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A NEW YEAR MESSAGE FROM BERGEN COUNTY EXECUTIVE KATHLEEN A. DONOVAN

Donovan

A NEW YEAR MESSAGE FROM BERGEN COUNTY EXECUTIVE KATHLEEN A. DONOVAN

A New year is upon us.

We are leaving behind a year that had so many tough hurdles-the ongoing recession, Superstorm Sandy and its aftermath particularly for our neighbors in Moonachie and Little Ferry, and the horrible tragedy at the Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Connecticut.

A new year will bring more hurdles for us to overcome, new courses to navigate — but more importantly, 2013 will bring new opportunities for us to succeed as individuals, communities and a nation.

Let’s embrace the year to come and invest in hope for a better world for all of us.

As the turning pages of the calendar proves, time is fleeting; let’s use it wisely: spend time with the people you love and take time to help those in need.

Let’s not put off until tomorrow, what we should do today. And when we come to turn the last page on the calendar 12 months from now, let’s hope we can point to a year filled with fewer regrets and more accomplishments.

I wish you and your family all a very Happy, Safe and Healthy New Year.

signature

Kathleen A. Donovan

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No Surprise Ridgewood Mayor Paul No Surprise Ridgewood Mayor Paul Aronsohn supports more unchecked government spending through “Sandy Aid”

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No Surprise Ridgewood Mayor Paul Aronsohn  supports more unchecked government spending through “Sandy Aid”  

Opinion: Garrett needs to come on board and back Sandy aid
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 19, 2012, 5:48 PM
BY PAUL ARONSOHN
THE RECORD

Paul Aronsohn, the mayor of Ridgewood, was the 2006 Democratic candidate for Congress in the 5th District.

IN TIMES of crisis, Americans pull together. We saw it after the 9/11 attacks. We are seeing it now in the wake of the mass murder in Newtown. It is what we do. It is who we are.

It is against this backdrop that President Obama has put forward a proposed post-superstorm Sandy aid package – one that has garnered support on both sides of the political aisle. Governor Christie supports it. N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo supports it. All members of the New Jersey and New York congressional delegations support it … with only one exception.

Despite the storm’s devastating impact on our state – including in the local towns of Moonachie and Little Ferry — our own congressman, Scott Garrett, is the lone holdout and is poised to be the only federal New Jersey official to oppose this all-important measure.

In fact, rather than throw the full weight of his office behind the president’s proposed $60 billion aid package, he has delayed consideration with accusations about “wasteful spending” and lack of accountability.

Rather than encourage his fellow Republicans to support the measure, he has given them political cover to oppose the much-needed assistance. This follows his decision last month to be the only New Jersey member of Congress – Republican or Democrat – not to sign a joint letter to congressional leadership urging bipartisan support for disaster relief.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/aronsohn_122012.html

 

 

Editors note: The Mayor seems to be in favor of of more taxpayer funded waste . Politicians love to use emergencies to pick the pockets of tax payers 

The Bergen Record , Star Ledger , omitted to mention just like the Katrina Aid …

Budget watchdogs have dubbed the 94-page emergency-spending bill “Sandy Scam.”

“The pork-barrel feast includes more than $8 million to buy cars and equipment for the Homeland Security and Justice departments. It also includes a whopping $150 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to dole out to fisheries in Alaska and $2 million for the Smithsonian Institution to repair museum roofs in DC.

An eye-popping $13 billion would go to “mitigation” projects to prepare for future storms.

Other big-ticket items in the bill include $207 million for the VA Manhattan Medical Center; $41 million to fix up eight military bases along the storm’s path, including Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; $4 million for repairs at Kennedy Space Center in Florida; $3.3 million for the Plum Island Animal Disease Center and $1.1 million to repair national cemeteries.”

https://theridgewoodblog.net/budget-watchdogs-have-dubbed-the-94-page-emergency-spending-bill-sandy-scam/

 

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Storm cleanup bills piling up across Bergen and Passaic

first tree Fell theridgewoodblog.net

Photo by Boyd Loving

Storm cleanup bills piling up across Bergen and Passaic

SUNDAY DECEMBER 9, 2012, 11:31 PM
BY DENISA R. SUPERVILLE
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Across Bergen and Passaic counties the expense of picking up after superstorm Sandy is mounting as contractors submit bills and municipal officials continue to assess what was lost and damaged in what is shaping up as the costliest natural disaster in the state’s history.

