HUDSON STREET LOT CLOSED FOR TESTING – SUNDAY, JUNE 7TH
To learn more about the ground conditions at the Hudson Street Lot the Village will be doing some testing. This is in preparation for the potential construction of a new parking facility. The testing will take place this Sunday, June 7th.
A consultant working for the Village will be performing ground penetrating radar (gpr) survey of the Hudson Street parking lot. To do this survey the lot needs to be free of cars to be effective.
The Hudson Street Lot will be closed at midnight Saturday, June 6 with several barricades to deny access. The lot will be reopened at 2:00 pm on Sunday, June 7. No cars will be permitted to park in the lot during that time period. Vehicle access to the rear of the properties on East Ridgewood Avenue through the lot will be maintained. Emergency access through the lot will be maintained.
The gpr equipment is small, makes no noise and does not take up much room.
Please share this information on the short term closing of this lot with friends and neighbors.
JUNE 5, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — The council is considering adding a non-binding referendum to the November ballot to gauge support for a parking garage downtown.
For more than a year, Ridgewood officials have been working on ways to provide additional parking in the central business district.
At previous meetings on parking, business leaders agreed with the council’s notion that a garage would lure more dollars to the village.
This year, Ridgewood’s council has approved financing for three different studies of the garage’s proposed site along Hudson Street.
The referendum was the brainchild of Mayor Paul Aronsohn, who said adding the issue to this fall’s ballot will cost the village nothing.
Deputy Mayor Al Pucciarelli, Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck, and Councilman Mike Sedon all supported Aronsohn’s suggestion to get feedback from voters.
The referendum’s results would have no bearing on the future of the parking garage project, which Ridgewood officials hope they can break ground on next spring.
Aronsohn’s idea was not well-received by Councilwoman Susan Knudsen, who urged that a “more comprehensive study” be undertaken of the village’s need for a garage as well as its potential impact on downtown businesses.
JUNE 4, 2015 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2015, 11:19 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Connectivity between all the main facilities in Ridgewood has nearly been achieved with the village’s Fiber Loop project close to completion.
For the past year, the Signal Department has been installing, splicing, connecting and maintaining 125,000 feet of fiber throughout Ridgewood and Glen Rock. While Glen Rock’s installation was completed a few months ago, Ridgewood still needs to install fiber lines between the Water Pollution Division and Village Hall.
“This is big,” said Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld at a recent council meeting. “They have been working on this diligently for a long time.”
The Fiber Loop project connects the Fire Department buildings, the Emergency Services Fleet facility and the water pollution control site, among others. In all, seven facilities are currently connected to Village Hall, said Dylan Hansen, the village’s network administrator.
Roughly 4 million current and former federal employees have had their data exposed by a hack, the Obama administration said Thursday.
The notification from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was short on details, but it appears troves of sensitive information had been pilfered.
Separate media reports cited China as being behind the massive hack.
The digital assailants first infiltrated the system in December, four months before they were discovered, The Washington Post reported.
“Protecting our Federal employee data from malicious cyber incidents is of the highest priority at OPM,” said OPM Director Katherine Archuleta. “We take very seriously our responsibility to secure the information stored in our systems.”
The FBI said it had opened up an investigation into the breach, which The Wall Street Journalreported is believed to have come from hackers in China.
An unnamed U.S. official told NBCNews that the data breach might touch every federal agency.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesman said it noticed “malicious activity affecting its information technology (IT) systems and data in April.”
Under the draft provisions of the latest trade deal to be leaked by Wikileaks, countries could be barred from trying to control where their citizens’ personal data is held or whether it’s accessible from outside the country.
Wikileaks has released 17 documents relating to the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), currently under negotiation between the US, the European Union and 23 other nations. These negotiating texts are supposed to remain secret for five years after TISA is finalized and brought into force.
The deal, which has been under discussion behind closed doors since early 2013, is intended to remove barriers to trade in services. It’s a sort of companion piece to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which cover trade in goods – but potentially far bigger, with Wikileaks claiming that ‘services’ now account for nearly 80 per cent of the US and EU economies.
Like TTIP and TPP, TISA could be sped through Congress using Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), also known as fast-track authority, which has been passed by the US Senate and may be taken up in the House this month. Under TPA, Congress is barred from making amendments to the trade deals, and most simply give yes-or-no approval.
CHICAGO (AP) — Alcohol problems affect almost 33 million adults and most have never sought treatment, according to a government survey that suggests rates have increased in recent years.
The study is the first national estimate based on a new term, “alcohol use disorder,” in a widely used psychiatric handbook that was updated in 2013.
