FRANKLIN LAKES, NJ , Special Properties Real Estate Services, LLC, an exclusive affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate, has welcomed Cynthia (Cindy) Harkins, and accomplished real estate author and experienced broker to its Franklin Lakes, NJ office as part of the agency’s ongoing expansion throughout the region.
Cindy Harkins has been a fixture in Bergen County’s luxury real estate market for nearly 20 years. In addition to her agency experience, she is a licensed real estate instructor and teaches the New Jersey real estate salesperson pre-licensure course to aspiring agents. Cindy is also the author of The Savvy Seller: Preparing Your Home for Showings, a handbook and roadmap for sellers to ready their homes for the real estate market. She was inspired to put her tips in print in order to help sellers’ market their properties to their fullest potential.
Cindy attributes her success in the industry to her keen listening skills, attention to detail, personalized service, and superior networking resources. Her network of community contacts is built on her home sales experience and her former law practice (before she entered real estate), as well as her enduring commitment to community service. Cindy is a member of the Board of Governors of Hackensack University Medical Center, and a board member of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the Junior League of Bergen County.
Cindy graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Juris Doctor degree from the Loyola University of Chicago School of Law.
About Special Properties Real Estate Services
Special Properties Real Estate Services embraces the history and traditions of its flagship brokerage location in Saddle River, NJ, into an expanded, modern presence in Mahwah, Franklin Lakes, and Ridgewood, NJ. With a staff of accomplished real estate brokers, its clients across northern New Jersey and southern New York are provided with customized, personalized services, backed by the luxury real estate brand of Christie’s International Real Estate. Special Properties provides local expertise with global connections. For more information, call (201) 904-2085.
Paramus NJ, The adult female driver of a 4-door sedan lost control of her vehicle and crashed into the wall of a bridal store on Route 17 northbound in Paramus on Friday morning, 09/22. She sustained non life threatening injuries and was transported by a Paramus EMS ambulance to a local hospital. The wrecked vehicle was removed from the scene by a flatbed tow truck. Paramus Police responded to aid the victim and to process the crash report. A light pole was demolished in the incident.
SENATOR BOB GORDON AND TRENTON ESTABLISHMENT HAVE INCREASED TAXES, REGULATIONS, AND FEES COSTING NEW JERSEY JOBS AND OPPORTUNITY
September 23,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
New Milford NJ, District 38 Amazon’s recent announcement of an RFP for states and municipalities to bid on hosting their second national headquarters, highlights the disastrous state of New Jersey’s business climate.
“With our proximity to New York City, talented workforce, and access to mass transit and numerous airports, North Jersey would serve as the perfect spot for Amazon to open its second national headquarters,” said Kelly Langschultz, candidate for New Jersey State Senate, District 38. “However, Senator Bob Gordon and the Trenton establishment have made it nearly impossible to attract businesses like Amazon, by raising taxes and fees and implementing job crushing regulations, year after year. Our crumbling roads and infrastructure, and the failure of the NJ Transit system contribute to our worst-in-the-nation business climate.”
Amazon’s second headquarters would create nearly 50,000 jobs and provide additional tax revenue to state and local municipalities.
“As a small business owner, I know first hand how difficult it is to do business in New Jersey. If we are to attract multi-national companies like Amazon, we need to act quickly and it starts with changing our elected representation in Trenton,” charged Langschultz. “Bob Gordon has no plans to grow our economy, because Bob Gordon has never signed the front of a paycheck, rather he’s always cashed his tax-payer funded governmental salary.”
“If elected, I will fight to cut taxes, fees, and regulations so that we can attract businesses like Amazon, creating tens of thousands of new jobs and bringing in new tax revenues to our state,” said Langschultz. “We need bold leadership in Trenton dedicated to improving our economy. Unfortunately, our current Senator is more beholden to the special interests and Trenton lobbyists, than he is to you. This November, you can change that by changing who represents you.”
