Ridgewood NJ, Hope you are all enjoying your summer. I wanted to let you know about the Racefaster 5K and Half Marathon coming up on Sunday, September 10. This is going to be a great event — bringing residents from all over Bergen County together. The 5K is a walk or run hosted at Garden State Plaza and the Half Marathon will begin and end at Garden State Plaza but will primarily be hosted in the Saddle River County Park up to the Glen Rock Duck Pond.
Also, we still have opportunity for you to sponsor the event and promote your business! There are many different ways that we can get you in front of all of the participants. Please let me know if you are interested and we can go over the different opportunities available. You can always email me at [email protected] or call 201-727-3135.
The Justice Department alleged this week that Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., pushed his colleagues and the Obama administration to change federal policy in order to help a man that authorities charge lavished him with gifts.
In a brief filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, the department said Menendez asked then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to pressure the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to reverse a decision that hurt Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen. Melgen is thought to have plied Menendez with lavish vacations, and authorities are trying to show those gifts influenced Menendez’s actions in the corruption case they are bringing against him.
Special Properties Lifestyle Magazine Now Part of a Partnership with North Jersey Media Group
September 12,2017
the staff of the Ridewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Special Properties Real Estate Services, LLC, an exclusive affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate and the fastest growing real estate brokerage in northern New Jersey, officially launched Special Properties Lifestyle Magazine at a debut event held on September 7 at its Mahwah offices. The magazine represents an expansion of the partnership between the growing real estate brokerage and North Jersey Media Group, publishers of The Record and (201) Magazine.
“We are pleased to be able to bring this extension of the Special Properties and Christie’s International Real Estate brand to an even larger North Jersey audience through our partnership with North Jersey Media Group,” said Ilija Pavlovic, President and CEO of Special Properties Real Estate Services. “Special Properties Lifestyle Magazine brings readers, throughout the northern New Jersey region, the latest lifestyle and real estate stories and information, while reinforcing the power of the Christie’s International Real Estate brand and the advantages it brings to those looking to buy or sell a home.”
This current issue features a collection of unique stories, including the expert opinion of Christie’s auction house on how to start a vintage jewelry and watch collection, a brief tour of 10 of the world’s most stunning beach destinations, an introduction to one of the Hudson Valley’s most charming resorts, and an in-depth look at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance – the world’s top annual display of historic and beautiful automobiles.
The magazine also takes a detailed look into the latest interior decoration trends and includes stories on prominent agents that are making a difference in the lives of their clients and the community. Each issue will also feature property listings from Special Properties collection of homes, as well as select listings from across the country and around the world available through Christie’s International Real Estate Affiliate Network.
Special Properties Lifestyle Magazine represents the latest value-added service that Special Properties is bringing to the regional marketplace as it continues to expand and reach more areas of northern New Jersey and the surrounding region. Recently, the brokerage opened a new real estate office in Ridgewood and will open offices in both Hoboken and Montclair in the coming months.
Glen Rock NJ, according to Glen Rock Police a non profit organization called “Clean Water Action” an anti Trump , anti energy independence leftist activist group will be conducting neighborhood canvassing over the next few weeks. This organization is engaging in constitutionally protected political activity that neither the Police Department nor the Borough can prohibit. This is in no way an endorsement of the political views of this organization. Residents not wishing to speak with a representative of this organization must communicated that message with them directly. The organization has provided us with a list of individuals canvassing and will check in with us each day as to the area of town they will be in. Police will not respond to calls about unwanted soliciting regarding this group, however any unlawful activity or disputes should be directed to our attention.
Waldwick needs to take this problem much more seriously, for as great as this original infiltration was, it is highly likely that it will get much worse and infinitely more dangerous as the colder months force them to take even more residence in homes. Rats carry all kinds of disease and are notoriously rabid. Their urine and feces leave disease-borne microbes everywhere, including in air ducts, children play areas and other areas where it becomes an incessant threat to human health, young and old alike! Rats are very adaptable and are very opportunistic, not to mention, their prolifate reproductive rate. A female can breed at 5 weeks-old, gestation is only 21 days, liters can be as high as14, or more simply put, 2 rats can become as much as 15,000 in less than a year.
These rats being dislocated from there past community now probably means the threat they represent has grown 100-fold, as did the chance of ever reducing the threat to what was once manageable to the neighbor hoods in Waldwick. I wish these citizens my hopes and prayers in dealing with a potentially tragic problem for their beautiful community.
