those of us opposed to overdevelopment are a mixed lot. You would know this if you have been at the Village meetings and part of the debate. The charge of racism is completely off base. It was something generated by the pro-development crowd last time and it simply had no basis in fact. And, as more than one person asked in response to these false arguments, are “you people” in favor of overdevelopment saying that diversity is only achieved through sub-standard housing?
photos courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook page and Paramus Police
November 23,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Paramus NJ, Paramus OEM mobile command post deployed at Paramus Park, Paramus in connection with a missing person on Wednesday evening, 11/22.
Paramus Police is requesting the public’s assistance in locating a missing person Dennis Meeman, a 56 yo white male. He left Paramus Park Mall around 415 pm on Wednesday, November 22, 2017. He was last seen by the west entrance by Urban Coal. He is wearing wearing blue jeans, black shoes, blue hooded jacket and maybe wearing a black safely helmet. Any information on this missing person please contact Paramus Police Dept 201-262-3400
As off 11/23/2017: Paramus PD continues the search near Paramus Park, Paramus for a 56-year old male missing since 1615 hours on Wednesday, 11/22. A NJSP helicopter with thermal imaging equipment is being used as of 0900 hours.
November 24,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Hackensack NJ, Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco , “This afternoon I was joined by my colleagues on the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders, along with representatives from USUW 755, USUW 655, and the Executive Director of New Jersey Working Families Analilia Mejia, to announce and sign Executive Order No. 2017-01, officially making Bergen County the first county in the state of New Jersey to adopt a $15 minimum wage for its full time county workers.
Good people are essential to good government, and good managers understand that their employees need to be valued. County employees who put in 40 hours or more every week, in service to their friends and neighbors throughout Bergen County, deserve and have earned a $15 minimum wage. It is important to me that we do this for our workers in time for holidays.”
While the reality is most employers cannot simply raise prices to cover the higher minimum wage, particularly in the competitive services sector. … But a preponderance of evidence has shown that there are no positive effects on employment of low-skilled workers that offset the negative effects from an increase in the minimum wage.
Look for more automation , layoffs , business closings ,less full time work and even less opportunities for starter jobs in Bergen county.
Location: E. Ridgewood Ave and Memorial Park, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Ridgewood NJ, You do not have to go to NYC to see the lighting of a beautiful tall Christmas tree…
right here in Ridgewood, we celebrate the starting of all the Holidays with the lighting of a 60-80ft. beautiful tree.
Starting at 5:30-7pm,
-Santa will be in the Park for the
“wee” little ones.
-On the streets, the RHS Marching Band and Holiday Chorus will be marching and singing up and down E. Ridgewood Ave…making Merriment with their instruments and voices.
Just added, ride Santa’s trackless train…this will be fun! (FREE)
7:00pm-
On stage is where the excitement happens, lots of singing and dancing by the kids to help us get ready to light our beautiful tree….”Magical” are the words they use.
7:30pmish is the lighting of the tree.
following will be music on stage and
in the streets…
SANTA will be in Park (8-9pm) waiting for your list and checking it twice…and Santa’s track-less train. (will end at 8:55pm-streets open up at 9pm)
**********************************************************
There will be no parking on E. Ridgewood Ave from Walnut up to and including parts of
S. & N. Broad St.
Please note the streets that will be closed for this event will be from
Walnut Street up E. Ridgewood Ave. included
S. & N Broad St from 5:30-9pmish.
What’s happening in Ridgewood during the Holiday Season….
Saturday, December 2, 2017
10am-1pm
Santa will arrive at Columbia Bank
(60 S. Broad St.), free gifts for all the kids
10:30am FREE Movie at the Bow-Tie Cinema-
movie will be ELF, Will Ferrel.
2-4pm Santa will now be at Memorial Park at
Van Neste Square, weather permitting.
Saturday, December 2,9, 16, 2017 – 12N-3pm
Visit SANTA at his house in the center of Ridgewood, Memorial Park at Van Neste Square.
weather permitting.
Saturday, December 23, 2017 – 12N-2:30pm
weather permitting.
Come to do your Holiday Shopping in historic downtown Ridgewood and dine at our delicious
restaurants. Give yourself a gift of shopping and dining.
