He was released from prison in April. But police say the complex is generally safe and they have not had problems there in recent years. The borough recently hired a part-time building code inspector just to concentrate on the complex, which has frayed somewhat with age. Officials said the inspector will make sure management keeps up with general maintenance problems, such as landscaping and painting. W estmount residents said even though the apartments have been around for more than 30 years, there is a misconception about the complex that it is for the borough's poor.
People pay high rent to live here.
Housing projects it definitely is not. West Paterson has a rent control ordinance, which ties increases to the Consumer Price Index, the government measure of inflation. Residents say during the summer months families and neighbors organize barbecues and children's birthday parties at nearby parks, where youngsters play and parents get to know each other. The complex has two pools, but the one at the north end of the complex has been closed since the Eighties after it was vandalized. Lacey said that when she moved in, the pool was a place where people would converge and have impromptu parties and barbecues.