Whitney Houston Discussion
Feb 27, 2012 12:20:47 GMT -5
Post by Bojangles on Feb 27, 2012 12:20:47 GMT -5
Nice article.
In Whitney Houston's Mendham Twp. neighborhood
Pop icon brought a touch of magic and mystique to area
The troubles that plagued Whitney Houston never surfaced in her dealings with the locals in Mendham Township, where she lived in a 12,561-square-foot mansion on quiet North Gate Road in the Oak Knoll section.
Neighbors called Houston “sweet” and “friendly.” She waved when she took walks, sent them Christmas cards, and supported a local children’s charity.
“The experience we all had was very positive,” said Claire Kaplan, Houston’s next-door neighbor since the mid-’80s. “There were lots of workmen renovating her house for close to a year after she moved in. To thank us for putting up with that, she sent us all red roses.”
The pop star with the big voice also sent bouquets, and thank you notes, after her July 18, 1992, wedding to R&B singer Bobby Brown, an event that drew 700 attendees. Security was so tight that some of the neighbors recall having to show an ID to pull into their own driveways.
That was OK with them, though, especially because many were invited to the event as well as Houston’s 25th birthday party — a memorable night for Fran Bondy, who used to live on North Gate Road and was president of the Oak Knoll Property Owners Association.
“She greeted everyone as we filed in,” Bondy recalled. “There were three tents, everything was done to perfection, and everyone seemed very happy to be there and chat and mix. I met Sue Simmons from Channel 4 News and Isaiah Thomas. My friend approached him to get an autograph for my daughter. She still treasures that.
“It was a magical night.”
Food connections
Some people recall when Houston, after she renovated her strikingly circular home, purchased the adjacent property at 1 Cross Way for her family members, including her brother, Michael Houston, also a musician.
But even off her out-of-the-way street, the singer’s presence always was welcome at local restaurants and other establishments. She ordered Greek salads with grilled chicken on top at The Randolph Diner, recalled owner Bobby Spiropoulos.
“Some customers recognized her right away,” he said. “Some teens went over to the table, and she gave them an autograph.”
Houston also liked pot pies, according to Michael Horty, general manager at The Black Horse Tavern and Pub, a mainstay in downtown Mendham. She enjoyed eating there with her daughter, Bobbi Kristina, in the booth behind the host station.
“One time she was humming a tune and I had to stop by and say, ‘Oh, that sounds so beautiful,’ ” Horty said. “The same song was playing on the Muzak system.”
Always, he said, the songstress/actress was lovely, soft-spoken, and “had a beautiful air about herself.”
According to Horty, at one point Houston was having a recording studio addition built onto her Mendham home. With so many people around, she ordered a lot of takeout for a while.
“She would call and ask, ‘Would you make me a special lobster, please? I love the way you make lobster,’ ” Horty recalled.
Her favorite Chinese takeout place was The China Gourmet, formerly in the Mendham Village Shopping Center, where the owner kept Houston’s picture on the wall.
No one had to guess that was her favorite, according to Mendham Township Committeeman Rich Krieg.
“Whitney was interviewed on the radio in California,” Krieg said. “When they asked what was her favorite place to eat in Mendham, she said The China Gourmet. I knew the owner at the time and he was excited. That was his big claim.”
'Down to earthand genuine'
Houston was graceful even under stress, according to Mendham Township Police Chief Steven Crawford. Not long after Houston moved to Mendham, Crawford stopped her on some motor vehicle offense.
“She jumped out of the car,” he recalled. “Obviously, I recognized her from music videos. She was very down to earth and genuine, especially considering her stature with regard to fame.”
Crawford also remembered noting she was short, which surprised him, and that wasn’t all that surprised him.
“For a woman who had No. 1 hits, she was, first, driving herself around,” he said. “Second, she was extremely personable and a pleasure to deal with.”
Did he give her a ticket?
“No! Never!” Crawford said. “Her attitude was phenomenal.”
