Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood Police report that on Sunday, May 1, patrol responded to a Franklin Avenue office building to investigate the report of a burglary. The management company reported one of the offices has been vacant and when they went to check on it, they discovered someone had broken into it and appeared to be living within it. Patrolman DiBenedetto located the man in a second floor office. Michael Russo, age 54 who reported to be homeless, admitted to breaking into the office and living there for two weeks. He was placed under arrest and charged with burglary, criminal mischief and possession of burglary tools. He was transported to the Bergen County Jail on a Complaint Warrant issued by Ridgewood Municipal Court.Readers believe this to be the same homeless man reported on this blog at the Ridgewood train station in April.
Prior to this on Saturday, April 30, Sgt. Brian Pullman found a female sleeping in the grass in Graydon Park. When he went to check on her wellbeing, she reported to him that she was homeless. An identification check revealed that she had warrants for her arrest from Highland Park and New Brunswick. Joyce Umberto, age 63, was arrested and turned over to the Highland Park Police Department.
Ridgewood NJ, They just don’t respond. Jackie Hone has offered so much in the way of information that she asked openly to share with the council/ village manager.
According to the County public meeting minutes of March 28. The Village was put on notice regarding Schedler historic preservation of both parcel and house, wildlife and migratory act.
As such, the Village must move forward with historic registry of the Schedler house, historic eligibility of parcel and enforce wildlife preservation. Additionally, nothing can be done on this parcel, NO clean up/Phase 1, until after July 31 and only after historic and wildlife preservation/eligibility/registry is complete.
The Village council has not responded Jackie Hone’s emails or comments . Perhaps the Village manager and Council Majority was too busy with Earth day celebrations.
Council Members:
I did not receive a response or acknowledgement to my email below. Our mayor and village manager said they would provide an update “next time.” I don’t see Schedler on the agenda fortomorrow night. Will an update be provided? Is our Historical Preservation Commission aware of the County notice and will they move forward accordingly? Does this task fall under their responsibilities and/or Village administration? Who would be the person ultimately responsible in seeing that this get done?
I have known Tony for many years and am a long time Ridgewood resident, am a member of the Guild from the beginning and I do NOT want Garage D, however, let’s put things into perspective. I believe that Tony was wrong to say it fits on the lot, but as a long time businessman, who by the way, has revitalized this town with the Guild when the Chamber of Commerce refused to do anything to make Ridgewood a destination, and who has done many generous things for the town, including Habitat for Humanity and having many charity events at his store, and has spent countless unpaid hours, to promote events that bring people in and keep businesses open, he has the right to want this garage built. When you think of the fact that he is doing this, NOT for political gain or financial gain like some promoters, except to keep his business going, I’m sorry but I can’t fault him for that. He is also a resident right in town and a parishioner of OLMC, and I just think of all the years he has had a business, he knows that he may not thrive unless we get some kind of parking. I think we must remember that we need to keep unique businesses in Ridgewood, instead of just banks and restaurants and chain stores. When I moved here nearly 28 years ago, there were so many wonderful and unique stores that are now gone and even now, there have been too many stores that open for a short time that can not sustain the rents and keep their businesses going and a big part of that is parking. What we also have to remember is that Tony didn’t start this mess, it was began because our Village Council members were not transparent about their plans with the garage and the developments. If they had been, we would’ve already begun building a garage that the majority of Ridgewood would be thrilled with, instead they made a mess of things, that many people, including myself, are trying to rectify. So let’s put the blame where it belongs. Just remember there are two sides to every story and lets act accordingly before we start throwing out conspiracy theories.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Bernie Sanders said Tuesday that his primary bid against Hillary Clinton was far from over, pointing to his victory in Indiana and strength in upcoming races as a sign of his durability in the presidential campaign.
“I know that the Clinton campaign thinks this campaign is over. They’re wrong,” Sanders said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press from New Albany, Indiana. “Maybe it’s over for the insiders and the party establishment but the voters today in Indiana had a different idea.”
Sanders spoke to the AP after he defeated Clinton in Indiana’s primary, predicting that he would achieve “more victories in the weeks to come” in West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon and California. The Vermont senator acknowledged that he faced an “uphill climb” to the Democratic nomination but said he was “in this campaign to win and we are going to fight until the last vote is cast.”
Sanders’ win in Indiana likely won’t make much of a dent in Clinton’s lead of more than 300 pledged delegates. Clinton is still more than 90 percent of the way to clinching the Democratic nomination when the count includes superdelegates, the elected officials and party leaders who are free to support the candidate of their choice.
Donald J. Trump became the presumptive Republican presidential nominee on Tuesday with a landslide win in Indiana that drove his principal opponent, Senator Ted Cruz, from the race and cleared the way for the polarizing, populist outsider to take control of the party.
