OCTOBER 16, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
A Halloween experience like no other awaits those who are brave enough to step into a maze on Sheridan Terrace.
This free Halloween attraction, which is operated by Nancy and Greg Stewart out of their back yard, has been running in Ridgewood for 21 years and counting, 16 of which I have attended. Ever since the maze was over on Cliff Street at the Stewarts’ previous home, my family has made it our tradition to attempt to find our way through the maze, which is not an easy feat by any means.
OCTOBER 16, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Ridgewood Public Library is encouraging people to come “party like mad” tomorrow night.
The “Party Like Mad Gala,” which encourages attendees to dress like characters from the popular AMC TV show “Mad Men,” will feature live music, catered food and even a blackjack tournament in order to give it a 60s theme.
The event’s theme was chosen by Library Director Nancy Greene, according to Betsy Giordano, president of the library foundation.
“The Mad Men show finale was approaching, and we decided it just couldn’t be over,” she explained. “Who doesn’t like playing dress up?”
Proceeds from the event will be used to support the library’s “excellence far into the future, and ensure state-of-the-art learning opportunities and technology for residents of all ages.”
“We promise you’ll be amazed at this magical one-night transformation — the service desks will be our bars and all upper levels will be extravagantly decorated to bring the Mad Men era to life,” Giordano said. “We’re offering gourmet food from a premier Manhattan chef, a bourbon bar, silent auction and entertainment from one of New Jersey’s hottest bands (Total Soul),” among other entertainment.
“The auction will also have unique opportunities, with the chance to win a private plane ride up the Hudson, a long weekend at a Windham ski house, a premium catered box for ‘Disney on Ice’ and so much more,” she said. “We guarantee this party will be fun —not stuffy at all.”
Giordano said that the foundation is expecting around 350 people, explaining that ticket sales “have been quite strong, with the totals running into the hundreds, and more responses are arriving daily.”
“We are so grateful for this tremendous support from fellow Ridgewood residents,” she added.
OCTOBER 16, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY JIM MCCONVILLE
CORRESPONDENT |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
RIDGEWOOD — Now comes the hard part.
Sitting at 4-1 and atop the North 1, Group 5 power point table, Ridgewood High School would seem to be primed for a postseason run. It’s a position in which the Maroons found themselves one year ago, and RHS fans all know what happened after that.
From 5-0 to 5-5, the 2014 season took a downhill slide, and it all began with a game against Paramus, which administered a 35-0 drubbing that served as the most embarrassing moment of last fall.
For the Ridgewood juniors and seniors who played in that game, they’ve had a year to digest it and understand how not to let it happen again. Their shot at redemption comes tonight, when Paramus visits RHS Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Public Hearing – Habernickel Park – November 4, 2015
VILLAGE OF RIDGEWOOD
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
The Village Council of the Village of Ridgewood will hold a Public Hearing on November 4, 2015 at a Special Public Meeting, during their regularly scheduled Work Session, which begins at 7:30 P.M. in the Ridgewood Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey for public comment on the following:
Changing the use of the house at 1057 Hillcrest Road, Block 1103, Lot 16.01, Ridgewood, NJ, located in the Irene Habernickel Family Park from a residential lease to an educational and recreational programing lease.
A public hearing is required pursuant to NJDEP Green Acres Rules N.J.A.C. 7:36-25-6 et. seq. for a change in purpose or use of funded or unfunded parkland.
Documents relating to the proposed development are available for examination by the public at the Village Manager’s Office of the Ridgewood Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oral comments and testimony will be heard at the public hearing. Written comments may be submitted before the date of the hearing or within two weeks from the date of the public hearing.
Written comments or inquiries should be directed to Nancy Lawrence, NJDEP Green Acres Program, Bureau of Legal Services & Stewardship, Mail Code 501-01, P.O. Box 420, Trenton, NJ 08625-0420 and Janet Fricke, Assistant to the Village Manager, Ridgewood Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07451 or by telephone at (201) 670-5500, Extension 204 or by email to: [email protected].
Lawsuits cost big money, the Village Council is now going to do the appropriate studies. What would be the purpose of continuing to sue, have a judge order them to do studies? Regarding “trust”, I don’t believe it either. However, sometimes you have to give the other side some room if you hope at least one of them will vote your way in the future. Remember the changed vote on Valley.