River Vale NJ, In this interview the founder of Fair Share Housing stares that municipalities aren’t being forced to allow builders to build 5 market rate units for an affordable unit and that the narrative is “totally false.” For my friends around the State facing lawsuits from builders and Fair Share, are his claims accurate?
“Municipalities that don’t want to do their fair share claim that they’ll have to do five units for every affordable unit,” said Fair Share Housing Center Founder Peter O’Connor. “So, if their fair share were 200, they’d have to do 1,000 units. If it were 500, they have to do 2,500 units. That is totally false. The Supreme Court has given great deference to municipal decision making. And towns have a laundry list of 10 categories they can choose from to implement fair share. Only one is the development of market rate housing.”
NJ’s affordable housing crisis: how are towns meeting demand?
BY Briana Vannozzi, Correspondent | August 30, 2017, 3PM EST
The State Supreme Court’s Mount Laurel decision on affordable housing has confounded municipalities and complicated urban planning since it was handed down. There is still widespread dispute over the number of homes each municipality is required to provide. In the meantime, towns are finding creative solutions for those still Chasing the Dream. In the final part of our series, Correspondent Briana Vannozzi went to Mount Laurel where it all began.
Fair Share Housing Center’s Rev. Eric Dobson showed NJTV News cameras a newly constructed road to see the latest housing development inside the original Ethel Lawrence neighborhood of Mount Laurel. The affordable units of single family and town homes will be ready within a year.
“Many aren’t aware this affordable housing facility exists. So it seamlessly integrated into the town,” said Dobson.
Ridgewood NJ, the CDC and multiple states are investigating a multistate outbreak of human Salmonella infections linked to contact with pet turtles.
Thirty-seven people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Agbeni have been reported from 13 states.
Illnesses started on dates ranging from March 1, 2017 to August 3, 2017 Of 33 people with available information, 16 have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. Twelve (32%) ill people are children 5 years of age or younger.
Epidemiologic and laboratory findings link the outbreak of human Salmonella Agbeni infections to contact with turtles or their environments, such as water from a turtle habitat.
In interviews, ill people answered questions about contact with animals during the week before becoming ill. Fifteen (45%) of the 33 people interviewed reported contact with turtles or their environments, such as water from a turtle habitat, before getting sick.
In interviews with 9 ill people about where their turtles came from, 6 reported buying a turtle from a flea market or street vendor, or receiving the turtle as a gift.
In 2015, state and local health officials collected samples from turtles at a street vendor. Whole genome sequencing(https://www.cdc.gov/pulsenet/pathogens/wgs.html) showed that the Salmonella Agbeni isolated from ill people in this outbreak is closely related genetically to the Salmonella Agbeni isolates from turtles. This close genetic relationship means that people in this outbreak are more likely to share a common source of infection.
Do not buy small turtles as pets or give them as gifts.
Since 1975, the FDA has banned selling and distributing turtles with shells less than 4 inches long as pets because they are often linked to Salmonella infections, especially in young children.
All turtles, regardless of size, can carry Salmonella bacteria even if they look healthy and clean. These outbreaks are a reminder to follow simple steps(https://www.cdc.gov/Features/salmonellafrogturtle/) to enjoy pet reptiles and keep your family healthy.
This outbreak is expected to continue since consumers might be unaware of the risk of Salmonella infection from small turtles. If properly cared for, turtles have a long life expectancy.
Waldwick NJ, Wanamaker Avenue, a middle-class neighborhood that according to residents has recently become infested with rats. After finding them all over their property some Waldwick residents say rats are taking over their neighborhood.
According to neighbors the first signs of the rats was in the spring, since then, the issue has begun to tailspin, with more and more neighbors reporting sightings of the animals, both dead and alive. Some have even set traps.
Residents claim the sudden invasion started with nearby construction of Waldwick Station a Russo Development and Terminal Construction Corporation project that began building an 111-unit apartment complex on Zazzetti Street, along the NJ Transit rail, last summer .
Glen Rock NJ, Glen Rock native Olivia Cecoltan, a Moldovan-born New Jersey girl attending Bergen County Academies, noticed the differences between the lives of children in Moldova and the United States began. In Bergen County pizza dinners and Toys-R-Us trips are a common part of a child’s life, it is difficult to understand that there are many places worldwide where other children do not have basic necessities.
Unlike many Olivia decided yo do something about the plight of children and set up the Hand in Hand Project (HIHP) a not-for-profit organization committed to improving the lives of underprivileged children in Moldova.
