file photo by Boyd Loving Council Person Mike Sendon pictured
Touch-A-Truck
Thu, May 12, 2016
Time: 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Location: Memorial Park at Van Neste Square, E Ridgewood Ave and Oak St
Ridgewood NJ, Treat your kids to a day of hands-on adventure featuring an opportunity to climb on board to explore the trucks that touch our lives. They’ll also have the chance to learn directly from Ridgewood’s emergency and public works helpers about the exciting work they perform every day. There will also be a Safetytown Kiddie-Car Track and a Storytime among the planned interactive activities throughout the park for children of all ages. Don’t miss this great family opportunity to Experience Ridgewood !
Ridgewood NJ, Mayor Paul Aronsohn and his coalition Village council candidates Wietz , Brooks, Willett are trying to play the “Gabbert Card”once again but don’t be fooled.
Mayor Paul Aronsohn voted yes to every single budget from the day he got on the council until now. And was there during Tom Rica theft and never noticed parking utility discrepancies until then.
While Bernie Walsh’s record is far more thoughtfull, she didn’t vote in 2011 and voted no in 2012. Voted yes in 2013 and no to operating budget but yes to Capital budget in 2014.
During Bernie’s tenure the Police contract was renegotiated saving Ridgewood $250K for the lifetime of each new officer hired. and the Village reduced to one Captain and two Lieutenants.
The Ridgewood news reported that the Village Council at a special public meeting on Monday will lower the starting salary for officers coming into the department after Dec. 1 to $32,000, down from the previous starting salary of $49,273, according to the ordinance.
By the way unlike some current candidates and council members Mayor Killion ,do to a “30-year distinguished career” in the Ridgewood police department,recused himeself from all police contract negotiations .
And if they really want to play the Gabbert card maybe they should remember how many new people Queen Bee Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld hired help her do her job such as the HR person for about hundred thousand and that not counting her platinum health care and pension. In hind sight Gabbert’s raise does not bad compared hiring a new HR person. It is important to note that even after Gabberts raise he still made far less than his predecessor and far less that the new combo of Village Manager plus HR person .
According to the Kelly Ebbels of the Ridgewood News an article Paul has on his own website , the “Incentive bonuses can be awarded from a total pool of more than $80,000, Gabbert said. He estimated that the change from automatic raises to incentive bonuses could yield more than $40,000 a year in savings”, which then Councilman Paul Aronsohn voted against the proposal.
In the name of promoting PROGRESS for Ridgewood, a huge amount of very slanted public relations has been spread about the Hudson Street garage project.Much of it has been in the form of “facts” that are not relevant.They are used only to obscure the real issues.
Here are 10 simple, TRUTHFUL facts that you should consider in forming your opinion.
1. 3236 voters who voted “yes” on the non-binding referendum never saw a drawing that placed the original design in context prior to the vote. We were told to “vote now for funding, and we can work together for a design later”. But plans had already been drawn up in October AND were withheld from the public until December.
2. BEFORE A FINAL DESIGN WAS PICKED, Our Village Manager said $295,000.00 was spent for “full site civil, landscape, utility, structural, plumbing, mechanical, electrical & fire” documents. They then had to issue a change order for $120,000.00 for the redesign because of this.
3. When the original design was finally illustrated in context, and released to the public, throngs of people came to a Village Council meeting and spoke out against the design, which jutted out into Hudson St. by 12 feet.
4. Per our Village Manager, “That garage could have ZERO CARS IN IT and it (the parking utility) can cover it.” She also recently confirmed we have plenty of empty parking spaces in the Cottage Place and Walnut St parking lots. According to her, we don’t even need to consider leasing the Zabriskie lot behind the movie theatre, and that would add 80 spaces immediately.
5. The Archdiocese of Newark, on behalf of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, has been consistent in asking that the garage be reduced one level. They were told the redesign would fit on the footprint and be taken down a level. It has only been lowered 30 inches, and does not fit on the footprint.
6. None of the buildings cited as references by “Progress Ridgewood” are 271 feet long. The three tallest buildings nearby all have front or side set backs of over 50 feet. Unlike all of the other “comparable buildings” in town, none of them jut out into the street by 5 feet.