The Ridgewood “tradition” is supported and presented by the members of the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce as follows…
Columbia Bank
Valley Hospital
Van Dyk Health Care
Freedom Bank
Bethlehem Lutheran Church
Prestige Family of Fine Cars
Atlantic Stewardship Bank
Park West Tavern
Santoni’s Pizzeria
Pearl Restaurant
ConnectOne Bank
West Bergen Mental Health
Serendipity Labs
Clemente Orthodontics
Serendipity Labs Ridgewood
Duxiana
S&SO Produce Farms
Country Pancake House and Restaurant
The Village Health Coach
Charles J. X. Kahwaty, Esqu.
Biltmore Tuxedos
C.C. Van Emburgh Inc.
Beyband International, Inc.
Janjigian Trading Co,, Inc.
Ridgewood Party Rental
Life Opportunities Unlimited
Haagen-Dazs
E. Clark Travel
YWCA of Bergen County
for details call 201-445-2600, [email protected]
November 22,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Twenty Three Ridgewood Taekwondo athletes faced a major challenge at the Garden State Championships, which drew over 300 competitors from the tri-state area on November 5. The results were stellar: 30 Gold, 11 Silver, and 5 Bronze.
Taekwondo All In, an instructional school for the Korean martial art, continues to establish itself as a premier school for the sport. The school received the “Best School” designation at the New Jersey Tournament several years running.
Youngmin Kim, a Taekwondo master and head instructor noted, “We have an amazing group of kids at Taekwondo All In. Their dedication and hard work is truly inspirational. Our goal at the school is to teach our students not only the martial art, but life lessons on grit, focus and hard work, which will benefit them in all aspects of their lives.”
The students and their medals earned are as follows:
PHOTO : First Row Left : Audrey Kim, Ryan Kam, Tyler Minn, Maximilian Jimenez Elliott Yi, Jack Raines, Lucas Woods, Second Row Left – Emily Kam, Kaylin Lee, Jenna Slota, Julia An, Kate Minn, Lianne Shin, Timothy Lee Coach Seongki Kim. Third Row Left- Isaac Yi, Donghyun Kim, Head Coach Youngmin Kim, Tony An, Sunghyun Kim, Liam Woods.
I am really really concerned about all of the things I hear happen at the high school . It seems that the BOE is only involved or concerned about situations that fall under the state mandate of HIB. If an incident doesn’t fall unde the guidelines of HIB then nothing is done . I want to send my kids to catholic school for high school . The environment at RHS seems toxic. This was a chance for our “leaders” and I use that term lightly , to actually take a stand , implement new programs and actually lead! Shame on them
Ridgewood NJ, both former Mayor Paul Aronsohn and Ron Simincini were selected for the Murphy transition team.
Aronsohn in Human and Children Services and Simincini in Housing .
A very good point was made by Fishbein, he and his administration are responsible for monitoring a powerful device that is put in the students hands (smartphone) by the parents. When are we going to start holding parents accountable for their kids and what they do? Also, I have heard so many complaints of the BOE not doing their jobs in taking a stand (which I highly disagree with – my kids who are at 3 different schools in the district have been coming home talking about their bully – HIB presentations since I can remember), but I have yet to hear anyone come forward with what they think should or can be done in addition to what is already being done. Anyone? I bet if more parents were policing their kids and their phones, this would help the administration A LOT. They can’t’ do it alone, and they shouldn’t be held entirely accountable for 6,000 kids and their actions. This is a group effort people. Teaching our kids accountability for their OWN actions is an amazing life lesson. Placing blame has not benefit to anyone – not helpful.
photos courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook page
November 22,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The adult male driver of a Jeep Cherokee involved in a two (2) vehicle, head on crash in front of 424 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood on Tuesday evening, 11/21, was in full cardiac arrest when patrol officers arrived at the crash scene. The victim’s seat belt was cut, he was placed on the ground after being removed from the vehicle, and officers immediately began performing CPR. The victim was transported by a Ridgewood EMS ambulance to The Valley Hospital where he was reported to be in grave condition. A tow truck removed the Cherokee from the crash scene. Ridgewood Fire Department personnel also responded to the incident. A Heroin overdose is the suspected cause of the crash.
Fair Share Housing will bully their way as they know nobody will bother to fight them. It takes balls to stand up and this VC and the village in general is full of lightweights who are more concerned with leaf collection than the long term livability in this place. I would rather see us risk a lawsuit than just crawl under a rock and be inundated with hundreds of apartments who will basically spell the end for Ridgewood and the birth of New Hackensack.
photos courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook page
November 22,2017
the staff of Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Several uniformed and plainclothes members of Ridgewood PD escorted a freshly cut Evergreen tree from a home on Grove Street, Ridgewood to the municipality’s Central Business District where it was lifted into place by a crane and will be decorated to serve as the Village’s 2017 Christmas Tree. The escort detail was executed under the direct supervision of Ridgewood Police Patrol Division Sergeant John Chuck.