Moldova is known as the poorest country in all of Europe, so you can imagine the struggles children endure there. Moldova is a nation sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine in Eastern Europe. The area was occupied by several tribes until it was officially under Roman rule. The medieval Principality of Moldavia was constantly invaded and taken over by various European powers; it was eventually part of Bessarabia and then part of Greater Romania until World War II. It became part of the Soviet Union until the Moldovan people declared independence in 1991. It is now known as the poorest country in Europe. The median income is about 4909 Moldovan Lei, or $249 US Dollars. The Moldovan median income is less than the average monetary value of gifts each American child receives each Christmas, or $271.00!
This summer, Hand in Hand Project held the “Hand in Hand Project Summer Camp” for children exposed to domestic violence at “Mary’s House” in Moldova! The also set up a crowd funding and raised $2000 to aid in their efforts .
The Hand in Hand Project is currently partnering with several organizations in Moldova, including the Orphanage of Straseni which currently serves 58 children from ages 7 to 16.With almost no publicity due to the country’s small size and little impact on the world, orphans in Moldova are in dire need of assistance.
Another goal of this project is to spread awareness of the cause that the Hand in Hand Project stands for among students, faculty, and staff at the Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, NJ. In such a highly competitive school, in which it seems like getting a 4.0 GPA is the goal in life and anything lower makes a student a second-class citizen, many children need to take a step back and be more appreciative of the grand opportunities afforded them and the amazing lives they already lead by the age of 18.
I have always loved our country for the opportunities it provides. I am the child of parents who did not come from wealth but came from blue collar workers, a first generation American roofer on my dad’s side and a sea captain on my mom’s. From an early age I was pushed to succeed, to learn and to work hard. I stumbled along the way, almost failing out of high school at one point but managed to turn myself around becoming the first woman in my immediate family to graduate from college and transitioning into the person I am today. My life has not been an easy one. I have overcome many obstacles and failures but the things that always stayed with me were my work ethic and my willingness to learn from my mistakes. I have held every job a person could, from being the neighborhood babysitter to the shrimp de-veiner girl at a fish market to a successful lawyer and elected official. I have had money and I have had no money. I have traveled to and worked in other countries and have seen first hand how much we take for granted in our own country. I see the anger and hatred that people currently have and it candidly confuses and saddens me. Should our country work harder to ensure everyone is treated equally regardless of skin color, sexual preference, religion, gender, etc.? Absolutely. Have awful things occurred against people of color or in the name of religion throughout mankind’s history? Yes. Should we have more open and real dialogue on current issues involving race and religion? Yes. Are most people in today’s society racist, bigots, anti-Semites, Nazi’s, white supremacists or any of these items? No. I have been in public office for 5 years and I have prided myself on listening with an open heart to differences of opinion on all topics and issues. I am not someone who views issues as black or white but rather sees most issues are inherently grey without a right or wrong option. But this is the first time in 5 years that I fear for the future of our society as well as my own safety. We must stop the ramping up of hatred and labeling everyone who may not agree on every issue as racist, bigoted, Nazi, snowflakes, Antifa, etc. In the current climate it is dangerous and will result in violence if we continue down this path. I speak with hundreds of people each week. Almost everyone I meet or speak with falls on a bell curve with respect to their own beliefs. While not everyone will agree on all issues I find that most people ebb and flow on certain items depending upon their own life experiences. Very rarely do I encounter those who are the outliers that the press tries to make us believe are the norm and not the exception. Let us make a vow as Americans to respect one another, to bring back the ability to engage in meaningful dialogue on even the toughest of issues, to agree that people have the right to have a difference of opinion and to stop the labeling and name calling. Our country and our children deserve better from all of us
Paramus NJ, On Sunday, August 27, 2017, detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Fatal Accident Investigation Unit, under the direction of Chief Robert Anzilotti, along with members of the Paramus Police Department, under the direction of Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg, and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Michael Saudino, investigated a fatal motor vehicle collision in which two passengers of a 2001 Ford Mustang were ejected and killed as the car crashed along Route 4 East, into the Bergen Town Centre parking lot in Paramus, New Jersey.
Officers responded to the Bergen Town Centre parking lot on Sunday, August 27, 2017 at approximately 1:09 a.m., on multiple reports of a serious, roll-over, motor vehicle crash. There, officers found the heavily damaged Ford Mustang. All four occupants of the vehicle had been ejected and were found near the vehicle in the parking lot. One of the victims, a 19 year old female Garfield, New Jersey resident, was dead upon police arrival. The other three victims, two Garfield females, both of whom are believed to be in their early twenties; and a 23 year old Paterson male, were transported to Hackensack University Medical Center. After her arrival, one of the Garfield female victims succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead. The other female remains hospitalized with serious injuries. The Paterson male was treated and released. At this time, the Prosecutor’s Office is not identifying the vehicle occupants, pending further investigation and notification of next of kin.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation and no determination has yet been made relative to any potential criminal or motor vehicle charges. Prosecutor Grewal would like to thank members of the Paramus Police Department and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department for their assistance in this ongoing investigation.