Kelly Langschultz, candidate for New Jersey State Senate, District 38, is a mom of four young children, community leader serving on the New Milford Town Council, small business owner, and former President of the Education Fund.
Updated on September 21, 2017 at 7:39 AM Posted on September 21, 2017 at 6:27 AM
By Paul Mulshine
Columnist, The Star-Ledger
On the drive up to Newark to view the trial of our senior senator on corruption charges, I heard a radio talker complain that the media are ignoring the proceedings because Bob Menendez is a Democrat.
I wanted to discuss that with the guy who’s been sitting next to me for the past few days of the trial.
Unfortunately, he fell asleep.
When I saw him in the hall during a break, I mentioned that to him. He replied, “Poke me if I start to snore.”
I could sympathize. The trial has become a war of attrition between the prosecution and defense.
The prosecution seeks to pound into the heads of the juries all of the instances in which the senator got treatment that few of us will ever experience. All came courtesy of his friendship with a Florida eye doctor who was found guilty last spring of 67 counts of defrauding Medicare of $105 million.
Ridgewood NJ, form the your tax dollars at work! . State Workers who are CWA Shop Stewards got a paid day off at taxpayers expense to conduct “union business” on Monday. that “business” was a rally for Billionaire gubernatorial candidate Murphy. in addition to their regular state salary, the Murphy machine is paying them $15/hr to show up. Maybe they should be prosecuted as state employees taking a bribe!
If Democratic candidate for Governor gets his way in November, his first few months in office will likely be a big change for the Garden State. With a likely strong majority in both houses of the legislature his spending proposals and tax increases will likely sail through to his desk and become the new normal in New Jersey. Although if you take a critical look back over the past two terms with Republican Chris Christie, he really did foam the runway for higher taxes, new spending and more borrowing. See: Gas Tax, Question #2 and State House Renovation.
But Murphy is different. While Christie campaigned as a fiscally responsible tax cutter, Murphy is at least being honest about his plan to raise your taxes. What’s worse is that he’ll have the power to do it, nearly unchecked with a rubber stamp legislature counting on his massive wealth and insider connections to help them stay in power for the foreseeable future.
His latest spending place is free community college for everyone. I spent the better part of the morning discussing that there are several big problems and challenges with his plan.
The first is the cost. The expected winner of the November contest, Phil Murphy (although political predictions sometimes get it slightly wrong…See Hillary 2016) has said that it should only cost the taxpayers $400 million. Hmm, we’ve heard a similar number before. Remember the $38 million dollar state house renovation that over night turned into $300 million? Then the borrowing costs drove the potential cost to between $500 and $700 million? The Governor has referred to such amounts as nothing more than “rounding errors,” as if to say we have plenty of money and this is only a drop in the bucket. Seems Murphy has taken the same tactic as the Governor to downplay the real problem of out-of-control, unchecked spending. Yes, $400 million is small when compared to the overall $35 billion in our state budget. But what about the tens of millions in debt? What about the $100 million plus in unfunded future liabilities? What about the fact that we’re planning to borrow billions more for light rail projects? What about the fact that the gas tax is already in place to secure future borrowing, and now the Democrats are talking about raising fees on toll roads and fees?
The second issue is the focus on college as a ‘one size fits all’ solution. Why are we not discussing the very real opportunity of kids graduating college and getting into a trade? Electricians, plumbers, truckers, HVAC, hair stylists, food and entertainment and even jobs in the medical field are all critical elements of New Jersey’s economy. You can become a Licensed Practical Nurse without a college degree. All of these professions are respected and can afford a person a good living while keeping them out of the hole of higher education debt. The practical training in a specific field may be the best way for people to make it on their own and start their careers without a burden of debt on themselves, if Murphy gets his wish, on the rest of us.
