The Gardens At Raritan

Raised my rating due to great improvements to the property including porch redo’s, new Fios installment giving us a choice of providers, completely remodeled laundry rooms, enlarged parking areas and constant upgrades to apartments. The staff is wonderful and a pleasure to deal with. There’s always a but though and my only complaint is still the feral cat issue and while I will say it has SEEMED to calm down in some ways there are signs that it is still going on unbeknownst to staff or may arise again due to responses I’ve gotten to my complaint by the person keeping the colonies. She has even placed a responding here but contradicts herself throughout… first she addressed the photos of the NUMEROUS cat shelters saying they had been fixtures for decades… then says that the cats were uncared for until only a few years ago… which is it… decades or a few years theres a huge difference. I can tell you that the shelters placed in the protected wetland treeline were not there in 2012 when I moved in. They’re there now & its illegal to place ANYTHING foreign in a wetland in this state. A person doing so is liable to a very hefty fine and jail sentence. The shelter are a danger more than a refuge as they are weighed down at times with huge heavy cinder blocks which could harm a child should they fall. they have been draped in huge plastic tarps that can degrade; harm wildlife & enter food chain & /​or suffocate a child or wildlife. Sometimes They have plywood propped against them which a child could climb upon. But hey lets say the hell with the kids & the environment & the wildlife & lets just concern ourselves with the feral cats. The cats are not all the cutesy kitty pics that have been posted — these are adult COLONIES that are cutesy for less than a year. What I researched about TNR is not what this person claims. It is meant to release to an appropriate area away from human
is not intended to return the animals to the place they were a problem in to begin with! In some cases they CAN be adopted out but she contradicts herself again first claiming they are not adoptable then saying that over 25 were adopted out. I saw most going to join her growing COLONY which is the term she even used to describe her pack of feral’s on several occasions. The «clean» feeding stations she claims to keep I have witnessed attracting Skunk, Fox and RATS-​far from my idea of clean although it’s her idea of clean. As far as VACCINATIONS there is no VACCINE for toxoplasma gondii virus which is a virus carried by ferals and can be FATAL to humans and cats which is part of the reason many must be destroyed. But lets just feel bad for the cats– the hell with the humans who could die. Getting back to the shelters — I admit she’s correct– they aren’t in the front of the building she has them hidden behind evergreens on the side& all along the back off the building & in VARIOUS areas in the wetland wooded area behind the complex — if everyone is lying about the numbers of cats why then the need for so many shelters … it’s not rocket science to figure out the answer. Whether they are a bad reflection on the complex is a matter of opinion & of course a cat hoarder is going to think they look swell. While it’s sad that tenants do irresponsible things like leave their pets behind when they move the existing tenants shouldn’t have to put up with the problems of having someone hoard cats or keep colonies of feral cats. You aren’t controlling the population when you add more each time a tenant leaves one behind — your creating another problem. This responder told me herself that the office was on her to stop this. Once a worker claimed to have been attacked by a cat. The woman responding came to me crying saying the woman was a liar that her cats would never attack. I believed her until I witnessed one of her cats attack a small dog that was being walked by a man. It didn’t care that a large human was there it ATTACKED but lets not care about the pets that are being walked on leashes let’s just care about the colony of attacking feral cats… You can try and suck up to management all you want but at the end of the day you know its true they gave it a shot but you abused the situation to the point it got out of control. It’s now at the point where this responder is leaving the openings to the maintenance crawl spaces beneath the building open to allow the feral cats in where they pee & poop & scream if they get closed in accidentally… thats abuse not help. Our heat goes out the opening & we must deal with the odors of even cats that pass away. This is beyond sad its an illness that needs professional help. She knows the office doesn’t want it and most tenants don’t either. Buy a house &you can have all the cats you want but even then the health department wouldn’t allow this utter nightmare to go on She even asked a tenant who I’m friends with to sign a false complaint saying I hurt her cats that’s psycho