This post leaves out the crucial fact that $100k has been spent by private citizens to fight against themselves [village runs on taxpayer dollars, we pay twice!] There is no way CBR can fight the spending power of debt funded developers. Remember, one of the developers has been fined MILLIONS of dollars for their inability to follow the law and still they spend more. How can we fight that?
Well if you believe that then answer this( 9:26). The CBR have a lot of smart people in their group you mean to tell me that no one anticipated the cost of their law suit? Why did they file it ( If they did ) so early? Why didn’t they wait till the council voted and then decide if a lawsuit was to costly. They fold like a cheap suit and the 3 amigos know it . Something stinks here.
While I don’t trust our Council majority to do the right thing here, they are kind of painted into a corner. The only way out for them at this point is to try to literally “pull a fast one” and wrap these supposedly comprehensive studies up in a couple weeks so that they can all vote yes before they get voted out in May.
It’s probably ok to drop the suit for now, but keep a copy handy in case we need to change the date and re-file.
I would not trust Aronsohn, Hauck, and Pucciarelli to do anything other than what would benefit them politically They are the most self-servicing bunch on the Council in a very long time..
I understand CBR. I wonder if your going to have enough money to fight the BOED when they redistrict after all isn’t this what it all about. You want to keep Ridge and Williard for your kids.
Whoever just discussed redistributing should read up on the topic. In 2012 fishbein said ridge, Somerville and Hawes are full. travel, Willard and orchard would lose the most. Ridge is already BY FAR the most diverse school in town. That isn’t even a question
One reason folks at ridge have been on this issue is because most of the current apartments are zoned for ridge We know how many children WILL move into the apartments and what the impacts of so many units will have on congestion in an already congested part of town. Ever drive west ridgewood avenue at 3?
Midland Park NJ, An adult male shooting victim was transported by ambulance to Hackensack University Medical Center from a home located at 29 Post Street, Midland Park shortly after 12 midnight on Friday, 10/16. The victim was reportedly shot in the abdomen. A paramedic unit from The Valley Hospital assisted Midland Park EMS.
The victim was conscious and alert at the time of transport. A bloodied white tee shirt could be seen on the victim as he was being loaded into the ambulance. Police officers from Wyckoff and Midland Park were observed at the scene shining flashlights inside the first floor of the home. No other information about the nature of the shooting was immediately available.
EXCLUSIVE: Democratic National Committeewoman says her party is ‘clearing a path’ for Hillary because ‘the women in charge’ want it that way
Female member of the Democratic Party’s controlling body spoke to Daily Mail Online in Las Vegas following Tuesday’s primary debate She rattled off a list of women at the top of the party hierarchy and said two vice chairs helped craft a decision this summer to favor Clinton The committeewoman warned her party could promote Hillary ‘because she’s a woman, and risk having her implode after she’s nominated’ The Democratic National Committee insisted that it ‘runs an impartial primary process, period’ But it has sanctioned just six debates this time around; Democratic presidential candidates had to survive 27 of them in 2007-08 DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz campaigned for Hillary in 2008 when she last ran for the presidency See our full coverage of Hillary Clinton and her presidential bid
By DAVID MARTOSKO, US POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM IN LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
PUBLISHED: 11:20 EST, 15 October 2015 | UPDATED: 13:47 EST, 15 October 2015
The Democratic National Committee is ‘clearing a path’ for Hillary Clinton to be its presidential nominee because its upper power echelons are populated with women, according to a female committee member who was in Las Vegas for Tuesday’s primary debate.
Speaking on the condition that she isn’t identified, she told Daily Mail Online that the party is in the tank for Clinton, and the women who run the organization decided it ‘early on.’
The committeewoman is supporting one of Hillary’s rivals for the Democratic nomination, and said she spoke freely because she believes the former Secretary of State is benefiting from unfair favoritism inside the party.
Clinton aims to be the first female to occupy the Oval Office, and ‘the party’s female leaders really want to make a woman the next president,’ the committeewoman said, rattling off a list of the women who she said are the ‘real power’ in the organization.
‘I haven’t heard anyone say we should make Hillary undergo a trial by fire,’ she added. ‘To the contrary, the women in charge seem eager, more and more, to have her skate into the general [election].’
‘I have nothing against women in politics,’ she underscored. ‘But it’s not healthy for the party if we get behind a woman because she’s a woman, and risk having her implode after she’s nominated because she isn’t tested enough now.’
