Independent investigators found problems with how NJ Transit runs a $100 million program to improve weather resilience after Superstorm Sandy, problems that could lead to waste, fraud and abuse, according to the state treasurer’s office.
But what those problems are — and how NJ Transit should fix them — remain unknown because the agency has declined to make the findings public, violating a state law intended to ensure transparency, say legislators.
“It certainly violates the law,” John Wisniewski, chairman of the Assembly’s transportation committee and a co-sponsor of the law, said when he learned of NJ Transit’s decision not to release the records. “It’s more than just wrong. It’s outrageous. You can’t help but wonder: What are they hiding?”
Ridgewood NJ, Councilwomen Gwen Hauck has announced her re-election bid for Ridgewood Village Council. On her email she lists village hall as the mailing address for her campaign?Maybe that is ok in NJ, but it does seem odd. Maybe she should also have add. ” Or visit my Field Office located at The Valley Hospital Campus in Ridgewood.
Gwen’s term on the Village council has been marred by controversy . In 2012 when she ran Gwen promised a return to a more “healthy dialogue” in the Village , results have been anything but. Gwen’s is part of the triumvirate known in the Village as the “3 Amigos” which includes Mayor Paul Aronsohn ,Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli and Gwen Hauck . The 3 Amigos are led by Mayor Paul Aronsohn and vote as a block on all issues .
Gwen known for her cookie baking for senior citizens had her tenure on the Village Council marked by massive conflicts on interest with Valley Hospital , the over reliance of electronic devices during council meetings, her absence during a key reorg vote, the use of a taxpayer funded newsletter to self promote ,the constant documented attacks from the dais on Village residents , and now the revelation of her implication in the whole sale murder of “wood turtles” at Irene Habernickel Family Park a “Threatened Species” and most recently totally ignoring and some suggest covering up of an alleged assault at a Village council meeting on a Ridgewood resident.
Dear Friends,
I am very excited to announce that I will be running for re-election on May 10, 2016.
Over the next five months I will be hosting focus groups in many of your neighborhoods to explain what I have accomplished and what I believe in. Most importantly, I will be listening to what residents have to say.
Ridgewood deserves diligent, centered leadership. Ridgewood deserves someone who works to find common ground; someone who works for all citizens, a practical problem solver who considers economic, political AND administrative details. My goal is to be that leader for you.
I have created a website, GwennHauck.com, which will highlight current council issues and my thoughts on them. I hope you will find this to be a place you come to understand my views on the current events that are affecting Ridgewood.
Find something interesting? Email me directly after you read an article to share your views. Want to join the discussion? Sign up to host a focus group where residents can learn more about me, and I can learn more about the issues that concern them.
Let’s work together to make us all proud of Ridgewood.
Ridgewood NJ, A recent OPERA request turned up the Village was buying bottled water .I guess Ridgewood Water isn’t good enough for some employees. Maybe it’s the lead.
Village eblast January 5th 2015 , “The water supplied by Ridgewood Water does not have lead in it. A small number of homes in the Ridgewood Water service territory have plumbing materials that can leach lead into the water which caused an exceedance of the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for lead during routine testing in 2012. Regulatory agencies require that water utilities test for lead by setting up “worst‐case‐ scenarios” at locations at increased risk such as those known to have lead service lines. Additionally, the samples taken for testing must be water that has been undisturbed and in contact with the household plumbing for at least 6 hours. These samples are usually taken in the morning before any water has been used including the flushing of toilets. Therefore, samples are usually collected by residents. Each participating resident received the test results for their specific location. Additionally, virtually every faucet has brass components that contain a percentage of lead. This is why it is prudent to let a faucet run for several seconds before using the water for cooking and drinking, especially if the faucet has not been used for several hours. If your service line is made of lead, run the water for a longer period to clear all of the water from the service line. Please call 201‐ 670‐3372 if you are unsure of your service line material. Ridgewood Water will start using a phosphate‐based additive later this year that will also address this issue by coating the lines and faucets effectively stopping the leaching of lead into the water”
photo by Boyd Loving minutes after the alleged assault at the council meeting
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
RIDGEWOOD – Ridgewood’s Village Council voted 3-2 to bond with the Bergen County Improvement Authority (BCIA) on Feb. 10 in order to fund the proposed Hudson Street parking garage.
This came on the heels of last week’s unanimous vote of the BCIA to authorize the submission of an application to the state local finance board, accelerating the process along.
Just as there was at the BCIA version, Wednesday’s meeting featured both proponents and opponents of the decision to bond with the county, including village residents and council members.