November 21,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
TRENTON NJ, Attorney Christopher S. Porrino announced that a retired police officer who formerly served as president and state delegate of New Jersey Policemen’s Benevolent Association (PBA) Local 59 in Cape May was sentenced today for embezzling large sums from the union over a period of five years. The state’s investigation revealed that he stole approximately $105,000.
John Campbell, 49, of Cape May, a retired Cape May police officer, was sentenced to six months of home detention under the county’s alternatives to incarceration program, including electronic monitoring with an ankle bracelet, and five years of probation by Superior Court Judge John Porto in Cape May County. He also was ordered to serve 300 hours of community service, pay a fine of $5,000 and provide full restitution to the union of $105,000, which was paid in full today. Campbell pleaded guilty on Aug. 10 to a charge of third-degree theft by unlawful taking. In pleading guilty, Campbell admitted that he stole tens of thousands of dollars from PBA Local 59 from 2012 through 2016, while serving as the state delegate for the union, by using the union’s checking account and a business American Express card to make unauthorized personal purchases, expenditures and withdrawals that were unrelated to union business.
Campbell was initially arrested on July 13 as a result of an investigation by the New Jersey State Police Official Corruption Bureau and the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. Deputy Attorney General Brian Uzdavinis prosecuted the case and handled the sentencing for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Anthony Picione.
“Campbell was entrusted with access to the credit and checking accounts of his PBA local, but rather than living up to his duties as a police officer and leader of this union, he corruptly chose to embezzle over $100,000,” said Attorney General Porrino. “This was a crass betrayal by a man who took an oath to uphold the law.”
“We have zero tolerance for people who use their positions of trust to steal from the organizations and people they were appointed to serve,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “We will continue to work closely with the New Jersey State Police to investigate and prosecute corruption aggressively.”
“Campbell made the decision to betray the trust of not only his fellow law enforcement officers but also the community which should have benefited from the funds he absconded with,” said Colonel Patrick Callahan, Acting Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. “The consequences of his actions should serve as reminder that no one should consider themselves above the law.”
While serving as the local PBA’s state delegate from 2012 through 2016, Campbell used credit and debit cards issued to him by the union, and paid for with union funds, for a variety of unauthorized personal expenses unrelated to union business, ranging from modest purchases at convenience stores and gas stations to more exorbitant purchases involving time shares and home improvements.
Campbell’s thefts came to light after a change in leadership of PBA Local 59 in July 2016, when an audit was conducted and suspicious credit and debit card charges were discovered. The information was referred to the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, which in turn referred the case to the Division of Criminal Justice and New Jersey State Police.
The investigation revealed that Campbell made more than $70,000 in unauthorized personal expenditures through the American Express account alone, including, for example:
over $30,000 for time shares in Florida, the Caribbean and Mexico;
over $16,000 for utilities and services, including gas, electric, telephone and TV services;
over $5,000 for clothing and jewelry purchases;
over $7,500 for purchases of electronics, furniture and cabinets;
approximately $5,000 on various convenience store and gas station purchases; and
a $500 designer Christmas tree.
He used the PBA debit card to make additional personal purchases and obtained approximately $9,700 for his personal use through debit and ATM withdrawals, as well as unauthorized checks.
Attorney General Porrino commended all of the members of the New Jersey State Police Official Corruption Bureau and Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau who worked on the investigation.
As a result of the investigation, additional alleged thefts were discovered that led to a charge against a second official of PBA Local 59, former treasurer Kyle Grossman, 39, of Lower Township, N.J. Grossman, who also was a Cape May police officer, was charged by accusation on Oct. 12 with third-degree theft by unlawful taking for allegedly stealing approximately $5,000 in union funds for his personal use. He waived indictment on that date, agreed to pay $5,000 in restitution, and forfeited his job as a police officer. He was admitted by Judge Porto into the Pre-Trial Intervention program. The charge against him will be dismissed if he successfully completes the program. Grossman agreed to enter a consent order under which he will be permanently barred from public employment.
