the staff of The Ridgewood Blog
Ridgewood NJ, in a July 22 email to the New Jersey State Deputy Historic Preservation Officer Dr. Kate Marcopul, Hackensack based attorney George W. Wright voiced his concern that Village of Ridgewood officials have been given preferential treatment with respect to their application for development of property associated with the Zabriskie/Schedler house on West Saddle River Road, Ridgewood. Mr. Wright recently received a New Jersey Historical Commission’s Award of Recognition for his work in preserving the Zabriskie/Schedler House.
Specifically, Mr. Wright cited the Village’s submission of materials (and acceptance of those materials by the NJDEP) well beyond established/published cut off dates, the amount of presentation time allotted to Village representatives during a July 21, 2025 on-line meeting of the NJDEP’s Historic Sites Council, and a trouble prone internet-based platform/limited time provided for public comment during the aforementioned meeting.
Additionally, Mr. Wright claimed that at the conclusion of the July 21 meeting, Village Manager Keith Kazmark “demanded” that NJDEP officials accept no further new materials from the public (even though the Village had submitted new materials well beyond established/published cut off dates).
However, perhaps the most bizarre meeting occurrence was a revelation that on Friday, July 18, well after a July 1 pre-hearing submission deadline and two (2) and a half months after the Village’s April 29 deadline for filing a technically complete application, NJDEP accepted a new submission from the Village that detailed their plans to establish a local history educational center, open to the public, at the Zabriskie/Schedler house. The Village is proposing to operate the center in partnership with the Ridgewood Public Library’s Bolger Heritage Center and the Ridgewood Historical Society. Representatives from neither of those organizations spoke during the July 21 meeting to confirm their respective participation in the proposed endeavor.
NONE of our staff members can recall any public discussion nor “newsletter” information about the aforementioned proposed partnership between the Village, Bolger Heritage Center, and Ridgewood Historical Society. Any such endeavor would likely require a formal resolution or ordinance be passed/adopted by a majority of Village Council members, and formal approval by the Ridgewood Public Library Board of Directors and the governing body of the Ridgewood Historical Society. We wonder how such a plan could be presented to NJDEP without those approvals already in place. And, will taxpayers be expected to fund a project clearly designed just to get approval for construction of a new athletic field?
When oh when will the subterfuge and dirty pool ever end fellow taxpayers? Municipal Election Day can’t some soon enough.
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Vagianos leads the biggest group of scumbags in Village history.
Ridgewood has officially achieved “Dirty Jersey” status.
Congratulations to Greasy Paulie, Spicoli, and the other 3 dolts.
You can be proud!
NJDEP July 22 response to Mr. Wright’s letter:
Mr. Wright,
Thank you for your email. As you are aware, the application for project authorization (Application) for the proposed park development at the Zabriskie-Schedler House was tabled at the July 21, 2025, meeting of the Historic Sites Council. The Council will resume review of the application at its next meeting on August 21, 2025.
Once the Application is tabled, the contents and details of the Application are frozen, and the applicant cannot make any changes or amendments to the Application before the meeting resumes. However, the public can continue to issue comments in writing until the end of the August 21st meeting, or in person at the meeting if they did not previously comment during the July 21st meeting.
After the Council considers the Application and any public comment, they will make a recommendation to the Commissioner of DEP, who has delegated authority to the Assistant Commissioner of Community Investment and Economic Development (CIER). The Council’s recommendation will be to 1) approve the project; 2) approve the project with conditions; 3) temporarily deny the project; or 4) deny the project. The Assistant Commissioner makes the final decision regarding project authorization based on the Council’s recommendation and the project record.
The Department has 120 days from receipt of a technically complete Application to complete its review of the project, or until August 27, 2025. If no action is taken within that time, the Application is automatically approved as proposed. An explanation of the New Jersey Register review process can be found on our website:
https://dep.nj.gov/hpo/programs/review/#nj-register-review.
Details regarding the August 21st meeting of the Council, including the link to join the meeting, will be posted on the HPO’s website by July 31:
https://dep.nj.gov/hpo/
Your correspondence has been added to the project file and will be made available to the Council for their consideration as part of the Application review. Thank you for your interest in preserving New Jersey’s historic properties.
Sincerely,
Jennifer B. Leynes she/her
Program Specialist 3 | Historic Preservation Office
Community Investment & Economic Revitalization
Not a good hearing for the Village. Mismanagement of this project was on full display. The bait and switch was apparent. Full size field with artificial turf will be denied.
I voted for none of these dirtbags yet I still feel a sense of embarrassment and humiliation for what Ridgewood has become.
Can this attorney look into Habernickel and the DEP and green acres total disregard for what is going on over there with a for profit only business going on 6 full days a week?
The end of hearing demands were disrespectful and insulting to the committee. Only served to further damage the application by attempting to control.
More dirt to come. We told you the village is so toxic.
