May 16,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Tuesday, May 16th is residents’ last chance to address the planning board about the massive new 66 unit, multi-retail store complex coming to Franklin and Broad from local developer John Saraceno. This high-density housing project sets off a chain reaction of public safety problems in Ridgewood. The hearing and vote is set for 8pm at village hall on Tuesday night. Between Saraceno’s 60+ families plus new stores on Franklin and the 40+ families moving in yards away at the new Chestnut street high-density development, the Franklin Ave corridor will likely be overwhelmed with hundreds upon hundreds of more cars and pedestrians creating an even bigger threat to public safety on an already dangerous road. The Franklin ave corridor has a long history of accidents and pedestrians struck by cars and busses.
High-density development downtown is allowed thanks to controversial laws championed by Ridgewood resident Saraceno and then-mayor Paul Aronsohn.
In the zoomed in version of developer Saraceno’s “rendering” above we see the already congested and dangerous Franklin & Broad intersection which will be drastically impacted by the new 5 story building and the nearby 4 story Chestnut apartments. The archway on the right is one of two entry/exit for the 150 new parking spots on Franklin. The current lot is private and not open to the public. There will be a great deal of new traffic at one of the most important, dangerous, and crowded intersections in the village.
The new light at this intersection will cost $300k, Saraceno has offered to pay 25% [which is more than the law requires]. The bigger problem is how other, non-upgraded intersections will handle the traffic flow. By law, developers of Ridgewood’s 4 new high-density buildings have only to pay a small fraction of any needed new lights.
The planning board meets Tuesday the 16th at 7:30pm in Village Hall. The public is encouraged to attend.
My recollection is that at one of the earliest planning board meetings, Saraceno agreed to fund the new light altogether.
But, the light is just a drop in the bucket as to what Saraceno’s slums are going to cost us. Make sure to thank Aroghnson and Pucciareli when you see them next for turning over the keys to the city to the developers.
It’s a real laugh how that proposal on that congested area could have gone so far. Give me chimpanzees any day over humans.
The head of Big Al The Developers’ Pal should be front and center on that photo collage
Where is the current council? They ran on the promise to prevent the construction and now are saying they have no power. I guess the candidates who admitted they had no power to stop the construction were the honest ones since it appears the current council is going to just roll over and let the buildings be built.
I don’t remember the current council running on a platform to “prevent the construction” of high density housing.
They were in favor of a common sense approach to the parking problem. Again, no pledge to prevent a parking garage, just a pledge to decrease the scale and impact.
There are private property owners who are looking to develop. The council needs to manage the impact.
66 units is hardly massive. I’m all for it and it’s about time we starting doing something for other than children in this town. There are empty nesters, seniors, singles commuting to NY who would welcome this housing. If it were up to this group of opponents we would never change a thing in Ridgewood.
Pfund’s folly still haunting us 10 years on…
The current council immediately overturned 3066 to prevent any more big developments. But the applications that were already in cannot be stopped. This is not the fault of the current council. Gwen , Albert and Paul voted these in. Susan and mike voted against. Put the blame where it goes.
Why are we lining this guy’s pockets…?
If the gentleman above is concerned about empyi nesters than zone for 55 and over.
912 – Seriously? No one is welcoming this development other than the developers lining their pockets – – go take a look at the ramshackle developments they are building alongside the railroad tracks and tell me who is going to live there? Unless our empty nesters are named Elway and Jake Blues, no one else is going to want an apartment right next to the train running by every 20 minutes.
Our prior council was outmaneuvered by the developers. We got sold down the river by Mayor Moron. The current council could do more to curtail what is going on but it is sidetracked by in-fighting.
Go, show up, and exercise your rights to free speech on the subject.
May 16, 2017 at 9:12 am said,
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66 units is hardly massive.
.
Ha Ha Ha if you really believe that BS.
Isn’t the site being used for commuter parking right now, so there existing traffic during rush hour now. The new development should spread the traffic out during the day. If light/signal is modernized the traffic flow will be better than it is now.
Welcome to Hackensack.
Better to have Hackensack than the dump we have down town now. Old dilapidated buildings.
Better to have Hackensack than the dump of a down town we have now.