Category: Bergen County

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FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON

mayor _in_flood -theridgewoodblog

file photo by Boyd Loving

FLOOD WATCH
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
1256 PM EDT MON AUG 10 2015

…HEAVY RAIN ON TUESDAY COULD CAUSE URBAN FLOODING…

…FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY
AFTERNOON…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN UPTON HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT…
NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHEAST NEW YORK…INCLUDING THE
FOLLOWING IN SOUTHERN …CONNECTICUT…SOUTHERN FAIRFIELD. IN
NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY…EASTERN BERGEN…EASTERN ESSEX…
EASTERN PASSAIC…EASTERN UNION…HUDSON…WESTERN BERGEN…
WESTERN ESSEX…WESTERN PASSAIC AND WESTERN UNION. IN
SOUTHEAST NEW YORK…BRONX…KINGS (BROOKLYN)…NEW YORK
(MANHATTAN)…NORTHERN NASSAU…NORTHERN QUEENS…RICHMOND
(STATEN ISLAND)…SOUTHERN NASSAU…SOUTHERN QUEENS AND
SOUTHERN WESTCHESTER.

* FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON

* SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH A WARM FRONTAL PASSAGE COULD
PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN HEAVY RAIN CAPABLE OF CAUSING URBAN FLASH
FLOODING IN THE NEW YORK CITY METROPOLITAN AREA.

* RAINFALL OF 1 TO 2 INCHES…WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS AS HIGH AS 3
INCHES AND HOURLY RAINFALL RATES OF UP TO 2 INCHES PER
HOUR…ARE EXPECTED. WHILE THE HEAVIEST RAIN IS NOT EXPECTED TO
BE WIDESPREAD…URBAN AREAS THAT RECEIVE THE HEAVIEST AMOUNTS
COULD EXPERIENCE DISRUPTIVE IMPACTS.

* DESPITE DRY CONDITIONS…SOME FAST-RESPONDING SMALL STREAMS IN
NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY COULD APPROACH BANK FULL IF DIRECTLY
IMPACTED. LARGER STREAMS AND MAIN STEM RIVERS SHOULD NOT
EXPERIENCE FLOODING.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS MAY DEVELOP THAT LEAD
TO FLASH FLOODING. FLASH FLOODING IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION.
YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS BE ISSUED.

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Local Man Accused of Trying to Organize ‘Small Army’ of ISIS Fighters in New York, New Jersey: Officials

‎islamic jihad

By Jonathan Dienst and Joe Valiquette

A 20-year-old New Jersey man has been charged on terror-related counts for allegedly trying to help organize a “small army” of ISIS fighters in New York and the Garden State, federal prosecutors said Monday.

Nader Saadeh was taken into custody May 5 while allegedly attempting to travel overseas to join ISIS. He had lived in Rutherford until that point.

Saadeh’s brother, Alaa, along with at least three others in New York and New Jersey, were arrested in recent months in connection with the alleged ISIS cell.

The FBI said Nader Saadeh posted anti-American messages online beginning in 2012 and repeatedly viewed ISIS videos. The agency said he praised the burning alive of a captured Jordanian pilot by ISIS fighters and said that, as well as the murders of several staff members of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris earlier this year were justified.

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/investigations/New-Jersey-ISIS-ISL-Islamic-State-Arrest-Material-Nader-Saadeh-Support-FBI-CIA-Syria-Iraq-321263241.html

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Affordable-housing project on the agenda in Glen Rock

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AUGUST 10, 2015    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 2015, 1:21 AM
THE RECORD

GLEN ROCK — The Borough Council has scheduled a special meeting tonight to continue public discussion on a proposed affordable-housing project for physically and developmentally disabled adults.