Attorney General Porrino and Director Honig noted that the Division of Criminal Justice has established a toll-free Corruption Tipline 1-866-TIPS-4CJ for the public to confidentially report corruption, financial crime and other illegal activities. The public also can log on to the Division’s web page at www.njdcj.org to report suspected wrongdoing confidentially.
photos courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook page
November 21,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Wyckoff NJ, No injuries were reported by the occupants of a 4-door passenger sedan that overshot the exit ramp and crashed into a wooded area while exiting Route 208 southbound at Cedar Hill Avenue in Wyckoff on Monday evening, 11/20. Wyckoff Police and Fire Department personnel responded to the incident. The wrecked vehicle was removed from the scene by a flatbed tow truck. Entrance and exit ramps to/from Route 208 southbound at Cedar Hill Avenue, Wyckoff were temporarily closed while emergency crews worked at the scene.
November 20, 2017
Joseph Bishop-Henchman
Ridgewood NJ, New Jersey has long been the punching bag of state tax scholars. The state has the worst state business tax climate of the 50 states and the third highest overall state and local tax burden (behind only Connecticut and New York). Any New Jersey resident knows they pay the highest property taxes in the country, but other taxes are also high: income taxes (5th highest top rate), corporate taxes (6th highest in collections), sales taxes (16th highest in collections), cigarette taxes (10th highest), and gas taxes (8th highest) are all high, and New Jersey is currently one of two states with both an estate and an inheritance tax (the estate tax half is scheduled to be repealed in 2019, but we’ll see if the new Governor changes this). The state has more outbound net migration than any other. One bright spot: you can drink away your sorrows, with a mere 12-cent per gallon beer tax, lower than 40 other states.
The state and local tax deduction considerably reduces the sting of New Jersey’s tax bill, and it’s no coincidence that four of thirteen Republican nay votes on the House tax bill came from New Jersey representatives. New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney and newly elected Governor Phil Murphy, both Democrats, had pledged to make a higher income tax on millionaires a key early priority in 2018.
Now, however (Politico):
“We’re going to have to re-evaluate everything” if a federal bill repealing the state and local tax deduction becomes law, New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney said Wednesday in Atlantic City. Just days before, Sweeney had said he would make passage of a millionaires tax his chief priority in the new administration. “I’m just saying that what’s happening in Washington is concerning the hell out of me,” he added.
The changes to SALT are likely driving the reassessment. As ITEP, a group that promotes millionaires’ taxes, has explained, the state and local tax deduction “makes state income tax hikes a good deal,” since “income and property taxes are effectively less costly to state residents than are sales and excise taxes.” Take it away and New Jersey residents must pay full freight for their state and local governments. That may explain the seemingly contradictory rhetoric that millionaires taxes won’t affect the economy but eliminating the SALT deduction will be terrible.
If federal tax reform prompts New Jersey to overhaul its tax code, it’s long overdue. There are 244 townships, 265 boroughs, 49 cities, 15 towns, 3 villages, and 677 school districts. The three-member board running Tavistock, NJ, is a majority of the borough’s 5 inhabitants. A 1912 article recounted the history of New Jersey tax administration, which is a seemingly unending tale of bloated local government, corruption, and inequitable assessment. In the 1960s, railroad scholar George Hilton noted that the state’s practice of loading its property tax burden onto interstate commerce had ruined the viability of every railroad crossing the state. A 2003 state report dryly observed that state revenues had grown 1,700 percent since 1970, compared to population growth of 19 percent and inflation growth of 483 percent. The state adopted a sales tax in 1966 and an income tax in 1976, both with promises that they would be used to reduce crushing property tax burdens. Today New Jersey still has the nation’s highest property taxes, but with high income and sales taxes as well. It’s probably time for a rethink.
November 21,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Oradell NJ,The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Bergen County SPCA are requesting information from the public regarding a wounded Akita-mix dog that was left at Oradell Animal Hospital on November 3, 2017 and subsequently euthanized due to its injuries.
At approximately 4:30 p.m. on Friday, November 3, 2017, the Bergen County SPCA and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office received information that a two-year-old Akita-mix dog was left at Oradell Animal Hospital by two men who travelled in a black Lincoln Navigator with New York license plates. The dog appeared neglected and had suffered injuries, which included a swollen hind leg, suggesting it had been trapped or otherwise tethered. The men provided differing accounts, one claiming they found the dog in the woods in Mahwah and another that it was found at a construction site in Bergen or Rockland County. The two men then left without entering the animal hospital or providing identification. It is unclear if the two men are good Samaritans.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is encouraged to contact the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Animal Cruelty Task Force at 201-226-5632, or the Bergen County SPCA at 201-573-8900.
