About two dozen residents were in municipal court Tuesday
Bob Kymer pays $425 per month to rent an apartment on the fourth floor of what was once a luxurious Playboy Club in Vernon.
He has a bed, a couch, a TV, a couple of dressers, and a microwave for heating up food since cooking is not allowed.
View of the former Playboy Club in Vernon. 10/24/2017 "It's OK," he said of his home of nearly six years.
Kymer and about two dozen others living in what was most recently the former the former Legends Resort and Country Club appeared Tuesday in Vernon municipal court, where a judge scheduled a Jan. 23 hearing that could lead to their departure.
At issue is a 1999 local ordinance barring extended stays of more than 30 days at the 47-year-old former hotel, which the township, citing safety concerns, began seeking to enforce about a year ago. Some of the residents had lived in these hotel rooms for more than a decade.
Vernon Zoning Officer Alison Larocca issued 29 summonses to about 70 residents, including Kymer and about two dozen children, on Nov. 1. That was just one week after the two entities owning the rental units pleaded guilty to five summonses -- issued in November 2016, under the same local law -- and agreed to evict their tenants. Now, it's unclear how many renters still remain in the building.
Kymer said the uncertainty of how long he'll be able to stay, whether he'll be pushed out during winter, is "really stressful."
"Why are they trying to take us down," Kymer said.
Kevin Kaye, like Kymer, resides on the fourth floor and said he has been in the building for slightly longer, about six and a half years. He said his rent is $450 monthly.
Asked about living conditions, Kaye took exception to Mayor Harry Shortway's recent characterization of residents living in "squalor."
"I have no problems. I don't know why they say we're living in squalor," Kaye said, adding, "If I was living in squalor, you think I'd still be living there?"
Shortway, who was not in court Tuesday, said previously that his administration got involved upon discovering conditions posing health and safety risks to the occupants -- from overcrowding and leaking toilets to crossed electrical wires and other fire hazards.
Kaye said he is resigned to the possibility of leaving, but hopes to delay his exit "at least until it's warm out."
"Who the hell wants to move out now," he said.
An attorney whose organization provides free legal services to the poor showed up in court Tuesday, meeting afterward with some residents and offering guidance.
Tuesday's case management hearing was brief, with all standing as Municipal Court Judge James Devine addressed them and announced the Jan. 23 date.
While Devine is not empowered to order evictions, a process that would take place in Superior Court, Shortway has said the township is open to waving fines of up to several thousands dollars for any resident agreeing to depart.
The 617-room building was built by Playboy Enterprises Inc. for nearly $30 million in 1971, with the expectation that gambling would soon be allowed -- a scenario that never materialized.
The Playboy Club closed in the early 1980s and was succeeded by a couple of hotels, culminating at some point in the building being entirely turned over to renters.
Much of the building is already off-limits, with most tenants living on the fourth, seventh and eighth floors.
The entire east wing is closed, including the suite once reserved for the late Hugh Hefner, the Playboy magazine founder who died Sept. 27 at age 91.
Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook