>Valley probably saves time, and therefore money, for the fire department and EMTs because they shorten their drive time
Numerous people in this blog have made the subsidy argument against Valley, but no one has ever put a convincing number on it. I assume that Valley pays for its water, electricity, sewers, and trash removal. If that is not the case, please correct me. I’d be surprised if they use more than 1-2 man-days of police time per week, which would cost only about $25,000-50,000 per year ($60/hr x 8-16 hours/wk x 52 wks/yr). Valley probably saves time, and therefore money, for the fire department and EMTs because they shorten their drive time (compared to having to take people to Hackensack, Pascack, or Patterson). Snow removal costs aren’t impacted, because Linwood and Van Dien would get plowed even if Valley disappears. So far, I can’t find a big subsidy.
I realize that Valley doesn’t pay property taxes as a not-for-profit entity. Neither do the Y or any of the 20 churches in Ridgewood. If you replaced Valley with houses, the Village wouldn’t make any money, because the houses would probably be bought by families with multiple kids per house, who would cost the village and BOE more than they property taxes that they would pay. A park with ballfields in Valley’s location would generate no taxes, but result in costs and annoy the neighbors as well. You could put a commercial development, such as an office complex or retail stores, on Valley’s land. However, I assume that the neighbors would also be opposed to a commercial development, because it would generate traffic and noise.