7. The claim that the Village will spend $10 million to acquire 21 incremental spots if Design D is lowered one level, isn’t just bad math-it is an outright lie. The Village doesn’t own the Brogan or the Ken Smith sites, and the suggested garage will net the Village 187 parking spots.The truth about the garage size is that it needs to be a monstrosity in order to accommodate the parking needed for the high-density housing projects.
8. Resolution No. 16-110 is the resolution that was passed by the Village Council on April 27th after the petition was certified. It clearly states at bottom of page 2 that “the Village desires to submit the Ordinance(#3521) to the electorate at a special election to be held on June 21,2016 pursuant to the provisions of the Faulkner Act or, in the alternative, pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:49-27.” THAT IS THE HOME RULE ACT STATUTE. That language was included, according to Bond Counsel, “to protect the village from any litigation” – which means they know petitioners are correct.
9. $40-45,000.00 of municipal funds will be spent for a special election.The Village Council has every right call for one, under both Faulkner and Home Rule. That is a choice that the Council alone made, and for which the Council alone will be held accountable. Their inclusion of the Home Rule Act statute in Resolution 16-110 makes this abundantly clear.THEY ARE CHOOSING TO SPEND THE MONEY. NO ONE IS MAKING THEM.
10. JEFF VOIGT, BERNADETTE COGHLAN-WALSH AND RAMON HACHE refused to sign the pledge the other three candidates signed,which was created and put forth to the candidates by overzealous developers, landlords, business owners & investors.Bernadette Coghlan-Walsh, Jeffrey Voigt, Ramon Hache
HONESTY – INTEGRITY – TRUST A PLEDGE TO WORK FOR THE RESIDENTS OF RIDGEWOOD
…”The Fly” has confirmed that The Mayor, on a previous occasion, prior to starting a closed session, went from being pleasant and in an instant starting screaming and calling another Councilperson a “f’n piece of “sh..t” This was witnessed by the Clerk The Mayor and the Village Attorney. July 1st can’t come soon enough!!!
An email riddled with inaccuracies about the status of the Valley Hospital lawsuits is being circulated by Brianna and Nick Scott.
The email was then forwarded to Councilwoman Susan Traina Knudsen by Lorraine Reynolds and this was her response:
Dear Lorraine,
I read Ms. Scott’s email and, as it pertains to VH, is inaccurate. Please understand the 2010 cannot be implemented since the PB has now settled with Valley by reducing the 2014 plan resulting in the 2016 plan. That plan was adopted by the Planning Board. The judge has not entered a decision in 2016 against either the PB or the VC. What the judge did (2015) was simply keep the Village in the lawsuit, largely for the purpose of seeing if the the parties would mediate a settlement. However, there’s no settlement. The VC is standing firmly behind its ordinance knowing that no court in NJ has ever forced development of this scale on any municipality. A ruling against the Village would be unprecedented. Also, many people fail to understand the the PB case is very different from the VC case. Don’t confuse issues.
The best strategy is for the Village to stay the course and prevail in court.
It’s always difficult to understand why anyone would send such misinformation out to the public. I’m especially disappointed to see the inaccuracies further circulated by other well known members of our Village community.
Finally, I’m only addressing the part of the message relating specifically to Valley since our earlier discussion only referred to same. I’ll review the remaining info later on.
Good seeing you this morning and enjoy this beautiful Mother’s Day!
Best,
Susan
Councilwoman Susan Knudsen
Village of Ridgewood
131 North Maple Avenue
Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450
201-670-5500
Ridgewood NJ, here we go again the Ridgewood blog has discovered an impostor attempting to tilt the Village Council election results by posing the Village Council Candidate Ramon Hache . The blog comment scanner picked up the fraud .The Ramon Hache campaign immediately disavowed the email address and the comments made .
After last year when an “anonymous” email was used to interfere with the election process and attempt to sabotage Mike Sendon’s job and and his candidacy the voting public is notable touchy about these types of deceptive tactics .
The nature of the comment was to look like Ramon was changing his position on Valley Hospital expansion.
Why you should vote next week for Ridgewood Council 2016/05/06 at 8:37 pm [email protected] 173.3.54.254
No vote for Valley and it becomes Death Valley. Sorry but the crumbling infrastructure of that facility needs a major revamp to come close to being the reliable health center it once was. Population has doubled, medicine has changed and improved and it no longer meets the standards of a viable facility.