OCTOBER 15, 2015, 9:48 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2015, 9:53 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The candidates for Bergen County Freeholder sparred on taxes and the costs of a new Public Works facility in Paramus on Thursday in their first debate of this year’s campaign.
But they found agreement, for the most part, on the need to do more about an epidemic of heroin addiction.
The Republicans and one Libertarian candidate argued that the county needs to do more to cut spending.
GOP candidate Ken Tyburczy contended that more Republicans were needed on the Board of Freeholders to question spending by the Democratic-controlled county administration.
“We do need a check and balance,” Tyburczy said. “If there’s not a check, how can we possibly control the spending?”
Democratic Freeholder Steve Tanelli noted that in 2014, the Democratic-controlled board passed a budget that had no tax increase.
Tanelli also noted that this year’s budget — which included a 4.3 percent tax increase — won unanimous bipartisan approval from the board.
Doherty’s Official Endorsement of Trump for President
Today Donald J. Trump announced the endorsement of his presidential candidacy by state Senator Mike Doherty (R-23). Max Pizarro, PolitickerNJ Read more
OCTOBER 15, 2015 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2015, 6:51 AM
BY DUSTIN RACIOPPI
STATE HOUSE BUREAU |
THE RECORD
Republican support for Governor Christie’s White House bid has dropped by 50 percent in New Jersey over the past two months, while an increasing percentage of the state’s conservatives is backing national front-runner Donald Trump, according to a Rutgers-Eagleton poll released Thursday.
And on Wednesday, Trump announced the endorsement of a Republican state senator, Michael Doherty, who said he thinks the business mogul’s views on foreign affairs can, as Trump’s campaign slogan goes, “make America great again.”
Doherty, a Warren County conservative who has openly clashed with Christie, is among the growing number of New Jersey Republicans and “GOP-leaning” registered voters backing Trump’s nomination for president. The poll reported 32 percent of those voters support Trump, up from 21 percent in August. Those conservative voters also put contenders Dr. Ben Carson and U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas ahead of Christie for the nomination.
In the August poll, Christie had the support of 12 percent of conservative voters in New Jersey. Now that support is down to 5 percent, even with former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who was the national front-runner until Trump entered the race, according to Thursday’s poll.
OCTOBER 14, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2015, 9:03 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Gate House of the former horse farm at Habernickel Park is getting a new tenant.The Village Council earlier this month approved a mulit-year lease with a local organization that teaches both children and adults about nutrition and healthy lifestyles.For the next five years, HealthBarn USA will occupy the house at 1057 Hillcrest Road, for the rental price of $3,700 per month. In the contract, there is also an option to renew for an additional five years. The lease ends on Oct. 31, 2020.
HealthBarn USA provides educational programs for children that will allow them to connect nature with nutrition as they learn to grow and harvest food and prepare recipes. Students get a unique “farm-to-fork” experience and are taught where food comes from and why eating fresh food benefits both their bodies and the environment.
The opportunity to bring a new use to the Gate House came when the previous tenants decided to move, giving the village an opportunity to reevaluate its situation, said Janet Fricke, assistant to the village manager.
The village then consulted with a real estate professional to get a recommended baseline bid, posted multiple real estate listings and held open houses to find a new tenant. Before moving forward with a new lease, the village received approval from Green Acres since the land was purchased using grant money.
A further hearing to explain the changing use to the public will be held on Nov. 4, said Fricke.
OCTOBER 14, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2015, 8:50 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
A Ridgewood native will be participating in the New York City Marathon in a few weeks to raise money for a non-profit organization designed to help military veterans.
Michael Doody and his wife, Lauren, share a family moment with their young son.
Staff Sgt. Michael Doody of the U.S. Army grew up in the village, attended schools here and met Lauren, a hometown girl who would become his wife.
He is currently stationed at Fort Drum in New York, but will be returning home to run in the marathon where he will “plan to take every opportunity I have to spend time with my friends and family.”
An eight-year veteran of the military, Doody decided to join the armed forces to defend the United States after the attacks on the World Trade Center.
“After Sept. 11, a certain part of me always wanted to defend our flag and fight for its honor,” he said. “I knew I was the guy who could lead soldiers into the harshest places on Earth and bring them all home to see their families. That’s what I did.”
After finishing a tour of duty, Doody signing up to be redeployed for a second tour.