But a limousine did appear in later years.
Charles Topping was working at First Fidelity Bank on East Main Street and recalls Houston’s limousine parking in a series of spaces by the bank while the driver ran into the Wicker Basket to get cups of coffee.
“He’d bring out the coffee and the window in the limo would go down as he approached,” Topping recalled. “Then he would hand the coffee into the limo. So we saw her hand as she reached to get the coffee.”
Topping called Houston an asset to the town and “a person of note, a person of quality.”
The limo wasn’t the only car at the Houston estate, as Krieg remembered.
“Her daughter went to the Montessori nursery school,” he said. “Bobby and Whitney were very clear that they wanted their daughter to be mainstreamed and not singled out. Their daughter showed up the next day in a chauffeured Rolls-Royce.”
Her charitable side
As revealed in many media reports, Houston had a special feeling for protecting children. In “Greatest Love of All,” one of her hits, she sang:
I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
The sentiment was reflected in her $60,000 donation in 1998 to help Deirdre’s House of Morristown build a medical room for children.
Because of that generosity, Jim O’Brien, formerly of Mendham Township, holds a special place in his heart for Houston.
Deirdre’s House is named after his daughter, Deirdre O’Brien, whose life was taken at 25 by a serial killer.
The facility serves area children who are victims of abuse and/or neglect.
“We were running low on money and didn’t have enough to establish a medical room where doctors would give treatment to victims,” said O’Brien, a former county freeholder. “Word got around and we got a call from Houston, who said she’d like to donate $60,000 for the room.”
To this day it lessens the trauma of medical care for children, said Deirdre’s House Executive Director Maria Vinci-Savettiere.
“People never talk about how philanthropic she was,” Vinci-Savettiere said.
A real tragedy
Deborah Heiberger of Randolph never encountered Houston but nevertheless drove to the star’s now vacant mansion Wednesday to place flowers outside the gate.
“I put flowers there because I really loved her,” Heiberger said. “I just wanted to make some kind of tribute. I loved her voice. It was the most amazing voice I ever heard. Not many artists have a voice like hers. She was beautiful.
“Whitney Houston had it all. But, unfortunately, I guess she didn’t feel that way, and it’s sad.”
Houston divorced Bobby Brown in 2007.
The Mendham mansion on North Gate Road, now reportedly in need of repair, remains on the market, as it has been, on and off, since 2009, according to Robert Cross, an agent with CarProperty.com. Cross drew media attention this week when he advertised the mansion as the “scene of the activity that brought down this incredible musical diva over a 15-year cycle.”
Originally $2.5 million, the asking price was reduced to $1.97 million last year before the home was briefly taken off the market. It went back on the market in January for $1.75 million.
“Even though Whitney had a listing with New Jersey real estate people,” Cross said, “she wanted to advertise on CarProperty.com, starting about 2½ years ago. I met with her personally then and we connected because she had an interest in cars and her place had a big garage that she appreciated.”
He said Houston thought buyers who liked cars would appreciate the mansion. The ad says the property features 15 outside parking spaces and a 1,000-square-foot four-or-more-car garage. It also describes the hallmarks of the mansion on the five-acre, gated lot as “soaring ceilings, abundant natural light, and circular-themed interior spaces.”
It was there in 2005, in the last years of their marriage, that Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston filmed the reality television series, “Being Bobby Brown.”
The home is only being shown to potential buyers with proof of at least $1.75 million in liquid assets, according to the ad. A few potential buyers have come forward, according to Cross.
“
But many are going to wait until the brouhaha settles down,” he said, “because they might think someone will drag them into the public conversation about this mansion.”
Though the mansion is a curiosity, the conversation in Mendham focuses on Whitney Houston as a thoughtful neighbor who brought a touch of her magic and mystique to their town and their lives.
Like everyone interviewed who remembered Houston, Krieg
expressed sadness for the pop star’s suffering and death.
“This is a real tragedy,” he said.
