photo bty Boyd Loving
Council members criticize the messenger
To the Editor:
“When all else fails, shoot either the messenger or the medium.”
I could not get that old saying out of my head after watching the Village Council’s work session of Aug. 6, during which Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli expressed his personal disdain for “Save the Village” lawn signs, and Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck bashed “the newspaper” for publishing “inflammatory comments” related to proposed zoning changes within Ridgewood’s Central Business District that would permit construction of several multi-family housing complexes.
Despite their personal displeasure with these forms of communication, Councilwoman Hauck and Deputy Mayor Pucciarelli must be reminded that the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, expressly backed by a key United States Supreme Court ruling, protects individuals who are simply expressing a political viewpoint, as well as the press, from government interference.
Whether an individual Village Council member agrees or doesn’t agree with either the message or the medium, no attempt should be made to intimidate the messenger(s) with remarks such as the ones voiced from the dais during Aug. 6’s Village Council work session.
Boyd A. Loving
Ridgewood
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/letter-ridgewood-council-members-criticize-the-messenger-1.1068002#sthash.P9d24hEa.dpuf
Don’t worry Boyd. They’re going to repeal 3066…
Free speech!
They do not like those who disagree with them..
They are like the policemen in Fergusson , Missouri.
Let’s let them know that their tactics are not lawful.
We live in USA and we can disagree with them all we want to. And we do not have to turn Ridgewood into a CITY. Those who want to turn Ridgewood into a city have the sensibilities of pigs.
Go Boyd! When Pooch said we “didn’t need all those signs” protesting downtown development, I wanted to scream: “That means you haven’t gotten the message yet! Maybe we need more!”
Recall Big Al the Developers Friend before he can do anymore damage
I guess the signs to elect The Three Amigos were ok. They no problem with that.
Mr. Pucciarelli’s and Mrs. Hauck’s lives would be so much easier if these pesky tax payers didn’t have so many darn opinions.
Mrs Hauck in particular finds herself again completely baffled by those that disagree with her. Did she learn nothing from Valley? Those opposed to Valley’s expansion did not necessarily oppose a modernized hospital, they opposed an overbuilt hospital. Those opposed to the apartment complexes being considered by the town don’t oppose improvement of the CBD, they oppose overbuilding the CBD. Is it that hard to understand?
Valley dug in because they thought they had cut enough deals and spread enough money around to get all of what they wanted. They were wrong and now we STILL have a hospital that needs modernization.
Do Mr. Pucciarelli and Mrs. Hauck not see the same thing happening with the apartments? If the developers dig in and hold out for everything they want and get shot down, we’ll STILL have a CBD that needs improvement. Why have we not considered a single solution that conforms to the Master Plan? Why would we risk putting ourselves into another “all or nothing” choice as we did with Valley? Is there no solution somewhere in the middle?
Kudos to the CRR and the CBR for holding their ground and acting as counterweights to the likes of Mr. Pucciarelli and Mrs. Hauck who seem to be firmly in the camps of those that want to build the biggest projects possible.
Come to the meetings and let your voice be heard.