Reader Says : KIDS AT BF WILL BE EXPOSED TO ASBESTOS REMOVAL OVER A PERIOD OF 10 years
I especially liked the question by a resident about the landscaping of the school property and the fact that all of that is done during non school hours and therefore how can you say that 10 years of everyday construction would have no impact on the students! Yeah right!!
As a special education teacher I’m here to tell you it will have a significant impact on the children.
Who is at risk for an asbestos-related disease?
Everyone is exposed to asbestos at some time during their life. Low levels of asbestos are present in the air, water, and soil. However, most people do not become ill from their exposure. People who become ill from asbestos are usually those who are exposed to it on a regular basis, most often in a job where they work directly with the material or through substantial environmental contact.
KIDS AT BF WILL BE EXPOSED TO ASBESTOS REMOVAL OVER A PERIOD OF 10 years. That is substantial environmental contact!
These are common hazards in any reconstruction……… and all modern builders know how to handle them.
So……………. what’s your problem?
Who cares, just make the kids wear the same protective suits and masks that the construction guys use.
The sky is falling, the sky is falling, the sky is falling.
I am not sure parents would find Mesothelioma humorous
Deal with the issue. If you are against the current expansion plan your objections will carry more credibility if you stick with lot coverage and size vs ‘scare’ tactics.
The sky may not fall, but the reputation of this town,along with the housing prices sure as hell will. Your taxes will certainly go up though so maybe you can brag to your friends about paying higher taxes and getting a lot less.
# 1 Although your comment is one of the dumber ones I’ve heard, do you think that if they confined this “reconstruction” to within their current walls it might help things just a bit ?
How will my taxes go up?
#6-why would anyone’s property taxes go up? Why would housing prices fall (except for those abutting the hospital? Why would we ‘get a lot less’? Please elaborate without emotion so your point my get consideration.
First, who would pay for the toll it will take on the infrastructure, the extra cops and firemen (and their overtime), and any other municipal needs generated by this proposal ?
Second, as for housing prices, do you really think the press we are already getting in the newspapers has, and will be a plus going forward ? Like everything else, a town is only as good as its reputation. This would just be another reason not to look here. And what if those abutting the hospital decided to rent their property to whoever ? Do you think they will take care of it like they do now ? I doubt it, but you all you have to is take a look at Hackensack. People don’t ask where the downtown is, but they do ask where the hospital is. If that is the only thing you want to be known for, then support it because you will derive no other benefit.
Third, by “a lot less” I mean for the value you now get from living here, and for the taxes you pay, it is worth it. During and after consrtruction, I really can’t see how.
If police are needed during the construction project, they are on ‘side jobs’ such as those you see PSEG doing. They are paid by the contractor, not the taxpayer.
The size of a the proposed building itself does not require one more policeman, fireman, or overtime dollar. (its not like a housing project with more residents that make more calls for service)
The ‘press’ in the newspaper reports the pro/con on every matter in town. It has not, nor will it, reflect upon property values unless its an abutter (whose price already reflects location next to an ‘attractive nuisance’ (real estate term applied to SCHOOL, train, busy road, etc location) Ridgewood has a vibrant downtown and will continue to do so in the future. Hackensack, a city, lost its glory years ago, and had a reputation due to crime etc. The Hackensack Hospital, renamed “hackensack university’ has helped that city in its recovery from blight. If the abutters want to rent, let them. We have renters in our neighborhood and they have the same rights as property owners, although they do not show ‘pride of ownership’ and I’d like to ban them throughout the town, but that won’t happen.
Whether valley does nothing, expands as they propose, or updates on a smaller scale, it will have zero effect on my taxes, police/fire dept rosters, or the housing prices of the town.
If you think Valley exists in a bubble, think again. For eg., if you were at the meeting the other night you heard a resident ask Ms. Brogan if she knew that her son had been hit by a car exiting Valley, and that her daughter had been propositioned by a crossing guard attached to Valley. Assuming she reported any of this to the police, do you think it would have been a Ridgewood cop that would have investigated it ? I don’t think the cops who handled/investigated did so as a “side job,” do you ? So, who pays for it ? And who pays for the firemen on the trucks who respond to Valley’s constant needs ? Since we pay for it now, why the hell would you not pay for more of it when they more than double in size ?
As to the press, If your looking to buy a bridge I’ll sell you one ! Did you see any mention of the above in either the Record or The Ridgewood News ? I didn’t, but it sure did shock a lot of people in that audience the other night. Do you think having a picture of a resident on the front page of a county newspaper speaking against a ridiculous expansion is a good thing ?
“Vibrant downtown ?” Where do live ? Maybe on weekends, but no where close to what it was. And I just don’t know what my family and I will do if another dining spot leaves.
As for Hackensack, I’m (unfortunately) old enough to remember when the neighborhood around the the hospital was quite nice. Tell me, do you really think that as Hackensack Hospital expanded it benefited the town ? It contributed to the “blight,” just as St Joseph’s did in Paterson.
