February 6,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, a petition is circulating to Stop the disruption of History, Stop Developers from building 6800 sq ft homes within an already sub-divided flaglot. Planning Board meeting scheduled for 2/6/2018 at 730pm.
The historic 1830s Ridgewood home at 315 East Glen Avenue where I grew up is currently being threatened with destruction so that the current owner can replace it with two houses to sell on this large property! The house shares many original architectural and decorative details with the Hermitage and Hohokus Inn and has a fascinating history with residents including the actor Edwin Boothe, and it was reputed to have been a part of the Underground Railroad. Aside from the beauty, history and trees/landscaping that would be lost with the destruction of this home, the proposed variances create issues for the town and neighborhood (detailed in the petition.) These proposed variances will be discussed this Tuesday, Dec. 19th at 7:30 at Village Hall – if you do not want to see this historic home lost, please consider signing the petition below, forwarding it to friends and/or joining us at the Planning Board meeting on Tuesday!
https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stop-destruction-of-historic?source=c.em.cp&r_by=19358725
Please.
Who are you to tell ANYONE who legally own’s the property what the can and cannot do with it. So you grew up there. Brilliant. If the property was so significantly important why did you sell? And one would suppose one made a nice profit, no? And here we are today with the new owners who simply want to move along and make a dime as well and your aghast because your memories fade with the transaction? Here’s an idea. Find yourself a hobby and mind your own business.
You should probably just repost all the comments from the last time this thread was posted here. In summary: 1] If you love the house, buy it and save it. 2] Once you sell it it’s not yours and 3] The person really leading the charge here is upset that the home she bought will be impacted by this change in her neighbor’s property. It’s exactly the kind of issue that the planning board exists to deal with and they do their job well.
DPL – she is spreading misinformation and spraying gasoline on a fire. And she’s running for office. Bend over ladies and gentlemen, you are about to be had.
One cannot by definition “Disrupt History”. History already happened and can’t be “disrupted. You can alter the course of present or future events that may some day be “history” but that is not the same as “disrupting history”. I point this out because it sort of illustrates the intellectual and logical gaps in the argument that the current owner “owes” something to someone who used to live there.
There are many mid-19 century homes in Ridgewood. I live in one of them. Don’t try to tell me what I can do with my property so long as it conforms to current building and zoning codes.
There is great value to preserving the history and character of our village. Does 315 East Glen Avenue qualify? I don’t know, but if the home is from the 1830s then I think it is at least worth considering. There is and always will be tension between those who wish to preserve certain qualities of the village and its structures and those who argue that development needs to naturally proceed and a property owner can do what he wishes, within reason, with his own property.
Certainly we don’t want the village to become a cookie-cutter suburb like much of New Jersey. The area of the lawns is testament to what happens when a developer does as he pleases (nothing against the people there at all). The village should have proper controls in place to determine what is worth saving and what is not. Room for public debate should be included in any discussions.
Those who love the ‘historic’ house so much are free to purchase it and keep it as is.
10:45 AM: Is it Janice Willett?
Yes 419… her web handle is dpl….