which owns the building at the corner of Pearl Street and Monmouth Street home to Pearl Street Consignment clothing shop and a dry cleaner.
In the complaint filed in State Superior Court in Monmouth County, Poku says he was walking across Monmouth Street on March 30, 2023, when he tripped and fell on a raised curb outside the building at 117-119 Pearl Street “causing serious and permanent injuries.”
His attorney, Steven Kessel of the Red Bank firm Drazin and Warshaw, told redbankgreen his client suffered a rotator cuff injury in the fall.
The raised curb between the sidewalk and the parking lot “impeded safe passage to persons using the sidewalk and crosswalk and constituted a tripping hazard and a dangerous condition of the property” the complaint reads.
Kessel said he named both the borough and DEEZEE Inc. as defendants because it was unclear which entity is responsible for the curb, which separates the parking lot from the sidewalk.
Meanwhile, conditions on Poku’s own junk-filled property at 90 Bank Street — the subject of decades of legal battles and neighbors complaints — raised ire anew recently.
At a community meeting with borough officials at Celestial Lodge 36 on October 8, two neighborhood residents implored the Mayor, Borough Manager and Chief of Police to crack down on what one called the “disgusting” conditions — a comment that drew expressions of approval from many of the about 50 residents who attended.
“If that place ever catches on fire we are in trouble,’’ said the speaker, who can be heard in the video below of the meeting shot by Board of Education member and community activist Suzanne Viscomi. (The comments begin at the 52:10 mark.)
A second resident implored borough officials in attendance, including Borough Manager Jim Gant, Mayor Billy Portman Councilwoman Nancy Facey-Blackwood and Police Chief Mike Frazee to force Poku to clean the place up.
She said the former owners of the home next door to Poku’s house “had to take a big loss” when they sold the home “because who’s going to buy a house with that crap next door?” 
“But you guys will not make him clean it up,’’ she told the officials on the dais. “And I understand it’s gone to court and you’re fighting and he fights you, but something needs to be addressed.”
Borough Manager Jim Gant replied:
“I agree with you. But it’s much more complicated than just me wanting to go clean up that property. I want to go clean up that property.”
He continued: “Quite frankly, I’m very concerned about that property. And I’m very concerned about the neighbors that have to live around that property. Without saying too much more about that, we’re going to have to move on from that topic, but I hear you loud and clear.”
For years, court battles have simmered, often in the form of appeals filed by Poku when the borough has won a favorable ruling on summonses for code violations.
Meanwhile, the amount of materials stored there has grown considerably recently, with junk now covering the entire front walk to the entrance and all of the vehicles parked on and around the property.
The front walkway to 90 Bank Street Tuesday and, below, a 2017 drone shot of the property and a photo of the rear yard taken from the sidewalk. (photo by BRIAN DONOHUE)
For years, the front and back yards have been stacked high with piles of lumber, barrels, canisters, rope, broken fence sections and at least six vehicles buried by the clutter and overgrowth. On the street, a Bell Telephone bucket truck, a trailer with flat tires and weeds growing atop it, a tow truck and an SUV all sit curbside piled high with junk up to roof of the driver’s seats.
Poku has repeatedly asserted the materials are needed for his livelihood and his hobbies. He did not reply to an email from redbankgreen seeking comment or a request made to his attorney to return a reporter’s query. 
Court battles have long simmered, often in the form of appeals filed by Poku when the borough has won a favorable ruling on summonses for code violations.
Municipal Court records on the NJ state judiciary online database show he was first issued summonses in 1997 for weeds and brush, inoperable autos on the premises and exterior maintenance violations.
Records show a flurry of code violations issued every few years, with the most recent an April 11, 2024 summons for restriction on storage or parking on public lands. There are multiple summonses issued between 2016 and 2018 for not having a certificate of occupancy. Nearly all of the summonses are listed as “disposed.”
But records show Poku was ordered by a Red Bank Municipal Court judge to pay $11,090 in fines on April 1, 2021. He was put on a $65 a month payment plan which is up in 2033. He has paid $1,320 so far, records show. 
In May 2019, Borough Attorney Greg Cannon said the Borough Council had authorized him to pursue civil action, going “beyond municipal court” in an effort to have sheriff’s officers force the removal of the junk. It is unclear what the status of that effort is. Neither Cannon nor Borough Administrator Jim Gant responded to an email from redbankgreen seeking comment.
After one of Poku’s vehicles was towed in January, 2006 as unregistered — an allegation Poku disputed — he sued two municipal judges, the police chief, a police officer and the towing company.
Among the cop’s illegal purposes, Poku alleged, was “to cause general fear and apprehension in the black community.”
Poku took the matter to the United States Supreme Court, which declined to hear it in 2012.
In May, 2017, Poku filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in which he claimed that a “sham” municipal court case caused him to suffer “severe anxiety causing me to visit my doctor.”
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
