5 Reasons Why The Plight of Schedler Residents in Ridgewood Should Matter To You

Dear Neighbor,

You may have heard recently about some hubbub relating to the Schedler Property, but you probably don’t know much about it. Well, here’s a little background and why you should be concerned.

First, what is Schedler Property and where’s it located? 

The Schedler Property is a plot of Ridgewood land that exists on the other side of Route 17. It has historical relevance from the Revolutionary War. The Village purchased this land with the intention of building a park with some passive and active components. 

The residents who live in its proximity have been alarmed because of the impact that development could have on their health as well as their property values. The Schedler Property is located right against Route 17 and the trees and foliage there have served as an environmental buffer from all of the noise, light, airborne particulates, gaseous pollutants, and air toxins emitted by diesel trucks and cars. An oversized ballfield and parking lot would clear cut that essential buffer and the materials used could seep into the water wells these residents use.

On the other side of the argument are residents who desire to have an additional playing field as Ridgewood seems to lack these for all those who wish to play field sports.

So, there’s been resistance to overbuilding on that property and this has been a fight that’s been going on for over ten years. 

Over the past couple of years, there was a breakthrough in this fight. Under the previous Village Council, an agreement was made between the Village and Schedler residents about implementing a moderate-sized sports field and facility there. Unfortunately, some complications arose, which kept this vision from being implemented before the current Village Council was sworn in.

Now,  the current Village Council has decided to disregard this prior agreement and railroad a much larger field and facility instead while also forgoing any independent impact studies to help guide it.

So, why should you care? 

1. We’re neighbors. If you lived at Schedler, wouldn’t you hope that others in town would stand up for you?

2. What the Village Council is attempting to do is reckless and will likely result in lawsuits down the road, particularly due to the lack of impact studies. You could be paying for these lawsuits with your taxes.

3. The Schedler Property is analogous to Poland in 1939. Certain current Village Council members promised ‘reasonable development’ when they were running for office; but is what’s happening at Schedler reasonable? This suggests the beginning of a larger campaign to radically reshape our village. Additional high density housing and transformation of our village into a transit hub are likely next steps. These radical changes could affect your property value, your children’s school and your taxes. 

4. One recourse for residents, when a Village Council starts acting against their wishes, is to have everyone address their grievances at the public comment, which occurs at the beginning and end of every Village Council meeting. However, the current Mayor has limited public comment at the beginning of these meetings and has the option to eradicate them at their conclusion should he feel a meeting is running late. This is handicapping the residents who live at Schedler to effectively speak out. When an issue that more directly impacts you is up for consideration, you will face the same limitation. 

5. Furthermore, the current Mayor forced out Village Manager, Heather Mailander, by circumventing official Village Council meetings to do so. Instead, the decision was made with other council members unofficially, while excluding another council member entirely. It is illegal to have more than two council people meeting at a time unless it is deemed an official meeting, so the current Mayor may be facing some ethical and or legal violations for this.

If you find the behavior of this current Village Council to be concerning and want to do something about it, now is the time to get involved. You can reach us at: ProtectRidgewood@gmail.com.  You can also visit https://schedlerpark.com/ and sign their petition.  Thank you!

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