Go visit Glen Rock and compare driver behavior with what you see in Ridgewood. Ridgewood has a car culture problem and a road design problem. Almost all drivers in Glen Rock respect the pedestrian crossings. Few Ridgewood drivers stop for pedestrians in the crosswalks or those waiting to cross. Oddly enough, more drivers stop for me when I am walking my dog than when I am walking alone or with my wife. The same is true for kids. Too many drivers ignore children on their way to and from school, which is very dangerous, especially when students try to cross Linwood or Glen (other streets could just as well be added, but I am less familiar with the problems there).
The pedestrian crossings in Glen Rock are clearly marked (unlike Ridgewood’s). The main street in Glen Rock is also wider than Ridgewood Ave, with narrower sidewalks. The wider streets give drivers better visibility. That said, the attitudes of drivers in Ridgewood is very different than that in Glen Rock. We have a cultural difference between superficially similar towns.
Hackensack NJ, 5th District Republican candidate Steve Lonegan called Democrat gubernatorial nominee Phil Murphy a “coward” on gun-control and labeled his party “cowards” for following Murphy. Lonegan’s words were in response to Murphy’s statements as reported in the New York Times and the Observer yesterday.
According to Observer reporter Christian Hetrick (August 24, 2017), Murphy said that he wants to a create a regional body made up of New Jersey and neighboring states to oversee a “coordinated effort to increase gun control.” The Observer writes: “Murphy likened the idea to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade program for several northeastern states that New Jersey withdrew from under Gov. Chris Christie.”
“Apparently the Bill of Rights and the Constitution of the United States of America are not enough for Mr. Murphy,” Lonegan said, “Now he wants to create a new level of government in between the federal government and the states.” Lonegan added: “We do not need another level of government with a host of new bureaucrats to find ways to circumvent the Bill of Rights. Americans are paying too much for government already. We should be consolidating government, making it smaller, not growing it.”
In the Observer story, Murphy said that if elected governor, he would sign a number of bills into law to make it more difficult to obtain a firearm for self-protection in New Jersey. Lonegan noted that New Jersey is already one of the worst states in America for allowing people to defend their homes and families.
Lonegan said: “How many more Carol Bownes must there be before Phil Murphy and the Democrats in the Legislature provide the people of New Jersey with the same protection they enjoy?” Carol Bowne is the New Jersey woman murdered while waiting for a hand-gun permit for self-defense. As Gannett reported (June 4, 2015):
” When Carol Bowne felt the threat of domestic violence, the petite hairdresser took steps to protect herself. (She) got a restraining order against a former boyfriend, installed security cameras and an alarm system to her home and began the months-long process of obtaining a handgun, friends said. But it wasn’t enough. Bowne, 39, was stabbed to death in the driveway of her Patton Avenue home on Wednesday night.”
“Under New Jersey law, you cannot sue government for failing to protect you. The police do a great job, but they can’t be everywhere. If government doesn’t budget for enough police protection and they fail to arrive on time, you end up dead and people like Phil Murphy put on their sad face and tell you ‘thems the breaks’,” Lonegan added.
Lonegan continued: “What they won’t do is remind you that each and every citizen has primary responsibility over his or her personal safety. Government won’t do that for you, so government shouldn’t take away your ability to preserve your life and well-being.”
“These phonies claim to dislike guns when in fact, they love guns and would not work in a building that wasn’t protected by men with guns.”
Lonegan reminded voters: “In his last job, Phil Murphy was protected by United States Marines. He and his fellow Democrats in the Legislature wouldn’t think of dismissing their armed-protection, but they are willing to sacrifice the lives of average citizens on the altar of some feel-good ideology.”
“The life of a single mom, employed as a manager in a fast-food restaurant, who doesn’t live in a wealthy community with plenty of police protection — her life is worth as much as Phil Murphy’s and those of his Democrat allies. Unlike them, she must launder her own clothes, clean her own house, cook her own food, and rely on her own resources for self-protection. They pay people for all those things. Just because she is working class, that doesn’t mean that she shouldn’t have access to the same protection they pay people to provide for them.”
“Murphy is a coward and his party are cowards for making sure that their lives are safe, while trying to deny that right to everyone who isn’t rich enough to afford it.”