Why you should vote next week for Ridgewood Council 2016/05/06 at 8:37 pm
173.3.54.254
If there are not adequate changes to Valley hospital it will become Pascack valley: EXTINCT! I personally like having a reliable health care facility minutes from home. Valley is not and cannot be a valued facility using a 1960s infrastructure.
Funny how several individuals on the “It takes a village” Facebook page “spent most of a Saturday evening complaining of censorship on this blog for not posting every comment no matter how false ,stupid, racist or bigoted .
“The lady doth protest too much, methinks” ,Spending an entire Saturday night till 1 am repetitively restating the same nonsense makes you look very guilty. Too frequent and vehement attempts to convince others of some matter of which the opposite is true, thereby making themselves appear defensive, insincere and in the the Village is the hall mark of wrong doers like the “meter thieves”.
So here is a quick review on how comments get approved on this blog . First unlike the Village Council majority we do not publish threats . We do not publish racist or bigoted language . In general we try to minimize the name calling but there is some wiggle room on this one . If your willing to call people names be willing to be called names , alot of people have trouble with this one . Some times a rephrasing of a comment is all that’s needed to get it published . There is a lower standard for attacking public figures and politicians than there is for ordinary citizens. And remember even in Ridgewood there are a few “crazies” out there.
Open Forums depend on a certain level of honesty of their posters so “Trolling” is strictly forbidden .
In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion,often for their own amusement.
If you IP gets branded as a TROLL most of your comments will go directly to spam and we will never see them .
Repeat commentators are another issue , this is where a comment gets repeated for every post whether its relevant or not . The system will block these comments and they will end up in the spam folder as well.
Other issues ; often comments on police business are delayed. Sometimes a comment can inadvertently disclose police business and these are also held up for the sake of the officers safety and to not tip off the perpetrators .
Posting comments with links are also delayed , the links must be checked for viruses.
Sometimes comments are approved out of order , nothing diabolical just difficulty reading them on a mobile device.
The blog generally does not post comments on peoples personal life ,such as allegations of adulterous relationships, underage lovers ,drug or alcohol binges , teen issues and so on . Like everything there are odd exceptions.
Anonymity is an option and is and will remain available for readers protection.
And finally for editorial purposes sometimes comments are held because we think they will make a interesting posts ie Rurik Halaby’s insane diatribes.
The Ridgewood blog is an organic news source . News items are sprinkled among reader opinions continually generating more opinions and discussion . Like it or not the Readers are the blog and the editors operate more like a referees. Sometimes we weigh in too much and sometimes too little ,it not an exact science and it takes a lot of effort to balance freedom of expression with over the top name calling. Frankly we think its gotten better and better over the years with broader discussions and greater participation.
I am writing this letter to announce my wholehearted support for three candidates for Village Council – Ramon Hache, Jeff Voigt, and Bernadette Walsh. Each of these candidates is an independent thinker, and each is truly dedicated to improving the Village of Ridgewood without ruining it. They are informed and involved. They are intelligent and reasonable individuals. As a regular attendee at Village Council meetings, as well as being involved in other village governance activities, I have come to know them well and trust them completely. They will work with the two Village Council members whose terms are continuing, and we will once again have discussions instead of diatribes, and votes on important matters will no longer be in the form of a 3-person bloc on every single issue. There will no longer be bullying of citizens by elected officials from the dais and outside of Village Hall, no more bullying behavior at “safe harbor” places like church and in restaurants. I encourage everyone to vote on May 10, and to cast your votes for Hache, Voigt, and Walsh. We deserve a change for the better.
There has been no better opportunity than now to unite all Village neighborhoods. Citizens for a Better Ridgewood has its roots on the West Side and favors slower growth in high density housing. The Concerned Residents of Ridgewood is based in the Travel/BF/Somerville neighborhood and favors a smaller-scale modernization effort by the Hospital. Friends of Schedler are in the neighborhoods east of Route 17 and favor preserving the woodlands on that property. Most recently, a group of tax payers from all over town that favors a 4 level garage over a 5 level garage has successfully petitioned to bring that issue to a vote. After 4 years of a “Council majority” that has claimed to know what’s best for the rest of us and has insulted anyone that has disagreed with them, it looks like we might actually be able to take the town back from special interest groups and Council members with personal agendas.
Candidates Bernie Walsh, Jeff Voight and Ramon Hache have the very unique opportunity to unite these neighborhoods in our quest to preserve our property values and the charm of our Village. Please vote for them on May 10.
