Its a possibility because there is a section of river road in belleville that is prone to flooding, but i am pretty familiar with belleville and i am not aware of any county government offices in that area...but i could be wrong. Maybe someone else has more info

If anyone finds the address, I have off next week. I wouldn't mind stopping by to see the "progress" they have made so far.

 

The only address I have found is in Newark listed at the top of this page: http://www.essex-countynj.org/index.php?section=dir/dir&search=Office%20of%20County%20Counsel

Yep thats it. It is in newark. And yes we are being lied to.

Good afternoon Folks! I have an update. Just spoke to the Esssex County - County Counsel, James R. Paganelli @ 973-621-5003. He is Nancy's boss. As of 2:30pm today they are done with letter G. At this pace, they are doing 2 letters per day.

 

Also, they send the check results via snail mail to the local police departments.

Everyone is always talking about the 30 day rule, but I recall there being a case from the appellate division that says its ok to exceed 30 in the public interest. While there is plenty to find fault in that court opinion, it seems pretty clear to me that waving around letters citing the 30 day rule isn't going to accomplish much.

 

Curious to see that Wall Street Journal article.

mchosi, great work, thank you. Did you find out, if they *are mailing* out those MH checks to the local PDs *now*, or that's something that will be done later? In other words, is it possible the local PDs are getting them in the mail now?

 

They mail them as they get done with them. They have already started the process and sent some already.

mchosi, great work, thank you. Did you find out, if they *are mailing* out those MH checks to the local PDs *now*, or that's something that will be done later? In other words, is it possible the local PDs are getting them in the mail now?

 

Snail mail in Essex county should be overnight delivery. Call your local PD and ask the people in charge if they have gotten any checks back yet!

I would try to call today (Friday) however isn't it a holiday for some people? Not sure if municipalities work on religious holidays.

I would try to call today (Friday) however isn't it a holiday for some people? Not sure if municipalities work on religious holidays.

 

you're correct, and even though it's a religious holiday, many businesses are closed as well as all public schools that are not on spring break. not really sure about government offices though. I'm M and in verona, really hoping this isnt bull.

Verona does their processing on fridays, so mchosi1, let us know ASAP if you get a call from Det. Harrington

you're correct, and even though it's a religious holiday, many businesses are closed as well as all public schools that are not on spring break. not really sure about government offices though. I'm M and in verona, really hoping this isnt bull.

Verona does their processing on fridays, so mchosi1, let us know ASAP if you get a call from Det. Harrington

 

As per my conversation yesterday w/the Essex County Counsel, James Paganelli, they will be closed on Friday. They will resume the checks on Monday when they reopen.

you're correct, and even though it's a religious holiday, many businesses are closed as well as all public schools that are not on spring break. not really sure about government offices though. I'm M and in verona, really hoping this isnt bull.

Verona does their processing on fridays, so mchosi1, let us know ASAP if you get a call from Det. Harrington

Any luck? I'm in Caldwell, and have no F'n clue as to what day they process on.

Do you know what court case this is, ruling on exceeding of the 30 day rule? Obviously it does no good citing the NJ Statute, because NJSP and local PDs don't care, especially in Essex. Here it is though, which should be cited in the case you are referring to. I did a case search, lots of stuff comes up.

 

 

NJ Criminal Code 2C:58-3 Purchase of firearms.

2C:58-3(f) Granting of permit or identification card; fee; term; renewal; revocation.

 

http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6096941216391043989&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr

 

Adler v. Livak

 

It basically says that when the police exceed the 30 days rule because they are waiting for records, it is allowed because it is not the legislative intent to award an FID when no background check has been completed and it would be unfair to deny automatically after 30 days.

 

Now, if you have a PD that is sitting on your completed application, that may be a different issue, and you may be able to get injunctive relief in that case (meaning the court tells the PD to do it by x date, and they may be in contempt if they do not).

My last name starts with a "B" and i can confirm that I have not received a call yet. Tried calling over the past couple days and the Sarg in charge was not available.

Nutley PD processes apps on Tuesdays. Im the next letter in line (H) but I doubt they will get my check to the Nutley PD by this coming Tuesday. Hoping by next Tuesday 4/9 I get the call....but that may be optimistic.

Did anyone find out what they were up to in processing? The last I saw was 'G' 2 days ago. And they had finished to 'C' a few days before that. I would hope that they were working yesterday before the holiday and got out up to 'M'....or fingers crossed 'R'. 410, you should call Nutley PD around 2 PM to check. It might just be sitting there waiting for them to read.

I tried west caldwell PD records and they are closed for holiday, last call I had with detective about the whole deal was that as soon as they got records back from county they would finish all ASAP, apps are just just waiting on metal health check.