Ridgewood NJ, according to a resort executive Andres Pichardo Rosenberg , Democrat Senator Menendez’s stays at the luxurious Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic gave him access to white-sand beaches, a marina filled with expensive yachts and five golf courses. The seven-acre gated community on the Caribbean also boasts the top-rated golf course in the Dominican Republic, six international restaurants, a security staff of 800, and access to elite sports like pheasant shooting. Pheasant shooting in Dominican Republic you ask, yes according to testimony eggs are imported and the birds are bred for sport .
Opthalmologist , Dr. Salomon Melgen, who owns a home that the Senator stayed in Casa de Campo. has denied that the home was a bribe, describing it as a modest getaway for the doctor and his close friends and family. Rosenberg stated that there are 1,850 private houses on the resort some costing over $10 million. Rosenberg estimated that homes in Melgen’s neighborhood are worth up to $2.5 million.
NJ Senator Menendez, 63, is accused of accepting lavish gifts from Melgen, including stays at the villa and flights on private jets, in exchange for helping the married eye doctor obtaining visas for his three foreign girlfriends and straightening out an $8.9 million tab for overbilling Medicare.
Recent testimony suggests that Menendez lived the life in Dominican Republic , also staying at the exclusive $765 per night Tortuga Bay Hotel and Punta Cana Resort & Club where Melgen shelled out another $766 for other amenities, including golf, bars and restaurants. Mind you this Dominican Republic where the GDP per Capita $6,733 per year
Melgen also footed the bill of $875 per hour for an 8 hour pick up in a chauffeured car for Menendez in Hoboken ,credit car receipts confirm that Menendez was brought to an upscale Chinese restaurant where Melgen was waiting for both him and the vehicle.
Testimony also revealed that Immediately after the FBI raided Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen’s West Palm Beach offices, Melgen’s son-in-law contacted the Federal Aviation Administration to block the public from tracking his private jet. Melgen’s private jet had been used several times to fly Menendez between New Jersey and Melgen’s vacation home in the Dominican Republic ,these flights prosecutors charge were bribes Melgen paid Menendez in exchange for official favors.
New Jersey cops now earn a median salary of more than six figures, state treasury data shows.
An NJ Advance Media analysis of public employee salary data found that the median salary for more than 19,000 municipal police officers was $105,106 as of the end of 2016.
That’s an increase of about $14,400, or 16 percent, from what it was seven years ago when The Star-Ledger did the same analysis.
The analysis also showed that 60 percent of municipal police officers made at least $100,000 in 2016 – up from 30 percent in 2009.
The data also shows that the towns with the highest median salaries were wealthier suburban towns with very little crime and higher costs of living, and were mostly in Bergen County.
Tom Nobile, Staff Writer, @TomNobile Published 6:25 p.m. ET Sept. 15, 2017 | Updated 12:24 p.m. ET Sept. 16, 2017
UPPER SADDLE RIVER — An Orthodox Jewish group that erected a controversial boundary known as an eruv is suing the borough to expand it farther, arguing doing so would accommodate Jewish families living near the New York-New Jersey border.
The amended federal suit, filed Thursday, claims the borough has unlawfully threatened the constitutional, civil, and contractual rights of the Bergen Rockland Eruv Association and five Orthodox Jewish residents of Rockland County by demanding the removal of the existing eruv and refusing to allow its expansion.
Ridgewood NJ, for the third time in the 14 months since the Borg family sold the North Jersey Media Group, Gannett has laid off workers .Gannett bought the Newspaper chain for $40 million in July 2016 and according to reports laid off a dozen people or so on Thursday at the Bergen Record and other papers. The Record which is the second-largest daily in the state.
Among those laid off were long time reporter , John Brennan; Heather Zwain, a fashion editor and one of the last full-time edit staffers on 201 Magazine; and two editors, Debra Lynn Vial and Carla Baranauckas.
