>….. that there was to be a safety meeting set up by the principal of Travell to include parents and valley hospital. Last minute Valley canceled stating that they would not go before an open mike. Do you think that the parents of Travell need to know what is going on at Valley?
The fly asks , Is this expansion possibly a done deal and they need not answer to the public?
>what is it going to take for all you people in this town to get off your butts and understand what this hospital and village are going to do to our town. Remember there is an election coming up next year. Why are you going to allow this expansion and impact all our children who are now 4 and will be 16 when Valley is done. Valley can not take the public heat and will only give PR answers that the can prepare. Disgusting big business. They act like an oil company
>First the dust release we heard about at the BF meeting in September that Valley refuses to give details about; then the Valley decides not to answer residents questions put to them in writing from over 500 people; now they will answer questions at an “open mic”! Valley obviously feels that the residents of Ridgewood are irrelevant and they do not have to answer to anyone and are above the law…Mayor Pfund what does Valley know that the residents doesn’t know?
>What Valley wants, Valley gets. That’s how it’s been and always will be.
>The attitude “That’s how it’s been and always will be” is exactly the attitude that people need to wake-up from. Did our founding fathers decide that being ruled by an uncaring British crown whom inflicted unjust taxes was “that’s how it’s been and always will be”?
Have we lost the sprit that founded this free country? Off your couches and standup and be counted as opposing Valley’s “residents can go to hell” plans! There is injustice here and you are loser if you did not opposite it!
>O.K. You Valley supporters (employees and testimonials), what do you have to say… com’on comment or are you waiting for the p r release before you can comment…?
B.F. and Travell parents get involved; and you think TERC is your only problem? Go to Stop Valley.com
>Is this true, or just gossip?
>Sounds suspicious…
>WOW this is getting ugly-
Everyone who wants to lay down and get rolled over by Valley and more importantly this village are setting yourself up for a disaster. Go look at HAckensack- not pretty. Go look around Overlook Hospital in Summit – not pretty- Go look around Mountainside Hospital in Glen Ridge. You choose what kind of town you bought in and what it will become.
>Can we apply for an ordinance if this goes through- i mean when it goes through . I want to put a Valleywood sign up on the hillside below crest road for all to see. We can be the east coast version of hollywood, now that is a pretty town with working woman and drugs lining the streets
>Well lets see 3 weeks ago at the council meeting it was revealed that Valley would be willing to entertain paying for a parking deck at the rt 17 park and ride for parking for its employees. David Pfund made a comment in true defensive tone that we should not see this as quid pro quo- cmon David. If you have seen the propganda from Audrey she says the first step is to secure offsite parking for its employees.
GET WITH IT TAXPAYERS PFUND AND VALLEY (MEYERS) ARE IN BED TOGETHER- WHY DO YOU THINK THIS FOOL IS OUR MAYOR(PUT THERE) – THIS PLAN WAS HATCHED YEARS AGO- PFUND SAID AT A MEETING AT BF HIS DADDY WAS A TRUSTEE UNTIL 2002 AND ON A COMMITTEE UNTIL 2005- AND HE SAID HE COULD BE NON BIASED REMEMBER WE LIVE IN NJ- THE MOST CORRUPT STATE IN THE COUNTRY AND DO NOT THINK OUR QUAINT LITTLE VILLAGE IS IMMUNE TO IT- IT IS GOING ON RIGHT IN FRONT OF ALL YOUR EYES.
>Fly i tihnk you may have got it correct-
Done deal and Pay to play is running wild
PEople get your head out of you know what
1. Valley only talks to the public in ads and PR spin
2. Valley is entertaining Pfunding 😉 of an addition to the park and ride for employees- buying the village to help w/parking
3. Valley bought the sports groups with turf
4. Valley bought the BOE with the HS program
5. Valley bought 4 homes near where they could give them to the county for road widening-very coincidental-there are plenty of homes in other parts of ridgewood- was ready to buy more and backed off when the Concerned resdients exposed this.
Valley has sytematically been buying the entire oppositon
Wake up and lets stop this crime
>GOSSIP…Not sure about Travell, but do know that Valley asked to come to BF and let parents ask questions, etc., and the BF HSA (and Principal) said no, thanks, we would like to get our questions together first, rather than listen to another Valley presentation. So the HSA said they will be collecting ALL questions, concerns and comments from BF parents and collating them and presenting them to Valley to get answers, on any and all questions relating to things like safety, health, etc. Seems like a more productive approach than an open mic night. Not sure when the HSA will be doing this…I think they said they would be sending out an email soon to parents. So…perhaps another side to the story, and not anti-Valley propaganda. This is true because I was at the HSA meeting.