After months of sneering dismissals and expensive but impotent attacks from Republicans fearful of his candidacy, Mr. Trump is now positioned to clinch the required number of delegates for the nomination by the last day of voting on June 7. Facing only a feeble challenge from Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, Mr. Trump is all but certain to roll into the Republican convention in July with the party establishment’s official but uneasy embrace.
In the Democratic contest, Senator Bernie Sanders rebounded from a string of defeats to prevail in Indiana over Hillary Clinton, who largely abandoned the state after polls showed her faring poorly with the predominantly white electorate. But the outcome was not expected to significantly change Mrs. Clinton’s sizable lead in delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination.
Mr. Trump’s victory was an extraordinary moment in American political history: He is now on course to be the first standard-bearer of a party since Dwight D. Eisenhower, a five-star general and the commander of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II, who had not served in elected office.
The sun hadn’t risen yet when Don Guardian began his day at the Atlantic City public works yard. The mayor was facing the latest in a series of increasingly dire fiscal deadlines, and had just days to make a decision whether to make an $1.8 million interest payment on municipal bonds. If he and his advisors decided that shoring up day-to-day spending on the police and fire department and public infrastructure trumped their obligations to creditors, the city would be the first in New Jersey to default on its loans since the Great Depression. JT Aregood, PolitickerNJ Read more
After a press conference on lead remediation and testing in New Jersey public schools, Governor Chris Christie answered some questions from press about the topic that is front and center of the current political discussion in NJ: the impending default of Atlantic City and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto’s alternative takeover bill that will be posted for a vote on Thursday. Alyana Alfaro, PolitickerNJ Read more
A Senate panel approved legislation Monday that would allow pharmacists to dispense contraceptives to women and girls without a doctor’s prescription. Susan K. Livio, NJ.com Read more
All public schools will be tested for lead contamination, Governor Christie announcedMonday in response to sustained concerns over the safety of drinking water since Newark and other districts have discovered elevated levels of lead in their water supplies. Dustin Racioppi, The Record Read more
Ridgewood NJ , A black lab named Maisy from Ridgewood is one of the finalist for charitable canine coloring book for a dog-loving Phoenix teen with leukemia.
Voting will close Thursday, May 5 at 5:00PM. The 50 photos with the most likes will be featured in the first edition of Coloring Doggies for Anthony. Depending on how this fundraiser goes, more books are in our future . All proceeds will go towards purchasing additional copies of the coloring books and art supplies for the Phoeinx Childrens Hospital. If we happen to have more than enough books or there is money remaining after the donated products are purchased, it will go directly to Anthony and his family.
Maisy’s owner is Christina Oliva, 23, she tells us about Maisy , “This is Maisy from New Jersey, she always has a toy with her and was waiting for mom to come home at the window with her puppy wuv Scooby to give her mommy kisses She is the absolute sweetest girl and is a rescue saved from Kentucky. We wanted the male originally but they gave us the wrong gender the day of transport and we didn’t realize for about 6 hours but of course kept her anyway and also adopted her brother two weeks later!! She has the best life and is so beyond love and gives it back 100x more!!!”
Ridgewood NJ, Tony Damiano is the owner of Mango Jam , When the train station was renovated a lot of parking spots were taken away and because of his business’ location it is difficult to park near his business.Tony Damiano is also the President of the Ridgewood Guild .
We can understand how someone with a business interest in the central business district would support a garage but we question all the significant conflicts of interests on the HPC ,Historical Preservation Commission.
Tony was recently appointed a member of HPC. There was a vote at HPC for design D. He could not attend and send a letter saying since the new design ‘fits the lot’ he was voting for it. Another member who owns a building right next to the garage voted for this design. When this vote was later questioned, they just said it was a ‘poll’ not a ‘vote’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOCBptQJMcs
Published on Mar 10, 2016 this is all the footage Dana Glazer recorded at the Historical Preservation Meeting in Ridgewood. This is typical of how public meetings are currently in our town. We look forward to a time when ‘civility’ is more than just a political catchphrase and commissions like this do more than just green stamp massively inappropriate changes to our village.
Historic Preservation Commission Members: Vincent N. Parrillo – Chairman Joe Suplicki – Vice Chairman Lynne Brady Barbara Ferrante Tess Giuliani James Schimmel Tony Damiano Isabella Altano – Alt
Ridgewood NJ, Despite lingering contract talks the public does not seem to be engaged in the Board Of Ed contract dispute with the teachers union, the REA. Since so many things in Ridgewood seem dependent on the quality of education of the Ridgewood public schools ,the public’s lack of interest is to say the least surprising. In the past education issues have loomed large on the blog ,this time not so much.