Advisory: ROAD CONSTRUCTION NOTICE: Berkeley Place – Carlton Place – Elmwood Avenue
ROAD CONSTRUCTION NOTICE:
Berkeley Place – Carlton Place – Elmwood Avenue
On Monday August 28th milling will take place in preparation for paving. On Wednesday & Thursday August 30th and 31st paving will be done.
All vehicles must be removed from these streets by 7:30AM. Emergency No Parking Regulations will be enforced. Vehicles left on the street obstructing roadway repairs will be towed at the owner’s expense.
Access to these roadways during and immediately after paving will be limited. Residents should plan according.
Any question, please contact the Glen Rock DPW at (201) 670-3980.
file photo by Boyd Loving The Paramus Police Department is cracking down August 18 thru September 4
Impaired Driving Enforcement Crackdown to be Conducted Locally as Part of National Campaign
August 27,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Paramus NJ, Police agencies from around New Jersey are gearing up for the state’s largest annual drunk driving crackdown. The 2017 “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” Statewide Labor Day Crackdown begins August 18 and concludes on September 4. During the campaign, local and state law enforcement officers will conduct sobriety checkpoints and roving patrols targeting motorists who may be driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs.
“Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” is a national campaign designed to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving through high-visibility enforcement backed up by educational activities including national radio and television advertisements, posters, banners and mobile video display signs. The campaign looks to curtail impaired driving during the busy summer travel season, including the Labor Day holiday period.
“Despite years of enforcement and public awareness efforts, too many people still make the unfortunate decision to get behind the wheel while impaired. Nearly 30% of all motor vehicle fatalities in New Jersey are alcohol related,” said Gary Poedubicky, Acting Director of the NJ Division of Highway Traffic Safety. “This is a zero tolerance campaign. If drivers are caught operating their vehicle while impaired they will be arrested,” he added.
As part of the initiative, the Division of Highway Traffic Safety provides grants to local police agencies throughout the state to run the two-week campaign. During last year’s crackdown, participating agencies made 1,649 DWI arrests.
Law enforcement agencies participating in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over 2017 crackdown offer the following advice:
• If you plan to drink, designate a driver, someone who will not drink alcohol, before going out.
• Take mass transit, a taxi or ask a sober friend to drive you home.
• Spend the night where the activity is held.
• Always buckle up, every ride, regardless of your seating position in the vehicle. It’s your best defense against an impaired driver.
• If you’re intoxicated and traveling on foot, the safest way to get home is to take a cab or have a sober friend or family member drive you to your doorstep
Kelly Nicholaides, Staff Writer, @rovingwriter Published 6:18 a.m. ET Aug. 26, 2017 | Updated 8:50 a.m. ET Aug. 26, 2017
GARFIELD — Merchants and homeowners are bracing for an eminent domain fight since their properties were included in a redevelopment study. Mayor Richard Rigoglioso points to news and magazine clips he is collecting that characterize Garfield as one of the worst places to live in New Jersey as to why redevelopment is needed to regrow the city.
Rigoglioso wants to change the negative perception–beginning with redeveloping the six block area surrounding the Passaic Street train station.
“It’s a tough area to live in, overpopulated with a lot of 2 to 3 family units and absentee landlords. These six blocks haven’t changed for the better,” said Rigoglioso after the Aug. 24 Planning Board meeting. “If we redevelop the area, we can gain Transit Village status, like what Bloomfield did to improve the area around their train station. We want people to visit Garfield and spend money here.”
Paramus NJ, the Paramus Police have issues a CRIME ALERT: DISTRACTION BURGLARY ATTEMPT. Paramus residents recently reported two instances of “Distraction Burglary Attempts” . First in the area of Paramus Road and Johnson Court was almost the victim of a diversion burglary. One suspect approached the homeowner and stated he was a police officer and needed to see the residents backyard.
Meanwhile a second suspect entered the unlocked front door of the home where he was confronted by a second resident. Suspect 2 stated he was with the water company and needed to check their pipes. Both suspects are described as olive skin possibly Hispanic. The suspects fled in a white pickup truck prior to stealing anything. If you are not sure whether a person is a legitimate water company worker, utility worker or police officer call your local police to confirm. Anyone with information is asked to call us at 201-262-3400
