After arriving home from Superior Court on May 4, the first thing that Joseph Rocca did was receive the key to the building that has housed his St. Joseph Catholic Club for the past 82 years.
Judge Arthur D’Italia had ruled that that the members are allowed back into the Union City-based club after having been kicked out by the parish that houses it. The parish wants to use the space for other purposes. While this may sound like a victory for the 230 members of the Catholic club, the parish can ask them to leave again. D’Italia ruled that even though the parish had sent the Club letters telling them to leave, they never posted a 30-day eviction notice. The parish can still do that, although the Club plans to fight it out in court if they do.
“They ousted us from the premises,” said Victor Mullica, the attorney representing the club, last week. “The court told them they were wrong. They should not have done that. They should not have taken the law into their own hands.”
“If we didn’t get a victory at all, then we would have been out of there,” said Joe Rocca. “And that would have been that.”
However, the members of the club reentered the building Saturday morning.
“We more or less got some order to the place on Saturday,” said Rocca, who has already made plans to try and restore the damage that was done to the property last month.
After a 10-month struggle, the Saints Joseph and Michael Parish had hired Fernandez Construction Company in Union City to begin tearing down the club April 5. This spurred the members of the club to seek legal action. A representative from the Archdiocese of Newark, Jim Goodness, said that the parish needs that building to house other ministry groups that currently have no place to meet.
An improper eviction
Although the parish had sent the club members letters since last June asking the club to vacate the building, the court ruled that the notices were not prepared and delivered in accordance with state law.
According to state law the parish had a legal obligation to post a 30-day notice to vacate the building.
“You cannot use the medium of self help,” said Mullica. “You can’t just take the law into your own hands.”
However, the parish can now file for a 30-day eviction notice the proper way. Meaning that the club may again be kicked out of their headquarters.
“This is not a given,” said Joe Rocca. “They are still going to have to go through the courts to get us out of there.”
Goodness said that the parish is preparing to go forward with the eviction notice.
“The situation still exists,” said Goodness. “We still need the building for other groups.”
Before the struggle started, the club had been paying monthly rent, but they stopped when the parish began sending the letters.
Rocca said that the club is not planning to leave quietly.
“Certainly we can contest any move they make in court,” said Rocca. “It is going to cost money. But it is better then being out on the street.”
According to Mullica, the St. Joseph Catholic Club still has a case pending for damages as a result of the actions taken on April 5 by the construction company.
“Anything in [the building] is club property,” said Rocca referring to the pool tables, bar and bowling alleys that were destroyed last month. “If they came in and knocked down the walls, that is their property.”