Eccentric twins annoy Paulsboro neighbors

Nearly 12 feet tall, a menacing bronze Neptune stands guard, trident clenched in one hand, blocking the front door of a bungalow in Paulsboro.

Not that many would dare intrude after letting their eyes and minds wander over more than 100 dark bronze figures crammed onto an all-concrete front yard about 50 feet wide.

"Maybe on 10 acres, spread out, this might be pretty. But not like this," said Margie Walsh, who lives next door on Beacon Avenue, a stretch of small, tidy homes and well-manicured lawns.

The display moved from a neighborhood controversy to a police matter when the owners of the home, Gerald and John Hubbs, celebrated the Fourth of July by firing ceremonial bronze cannons in their backyard. The 59-year-old twins also activated a spiky metal dragon that spit flames, neighbors said.

Police charged them with maintaining a nuisance, fireworks violations, and harassment after Walsh's 22-year-old daughter said one of them screamed that he would kill her if she called police again to complain about the noise.

It is not the first time police have been dispatched to the Hubbs home. Six years ago, their lawn and driveway were dug up by police after their 82-year-old mother, Ethel, went missing. A former girlfriend of one twin had told investigators that she believed they had buried the body and continued to cash her Social Security checks.

A body was never found and the men were never charged. Police say they believe that the woman, who had emphysema, died naturally, but that her death was not reported and her body was never recovered.

During the search of the premises and a warehouse owned by one of the twins' former wife, police uncovered illegal weapons, including an AK-47, booby traps, expensive jewelry, coins and allegedly forged documents. The Hubbses, chiropractors and former registered nurses, were tried on more than 100 charges.

Gerald Hubbs was convicted of theft of electricity for rerouting wires and got four years on probation, while John Hubbs was found guilty of weapons-related charges and given three years' probation.

The house is surrounded by a locked chain-link fence. When one of the twins came out to get his mail this week, he declined to comment.

The front lawn, which had been ripped up by bulldozers under the glare of national news cameras, has been covered with a three-foot-high slab of concrete. Walsh said the Hubbse worked on the project night and day.

Nearly four years ago, the brothers began erecting their expensive statues. Roughly a dozen finely crafted pelicans and egrets, many with open bills pointed toward observers, stand inches from a four-foot-tall tortoise whose beak is distorted into a grimace as she protects marble eggs. Garish masks plastered on shore pilings and a family of alligators that bare their teeth are stirred into the mix with fountains and frolicking mermaids.

"My husband and I feel that they are being spiteful against the town for the occurrences of 2002," said Walsh, whose house of 32 years is six feet from the Hubbses' property. She said she is upset that town officials have done little to stop the code violations.

"They are making a mockery of this town. It's an eyesore. It's lowering our property values," said Walsh, who added that people are constantly slowing as they drive by to take pictures.

Longtime Mayor John Burzichelli says his hands are tied.

"It's one of those classic moments where one person's art is another person's clutter. And that's a hard place for government to be," he said.

Burzichelli said code officials were reviewing ordinances to see whether there are any property violations, because he believes the Walshes and other neighbors have a right to enjoy their homes. But he also says he must respect the Hubbses' rights to express themselves on their private property.

"You can't look at the place and say it's a junkyard. It's just different," he said, describing the property as immaculate.

Burzichelli, who is also a state assemblyman, says the review may find that the Hubbs brothers have to pay for permits they failed to get, but he doubted they would be required to take down the figures.

"Our town is two square miles, a working-class community between two oil refineries," the mayor said, adding that it does not have ordinances that regulate the color of houses or aesthetics.

Police Chief Kenneth Ridinger said the Hubbses have been largely quiet since the earlier investigation. He said the recent complaints are the only ones he has received over the years, other than complaints over too many trailers parked in front of and on the property.

"The focus right now is the quality of life in the neighborhood. The mother is an entirely different issue," he said.

Some neighbors aren't complaining about the display. "I don't pay attention to it. It's their business and it doesn't bother me," said Lisa Priest, who lives a few doors away. "But if I was in the process of selling my house, it might bother me."

Another neighbor said she enjoyed watching the lights in the display. At night, the outline of the Hubbs house is lit in pink and the fountains have blinking lanterns.

The chief said police are monitoring the situation to make sure there are no problems.

"We're on the watch for any intimidation that would cause anyone to not express their dislike of what's there," said Ridinger. "People are apprehensive dealing with these guys because of the notorious headlines."

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