Bondy put it this way: “It’s just so sad. It’s bittersweet.”
In Whitney Houston's Mendham Twp. neighborhood
Pop icon brought a touch of magic and mystique to area
The troubles that plagued Whitney Houston never surfaced in her dealings with the locals in Mendham Township, where she lived in a 12,561-square-foot mansion on quiet North Gate Road in the Oak Knoll section.
Neighbors called Houston “sweet” and “friendly.” She waved when she took walks, sent them Christmas cards, and supported a local children’s charity.
“The experience we all had was very positive,” said Claire Kaplan, Houston’s next-door neighbor since the mid-’80s. “There were lots of workmen renovating her house for close to a year after she moved in. To thank us for putting up with that, she sent us all red roses.”
The pop star with the big voice also sent bouquets, and thank you notes, after her July 18, 1992, wedding to R&B singer Bobby Brown, an event that drew 700 attendees. Security was so tight that some of the neighbors recall having to show an ID to pull into their own driveways.
That was OK with them, though, especially because many were invited to the event as well as Houston’s 25th birthday party — a memorable night for Fran Bondy, who used to live on North Gate Road and was president of the Oak Knoll Property Owners Association.
“She greeted everyone as we filed in,” Bondy recalled. “There were three tents, everything was done to perfection, and everyone seemed very happy to be there and chat and mix. I met Sue Simmons from Channel 4 News and Isaiah Thomas. My friend approached him to get an autograph for my daughter. She still treasures that.
“It was a magical night.”
Food connections
Some people recall when Houston, after she renovated her strikingly circular home, purchased the adjacent property at 1 Cross Way for her family members, including her brother, Michael Houston, also a musician.
But even off her out-of-the-way street, the singer’s presence always was welcome at local restaurants and other establishments. She ordered Greek salads with grilled chicken on top at The Randolph Diner, recalled owner Bobby Spiropoulos.
“Some customers recognized her right away,” he said. “Some teens went over to the table, and she gave them an autograph.”
Houston also liked pot pies, according to Michael Horty, general manager at The Black Horse Tavern and Pub, a mainstay in downtown Mendham. She enjoyed eating there with her daughter, Bobbi Kristina, in the booth behind the host station.
“One time she was humming a tune and I had to stop by and say, ‘Oh, that sounds so beautiful,’ ” Horty said. “The same song was playing on the Muzak system.”
Always, he said, the songstress/actress was lovely, soft-spoken, and “had a beautiful air about herself.”
According to Horty, at one point Houston was having a recording studio addition built onto her Mendham home. With so many people around, she ordered a lot of takeout for a while.
“She would call and ask, ‘Would you make me a special lobster, please? I love the way you make lobster,’ ” Horty recalled.
Her favorite Chinese takeout place was The China Gourmet, formerly in the Mendham Village Shopping Center, where the owner kept Houston’s picture on the wall.
No one had to guess that was her favorite, according to Mendham Township Committeeman Rich Krieg.
“Whitney was interviewed on the radio in California,” Krieg said. “When they asked what was her favorite place to eat in Mendham, she said The China Gourmet. I knew the owner at the time and he was excited. That was his big claim.”
'Down to earthand genuine'
Houston was graceful even under stress, according to Mendham Township Police Chief Steven Crawford. Not long after Houston moved to Mendham, Crawford stopped her on some motor vehicle offense.
“She jumped out of the car,” he recalled. “Obviously, I recognized her from music videos. She was very down to earth and genuine, especially considering her stature with regard to fame.”
Crawford also remembered noting she was short, which surprised him, and that wasn’t all that surprised him.
“For a woman who had No. 1 hits, she was, first, driving herself around,” he said. “Second, she was extremely personable and a pleasure to deal with.”
Did he give her a ticket?
“No! Never!” Crawford said. “Her attitude was phenomenal.”
But a limousine did appear in later years.