Bergen County’s United Way is in talks to purchase land on Glen Rock’s Bradford Street, the site of a condemned home abandoned years ago.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/housing-plan-for-disabled-on-agenda-1.1389724

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PORCH LIGHT PRODUCTIONS HONORED WITH 10 PERRY AWARD NOMINATIONS FOR EXCELLENCE IN THEATRE

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August 8,2015

the staff of the Ridgewood blogRidgewood NJ, Porch Light Productions, a black box theatre in Glen Rock, NJ specializing in live theatre and professional theatre training, has been nominated for 10 New Jersey Association of Community Theaters (NJACT) Perry Awards. The NJACT celebrates outstanding achievements by artists of all disciplines involved in the performance and production of NJ Community Theater. Winners will be announced at the annual ceremony September 20 in Somerset, NJ. Porch Light is honored to have received the following nominations:

RED:
OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN OF A PLAY – Ryan Pifher
OUTSTANDING PROPERTIES OF A PLAY – Ryan Pifher & Peter Martino
OUTSTANDING SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY – Peter Martino
OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A PLAY – Ryan Pifher
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A PLAY – Ryan Pifher & Jenn Pifher
OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY – Zach Pizza
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A PLAY – Ben Prayz
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A PLAY – Jordan Zauha

MAB: A Retelling of Romeo & Juliet
OUTSTANDING YOUTH ACTRESS IN A PLAY – Tina Rivara
OUTSTANDING YOUTH ACTRESS IN A PLAY – Grace Rogers

Porch Light will be celebrating it’s 7th Season beginning in this fall with the hilarious musical, Avenue Q, opening October 2. For a full list of acting classes, theatre programs, private lessons and live shows, visit porchlightproductions.org or call (201) 857-3520.

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Fair Lawn Fire Spreads between two houses

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photo courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook

Fair Lawn Fire Spreads between two houses
August 8,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood

Fair Lawn NJ,  A fire that reportedly originated in an outdoor shed quickly spread to two (2) houses on Rys Terrace in Fair Lawn on Friday afternoon, 08/07. The fire was reported at approximately 3:45 PM and drew all fire companies in Fair Lawn plus help from departments in many neighboring communities.

The occupants of both homes were out at the time the fire struck. Both homes appear to be uninhabitable due to fire, smoke, and water damage. Fair Lawn PD and EMS were also at the scene. One (1) of the homes affected is located at 41-77 Rys Terrace, Fair Lawn
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Contractor Airlifted to Hackensack University Medical Center after severed fingers

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photo courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook

Contractor Airlifted to Hackensack University Medical Center after severed fingers

August 7,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blogUpper Saddle River NJ, A contractor reportedly severed multiple fingers while using a power saw at a home in Upper Saddle River on Thursday afternoon, 08/06. He was airlifted from 1 Lake Street to Hackensack University Medical Center’s main campus shortly after 4 PM. Upper Saddle River PD, EMS, assisted in the victim’s treatment and transport. A paramedic unit from The Valley Hospital also responded.

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Glen Rock cop accused of sexting teen girls; detective allegedly sent nude photos

sexting

AUGUST 5, 2015, 5:02 PM    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2015, 12:10 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS AND ABBOTT KOLOFF
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD

A Glen Rock detective whose job centered on protecting children was arrested Wednesday, accused of sending naked photos of himself to a 14-year-old girl and sexually explicit text messages to another teenage girl, both of whom had been under his supervision, authorities said.

Detective Sgt. Eric Reamy, 51, the borough’s juvenile officer, was arrested at his home in Fair Lawn following a one-month investigation that began when the mother of a 17-year-old girl went to Glen Rock police after finding “inappropriate” messages from the detective on her daughter’s cellphone, Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli said.

The investigation led police to a 14-year-old girl who recently moved with her family to Texas, and whose phone was examined Tuesday by Bergen County detectives who traveled there to interview her and her parents, the prosecutor said. Reamy had persuaded the girl to send him naked photos of herself and had sent her “two naked photos of his private part,” Molinelli said.

Reamy has been charged with five counts of endangering the welfare of a child, including one first-degree count, Molinelli said.

 

https://www.northjersey.com/news/glen-rock-cop-accused-of-sexting-teen-girls-sending-photos-of-his-private-parts-1.1386793

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Price tags Soar for Municipal Construction Projects

Village Hall flood theridgewoodblog.net

file photo by Boyd Loving

Price tag for Bergen County DPW facility grows by a Staggering $5 million

This has “Ridgewood parking garage” written all over it

AUGUST 5, 2015, 9:39 PM    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2015, 7:36 AM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

The new Bergen County public works maintenance facility in Paramus will cost at least $5 million more to build than originally estimated, County Executive James Tedesco told the freeholders Wednesday.

The project, which had been estimated to cost $16 million, has cost $21 million thus far, Tedesco said.