This is our Letter to the Editor, Ridgewood News today (April 22, 2016)
Merriam-Webster defines TRUST as “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something”. In this upcoming election for Village Council, we believe finding candidates worthy of resident’s trust must be the priority, as they will be the representative stewards of our Village at this most critical time.
Jeff Voigt, Bernadette Walsh and Ramon Hache are candidates we believe meet that test. Each has a deeply rooted connection to the Village and is running for Village Council for their own, personal reasons. Each has an independently developed vision for the future of Ridgewood, and each has expressed a willingness and desire to work alongside the continuing members of the Council to improve resident input and the transparency with which our Village Council operates.
We have clearly seen the negative results of a unified political bloc’s agenda running roughshod over the normal give and take of municipal government. Let’s go for something better this time around.
Ridgewood is in desperate need of a comprehensive, long-term vision for the future. We need candidates who want to be a part of leading a Ridgewood that will progress and grow without sacrificing everything we all love about this town-the charm, the friendly atmosphere, the excellent schools and the safety for our families. We need council members who will put resident’s interests first.
On May 10th, please vote for Jeff Voigt, Bernadette Walsh & Ramon Hache, and let’s get Ridgewood back on a path of trust in our local government.
Thank you.
Jim & Gail McCarthy
Haifa resident asks court to keep the Almighty away, claiming He is being mean to him
BY STUART WINER May 4, 2016, 2:54 pm
An Israeli man has petitioned the Haifa Magistrate’s Court for a restraining order against God, claiming the Almighty has been particularly unkind to him.
The initiator of the request, a resident of the northern port city, represented himself in court, the Walla news site reported on Wednesday.
A protocol of the hearing noted that God did not turn up for the session, although it did not specify how the court determined the Omnipresent was not in fact there, as opposed to merely exercising the right to remain silent.
The petitioner, who was not named in the report, noted that he had tried to obtain the restraining order from police for the past three years but that police had merely sent a patrol car to his home on 10 occasions.
I was relieved when three members of our Village Council decided not to run for another term, hoping that we would finally see a change from the consistent voting bloc and divisiveness that has occurred for the past four years within the Council. Now we have six new candidates, but three are already calling themselves “a team”. Should we be encouraged to vote for them and endure another 4 years of sniping within our council? Are we continuing the pattern of “our side vs. theirs?”
I am voting for Jeffrey Voigt, Bernadette Coghlan-Walsh, and Ramon M. Hache. They are NOT a team, but rather will exercise independent judgement always in the best interest of Village residents. They probably will not agree on every issue, but they are dedicated to community engagement that allows residents a voice in their future. And most critically, these candidates share the concerns of many Village residents that growth and progress be balanced with preserving the character, size and scale of our Village.
The election is May 10…every vote makes a difference!
Ridgewood NJ, Classics from Vienna concert. The Pro Arte Chorale, with soloists and members of NYC’s Clarion Orchestra and Pascack Valley High School choir, under the direction of Steven Fox perform the works of Beethoven, Haydn and Mozart. Saturday June 11, 2016 at 8:00 pm. Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 155 Linwood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ
Adults $35, Seniors $30 and Students & Children $10
The robo phone calls blitz starts. Got a robo message on answering machine tonight from R.Brooks saying to vote for him, Weitz and other for council, and that he paid for this message. Caller I.D. says 201-345-4962 Ridgewood, NJ.. Report call as Spam. Following same tactics as someone else we all know who’s used robo calls, signs in CBD planters to vote yes for garage, signs in tree wells. I will Not vote for them.
Rather, I am voting for the candidates who will put Ridgewood and the residents in their best interest – Voigt, Walsh and Hache. Matter of fact, concerned citizens and supporters of Voigt, Walsh and Hache, went respectfully door to door in neighborhoods today with flyers to remind people to vote on May 10th. Thank you, well received.
Dear Neighbors, I am writing not simply to express my support for 3 candidates in the council election, but to endorse record participation in the election process.
I am vocally in support of candidates Bernadette Coghlan-Walsh (line 4), Jeff Voigt (line 1), and Ramon Hache (line 8). I have spent a great deal of time speaking with them, and getting to know them. I have a tremendous respect for each one, as do a great number of people who’s opinions I hold in a very high regard. Additionally, I support these 3 because I have personally spoken to them at length regarding the pressing issues that Ridgewood is facing.