>Can anyone read the information from Valley?? It’s not 10 years of construction at one time. The first phase is 5 years (with only about 2-3 to put the building up, the remaining time will be internal finishing). Then 10 YEARS LATER they will start the second building – it too will take about 5 years to build. So yes there is 10 years of consturction, but not 10 continuous years.
Is the safety of our children important during all phases of constructions – YES.
Will our children grow up in a construction zone – NO
>Since when has any construction finished on time and on budget. Please don’t believe the pr. Our children grow up frast and five years on a five year old is half their life.
>To: 9:24am
You have got it wrong!
1. There are no Anti-Valley people in this town only anti-valley EXPANSION people. We all support the hospital, it is just the EXPANSION that is the issue and the way Valley wants to alter the Village Master plan to do it.
2. Valley has already refused to answer 27 questions posed by 500+ residents (after saying they would). What makes the HSA think that Valley will answer their questions – the same smiling promises?
3. The fact that Valley only wants to talk through PR and not face an open mic is not “more productive” for parents it is “more productive” for Valley to allow them to put spin on their answers. Valley obviously has something to hide if they are not prepared to stand in front of an open forum and answer in TWO-WAY public dialog. (If you want answers from your children do you leave them a note or talk to them?) Valley needs to start meaningful and direct DIALOG with all its neighbors and not hide behind its PR machine.
>6:51 – Are you kidding? Ten years of construction is 10 years of construction regardless of whether there is a break between the phases. Even when there is internal finishing going on, there will be trucks and constructions crews showing up at the hospital on a daily basis.
>6:51—looks like the employees and testimonials are coming out of the woodwork now…finally, keep reciting the PR – believe and they will build… while Audry brings home the bacon…. speaking of Audry have not seen her face in the newspaper for a while whats’s up?
>6:51 am, you’ve got to be kidding! We are in for 10+ years of demolition/construction–and between “phases” (what a euphemism!), clean-up.
And do you really believe Valley can actually stick to such a plan? Please consider the fact that one of the structures they want to demolish was completed just 5 years ago: so much for prudent corporate planning!
Valley has lied to us again and again. Don’t believe their self-serving PR.
>10 plus years with a break- wow- so we can plan on 3+ years then a break- thanks Audrey – then prepare for more 5 years later,
That to me is a 10+ year plan- why should my children and my family be subject to such a quality of life- this is our village not Valley’s- cmon get a grip- this is not a city and not Hackensack-
>It is so obvious that this village is busting at the seams and can take no more large-scale development. Has anyone noticed that we now have a gridlock problem in Ridgewood? It is not unusual to see cars backed up from the intersection of E. Ridgewood and Maple, BEYOND Linwood, towards Glen. Sometimes it takes me 20 minutes just to get to the Stop N’ Shop from the Valley area.
Valley MUST consider the development of off-site facilities. We just don’t have any more room here to build safely.
>If Valley needs time to prepare a response on our children’s safety, that’s already a problem. If they can’t stand at an open mic and address the concerns raised, they haven’t already done enough work independent of our questions. Compare this to your work environment, if you had to face your clients or company management on an issue they deem to be a core element of your work, could you get away with saying “please submit your questions in writing and I’ll get back to you soon”.
>I was speaking with a Paramus resident who used to love to come to Ridgewood to shop. She said she doesn’t come anymore because of the gridlock on Ridgewood Avenue and Linwood Avenue.
How much longer before the Council is going to want to put in a 4-lane road into town?
>Didn’t Yogi Berra once say something like “Nobody goes to that restaurant anymore. It’s too crowded”.
>The intersection of Linwood and Van Dien is already one of the most dangerous in Ridgewood. Hundreds of children pass through this intersection to get to/from school, and to sports activities.
Now we have to face making the intersection MORE dangerous—with trucks, cranes, workers’ vehicles?
So, Valley–this is the way you want to “best serve the community”?
You could build the best hospital in the state using the Pascack Valley facilities–7 miles away–at a fraction of the cost it will take to build here in Ridgewood, without endangering our kids, disenfranchising whole neighborhoods, adding to the already intolerable traffic…
It would be a terrible tragedy if some child got hurt because of Valley’s pigheadedness…
>OK, I’ll show my ignorance here. Where has valley disclosed their COMPLETE construction plan? I would like to see their ENTIRE plan so we can ALL review it and decide what’s best for our community since I don’t trust NJ’s Best.