Five things to know about the research published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry:
DEFINING ALCOHOL PROBLEMS
The revised handbook, the DSM-5, defines problem drinkers or those with the disorder as people with at least two of 11 symptoms, including drinking that harms performance at work, school or home, frequent hangovers and failed attempts to limit drinking. Mild problems involve two to three symptoms; severe involve at least six symptoms. The new handbook combined alcohol abuse and dependence, which had been separate disorders, added craving as one symptom and eliminated alcohol-related legal problems as another.
June 3, 2015
First visual of the proposed Hard Rock Casino at the Meadowlands in northern New Jersey.
ORLANDO, Fla., Hard Rock International, owner of one of the world’s most iconic and recognized brands, announced today its plan to build a casino at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. The proposed entertainment destination would be ideally situated in northern New Jersey and is projected to generate $400 Million of new tax revenues a year.
“With its close proximity to an international airport, the new casino would be designed to attract visitors from not only the 14 million adults in northern New Jersey and New York City, but also international travelers, making it a premier entertainment destination,” said Jim Allen, Chairman of Hard Rock International. “The significant tax revenue brought into New Jersey could go directly to aid in the development and reconstruction of Atlantic City’s casino and hotel industry.”
Reports show a casino in northern New Jersey would help draw visitors from other states, creating competition with New York andPennsylvania, who have taken more than $13 billion in revenue from New Jersey in the past eight years since they’ve expanded their gaming options.
“We’re thrilled to bring this great offering to the New Meadowlands Racetrack,” said Jeff Gural, Chairman of New Meadowlands Racetrack LLC. “With its expertise in gaming, hotels, restaurants, live events, entertainment, and retail offerings, Hard Rock International is the ideal partner for New Meadowlands Racetrack, bringing the globally recognized brand to the racetrack elevates excitement surrounding the project.”
The Hard Rock Casino will feature 5,000 slot machines and 200 gaming tables. The project will also feature ten restaurants and four bars; a multi-purpose Hard Rock Live showroom; New Jersey Music Hall of Fame; and “The Vault,” a music memorabilia museum expertly curated by Hard Rock – owners of the world’s largest music memorabilia collection. The entertainment destination will also offer retail shops and a six-story parking garage conveniently located just steps away from the casino grounds. Due to the $120 millioninvestment that owner Jeff Gural made in the Meadowlands in 2012, Phase One could be open as soon as Summer of 2016.
Hard Rock International is awaiting approval from the New Jersey Legislature to move forward with this project. For more information or to book a stay at any of the Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos, please visit www.hardrockhotels.com.
JUNE 3, 2015, 11:16 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015, 11:28 PM
BY SCOTT FALLON
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
A small bridge over the Oradell Reservoir used by trains hauling millions of gallons of crude oil has deteriorated to the point that the rail company will soon replace the 86-year-old span’s entire deck, according to a federal government inspection report.
While federal officials have said the bridge is structurally sound, the report by the Federal Railroad Administration indicates the bridge is in worse condition than its owner, CSX Corp., acknowledged shortly after it was inspected in March.
The 25-foot bridge crosses the northeast corner of the reservoir, which supplies drinking water to 800,000 people. As many as 30 trains — each carrying up to 3 million gallons of volatile Bakken crude — cross the bridge each week along the CSX River Line on the way to refineries on the East Coast, prompting concerns from local officials, firefighters and water company executives.
The bridge was inspected by the Federal Railroad Administration on March 31, just a few days after The Record reported that government officials had no current reports on the bridge’s condition.
At that time, government officials said the bridge passed inspection and CSX executives said some railroad ties would be replaced “as a matter of routine maintenance.”
But the one-page inspection report — released to the newspaper this week, almost two months after it was requested under the federal Freedom of Information Act – reveals the bridge required serious attention. It states that the bridge deck showed enough deterioration that CSX had already determined to replace it. CSX also ordered trains to reduce speed from 40 mph to 25 mph on the span to “protect the railroad as well as the public for safe passage of trains,” according to the inspection report.
The Federal Railroad Administration employee who inspected the bridge declined to comment.
JUNE 3, 2015, 7:50 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015, 9:25 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The Bergen County Justice Center project under construction in Hackensack will cost an additional $1.3 million to build and take about 14 months more to finish, county officials revealed Wednesday.
The freeholders approved a change order Wednesday that calls for paying $1,329,797 more to Gilbane Building Co., the New Brunswick-based construction manager overseeing the project.
The vote to approve was 4-0 with three freeholders absent.
The added payment will keep the firm on site for an additional 14 months beyond its original contract, which was to have expired on July 1, said Ray Dressler, the county’s public works director.
At $147 million, the multifaceted project was already the largest in the county’s history, even before Wednesday’s vote.
