“Well after almost 30 years in town and countless hours of debate we have reluctantly decided to give up on RW. We raised our children here, made some good friends, and enjoy many aspects of the area. But the village has just sucked every bit of tolerance from us. Property taxes north of $40,000 that will never go down, parking rates that are just ridiculous, can’t water the lawn, rampant nepotism and weak selfish leaders, an awful expensive commute to NYC, and a $111,000,000 school budget have combined to drive us out. All of this with NJ state seeming to do everything it can to also drive people out.
Anyone looking for a nice house on the west side let us know. Wish all well”
$111,000,000 school budget? That’s driving you out of a town with some of the best schools in the region? Hackensack’s proposed school budget is $125 million. I’m sure your village is a lot better managed than that small city, and that your streets are well-paved. My block is a minefield of patched and unpatched potholes that rock even my heavy EV. We also have to contend with unrelenting noise from business aircraft that buzz our neighborhoods. Count yourself lucky, bud.
Very Low attendance at Ridgewood Strategic Planning meeting yesterday. Same faces as usual, maybe 30 in total. Topic for discussion is how to make our school district better. No word from presenters on the cost, which indicates our concerns aren’t sinking in. I’m for one not ready to abandon the village just yet and will be voting no to school Budget until leadership takes concrete actions to address the cost spiralling out of control.
Ridgewood was done about 20+ years ago.
.
Momentum and memory was all that kept it going, but eventually reality catches up with everyone.
.
‘former mayor and screeching online bullies’…… Couldn’t agree more. Even if good people try to volunteer they never get elected, their voices are never heard. Seems like the pile of….. Dirt….on schedler is what everyone deserves
To the original commenter victor from Hackensack.. You sound like on of the elitists living in the high rise apartments on prospect street… Teterboro airport was there long before you moved to Hackensack. Why do you think your apartment there is cheaper than fort lee?
I get it. I grew up in Ridgewood but live in a neighboring town now so do a lot of dining/movie-going/churchgoing/event-going in Ridgewood, as well as in other nearby towns. There are some good and great restaurants and I like being able to go to the same movie theater I went to growing up, and getting ice cream at Van Dykes, enjoying the duck pond with my family…nostalgic reasons, basically. But as everyone says, the parking situation is out of control and the mood of the town is just not the same. Rising costs have not been met with rising quality of life, it seems to me. I love the area but would not choose to buy in Ridgewood regardless of cost. And the way the school district is run is a complete mystery to me.
I just don’t understand the parking complaints. There is plenty of parking, just not directly in front of the restaurant you want to visit. Oh the horror of walking 2-3 blocks. Ironic considering how people don’t think twice about parking at the mall and walking to the stores there.
So, you raised your children here, got the benefit of an excellent education, a town without metal detectors or gang violence. I assume they got into good colleges. You are living in a house worth probably assessed over $1.6 million. Your taxes are about 60% of what you would pay in most of Essex County. If you work in New York City, there are few towns that provide a better lifestyle with a shorter commute than Ridgewood. We have a great downtown (true, maybe not as good as it used to be, but neither is anywhere else, and I agree that the high parking fees are ridiculous). As for the leaders, they have been elected for issue-specific reasons, but that is the responsibility of the voters (and especially the NON-voters). Ridgewood isn’t perfect by any means, but it isn’t nearly as bad as everyone is making it out to be. But if you disagree, lots of people are ready to buy your house, which would undoubtedly be priced higher than most surrounding towns, and marketed highlighting Ridgewood’s many amenities and qualities. I hope James’ potential purchasers don’t read his blog entry!