 

The lady in records is nice an I am sure she will tell me if ANY have come back yet and gone out. I iwll call again on monday.....

 

Happy Easter!

Folks! The article on the Essex County mental health situation on The Wall Street Journal's web site. However, you have to pay for subsciption to veiw the article.... I will see if it is in today's printed copy.

 

Here is the link to the article: http://online.wsj.co..._LEFTTopStories

 

Share this article with to your Facebook, Twitter, blog, website, etc... Lets hope this story gets picked up by more media outlets!

It's in the print edition.

Since Newtown i always thought the WSJ showed the most balanced approached to both sides of this argument. I don't know if the word is "ironic" but its interesting that the WSJ thinks this is newsworthy but our own NJ based papers (Ledger/TheRecord) did not.

 

Unless our papers did cover this and i missed it.

 

Hang in there you guys.. you're almost there..

My last name starts with "g" so I'll be calling my pd this week. Hopefully, this drama can finally come to an end.

Does anyone have a non-subscription version of it?

The aftermath of superstorm Sandy is having an impact on gun ownership in one New Jersey county—an unusual intersection of current events.

The storm's floodwaters damaged tens of thousands of Essex County mental health records used as part of background checks for gun purchases, county officials said, meaning some prospective gun owners have not been able to buy pistols or rifles for several months.

The delays—which come during a nationwide debate over gun rights in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting—have caused some Second Amendment advocates to cry foul.

"A right delayed is a right denied," said Kevin Desouza, 25 years old, who said he applied for an identification card to purchase a firearm in late October following break-ins near his Newark home.

The months-long backlog coincides with a surge in gun ownership in New Jersey and across the country, as some residents fear stricter firearms laws following the Newtown shooting.

Officials say the backlog is close to being cleared. The damaged mental health records have been restored and are being reorganized and used for background checks, said James Paganelli, the Essex County administration's counsel and adjuster, who oversees the records.

Gun applicants with last names from A to E were slated to be reviewed Wednesday, while the rest of the backlog may be cleared by next week.

The backlog came about after Sandy flooded a Belleville storage facility containing the Essex County mental health records, said Mr. Paganelli. The files, which are displayed on 3-by-5-inch paper index cards as mandated by state regulation, were stored in a cabinet-like structure.

"There were close to 50,000 mental health record cards that had to be restored," wrote Anthony Puglisi, an Essex County spokesman, in an email.

After getting into the substantially flooded building and retrieving the cards, county officials sent out the records for drying and to be treated for any mold, said Mr. Paganelli. Belfor, a restoration company, handled the project.

County officials said they could not provide the number of delayed requests.

The mental health record is just one of the many documents that law-enforcement officials use as part of the gun purchasing application process, said Lt. Stephen Jones, a State Police spokesman.

Along with fingerprints and application forms, the prospective gun owner goes through an extensive background check that includes personal references, arrest files and motor vehicle records, said Sgt. Glenn Ross, assistant head of the State Police firearms investigation unit.

And right before they acquire the firearm from the gun vendor, buyers also go through one last background check done by the State Police, called the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS.

The mental health records are generated when a person gets involuntarily committed for treatment by the courts, said Mr. Paganelli.

New Jersey—where the state Assembly has passed new regulations that will be taken up soon by the Senate—had a record number of background checks for gun purchases last year, 85,851, compared with 60,256 in 2011, according to FBI statistics. The state is on record pace in the first two months of this year, said Lt. Jones.

Scott Bach, executive director of the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, the state affiliate of the National Rifle Association, said he had received many phone calls about the issue.

"It's hard enough to be a law-abiding gun owner in New Jersey. The last thing we need is government bureaucracy and inefficiency getting in the way of the exercise of a fundamental right," said Mr. Bach.

Here is a link to the whole article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424127887324685104578390453141917278.html?ru=yahoo?mod=yahoo_itp

 

Be sure to post it on your Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and websites!

Thanks for posting the article. Any NEWS from the other reporter.

Update: Spoke to Nancy at 10am. They are starting the letter H right now.

yea.. i don't get it though. If they are "Starting H".. why is it that my last name starts with a "B" and i still haven't heard from my local PD?

Update**: Spoke with my Local PD.. Mine came in today. Looks like we are finally done with this Essex County Ordeal! Now, according to them, i just need to wait for the chief to sign. God knows how long that will take! haha

Update**: Spoke with my Local PD.. Mine came in today. Looks like we are finally done with this Essex County Ordeal! Now, according to them, i just need to wait for the chief to sign. God knows how long that will take! haha

 

Awesome. Glad to hear this is really coming to an end.

What town and letter

Letter "b"