In the two prior rounds of layoffs a total of 241 people lost their jobs and 20 of North Jersey Media Group’s weekly newspapers were shuttered. Many of the copy editing and production facilities were combined with the Asbury Park Press, which Gannett owned before it added the Bergen Record to its holdings.
THIS EVENT IS THE RIDGEWOOD STREET FAIR CRAFT SHOW ON EAST RIDGEWOOD AVENUE , THERE IS NO CRAFT WAR WE WEE MISSINFORMED
September 16 2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ho Ho Kus NJ, the Ridgewood Craft show will be held on September 17th on the grounds of the Hermitage in Ho Ho Kus. The Hermitage is a historic site located in Ho ho kus ( next to Ridgewood) . The Hermitage is a fourteen-room Gothic Revival house museum built in 1847–48 from designs by William H. Ranlett for Elijah Rosencrantz, Jr. Members of the Rosencrantz family owned The Hermitage estate from 1807 to 1970.
The fair features sixty exhibitor with arts & crafts set up on the tree shaded front lawn in front of the Rosencrantz House. Admission is $4. For more information go to www.pjspromotions.com or call 201-666-1340
Sunday at 10 AM – 5 PM
335 North Franklin Tpke, Ho ho kus, N.J.
Trenton NJ, Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced today that New Jersey has signed onto a multi-state letter calling on the credit reporting firm Equifax to disable web links for enrollment in its fee-based credit monitoring service in the wake of a massive data breach with potential to impact 143 million consumers, including nearly 4 million in New Jersey.
A multi-state investigation into the breach began last week as soon as Equifax publicly disclosed it. In the wake of the breach, Equifax has offered free credit monitoring services.
But in a letter to Equifax today, the participating attorneys general objected to Equifax “seemingly using its own data breach as an opportunity to sell services to breach victims.” Enrollment information regarding fee-based services has featured prominently on the Equifax website.
”We believe continuing to offer consumers a fee-based service in addition to Equifax’s free monitoring services will serve to only confuse consumers who are already struggling to make decisions on how to best protect themselves in the wake of this massive breach,” the letter asserts. “Selling a fee-based product that competes with Equifax’s own free offer of credit monitoring services to victims of Equifax’s own data breach is unfair, particularly if consumers are not sure if their information was compromised.”
The multi-state letter also notes that, although Equifax has agreed to waive credit freeze fees for those who would otherwise be subject to them, the other two credit bureaus — Experian and Transunion — continue to charge fees for security freezes.
The letter contends that Equifax should be taking steps to reimburse consumers who incur these fees while seeking to completely freeze their credit.
“This is one version of a consumer’s worst fear — having his or her sensitive financial and other personal information compromised by a cyber-data breach,” said Attorney General Porrino. “In New Jersey and across the nation, many people are angry, confused and stressed by the potential for harm in this breach. In our view, Equifax now has a duty to ensure that consumers don’t end up paying for credit monitoring, and Equifax also has a duty to reimburse consumers for the cost of a complete credit freeze – which will require paying fees to the other two credit reporting companies.”
“While the multi-state investigation remains active,” Porrino added, “one thing we know is that consumers aren’t at fault here. They had no hand in creating the cyber-security crisis now confronting Equifax. As such, consumers should have access – at zero cost – to the best available credit monitoring services and protections.”
In a letter sent to Equifax last week, the investigating multi-state group requested information about the circumstances leading to the breach, the reasons for a months-long delay between the breach and Equifax’s public disclosure, what protections the company had in place at the time of the breach, and how the company intends to protect consumers affected by the breach.
The attorneys general also have had communications with Equifax expressing concerns about terms of service relative to the offered free credit monitoring services, and the prominence of service enrollment information on Equifax’s Web page.
Assistant Attorney General John Falzone and Deputy Attorneys General Elliott Siebers and Russell Smith are handling the Equifax matter on behalf of the State.