Besides a new six-story Justice Center on Court Street, the project includes a new Public Works garage in Hackensack, a Public Works facility in Paramus, a parking deck and renovation of the 102-year-old courthouse.
JUNE 3, 2015, 8:24 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015, 8:47 PM
BY STEVE JANOSKI
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
MIDLAND PARK – A prominent Muslim civil rights group (CAIR) is calling for the FBI to investigate an “act of hatred” in which someone carved a swastika into a wooden sign outside an Irving Street mosque on Memorial Day.
The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement Tuesday asking the FBI to investigate the carving of the 10-inch swastika and images of “male genitalia,” that appeared on the sign outside the Elzahra Islamic Center.
“These types of incidents should be investigated within the context of the rising level of Islamophobic sentiment in our society and treated with the seriousness they deserve,” said Nadia Kahf, the council’s board chairwoman, in a statement. “Public officials and interfaith leaders should speak out against acts of hatred and intolerance whenever they occur.”
Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for the organization, said it was “incumbent” upon the FBI to look into the vandalism.
“If we were talking about just an isolated incident in a small community in New Jersey, that’s one thing. But unfortunately, we’re seeing a real spike in these kinds of incidents nationwide,” he said. “We see this incident as possibly part of that disturbing pattern.”
A spokeswoman for the FBI’s Newark field office said the bureau wasn’t involved in the investigation, and said it “looks like it’s being handled locally.”
The vandalism is being handled as a bias crime by borough detectives, meaning stiffer penalties could apply for whomever is apprehended and convicted, police Chief Michael Powderley said.
JUNE 3, 2015, 6:59 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015, 7:05 PM
BY STEVE JANOSKI
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
WYCKOFF — Police arrested a Paterson man Tuesday night after he was found lying in a car that wasn’t his in the parking lot of the Wyckoff YMCA on Wyckoff Avenue.
Paterson resident Zakiy I. Muhammad, 20, allegedly climbed into the car sometime after it was left there by a 68-year-old woman going on a tour-bus daytrip, Police Chief Benjamin C. Fox said in a statement. When the bus returned from the trip and dropped the woman off, she “found a man lying inside with the seat reclined.”
She yelled at him to get out, but Muhammad allegedly replied that “God told him to be here,” Fox said. The bus driver and others came to the woman’s aid, and the bus driver managed to get the man out of the car and into the bus, where they waited for the police.
Sgt. Michael Ragucci, Sgt. Thomas Tully and Officers Kevin Pinches and William Christopher responded at 11:04 p.m.
TRENTON – The state’s top education official said Wednesday that he will unveil plans next month for a sweeping review of academic standards to answer Governor Christie’s call for an overhaul. (Adely/The Record)
We know what to do come election time. This agenda has been push by the 3 amigos for a long time. They have close ties with some of the developers who will profit by this along with member of the Chamber of Commerce . Next item on their agenda is the parking garage to help certain members of the Chamber. To show how enforcement of ordinances are only for certain people I direct you attention to the wall/planter in front of Greek to Me and the large political sign at Ken Smith Motors. Same person is responsible for both of them , a strong supporter of our Mayor.
Although I suspect that some if not most of the 1000 resident that sign the petition voted for the Dream Team that 1000 votes are enough to vote them out of office before the come up with something else to take car of their friends.
Straight out of the developers playbook…
Know that the existing standard density is 18-24 units per acre
Ask for 50 UPA
Settle for 35 UPA
Double the existing standardt!
But less than 50 UPA …Suckers…
The Planning Board only needs to point to the existing densities that have worked successfully in Ridgewood and say that’s it.
Or they can roll over and give the Developers 35 UPA, double the existing standard, which is what the developers really wanted…to the detriment of our town’s best interests.
JUNE 3, 2015, 9:14 AM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015, 7:07 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — Developers were all smiles as they left Tuesday night’s meeting of the Planning Board, which approved four separate amendments to the village’s master plan, paving the way for high-density, multifamily housing projects downtown.
Several residents walked out of Tuesday night’s meeting when the closing comments by members of the board made it clear even before the vote that the panel would be moving to advance the proposed zoning changes.
The four master plan changes were approved by majority vote; Wendy Dockray, a real estate agent, was the only member to oppose all four amendments. Both Susan Knudsen, a Ridgewood councilwoman who sits on the board, and Michele Peters, an attorney, opposed three of the amendments.
All three women said that a vote Tuesday night would be premature, calling for more discussion of the amendments.
The vote capped five years of meetings, public hearings, and expert testimony on the master plan amendments, first requested by four developers with plans for four different housing complexes.
One developer has since backed out, leaving three housing projects planned with a combined 208 apartment units.