“Zero effect,” I doubt it.
Making your reference to any increased police activity due to making a larger building with the same number of beds has no credibility. Same number of patients in.out of the building on a daily basis, despite the larger square footage (if that square footage was replacing double rooms with singles) Having the same number of beds in a newer building, presumably with more recent ‘fire codes’ would equate to fewer trips by the fire dept, not more.
Every time I am in the CBD its busy. I don’t see empty parking spaces and there are always new stores opening. Blame the malls for siphoning off customers, but blaming the hospital gives you no credibility.
I remember the dumps on Prospect ave that were replaced by High-rises. Hackensack hospital expansion was a big plus for that town. That area of essex st was dilapidated and now there are dr offices there. Not that we need something of that magnitude, but it was a plus. I do miss the ‘players club’ though at the corner
As for St. Joes, I would not venture into Paterson for any reason whatsoever. But any expansion of St. Joes would certainly be more beneficial to that area than another bodega or drug dealer. Looking at the area from RT 80, i’m already locking my doors and windows.
So yes… zero effect.
Zero effect? Obviously you people drank the Kool-Aid! Must be Megan…
Several years ago my husband went to the Village Hall to obtain a list of calls from Valley Hospital to the police in that year. There were something like 250 calls, at least, yet Valley has never paid one cent to the Policeman’s Benevolent Fund…
I saw the need for extra police during Valley’s last construction, right out my window! Our streets were too narrow to handle the huge trucks, and they still are. Police had to be called to direct the traffic on more days than I can count. Zero effect? What are you, blind?
Tell me, do you happen to know if they will be hiring any more housekeeping aides under the proposed set-up ? You know, the ones who shoot down John St. when they leave Valley for their other jobs.
I’m not blaming the hospital for the lack of people in the CBD. You’re right, there are a lot of reasons for it becoming less “vibrant.” But I just got a haircut and there were plenty of spaces all over the place; but, then again, it’s only a 71 degree day in November.
Good for Hackensack ? Traffic, the neighborhood ? If it improved it was because they bought the housing around it when the area tanked ! The same for St. Joseph’s. Get the picture ? Help in screwing up the neighborhood, wait for people to move out, buy up the properties and expand some more. It can, and did, happen.
A LOT LESS than zero…
Wow between hurling insults you managed to squeeze in a haircut?
Do you have access to the list of who donated to the PBA? or FMBA? What does that have to do with ANYTHING?
What do paid ‘side job’ traffic details have to do with ANYTHING?
Since you can’t blame Bush or the landlords for the parking availability in the CBD, might as well blame Valley!(show me a CBD that does better than ours on a weekend. it IS very vibrant. And there isn’t a CBD that is busy 7 days.The stores make their money on the busy weekends.)
Apparently you are the one ‘blind’, but then again, you should have been paying more attention and opened your eyes to existing traffic prior to that purchase on John street if you wanted to live on a dead end. Through streets generally have more traffic than dead-ends.
Comparing this to Hackensack is pure scare tactics. If you have a valid point to make, about the structure size vs lot size then make it. But save the nonsense because most of the residents are not going to be drinking your kool aid. If you made a logical presentation you might get some support, but sitting behind your computer tossing insults at any logical point made by someone listening for accurate information hurts your cause more than accusing every poster of being “meegan’. Apparently you don’t ‘get the picture’. And you won’t ever.
Its always interesting to have residents complain about ‘who is using THEIR street’!
One of my favorite traffic complaints was when all of the people on South Murray tried to get their street closed during the school day due to it being a ‘cut through’ street (from Lincoln to West Ridgewood) so the helicopter parents at Ridge could drive their kiddies back and forth a few times per day. Since the folks on Clinton got it blocked off, the South Murray folks wanted the same. They sure fought over that one! It was fun to watch.
Now the folks on Clinton started putting up stupid red signs. Time for the building inspector to take notice since they ARE code violations. (another group that should have bought on a dead end street!)
I didn’t make the comment regarding the donations because quite frankly I don’t care. There are two different commenters here so get your facts right before you “sit behind your computer tossing insults.”
CBD – read my comments again. No one, at least as far as I can tell, is blaming Valley for the less than vibrant activity during the week ! But, just maybe, you might be equating “vibrant activity” to the number of stores/ restuarants that have left over the past few years. A lot of that. By the way, you might want to check out Summit, Westfield, or even Morristown, which Ridgewood is slowly becoming. A lot busier on weekends, and during the week.
I don’t live on John St., nor did I say I did. But if you want an eye-opener just park your car there between 3-5 p.m. and count the number of staff from Valley cutting thru to Van Dien. And they are not doctors or nurses.
I’ll stick behind the Hackensack comments, and I guess you are referring to Valley’s Megan Fraser at the end. Have never met her, or made a comment about her.
And one other thing. Unlike my comments ( and those of others who have common sense and are against this expansion) which have been and will continue to be very “logical,” I can sum it up this way: The request to expand is too big for the land it now occupies. See, I very much “get the picture.”