Debate season gets under way this week, with candidate forums for Bergen County Freeholder, Assembly and several local races all scheduled this month. John C. Ensslin, The Record Read more
Candidate Forum in Village Hall Courtroom Sponsored by the League of Women Voters The District 40 State Assembly Candidates forum will be held on October 26 th 7:30pm in the Village Hall Courtroom
Quote of the Day: “I was asked to step down by the state Republicans and I did it because I am a team player. But, I did not want to do that, I wanted to fight. I stepped down and I thought it would just be over, but it is not over.” – Anthony Cappola
Anthony Cappola: ‘I Deserve to Be on this Ballot’
The last two weeks have been turbulent for Anthony Cappola. He was one of LD38’s Republican candidates, he was forced to step down from his position on the River Edge Council, made to drop out of the assembly race and told he would be replaced on the ballot with Fernando Alonso. Then, on Wednesday, he learned that the Bergen County Republican Organization dropped their petition to remove him from the ballot due to financial constraints. Now, he is trying to resuscitate his candidacy in a district that had initially been considered one of the most competitive in the state. Alyana Alfaro, PolitickerNJ Read more
OCTOBER 15, 2015 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY RODRIGO TORREJON
STAFF WRITER |
FRANKLIN LAKES – OAKLAND SUBURBAN NEWS
Oakland — When leaving home and traveling to an unknown land, there often are myriad reasons why. Freedom. Opportunity. Even survival.
For Sandy Khabbazeh, it was all of the above. Leaving her home in Aleppo, Syria, and her parents and older brother was by no means an easy decision, but it had to be made.
“I would consider myself a strong person because I had a lot of difficulty when I got here,” said Khabbazeh at a panel discussion on the Syrian refugee crisis, held at Ponds Reformed Church on Oct. 6.
The panel discussion was organized so area residents could hear firsthand the dangers and difficulties of being a refugee. Its goals were to elicit their feelings about the crisis and ascertain what they and the government could do to help the refugees.
Khabbazeh is one of the estimated 9.5 million Syrians who have been displaced by the civil war that broke out in 2011. As many as 6.5 million remain internally displaced. Arriving in 2014 on a student visa, Khabbazeh is being hosted by Rev. Nathan S. Busker of Pond’s Church, who moderated the discussion.
“It was about a year ago this month that Sandy knocked on the side door here, where our offices are located, and asked just to come in and pray,” recounted Busker. “From that moment, we began to befriend Sandy and get to know her. In January, she moved in with my family and she’s been there since.”
Upon hearing Khabbazeh and Busker’s story, religious leaders such as Minister Nolan Psalma of Upper Ridgewood Community Church, Imam Mahmoud Hamza of the Muslim Society of Ridgewood and Imam Mohammad Moutaz Charaf of the Elzahara Education Foundation in Midland Park expressed solidarity across religious lines and hoped to help housing refugees through their respective clergies just as Busker has.
The church leaders looked to panelist Robert Pettet, district director for Rep. Scott Garrett (R-5th District), for answers on ways they and their clergies could help, citing the government roadblocks often faced in the sponsorship process.
“If there are folks that come here and are brought here in more than one sponsorship where there’s a group of individuals, it’s not the government’s responsibility, is it?” said Pettet. “It’s ours. Because we are the people.”
While most agreed with personal accountability, no direct answers on the individual sponsorship procedure were offered. Pettet acknowledged his own lack of preparation and emphasized community accountability for the issue. Residents and church leaders pressed the issue, reiterating that their churches are already willing to help.
“I agree with that 100 percent, but if the government doesn’t allow refugees to come, we cannot help,” said Psalma.
Important Village of Ridgewood Forums – October 21 – November 2 – Hudson Street Parking Deck
Two important forums scheduled in Village Hall – 4th Floor Court Room – to discuss the proposed Hudson Street Parking Deck: Wednesday, October 21 and Monday, November 2 from 7:30pm to 9:30pm. Village professionals as well as the design team from Desmond Associates will be on hand to discuss all aspects of the proposed parking deck, including the design and financials. All are welcome to attend. All questions are welcome!
Parking Deck Presentation at October 7 Work Session
Click Here to view the presentation
2015 Walker Feasibility Study for Garage
Click Here to read the complete Walker Parking Garage Feasibility Study that was presented in the October 7, 2015 Village Council Public Work Session.