Councilwoman Susan Knudsen, who voted against adopting the ordinance to bond with the BCIA, said that she still has some serious concerns with moving the process along at this time.
“I think that before we get into this, it’s really important to have a conversation with Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and be neighborly and have the simulations and all of the information available to address and allay any concerns that they have,” she said.
While she did admit that bonding with the BCIA “seems like a great option,” she said that she continues to believe “that when we find the appropriate scale and design of this garage, it could be done on self-bonding.”
“While there seems to be some financial benefits to be gained by going through the BCIA, some of the detriments are very real,” Knudsen said. “Maintaining ownership and absolute control is imperative to the success of this garage … I think it’s still an opportunity to bond on our own.”
Councilman Mike Sedon, who cast the other dissenting vote against bonding with the BCIA, said he thinks it is necessary to have a payment plan in place before moving forward.
FEBRUARY 12, 2016 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2016, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
BOE highlights memorandum
Click here to read the Fact Finding Report between the Ridgewood Board of Education and the REA dated February 3, 2016.
To the Editor,
At our Feb. 8 Board of Education meeting, our teachers voiced concerns about the unsettled contract and the Board’s recent proposal. It was evident that the information they were given about the Board’s proposal was incorrect.
The Board and the Ridgewood Education Association Negotiations committees have met 12 times since February 2015. Unfortunately, we have failed to settle the contract. On Wednesday, Feb. 3, a hearing was held before the state-appointed Fact-finder. At the hearing, the Board summarized its position and the current proposal in a memorandum. The bullet points below highlight the key areas discussed in our memorandum. The full memorandum can be found on the District’s website at ridgewood.k12.nj.us.
Key areas in the Board’s Fact-finding memorandum:
The Board has based its negotiating position on the realities of a state law, Chapter 44, which limits local school boards to annual property tax increases of no more than two percent over the previous year’s dollar amounts, with some limited exceptions.
Ridgewood teacher salaries are at, or near the top of, salaries paid for similarly qualified staff in other Bergen County school districts.
The Board currently spends over $7 million per year, or approximately 74 percent of the premium bill, for REA health benefits. The Board has not proposed to increase the teachers’ share of the health benefit premiums.
Health benefit premiums have increased on average by 10 percent annually for the past 10 years.
The Board has proposed changing the health benefits plan within the current provider program (the School Employees Health Benefits Plan) to one with higher co-pays — $10 doctor visit co-pay in the current plan rising to $15 per primary care doctor visit and $25 for specialists — as a way to save both the District and teachers on premium costs.
Breakage, or any savings due to retirements, is not a reasonable way to fund a settlement. Historically, the Board has spent any such savings on new hires or on salary increases for existing teachers as they complete graduate courses and higher education degrees.
State aid for rapidly rising special education costs has decreased in the last three years.
The District’s architect and engineering firm completed a facility review and recommended facility upgrades/repairs of approximately $40 million. The capital reserve account balance as of June 30, 2015 was $1,018,989, far short of what is needed to update our 11 buildings constructed between 1894 and 1965.
Many of the comments from teachers were critical of the Board and mischaracterized us as uncaring and indifferent. The Board values our staff. We would never see our teachers as “numbers on a spreadsheet.” We are well aware of the work our staff does and that it is this work that makes Ridgewood the excellent district that it is. The Board is committed to negotiating a fair contract with the REA that can be funded within the District’s financial ability.
FEBRUARY 12, 2016, 5:54 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2016, 5:57 PM
BY STEVE JANOSKI
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — A village couple hoping to slip North Jersey’s winter chill got more than they bargained for last week after their cruise ship, destined for the Bahamas, sailed into a North Atlantic storm packing hurricane-force winds and towering waves.
Lou and Linda Lembo are no strangers to the sea — together they’ve gone on 18 cruises which have taken them to Alaska, across Europe, and to a number of Caribbean islands.
But their journey aboard the hulking 1,141-foot Anthem of the Seas, which departed Feb. 6 from Bayonne, was a bit more “interesting” due to a tempest that struck late Sunday afternoon.
The purpose of superdelegates was to save voters from political suicide, and while they have tended to follow public voting patterns in recent elections, 2016 could be different.
By Peter Grier, Staff writer FEBRUARY 11, 2016
Does Hillary Clinton have a secret weapon in her battle for the Democratic presidential nomination – “superdelegates” already pledged to support her?
Well, yes, yes she does. But in the end, they probably wouldn’t tip the balance in a close race with rival Bernie Sanders.