Multi family housing, which will affect our schools tremendously, our infrastructure, our water, our police and fire, fields, and village programs. That building at this density and in the proposed locations, is not at all in keeping with the character of this village, and how can we mitigate the irreversible damage that will be caused if, and when, it is completed.
Valley Hospital, and its proposed expansion. It’s utter disregard for the neighborhood that it resides in, and it’s community as a whole. How the hospitals need to modernize must be done while respecting that it is a community hospital residing within a residential neighborhood tucked next to elementary and middle schools.
Being a life long Ridgewood resident, these issues, in conjunction with so many others, weigh heavily on me. Being residents here for decades themselves; the importance of these issues hits home to these 3 as well.
Ramon, Bernie, and Jeff are not a group. They’re not a bloc. They don’t agree with me about everything, they won’t agree with YOU about everything, and they don’t agree with each other about everything, and I like that.
I like to see that they will have to, and have had to, engage in actual conversation with each other, and I know they will welcome conversation with residents. Something that has been deeply, and purposefully lacking in the last 4 years of council interaction.
Unlike the other 3 candidates in this election who have chosen to run as a trio, Bernie, Ramon, and Jeff are beholden to no one. They’re not bought and sold. They’ve signed no pledges making any promises to ANYONE. This is not because they don’t want to see certain projects completed. On the contrary! They would like to see, for example, the garage built. BUT, they’re unwilling to sign a pledge to anyone to make promises. They have the integrity, and the intelligence to know that NO one should ask that of them, and even more importantly, the integrity and intelligence to say no.
I’ve seen them dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to this election process while still being dedicated to their families, friends, and jobs. I know when elected they will see it through. We can expect positive changes. We can expect the sun to come out after 4 years of storms. I, for one, am looking forward to it.
Ultimately, I hope my neighbors and friends DO simply find the time to get out and vote. This election, and its outcome, are crucial to our future, our kids future. What happens in the coming few years will have the ability to change the landscape of this town forever. The history here is so precious, and we are supposed to protect it. Staying home, forgetting, or not participating on Tuesday is leaving that history, and so many of the qualities that make living here special, vulnerable to damage that we can, and should, prevent. I feel it’s our responsibility to vote- even more than a right-It’s our duty. It pains me to know that 2 other candidates running in this election, have either NEVER exercised that right here in town, or have done so less than 5 times in decades of residency. It’s simply too important to have your voice heard, and to use your vote to effect change.
Growth is necessary- responsibly. Revitalization is a good thing- when handled by careful, thoughtful people. Please, please come out and vote on Tuesday and elect Voigt, Walsh, and Hache to be those people for us.
Polls are open on Tuesday6am to 8pm. Remind your neighbors, remind your friends. Take an elderly family member to the polls, but please, please don’t stay home. Sincerely,<
Melanie Hooban McWilliams
Don’t forget to vote May 10, 2016!! Voigt, Walsh, Hache!!!
I have been a Ridgewood Resident for the last 22 years and bought into the town because of the schools and quaintness of the village.
I would like to know why Rich Brooks and Gail Price have not openly discussed how they plan on handling what is an obvious Conflict of Interest of being married and the effect if will have on decisions for the town.
Secondly, Evan Weitz has only lived in town for around 3-4 years but manages to become the Chair of the Financial Advisory Committee without even serving previous time on the committee? That makes no sense to me except that he was put there for political purposes.
With regards to parking. The height of the current Plan D eliminates much of the parking on Hudson Street. Maybe if the parking stayed with the original estimates as were expressed to the voters before being voted on in November our community would not be going crazy over the height and girth of the current Plan D. It should be the current size of the footprint and Hudson street should stay the same as it currently is designed.
I believe one of the worst offenses is that all of this seems to be coming from politicians in town who seek higher offices in Bergen County. They take their lead from the Democratic Chairperson, Lou Stellato, who is a Lyndhurst resident. So I ask you, why is it we would ever want a Lyndhurst resident influencing our town. Follow the political trail and make your own decision.
As far as Roberta is concerned her allowing 600 tickets to be handed out for leaves in the street is ridiculous. Also her involvement in the local politics of the garage should never be tolerated by town counsel or our residents. She should be reprimanded or asked to leave. It is not the town according to Roberta!
And as for Paul Arohnson, just leave – you have been self serving and a disaster for this village.