They will stop at nothing to get their astroturfing They are very fearful of retribution if this fails to go through
Keith Kazmark is a snake and awful presenter. What an embarrassment!
Keith Kazmark and the entire Council need to go!
Thank God George Wright spoke up! Procedural deadlines exist to ensure transparency and fairness. Sadly, this is a foreign concept to the Village of Ridgewood Administration.
Like the “free” Schedler Soil,” these clowns (Village of Ridgewood) are receiving gifts and deals again without proper approvals or public process.
That “public meeting” felt more like a Village infomercial—what a joke!
This is just a small taste of Keith Kazmark’s ethical breach in the public process and abuse of influence.
I hope George Wright files an ethical complaint against all of them. This has to be investigated.
zzzzzzzz, more complaining from the vocal minority.
Troll alert.
Possibly a grown middle aged man wearing a baseball uniform.
yes because getting on your knees and kissing arse has worked so well ?
I guess the NY Times wanted to spotlight that vocal minority as more and more parents realize that the sports teams care about one thing and it ain’t your kid or mine. Its money!!! The obsession is real
It sounds like SHPO is trying to help the village by circumventing the process by acception the false and entirely misleading details the village is submitting through their own hired agencies, soecifically intended to DECEIVE a state agency and the Historic Sites Council who will vote. The audacity of this village manager and his staff to go to these lengths is unbelievable and highly unethical. The attorney general should be engaged in an investigation about this high level of impropriety.
Assume Keith “kiss ass” Kazmark who is deeply under the spell of Ridgewoods sports machine, obviously thinks he can charm the birds out of the trees because he has close political ties to Mikie Sherill running for Govenor, NJDEP Boss, Shawn LaTourette, Lt. Govenor Tahesha Way and who knows who else can help him to try to get a rubber stamp on this project. That is why Vagianos hired this guy. The only whistles this former blower wants to toot are sports whistles!
I told you and some of you didn’t wanna listen, I know where the skeletons are and I know who put them there. And they don’t like it, I’m a thorn in their ass. Well, that’s what happens when you try screwing with the wrong person that knows a lot of information. You woke up to sleeping giant a few years ago. Well now you can deal with it, in aggravation, and stress, and a shit load of money, fines, payouts, and I’m sitting back laughing my ass off. That’s why I wrote everything down. You see if they did the right thing ,none of this would’ve happened. But unfortunately for them, they went the hard way. and what is amazing I learned this from them, they never ever admit their guilt when they’re wrong.
The miss use of open space needs to be investigated starting with Habernickle park on hillcrest rd
Be prepared to see more of this once Mikie Sherrill becomes governor.
Keith Kazmark is her side kick in the passaic county and he was Paul Vagianos campaign manager – and got this job as a favor from Vagianos.
Trace the money. Keith and his friends have lobbied and generated a ton of money for mikie sherrill.
Correct, follow the $$$
The Department has 120 days from receipt of a technically complete Application to complete its review of the project, or until August 27, 2025. If no action is taken within that time, the Application is automatically approved as proposed.
is the recording or transcript available?
These people are so dam dirty, it’s amazing what they get with. Right from the mayor, the council, the manager, and directors, are Old sleeping in the same bed. It’s amazing how they cover each other. They all have had dirt on each other. That’s why no one has been fired regarding the contamination that was transported over the years but you kidding me. Anywhere else you’ll be fired and brought up on charges an eighth grade science student we know about contamination and soil., This is a complete joke I get the taxpayers are going to flip Out when I see you $2 million bill for removal of the contamination. We wanna know who received the paid stipend somebody had too, there should be an investigation going back past mayor, past manager, they had to know something. They know you can’t be that stupid.
What part of “no more toxic plastic grass” don’t they understand?
Kazmark seems allergic to introspection—he’s far more comfortable assigning blame than accepting responsibility.
When it comes to dialogue, Kazmark prefers monologue—ideally with applause.
The whole lot of them should be fired. We have one of the worst council’s in the history of the village aside from the other buch, Paul A. Gwen H and Roberta S. But the staff we have and that rotten to the core village manager. What en ego!
Its amazing the amount of lies the village manager will tell a state agency! Kazmark’s creative narrating for a field that Ridgewood does not need when there are wrll over 40 fields and many kids from these organized sports leagues don’t live in Ridgewood. Yet the village tax payers will foot the bill for this monstrous undertaking while the non profit sports leagues RAKE in dough. So unethical.
The promise of a new field will definitely benefit Scotty and his cohorts. Who is taking care of who, based on pro.ises, PaulIE? Seems very corrupt to not be truthful imo. This village manager desperately wants a win as a feather in his cap because this is why he was hired in the first place, obviously working his connections ro make it happen. Many have said he will leave if his pal Sherill wins and no one will be sad to see him go because this is a such a huge misappropriation of tax dollars thst Ridgewood will be psying long after he leaves and he said Valley money is being factored in but no one actislly believes it will happen. The soil clean up alone will be millions, then bond, bond, bond!