He also said the project, scheduled to open on Oct. 1, is about seven months behind schedule from it’s originated projected completion date in March.

Related:   Cost of Bergen County Justice Center expected to grow by $1.3M

Tedesco has been saying for months that the facility was “underfunded.” But Wednesday marked the first time he specified how much more money it would cost.

The DPW facility is part of a larger multi-project $147-million bond issue that also includes a new Justice Center and parking deck and another DPW garage in Hackensack. Taken together, the work is the largest public works project in the county’s history.

Tedesco said the Justice Center and parking garage are close to coming in on budget. The five-story parking garage is set to open later this summer and the adjacent six-story Justice Center is about six weeks behind schedule, he said. The Hackensack DPW garage is completed.

The Paramus DPW facility, though, has undergone several changes in the last seven months that have added to the cost of that project, he said. For example, one building at the site was designed as a cold-storage garage, to store vehicles without providing any heat. But to allow for diesel-powered vehicles to be stored there, the county has added electric heating blocks to thaw them out in winter, Tedesco said.

He said the original design also did not call for the concrete in the maintenance garage to be sealed with epoxy. That change has added to the expense and the time required to install it, he said.

DPW Director Raymond Dressler said another change was related to how the current administration, which took over in January, plans to use the building. Dressler said one garage bay is getting a lift capable of raising large trucks, so that the county can offer heavy-equipment maintenance as a shared service to municipalities and fire departments. He said plans call for at least two shifts daily to work out of the building, rather than just one, which required reconfiguring the space.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/price-tag-for-bergen-county-dpw-facility-grows-by-at-least-5-million-1.1386872

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Glen Rock Biker Struck by Car

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photo courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook Page
Glen Rock Biker Struck by Car
August 04,2015
ths taff of the Ridgewood blog

Glen Rock NJ, A 15-year old male Glen Rock resident riding his bicycle was struck by a car and injured at the intersection of Ackerman Avenue and Rock Road on Tuesday morning, 08/04. The youth’s injuries were minor; he was treated on the scene by members of the Glen Rock Volunteer Ambulance Corps. The driver of the car that struck the victim remained on the scene and cooperated with Glen Rock police officers. The incident was reported shortly after 10 AM.

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Verizon Says No Strike Called as Talks Continue With Unions

verizon-iphone-4-can-you-hear-me-now-guy

by Sarah MulhollandLisa Pham
August 1, 2015 — 3:35 PM EDTUpdated on August 2, 2015 — 12:56 AM EDT

Verizon Communications Inc. said employees will continue to work as negotiations continue between unions and the second-largest U.S. telephone company on an agreement on benefits.

Contracts with the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers expired Saturday night at midnight New York time, the company said in a statement.

The telecommunications giant is pushing back against union demands such as increasing tuition assistance and eliminating employee health-insurance contributions, which were instituted for the first time in the 2012 contract. Verizon’s initial offer in June included a 2 percent wage increase in each of the first two years of the three-year contract, plus a lump-sum payment in the final year.

“The company has barely moved off its initial June 22nd proposal,” Ed Mooney, a vice president for Communications Workers of America, said in a separate statement.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-01/verizon-faces-strike-by-37-000-as-contract-talks-go-down-to-wire

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Washington Twp man fished out of the back yard pool durring cardiac arrest

Washington Twp man , Washington Twp NJ, back yard pool , cardiac arrest
photo courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook page

Washington Twp man fished out of the back yard pool durring cardiac arrest

August 2,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blogWashington Twp NJ, The Washington Township Police Department received a frantic 911 telephone call at approximately 1:50 PM on Saturday, 08/01 from a woman who reported finding her husband on the bottom of their back yard pool.

Local police and ambulance personnel, along with a nearby paramedic unit, responded to the location where they found the victim in full cardiac arrest.. He was transported by an ambulance with a police escort to The Valley Hospital, Ridgewood. Washington Township Police were assisted by the Washington Township Volunteer Ambulance Corps and a paramedic unit from The Valley Hospital.

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Analysis: High-profile losses raise questions for Bergen Prosecutor John Molinelli

bergen-county-prosecutor-john-l-molinellijpg-6994b5ed55b809b7

AUGUST 1, 2015, 11:09 PM    LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, AUGUST 1, 2015, 11:23 PM
BY JEAN RIMBACH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

From a stinging rebuke by the state’s highest court to Friday’s reversal of the official-misconduct conviction of former Hackensack Police Chief Ken Zisa, it’s been a bad run of late for John Molinelli, Bergen County’s longtime prosecutor.