Saddle River NJ, Saddle River Police warn of aggressive Coyotes . On Thursday 09/14/2017, we received a report of a dog walker on Oak Road being confronted by approximately five coyotes. The coyotes were circling them within a six foot radius attempting to take the small leashed dog. Thankfully, a passing motorist began honking their vehicles horn and got out to assist in disrupting the confrontation. The situation ended and they returned home. TYCO Animal Control and the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife are aware of this situation and working with us to resolve it. No pets or small children should be left outside unattended. As per Fish and Wildlife, walkers, dog walkers and joggers should consider carrying a compressed air horn and or a walking stick in the event they experience a similar incident. Any confrontations with wildlife should be reported to the police desk (201)- 327-5300
Below is some information about coyotes from the State of NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife.
The coyote is a wild member of the dog family and closely resembles a small German shepherd with the exception of its long snout and bushy, black-tipped tail. Another key difference from a domestic dog is readily noticeable even from a distance: The coyote has a habit of holding its tail below a horizontal position while standing, walking and running.
Eastern coyotes differ from their western counterparts with a larger average size and various color phases, including blonde, red and black. Past interbreeding between wolves and coyotes may be responsible for the larger size and color variations in our eastern coyote. In New Jersey, adult coyotes range in weight from 20-50 lbs. and exceptionally large ones may be up to 55 lbs. Coyotes adjust well to their surroundings and can survive on whatever food is available. They prey on rabbits, mice, birds and other small animals, as well as young and weakened deer. They also consume carrion (decaying tissue). They are tolerant of human activities and rapidly adapt to changes in their environment.
Coyotes bear litters during April and May, with females delivering between three and nine pups. Conflicts between coyotes and humans are most likely to develop as adults forage for food for the pups in the spring and summer.
Coyotes primarily hunt rodents and rabbits for food, but will take advantage of whatever is available, including garbage, pet food and domestic animals that are left unattended. Allowing coyotes access to human food and garbage is irresponsible and can lead to problems.
Coyotes, along with foxes, are sometimes afflicted with mange which can result in significant hair loss. The loss of fur can result in making identification of a coyote difficult, resulting in reports of a “mystery” animal, or even a cougar.
In suburban and urban areas, coyotes have occasionally attacked small pets. Although attacks on humans are extremely rare in eastern states, as with any predatory animal they can occur.
Eastern coyotes differ from their western counterparts with a larger average size and various color phases, including blonde and black.
Past interbreeding between wolves and coyotes may be responsible for the larger size and color variations in the eastern coyote.
Coyotes play an important role in the ecosystem, helping to keep rodent populations under control. They are by nature wary of humans. However, coyote behavior changes if given access to human food and garbage. They lose caution and fear. They may cause property damage and threaten human safety, requiring euthanasia. Relocating a problem coyote is not an option because it only moves the problem to someone else’s neighborhood.
Coyote Precautions:
The following guidelines can help reduce the likelihood of conflicts with coyotes:
• Never feed a coyote. Deliberately feeding coyotes puts pets and other residents in the neighborhood at risk.
• Feeding pet cats and/or feral (wild) cats outdoors can attract coyotes. The coyotes feed on the pet food and also prey upon the cats.
• Put garbage in tightly closed containers that cannot be tipped over.
• Remove sources of water, especially in dry climates.
• Bring pets in at night.
• Put away bird feeders at night to avoid attracting rodents and other coyote prey.
• Provide secure enclosures for rabbits, poultry, and other farm animals.
• Pick up fallen fruit and cover compost piles.
• Although extremely rare, coyotes have been known to attack humans. Parents should monitor their children, even in familiar surroundings, such as backyards.
• Install motion-sensitive lighting around the house.
• Clear brush and dense weeds from around dwellings – this reduces protective cover for coyotes and makes the area less attractive to rodents and rabbits. Coyotes, as well as other predators, are attracted to areas where rodents are concentrated like woodpiles.
• If coyotes are present, make sure they know they’re not welcome. Make loud noises, blast a canned air siren, throw rocks, or spray them with a garden hose.