When are they plannong to begin construction?
Will they be razing buildings while kids are in school or will they plan to do this during the summer?
There are many more questions. Valley, when do you want to talk and not spin?
>7:26 Good comments
Why do they have such a cloak and dagger approach- that only confirms suspicion and deciet and confirmation they really know it is not a good plan for the neighbors and the village. They are greedy pigs- and do not buy the non profit crap- we all know the higher the revenue the higher the exec comp and lining of pockets. that is true of any non profit that makes $$- Audrey is no saint and is according to many employees evil. Just ask them she is brutal- not how a non profit caring leader would be- she only cares about her self and the high soicety of valley- Just look at the official name of the corporation- “The Society of Valley Hospital” what is that crap- it is serving the needs of the people that benefit- they are the society
>I don’t know about you but when I was looking at houses in Ridgewood I bought because I was close to a quality hospital. When time is of the essence I do not want to be told ‘sorry you have to go down the highway to Hackensack-we don’t have the services to help you’.
I live close enough to hear the sirens going to Valley. I knew when I bought my house that the hospital was there. Residents on Linwood & N. Van Dien-did you not know there was a hospital there?
12 Years from now I don’t want Valley to close like Pascack is because we did not keep up with the times!
>Dear 9:23,
You have fallen into the same old, tired traps. Here are the arguments, all easily skewered:
1.) If the Valley expansion proposal is NOT approved, Valley will simply disappear! Suddenly, there will be no more ER, and we will all die of strokes and heartattacks while stuck in traffic on Rt. 17!
*Why the panic mode? Valley is currently a very good hospital–even without the needed modernization. Think of all those testimonials! If Valley considers building off-site facilities for non-emergency services, they could improve the ER! Make it better! Valley will not revert to the use of leeches and blood-letting if the expansion proposal is denied. Actually the entire complex would be so much better if it were NOT shoehorned into Ridgewood only.
2.) All those who oppose the expansion are against modernization, against keeping up with the times.
*Wrong! We all recognize that any hospital has to change with the times. NEWSFLASH! We all want good medical care. It’s just that Valley has run out of space, and it’s time to find land for some of it’s facilities elsewhere. We don’t want Valley to go away. Anti-expansion NOT DOES equal anti-Valley.
3.) You people who live near the hospital: you knew what you were getting into when you purchased your homes. Get over it!
*Wrong! What is this, “let them eat cake”? Yes, we made a bargain when we moved here. (We are not stupid, as your comment implies.) And we have lived with the sirens, flashing lights, sleepless nights (snowplows), rude hospital employees, trash, 30 minutes per day just getting in and out of my own driveway, daily food smells from hosp. kitchen, etc., etc., WITHOUT complaint–because we live near a hospital. ** We were also told that the most recent construction would be the last.** Anything more just goes beyond the limits of our “bargain”.
Don’t fall for the Valley scare tactics!
>Why settle for ok when I can have the best?!!
>12:37 – Exactly. We want the best town possible and that means not changing the character of the town by allowing Valley to build a monstrosity in the middle of a residential neighborhood.
>right on 4:20…. and 12:37— this time we are ready for the fight…. contributions are rolling in as we speak…. whether near or far from the hospital, we will not have the atmosphere of this town continue to go down hill…..This time Valley will not put one poor family in debt for thousands of dollars. Yes, history does show a business that cares only for itself… Speak to those who have heard just one more time and that is it…. BS
>getting back to the initial heading, why didn’t valley just come to the meeting on child saftey just because they are concerned and want to know what they can do to contribute to maintaining safety?
You know why they did not come? becasue it is all a gimmick. they really don’t care. Some of the coldest people are at the top of the ladder there. How sad is all of this in more ways then one..’
>From E news
Information regarding Valley Expansion/Renewal:
1. Valley Hospital Expansion Proposal – As many of you know, The Valley Hospital is in the process of proposing a 10-year expansion plan to the Village of Ridgewood. Valley will be fielding questions from surrounding schools, specifically regarding safety issues, and they will respond in writing. If you have concerns regarding their proposal, only as it relates to the safety of our children going to and from school, please send your questions to The HSA. Once these questions are gathered, they will be forwarded to Valley Hospital, their comments/answers will be returned to the schools, and they will be published electronically in the School Notes and eNews.
2. Village of Ridgewood Planning Board Public Meeting on November 5th, 7:30, at Ben Franklin Middle School. This is an open mike meeting, and the Valley expansion will be
discussed. This provides a good chance to learn more about Valley’s plans and to