Superdelegates aren’t delegates with special powers. Their votes don’t count more than normal elected delegates. They won’t wear spandex or any kind of identifying costume at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
URGENT – WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
404 AM EST FRI FEB 12 2016
…DANGEROUSLY COLD WINDCHILLS THIS WEEKEND…
…WIND CHILL WATCH NOW IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
SUNDAY MORNING…
* LOCATIONS…COASTAL CONNECTICUT…AND WESTERN BERGEN COUNTY.
* HAZARD TYPES…DANGEROUS TO POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING
WINDCHILLS.
* TIMING…COLDEST WIND CHILLS LATE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY
SUNDAY MORNING.
* WIND CHILL…AS LOW AS AROUND 25 BELOW ZERO DUE TO TEMPERATURES 0 TO 5 BELOW ZERO…AND WINDS NORTHWEST 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH.
* IMPACTS…THE FRIGID CONDITIONS WILL BE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO
THOSE VENTURING OUTSIDE. PROLONGED EXPOSURE WILL CAUSE
FROSTBITE. THE COMBINATION OF VERY LOW WIND CHILLS AND FRIGID
AIR TEMPERATURES HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO RESULT IN FROZEN PIPES…
FROSTBITE AND HYPOTHERMIA.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A WIND CHILL WATCH MEANS THE THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR A
COMBINATION OF VERY COLD AIR AND STRONG WINDS TO CREATE
DANGEROUSLY LOW WIND CHILL VALUES. MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS
AND WARNINGS FOR UPDATES ON THIS SITUATION.
FEBRUARY 12, 2016 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2016, 12:31 AM
BY AIMEE LA FOUNTAIN
CORRESPONDENT |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Girl Scout Troop 1326 completed their Silver Award project of restoring the fitness parcourse that lines the trails at Veterans Field and Maple Park. The course became open to the public on Nov. 20, 2015.
The Silver Award is the second-highest award given by the Girl Scouts of America and the highest award Girl Scout Cadettes may receive.
“Not a lot of individuals across the country finish the award,” said Troop 1326 leader Bernadette Walsh.
Four Girl Scout cadettes from Troop 1326 carried out the project: Katie Doyle, Erin Shevlin, Celeste Walsh and Chloe Young.
“They chose an ambitious project. They were thinking of things that would be sustainable and have an impact on students and adults,” Walsh said. “They all live in Ridgewood and have seen the old parcourse’s decay, so that’s how they came up with this idea.”
The scouts removed two stations and rehabilitated the push-up and knee-lift apparatuses from the parcourse’s original 18-part layout. They also added numerous new equipment, including a chin-up bar, balance board and balance plank.
FEBRUARY 12, 2016 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2016, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
RIDGEWOOD – Members of Ridgewood High School’s (RHS) Project Interact (PI) group showed a video on Feb. 9 of former student Julia Leonard requesting to meet talk-show host Ellen Degeneres and hoping to get a new wheelchair.
A graduate of RHS, Class of 2015, Leonard has gone through a lot in her relatively short life, surviving a rare form of spinal cancer and adapting to an ordinary life as best she can.
Despite the trials and tribulations that come with dealing with such health complications, Leonard retained her sense of happiness by watching her favorite television shows, including “The Ellen Degeneres Show.”
It was by watching the television program that Leonard regained her desire to dance, thanks to seeing Ellen Degeneres cavorting around her set during her shows.
“Cancer almost took away my love for dancing, until I saw your show,” Leonard said in the video. “You inspired me to dance every day when you shake down the stage. I love to dance in my wheelchair.”
Leonard initially made her own video for Degeneres, but decided to accept the help of PI when it offered.
Nancy Reilly, a science teacher and one of the staff involved with PI, explained that while she was impressed with Leonard’s original video, she thought the student group could help make an even better one.
Bergen County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad Unit called in to remove a suspicious item found lying in the gutter of Lincoln Avenue in Glen Rock
February 12,2016
the staff of the Ridgewoiod blog
Glen Rock NJ, Glen Rock PD summoned the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad Unit to remove a suspicious item found lying in the gutter of Lincoln Avenue near Kenmore Place on Friday morning shortly after 10 AM. Several homes in the area were evacuated by Hawthorne and Glen Rock PD personnel as a precaution.
The Bomb Squad Unit safely removed the item from the scene for disposal at a later date. Glen Rock FD and EMS personnel were placed on standby during the incident. No injuries were reported, nor was there any word on what the item was nor its origin. Police closed Lincoln Avenue in both directions between Van Winkle and Hillside Avenues for just over one (1) hour
Lincoln Avenue was closed in both directions but has since been reopened .
