Category: Village of Ridgewood

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The Record: Taken for a ride
Thursday, July 29, 2010
The Record

https://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/99526369_Taken_for_a_ride.html

RIDGEWOOD commuters are getting a beautiful, renovated train station. NJ Transit is spending $24 million on the high-hat redo. At the same time, cash-strapped NJ Transit is passing the hat to its customers.

The lavish remake in Ridgewood is being carried out under the guise of handicap accessibility. The station platforms are being raised, and an elevator and new wheelchair ramps are being added. In keeping with the historic character of the existing station, the new platform canopies will be topped with green Spanish clay roofing tiles with copper leaders and gutters. Very nice indeed.

According to NJ Transit, its Road to Morocco — at least when it comes to roofing — is paid for with capital funds, not money from its operating budget. “Not one dime of fare revenue is being used to fund this project,” an NJ Transit spokesman replied in a written response to questions on the project’s cost.

Ridgewood Station is designated a “key station” under federal regulations and as such, it is required to be made readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs.

While we applaud handicap accessibility in Ridgewood, we note the obvious to anyone using NJ Transit to arrive at Hoboken Terminal. Hoboken, a major hub, is not “readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs.” The platforms are low. Anyone arriving at the station in a wheelchair has to wait for an NJ Transit employee to bring a hydraulic lift to get him off or on a train. During rush hour, lots of luck with that.

The NJ Transit spokesman said that the waiting room, bus terminal and light rail platforms are handicap accessible. What good is the waiting room if you cannot get on or off a train? A reason given for not raising the platform at one of NJ Transit’s busiest stations is that the engineering would be complex — the historic canopy over the tracks would need to be raised, and because the station was built on fill, the tracks flood frequently.

We do not understand why the roof would need raising. It is not the train or tracks that would be elevated to new heights, just the platform for commuters. In any case, the historic canopy was architecturally butchered years ago. And if the tracks are so flood-prone, why is fixing that not a higher priority than a $24 million suburban-station redo replete with copper gutters and leaders? Why is that not a higher priority than a nearly $9 billion boondoggle to give commuters a one-seat ride to Macy’s Herald Square? And if NJ Transit isn’t just paying lip service to improving handicap accessibility, why hasn’t Hoboken Terminal been its highest priority?

We do not begrudge Ridgewood commuters their beautiful new station. It will complement the village’s downtown. But we wonder how many persons with disabilities will appreciate the ease of entering a train in Ridgewood when they find getting off it in Hoboken an unacceptable challenge.

Perhaps while they wait for transit personnel and a hydraulic lift, they will be entertained by the view of the station’s historic canopy, which is clad in copper. It will remind them of home.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/99526369_Taken_for_a_ride.html

>Gov. Christie supports reopening of Pascack Valley Hospital

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/gov_christie_supports_reopenin.html

WESTWOOD — Gov. Chris Christie said he supports reopening Pascack Valley Hospital, despite an appeal filed last week by two hospitals that would keep the 128-bed Westwood facility shut down, according to a report by NorthJersey.com.

The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, along with Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, filed to the Appellate Division to oppose the hospital’s reopening, the report said. The hospitals said that the two-year grace period usually given to file for a license to reopen had ended in December.

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/gov_christie_supports_reopenin.html

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Graydon Pool lifeguards kept in shape with a game of Ultimate Frisbee on a rainy afternoon (photo: Alan Seiden)

more of the graydon pool blog:
https://www.graydonblog.com/2010/07/ultimate-frisbee-at-graydon-pool/

Plenty of beach weather ahead
Ping-pong, volleyball, basketball, beach paddle ball, horseshoes, croquet, shuffleboard, badminton, decks of cards, stacks of board games, dominoes, lending library—oh yes, and swimming, too. It’s all included with a Graydon badge, and all the games are new or improved this year. What—haven’t bought your badge yet?

to join Graydon Pool :

Ridgewood, Midland Park, and Ho-Ho-Kus residents. Join here (online) or any day until 7 pm at the badge office (at the pool).
Badge office phone: 201-670-5566.

Graydon admirers from any other town may be sponsored with this application form by a Ridgewood resident holding a current badge.
Allow up to a week for processing of sponsored applications.

More info: weekdays, Ridgewood Parks and Recreation department, 201-670-5560. During pool hours, Badge office (at pool): 201-670-5566.

>What should Dr. Fishbein be paid?

He works 50 to 60 hours a week. Goes to all of the sporting events during the week and on weekends. He attends all committee and board meetings at night. Has a Ed.D. Countless years of experience. Is in charge of a 89 million dollar budget. Oversees the education of over 5000 students. Responsible for 10 schools. Responsible for the employment of over 500 employees.

So what does a private company pay a CEO for a company this size? Certainly a lot more then the $220,000.00 salary Fishbein receives.