I have lived at The Gardens for many, many years. This is a very nice place to live. Parking was difficult in the past but management has added many new parking spots so the problem isn’t nearly as bad. The maintenance staff is great. The grounds are regularly taken care of by a well known landscape company. This is a community more than just an apartment complex. I’m writing to address some of the pictures posted. These are shelters for the cats that have been part of this complex for decades! Up until a few years ago, the cats were not taken care of other than being fed and with the help of a local rescue, management has allowed an ongoing trap, neuter, return program in order to stabilize the population. If you research TNR you will learn that it is a proven humane method to control feral cat populations. Some people mistakenly believe that these cats are adoptable. They are not adoptable. Over thirty cats have been sterilized and VACCINATED and twenty five kittens have been adopted from The Gardens. The feeding station, not stations, is kept clean to discourage wildlife from feeding there according to the standards recommended by Alley Cat Allies, a nationally known organization dedicated to educating the public about the world of feral cats and their care. The shelters are located away from the front of the apartments and in the woods. They in no way are a danger to anyone or a bad reflection on this community but rather an indication that people care. Cats are a part of every apartment complex. This happens because tenants move and leave the cat to fend for itself or use apartments as a dumping ground. The difference here is that there is an important effort to control the population and keep the remaining cats healthy. The cats bother no one, keep the rodent population down and I would hope that a few shelters placed would not stop someone from moving in. I have NEVER heard one negative complaint from residents here regarding the cats. In fact, I’m told what a kind thing it is.
As I stated before, this is a community more than a complex. Management encourages residents to plant flower gardens in the summer and decorate for the holidays. Again, this is a very nice place to live.

The rental agent Dolores was very kind, and helpful. She spent a of of time with me explaining various things. Thank you!

I came from a very noisy, run down, college neighborhood where several houses where burglarized and my car was broken into so, you have to get where I am coming from. The neighborhood is quiet and appears to be safe being that I have been out past midnight and no one bothers me. Car was left unlocked and no one stole anything either. You definitely are living with a better type of people in this place, which is why I like it. Many college aged to mid twenty something professionals.
There is maintenance crew that comes around every morning and cleans up which is nice. They also have night time security which makes me feel better. So far no loud parties or anything like that. The people here seem to be nice and there a lot of families with kids. The front office staff is very nice as well. I know Delores is very kind and friendly. There are also multiple laundry rooms right on the property, and it is pet friendly.
CONS:
–Water: It seems like every month we either have no hot water or no water at all. It is usually fixed in a matter of hours.
–Crazies: There are only two. One is a senile, nasty old woman who yells at people from her front stoop. She is walker bound so I guess I would be pissed off too if my hip no longer worked. The other is a woman who reeks of alcohol and tries to strike up conversations with me when I’m desperately trying to walk my dog and get to work on time.
–Walls are extremely thin. I can hear my neighbors walking up the stairs and this makes heating (which you pay for) sub par. To be fair though, the place stays cool in the summer.

Basically, the parking is a nightmare. After a certain time, it can be almost impossible to find a spot. I read that someone said «you can walk»… Well where would you walk from if there is no parking? I’ve spent 30 – 45 minutes circling the complex just to find a spot which is very ridiculous considering this is where I live so I don’t understand what they expect. Also, the staff can seem friendly at first but most of the times I’ve called with serious questions or concerns I was hung up on or basically not helped. They are unprofessional and rude. The laundry rooms are gross and some just steal your money because they won’t wash or dry your clothes, what a waste! & how do they expect you to ever have friends or family over if they can’t park there without worrying that their car will be towed, that’s beyond me. The shower, you think you have a good temperature going until it burns or freezes you out of nowhere. Overall, this place sucks. Yes the units may be nice and whatnot but I don’t think it’s worth it, I’m very disappointed with my short stay here (short for good reasons!).

Awful. Rent is too high for the buildings they pass off as homes. No insulation and you pay the heat. Look elsewhere.