“shouldn’t our schools and our teachers, one of THE biggest selling points of this town, be a top priority? that one sign says it all…’no contract = no future for ridgewood’. not feeling optimistic about any of it frankly”. Marata Maas (it takes a village Facebook page)
“May 10th is very, very important to Ridgewood, thus these topics are all particularly hot items right now. Voter turnout is always very low, so every vote becomes very important. Next, consider the environment that half of the students who will ultimately populate our high school will be subjected to if we dont get the right solution to the Valley Hospital expansion. Perhaps you are unaware of the other near misses Benjamin Franklin Middle School had with Valley which were resolved in the students’ best interests because of resident involvement. The high density housing issue could crowd up the schools and place an even heavier burden on taxpayers. And the safety and aesthetics of our downtown are certainly an important part of our village. And last, but certainly not least, we can directly influence the destiny of these issues with our votes on May 10th. We do not have that power in the case of the teachers’ contracts.” Laurie Bender (it takes a village Facebook page)
The Village is faced with what many perceive rightly or wrongly as even bigger issues that could potentially harm the quality of life and the quality of education in the Village of Ridgewood . So it looks like until May 10 the focus will be else where.
BOE-REA Negotiations
Click here to read a Letter to the Editor of The Ridgewood News, published on April 8, 2016.
Click here to view the Ridgewood Board of Education’s Post Hearing Fact Finding Brief and attachments.
Click here
to view an analysis of “Unused Funds’ identified by the REA during Fact Finding Proceedings, presented at the March 7, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.
Click here to read a Letter to the Editor of The Ridgewood News, which appeared in the paper on March 4, 2016.
Click here to read the Ridgewood Board of Education’s Fact-Finding Presentation with The Ridgewood Education Association.
Click here to view the backup for the Ridgewood Board of Education’s Fact-Finding Presentation with The Ridgewood Education Association.
Ridgewood NJ, the Church League is once again getting the shaft with field usage in the Village. In recently procured emails ,the Ridgewood blog has learned that Church League officials will not know until Friday night whether they have fields available for the weekend .
“We have had a number of Somerville NW and SE uses on Sunday afternoons this year. Any use would be subject to being checked with me on Friday to confirm if still available and which field.”
Ed
Ed
I am not sure what you are saying. Can we are can we not have fields. I do not understand why I league that is now 25 years old and is part of the community cannot get fields.
Richard
The Church league has been around for 25 years .Clearly this is no way to run a season . But the bigger question remains who is using all the taxpayer funded fields 24/7 in the Village of Ridgewood . Who are these people playing sports into the late hours and where do they come from? Why does the Village really have a filed shortage ? Who decides who plays and who does not and who screens who is playing to begin with?
Reader says “The current Council majority has used the same tactics that the current slate of pro development candidates and their new team of apologists are using now. They’re quick on the attack but then whine when people use such uncivil tactics as facts and logic to retort. I think it’s safe to call out Ron Simoncini by name at this point – he’s the classic bully/victim. He drapes himself in “The Truth” but bristles when people point out that he’s the PR guy for one of the developers and has a huge personal financial stake in the outcome of this election. Sorry Ron, but “The Truth” cuts both ways. And anyone who’s taken Marketing 101 knows that when the PR guy becomes part of the story, he’s failed as a PR guy.”
Mrs. Price is not correct that there are two blocs. There is one bloc running, and there are also three independent candidates. Three candidates have intentionally aligned themselves together, that is Brooks Willett and Weitz. They made it very clear that they are together, and even ran a full-page ad in the Ridgewood News to this effect. The other three candidates are not a bloc. They are independent of each other. The fact is that many MANY people support the three of them, Walsh, Hache, and Voigt. That does not change the fact that the three of them are running independently.
Next, the Attorney for the Planning Board is paid by taxpayer dollars and as such that person works for the Village. You can depict it any which way you want, but the fact remains that the Planning Board Attorney is paid for by us. So there is nothing inaccurate or twisted in stating that one of the candidates, Richard Brooks, is married to the Planning Board Attorney and as such this looks like a conflict. Granted most of the Planning Board business does not come to the Village Council for consideration or action……but some things do. And there are two representatives from the Village Council who serve on the Planning Board. There would be a potential for husband and wife to be together in this. I’m sorry, if it looks like a conflict and it smells like a conflict then it must be a conflict.
Next, the comment about “tradespersons” possibly making more than $125 an hour…..this is wrong on so many levels. Now correct me if I’m wrong here, but it sure sounds like Mrs. Price thinks she is superior to “tradespersons” and therefore her measly $125 an hour should be increased because maybe a plumber or carpenter makes more. Kiss my A*** Mrs. Price Brooks. You don’t like your hourly wage? Then don’t take it. We can get another PB attorney, and we would be lucky to be rid of such a disgruntled one. You think lowly tradespersons should not make as much as you? I’m betting they do a much better job than you do!
HACHE VOIGT WALSH are the three to elect. Save us from four more years of this systematic destruction of Ridgewood.