Charles Topping was working at First Fidelity Bank on East Main Street and recalls Houston’s limousine parking in a series of spaces by the bank while the driver ran into the Wicker Basket to get cups of coffee.
“He’d bring out the coffee and the window in the limo would go down as he approached,” Topping recalled. “Then he would hand the coffee into the limo. So we saw her hand as she reached to get the coffee.”
Topping called Houston an asset to the town and “a person of note, a person of quality.”
The limo wasn’t the only car at the Houston estate, as Krieg remembered.
“Her daughter went to the Montessori nursery school,” he said. “Bobby and Whitney were very clear that they wanted their daughter to be mainstreamed and not singled out. Their daughter showed up the next day in a chauffeured Rolls-Royce.”
Her charitable side
As revealed in many media reports, Houston had a special feeling for protecting children. In “Greatest Love of All,” one of her hits, she sang:
I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
The sentiment was reflected in her $60,000 donation in 1998 to help Deirdre’s House of Morristown build a medical room for children.
Because of that generosity, Jim O’Brien, formerly of Mendham Township, holds a special place in his heart for Houston.
Deirdre’s House is named after his daughter, Deirdre O’Brien, whose life was taken at 25 by a serial killer.
The facility serves area children who are victims of abuse and/or neglect.
“We were running low on money and didn’t have enough to establish a medical room where doctors would give treatment to victims,” said O’Brien, a former county freeholder. “Word got around and we got a call from Houston, who said she’d like to donate $60,000 for the room.”
To this day it lessens the trauma of medical care for children, said Deirdre’s House Executive Director Maria Vinci-Savettiere.
“People never talk about how philanthropic she was,” Vinci-Savettiere said.
A real tragedy
Deborah Heiberger of Randolph never encountered Houston but nevertheless drove to the star’s now vacant mansion Wednesday to place flowers outside the gate.
“I put flowers there because I really loved her,” Heiberger said. “I just wanted to make some kind of tribute. I loved her voice. It was the most amazing voice I ever heard. Not many artists have a voice like hers. She was beautiful.
“Whitney Houston had it all. But, unfortunately, I guess she didn’t feel that way, and it’s sad.”
Houston divorced Bobby Brown in 2007.
The Mendham mansion on North Gate Road, now reportedly in need of repair, remains on the market, as it has been, on and off, since 2009, according to Robert Cross, an agent with CarProperty.com. Cross drew media attention this week when he advertised the mansion as the “scene of the activity that brought down this incredible musical diva over a 15-year cycle.”
Originally $2.5 million, the asking price was reduced to $1.97 million last year before the home was briefly taken off the market. It went back on the market in January for $1.75 million.
“Even though Whitney had a listing with New Jersey real estate people,” Cross said, “she wanted to advertise on CarProperty.com, starting about 2½ years ago. I met with her personally then and we connected because she had an interest in cars and her place had a big garage that she appreciated.”
He said Houston thought buyers who liked cars would appreciate the mansion. The ad says the property features 15 outside parking spaces and a 1,000-square-foot four-or-more-car garage. It also describes the hallmarks of the mansion on the five-acre, gated lot as “soaring ceilings, abundant natural light, and circular-themed interior spaces.”
It was there in 2005, in the last years of their marriage, that Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston filmed the reality television series, “Being Bobby Brown.”
The home is only being shown to potential buyers with proof of at least $1.75 million in liquid assets, according to the ad. A few potential buyers have come forward, according to Cross.
“
But many are going to wait until the brouhaha settles down,” he said, “because they might think someone will drag them into the public conversation about this mansion.”
Though the mansion is a curiosity, the conversation in Mendham focuses on Whitney Houston as a thoughtful neighbor who brought a touch of her magic and mystique to their town and their lives.
Like everyone interviewed who remembered Houston, Krieg
expressed sadness for the pop star’s suffering and death.
“This is a real tragedy,” he said.
Bondy put it this way: “It’s just so sad. It’s bittersweet.”