Winter and Snow


*  Montclair spring hydrant flushing began April 1st  
*  05/04: Essex County Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day  
*  05/18: Essex County Computer & Electronics Recycling Day  

...and cold temperatures and ice and sleet and freezing rain and ...

Short URL = https://lordessex.com/snow

Affiliated Management office closings

If the weather will make it more dangerous for employees to get to and from work, Affiliated Management may have a delayed opening, may close the office early, or may close it altogether. We will e-mail everyone and/or add a notice to the top of this web site when this happens.

The parking lot

The Lord Essex Apartments parking lot has some challenges related to snow cleanup. Due to garages and retaining walls, there are limited places for snow to be cleared to in the parking lot. After a snow storm, if you have an outside (non-garage) parking space and there are large piles of snow everywhere, Montclair usually allows parking in the street 12 hours after the snow has ended. If our plow makes another pass after that, it can clear the snow piles away from parking spaces and garages. You will not be able to park in the street during the snow, or if a snow emergency has been declared. Make sure you sign up for Montclair updates or keep an eye on the winter/snow resources below for updates.

You, your parking space/garage

A good general rule when it is snowing - if you do not need to go out, do not go out.

You are responsible for shoveling around your vehicle in your parking space. If you have a garage, you are responsible for clearing away snow that is too close to the garage door for the plow to get to.

The best place to move the snow to is to the head of your own parking space. If there is a grassy area or retaining wall near you, that would be fine, just try to avoid anything uphill - it could melt and then get icy in the evening. Do not ever put snow in the street, you could be fined by Montclair for doing that. Do not put snow in the center of the parking lot.

In reality, the best traction would be from you walking on snow in boots. Once snow is walked on and compacted, driven over and compacted, or shoveled, that is when it will be the most slippery. Wear appropriate footwear, walk carefully.

If you see ice, avoid walking near it. Unless you have spikes on your shoes, you are very likely to fall no matter how carefully you walk.

Neighbors

Make sure you never put snow on a neighboring property.

Consider alternatives

If there is a large amount of snow or it is very icy, consider alternative options. It may actually be easier to walk to the sidewalk and take Uber or Lyft or get a ride from a friend, family member, or co-worker until everything is cleared away.

Resident Managers

The Resident Managers will clear snow from sidewalks, paths, and steps. In a substantial snow storm, this will take a long time, and may take several passes. Please be patient. The Resident Managers will use shovels, air blowers, or a snowblower/snowthrower depenending on the conditions. They will spread salt, ice melt (a mixture), or calcium cloride pellets as appropriate. e.g. calcium chloride melts at lower temperatures, but gets stuck in entrance stairwell carpet fibers.

Slate steps, brick pavers and cement sidewalks are all going to be a different temperature. Some will melt sooner than others. Some will be icy when others are not. Be careful, don't assume if one is OK, the others will be too.

If you see icy areas, let the Resident Managers know. Include the location and what time you saw it - in case it has already been treated since then.

If you see a Resident Manager go by with a snowblower, keep in mind that they can not hear you. E-mail or leave a voice message, when they're done they'll get back to you.

If you e-mail a Resident Manager while they are snowblowing, shoveling, or salting, they will not see it until they finish or take a break.

Please keep in mind that this is a part-time job, there are limited hours, part-time Resident Managers have other jobs, the Resident Managers handle Lord Essex Apartments and also handle Montclair Mews Apartments, etc. If a storm happens while one Resident Manager is still at work, the other will be handling snow removal and/or salting alone, so it will take longer.

Snow plow

The snow plow/landscaping company has a contract with Affiliated Management. They have an agreement to plow automatically when there is enough snow, and to salt driveways and parking lots when icy or it snows. The Resident Managers usually do not know when the plow is coming in advance.

The snow plow can not clear parking spaces unless there are several spaces with no cars in a row, and there is somewhere to push the snow beyond that. Even snow plows slide in snow, they will not risk getting too close to anyone's vehicle. This is why we ask everyone with a parking space to move their vehicle out of the parking lot if possible, when allowed by the township (12 hours after snow) or if you happen to see the snow plow and wait in the street in your car until they leave.

Especially because we have very limited places to put it, when there is a large amount of snow, we may need to have a front end loader come to pick up the snow and dump it somewhere off of the pavement. When that happens, it may take up to a day or two for it to come, there will be a long line of many apartment complexes, some with hundreds of apartments (vs our 31 at LE, 20 at MM). It can take hours for a front end loader or Bobcat to clear one parking lot with a significant amount of snow on it.

New Jersey

If the state of New Jersey declares a state emergency, that usually means that travel on the NJ Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, or other highways are restricted. Check here for updates from the state:

Essex County

When a snow emergency is declared by Essex County, you can not park on county roads such as Bloomfield Ave and Grove St. They may also ask that you not drive on them so plows can clear snow without vehicles in the way. Check here for updates from the county:

Montclair Township

You may not park on any snow-covered roadway in Montclair (or any other town around here). If you are parked on the street and it is about to snow, makes sure you move your car somewhere else. This rule comes from an ordinance which you can find from the township web site: montclairnjusa.org

As township (Claremont Ave, N Mountain Ave, Upper Mountain Ave) and county (Grove St, Bloomfield Ave) plows clear the streets, keep in mind that they may bury the driveway several times. When our plow clears the parking lot, it will clear the driveway too.

When a snow emergency is declared by Montclair Township, they allow residents to park in municipal lots with no fee during the storm. To find out about this, check the list of resources below - the township web site and Twitter feed, specifically.

You can not park on any street normally, when not snowing, from 2-5am without getting a permit (available for non-county roads) through the township web site. Grove Street and Bloomfield Ave are county roads.

Code Blue - Warming Centers

When the temperature goes below 32°F, the state of New Jersey, Essex County, and Montclair Township may declare "Code Blue" and open warming centers for anyone stuck outside in the cold, for any reason, to go to get warm.

Winter/snow resources