Those of you out there that think the position is so easy try applying for it. Do you have the credentials? Experience? Knowledge?

So stop saying he is over paid. In fact he is probably underpaid.

The governor is a thug who continues to take money from Bergen County and giving it to all of the urban districts. WHERE ARE ALL OF THE JOBS THAT CHRISTIE PROMISED TO CREATE DURING HIS CAMPAIGN? He has added to unemployment but has done nothing to create one job beyond his offices.

Christie is not a hero, he is destroying NJ and continues to make all public employees out to be the villains. This is not leadership. He is acting like a 5 year old bully, who thinks he can still use his weight and size to push kids around on the playgrounds of Newark.

>With our most profound sympathies…

I am sad to report that senior, Caitlin Alvaro, passed away today. Our Crisis Intervention counselors will be available to meet with any parents and students who need assistance. Lauren DePinto and Kevin Feeley will be in their offices at the high school from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. If you feel your child needs individual help, please contact me at 201-670-2800, Ext.20501 or email me and I will make arrangements for support. Thank you. Jack

>Proposed N.J. legislation would change charter school guidelines

A proposed bill would allow charter schools to be authorized more quickly, with more diversity, and in greater numbers in New Jersey. If passed, the bill would grant Rutgers University the power to approve charters and would limit review time for charter applications to five months. Applicants could submit charters on a rolling basis, and charter schools could include single-sex, online, and special-needs schools. (Wulf, Inquirer)

https://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/nj/20100726_Proposed_N_J__legislation_would_change_charter_school_guidelines.html#ixzz0uqjXlKRR

>July 26, 2010

Hon. Matthew Boxer
New Jersey State Comptroller
Office of the State Comptroller
PO Box 024
Trenton, NJ 08625

Dear Mr. Boxer:

Serious concerns have been raised about the administration of the Bergen County Improvement Authority (BCIA) as the result of recent shocking reports in the media of statements by co-workers of its Chairman alleging misuse of the BCIA for personal gain before a federal judge, and what is apparently an ongoing federal investigation by the United States Attorney’s Office (See eg, The Record, Editorial “Scandal and exit, Implicated BCIA chief resigns” Sunday, July 25, 2010 and prior reports therein on Friday, July 24, 2010 and Saturday, July, 25, 2010). The Agency’s chairman has resigned evidently as a result of allegations of wrongdoing. Presumably unrelated to these allegations, the Agency’s Executive Director has announced his pending retirement.

The BCIA is a creature of Bergen County.In my opinion, it operates without appropriate oversight while controlling hundreds of millions of dollars of expense, revenue and guarantees through four separate budgets. It is a jigsaw puzzle that can only be solved through audits conducted by a thoroughly independent office.

The office of State Comptroller is the appropriate agency to audit the BCIA. You have the resources and integrity required to conduct a comprehensive review of this independent, free standing by product of Bergen County government.

I thank you for your consideration of this request and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Kathleen A. Donovan

>Ingle: Salary caps coming sooner

Gov. Christie dropped the hammer on the exorbitant wages superintendents in some of the state’s more than 600 school districts make. That act would hold most to under the $175,000 the governor makes unless they work in the biggest cities or get bonuses. It would take effect with new contracts and maybe by December rules would be in place. Well, this is New Jersey and the expected happened: Word has it superintendents were trying to rush contract extensions through. (Ingle, Gannett)

https://blogs.app.com/politicspatrol/2010/07/25/11141/

>”Speak thee little, listen much”.

When it comes to my kids, it’s the tenet I live by.

Want to know what your kids are doing? Listen! They will tell you what’s going on in their lives. I must warn you though, if you’re prone to freaking out whenever they tell you something that you find “shocking”, they’ll be less inclined share in the future.

We taught our kids how to behave in other people’s homes, in public places,in the classroom, etc. Behaving online should be no different. It needs to be made clear that they are expected to behave just as respectfully online as they would in the real World or lose the privilege.

Yes, they are still “children”, but children who are rapidly approaching young adulthood and struggling to achieve independence. You don’t want to be merely spectators in that process, but a guiding presence.

By the way, the quote is from the “Wiccan Rede”.

Tracy ~ The UnOfficial Witch of Ridgewood

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>N.J. Supreme Court will hear arguments on Menendez recall

The often unpredictable New Jersey Supreme Court has agreed to hear from Tea Party lawyers who want to recall U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez. The Tea Party originally filed a recall notice last year, but then-Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells declined to act on it after being advised that there is no recall mechanism for senators and congressmen. In March, a state appellate court ruled that Menendez might face a recall, but stayed any effort to collect signatures until after an appeal. (Editor, PolitickerNJ)

https://www.politickernj.com/editor/38712/nj-supreme-court-will-hear-arguments-menendez-recall

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