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Knights of Columbus are once again proud to be sponsoring their annual St. Patrick’s Dinner Dance on Saturday, March 19th, beginning at7:00 p.m. in the Mount Carmel gymnasium at 52 Passaic Street in Ridgewood.
Guests will first be greeted by bagpipers. The Best of Everything will cater a full-course of traditional Irish fare including corned beef and cabbage. The Celtic Cross Band will be playing Irish classics and great dance music, along with a special appearance by the Irish Step Dancers from the McLoughlin Dance School. There will also be a grand prize raffle drawing for a trip to Ireland.
Tickets are $55 per person. Payment can be mailed to:
Come enjoy this annual celebration as the Knights of Columbus continue the tradition that the People of Ireland started over a thousand years ago. And what better way to celebrate the life of Saint Patrick then to gather with friends and family, enjoy a fine meal, and dance to great music!
Come out and celebrate St. Patrick’s with the Ridgewood Knights !
FEBRUARY 12, 2016 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2016, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
RIDGEWOOD – Ridgewood’s Village Council members discussed the proposed addition of HealthBarn USA to the Irene Habernickel Family Park at the Feb. 3 meeting.
“I feel very strongly that it makes sense to have HealthBarn there,” said Mayor Paul Aronsohn. “I’m not just supportive of this program, I’m excited about it.”
The final decision on whether to approve HealthBarn moving onto the property was postponed to a later date during the Feb. 10 meeting, due to some of the council members wanting to see the business’ lease before deciding on anything.
The current plan is to have HealthBarn USA, a company that offers various outdoor activities to children, take up partial residence in the house on the Habernickel property, in exchange for payment to the village.
This does not sit well with local resident Margene Rubin, who said at the Feb. 3 meeting she feels the addition of HealthBarn to the property would make the area a less-enjoyable place to live.
“Everyone in that area that faces that field does not want (HealthBarn),” Rubin said, adding that HealthBarn founder Stacey Antine can “go someplace else” and not disrupt the neighborhood.
“It’s very upsetting,” said Rubin. “I really do encourage you to think about how many people this is upsetting,”
FEBRUARY 12, 2016 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2016, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
RIDGEWOOD – A large number of teachers once again took the stand during Monday’s Board of Education (BOE) meeting, enumerating the various reasons why they feel a fair contract must be reached between the BOE and Ridgewood Education Association (REA).
Despite protracted negotiations, an agreement still has yet to be hammered out, causing much concern on both sides.
Although the BOE has continuously said that it values its educators and recognizes the necessity of their work, many teachers remain unconvinced.
Some, like Kim Casey, of Travell Elementary School, said they still feel like they are only figures on a spreadsheet.
“To you, I am merely a number,” she stated. “To you I am merely … the numbers of years I have before retirement, when you can fill my position with a younger teacher who won’t cost the taxpayers as much money.”
Others, like teacher Andrea Petron, of Ridge Elementary School, said they feel like teachers are an indispensible part of Ridgewood schools, and that the BOE has not treated them fairly.
“After pouring our hearts and souls into the district, it is important to know that we are appreciated and respected for the work we do,” she said. “Education is not a business, and it should not be treated as such.
“Teachers literally create every profession in the world,” she continued. “Teaching is the fundamental basis of every facet of society. It is time for you to start treating us like the rest of the world could not go on without us, including Ridgewood.”
Ridgewood NJ, Some questions from the most recent walker report. May be some of our readers who are more financial savvy can answer them / explain them, as residents are a little confused:
1. The main argument for the biggest garage is that it is needed for CBD’s revival. This week’s Walker Report projects up-to 20% reduction in cars coming in to CDB. So, how exactly will this help?
“We project a 10% reduction in volume from rate increases and a 7.5% – 10% reduction in volume for the extension of meter hours through the dinner hour”..
https://mods.ridgewoodnj.net/pdf/manager/20160203revwalker.pdf
2. OLMC was promised that no rates will increase on Saturday evenings. This report doesn’t reflect that.
3. They mention that this report cannot be used for financing. So, the consultant themselves are not confident about this report?
“As with the previous study, this is considered a preliminary analysis. We have not done the very detailed analysis that is required for a financing document and our projections cannot be used as such.”
4. On Jan 27th, in village council meeting, when this new contract was awarded to Walker Consultants, we were told that they will provide us the new makeup of the parking garage, i.e. how many commuters, how many shoppers and how many CBD employees should park there. That break down is not provided in this report (I think we paid somewhere between 12-20k for this piece of pdf).
5. This report recommends additional enforcement for the extended hours, but it doesn’t consider additional enforcement officer’s compensation in the calculations?