Although the county’s top law enforcement official has logged plenty of wins in more than a dozen years in the post, his office now finds itself on the losing end of some high-profile cases. On Friday, a state appellate panel tossed out Zisa’s conviction and described the prosecution’s case against him as weak and tainted by prejudicial and improper remarks and evidence.

Only recently the state Supreme Court cited “gross abuse of discretion” in Molinelli’s fight against Carlstadt Mayor William Roseman’s entry into a trial-diversion program known as Pretrial Intervention, or PTI.

Meanwhile, questions about possible political influence in Molinelli’s office emerged this year during the federal trial of former county Democratic Party Chairman Joseph Ferriero, when federal prosecutors referenced a years-old case involving a doctor who was allowed to enter PTI twice and avoid prosecution on allegations that he groped female patients.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/analysis-high-profile-losses-raise-questions-for-bergen-prosecutor-john-molinelli-1.1384813

 

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Major Water Main Break Soaks Washington Twp Closes Swim Club

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photo from Boyd Loving’s Facebook page
Major Water Main Break Soaks Washington Twp Closes Swim Club
July 31,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Washington Twp NJ, A major water main break on Ridgewood Boulevard North in Washington Township affected a wide area of the municipality, reportedly resulting in the temporary closure of the Washington Township Swim Club.
The break occurred sometime around 11 AM on Thursday, 07/30. A portion of Ridgewood Boulevard North in the 400 block was closed to all vehicular traffic as a result of the leak. Crews from United Water arrived at the scene within 30 minutes to assess the situation. A water company worker was overheard telling an area resident that water would be “off” for most of the day Thursday.
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Bergen Community College cuts 64 full-time lecturer positions

Bergen-Community-College

JULY 30, 2015, 7:35 PM    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2015, 8:24 PM
BY PATRICIA ALEX
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

The positions of 64 full-time lecturers at Bergen Community College have been cut as the school struggles to cope with a mix of stagnant state and county funding and declining enrollment.

The move will save nearly $934,000 and comes after 150 part-time staffers either had their hours eliminated or reduced earlier in the month in an effort to save $1 million more, said school spokesman Larry Hlavenka Jr. on Thursday.

The lecturers carry a full teaching load – about five courses each semester – and are paid $38,600 a year plus benefits. They must reapply for their jobs each semester and are considered temporary employees, Hlavenka said.

Only 28 lecturers will be kept. The other 64 are being asked to reapply as adjuncts, who make about $2,100 per course and have no benefits, according to the college.

The cutbacks will not affect any of the 350-400 full-time tenured faculty, Hlavenka said.

There was concern that the departure of the lecturers would affect teaching quality at the school.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen-community-college-cuts-64-full-time-lecturer-positions-1.1383861

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Police arrest one of two men sought in Mahwah theft of bag containing $150K

bag_of_money

JULY 30, 2015, 7:05 PM    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2015, 7:46 PM
BY ABBOTT KOLOFF
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

MAHWAH — Police have arrested one of two men allegedly involved in the theft of a bag of about $150,000 in cash that had been accidentally left on a curb this week and are looking for the other suspect, saying in a news release on Thursday that the pair already spent some of the money, using cash to purchase an SUV.

Alton Harvey

Alton Harvey, 42, of Hillside was arrested Wednesday afternoon as police conducted surveillance in Irvington of the white van allegedly used by the suspects on the day of the theft and a Chevrolet Tahoe that had been purchased with money from the bag, Police Chief James Batelli said Thursday. Police are also looking for Jamar A. Bludson, 35, of Newark, he said.

Video surveillance cameras recorded the passenger of a white van removing the bag from the lawn, Mahwah Police Chief James Batelli said.

Police said that Harvey drove the van and that Bludson, the passenger, was the person seen on video surveillance picking up the satchel of money from the curb. The bag had been left there accidentally by two workers for an ATM company located on Industrial Avenue. Police have not identified the company for security reasons and company officials have not responded to messages seeking comment.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/police-arrest-one-of-two-men-sought-in-mahwah-theft-of-bag-containing-150k-1.1383855