The costs are expected to range from millions in Little Ferry and Moonachie, which were flooded when a tidal surge sent the Hackensack River over its banks, to hundreds of thousands where the damage wasn’t extensive, but the expense of cleaning up debris and overtime for employees has added up.

Moonachie’s costs are approaching $8 million, nearly as much at the town’s annual budget and $2 million more than officials expected to raise in taxes, while Little Ferry is looking at having to spend $3 million to buy vehicles and generators and remove mold from public buildings and mountains of trash piled up along curbs.

That could result in a $3.50 a month increase in municipal taxes over the next five years for the owner of a home assessed at $350,000, the borough average.

“It’s not the final number,” Little Ferry Councilman Thomas Sarlo said last week. “We hope, and anticipate, that we will not need to budget any further than the $3 million, but the exact cost hasn’t come in yet.”

While the costs are higher in areas that were deluged by floodwaters, officials in other parts of Bergen and Passaic counties said they, too, had to shoulder heavy overtime costs, particularly for police officers who watched over empty homes that had been evacuated, patrolled darkened streets during the lengthy power outage and monitored fallen trees, electrical lines and gas queues, and for department of public works employees who cut tree limbs and cleared roadways.

Governor Christie has projected that the damage and recovery will cost the state around $36.9 billion. Preliminary estimates provided by Bergen and Passaic counties in November put public sector losses at $7.7 million in Passaic County and $31.8 million in Bergen County.

Officials in all the towns plan to request reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for storm-related damage and they hope to get back at least 75 percent of what they spend.

“The problem is that you are not going to see the money until well into next year, but it will certainly be a help,” said New Milford Police Chief Frank Papapietro, who serves as the borough’s emergency management coordinator.

https://www.northjersey.com/littleferry/Storm_cleanup_bills_piling_up_across_Bergen_and_Passaic.html

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Bergen County forms task Force Protect Public against Home repair Contractor Scams

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Bergen County forms task Force Protect Public against Home repair Contractor Scams
November 22.2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ , Under the direction of Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan a new County wide task force has been formed to inspect contractors making home repairs in areas damaged by superstorm Sandy. The Task force is charged with looking for contractors committing fraud .

Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan said in a statement. “My administration will have zero tolerance for fraudulent home improvement companies,” .

The task force will include members of the county’s Consumer Affairs Division and the Bergen County Police Office of Consumer Protection. Capt. Victor F. Cuttitta Jr. of the Bergen County police,will lead the task force and will focus on areas hit the hardest by the storm, like Moonachie and Little Ferry. but not limit itself to those areas.

Donovan asked residents to “watch out for their elderly neighbors” because they “are often targeted by con artists posing as legitimate contractors.”.She asked  residents to call the county’s Consumer Affairs Division to find out whether a contractor is registered or has been the subject of complaints. The Consumer Affairs Division can be reached at  201-336-6413 or the county police Office of Consumer Protection at 201-336-6400, extension 6424.

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Schools pitch in to help one another after storm

RHS BEST theridgewoodblog.net 3

Schools pitch in to help one another after storm

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2012, 7:27 AM
BY LESLIE BRODY”AND PATRICIA ALEX
STAFF WRITERS
THE RECORD

As many North Jersey schools reopened Wednesday for the first time since superstorm Sandy, educators and parents sought to use the moment to teach students a lesson in resilience, flexibility and compassion.

A special greeting welcomed students back to Teaneck High School on Wednesday.
In the front hall of the Catherine E. Doyle Elementary School in Wood-Ridge, sprawling piles of donated textbooks, pens and glue sticks greeted 50 children who transferred in from Moonachie because their K-8 school flooded during the storm. Their teachers helped the first- and second-graders move into a library and a classroom, and expressed awe at the generosity of strangers from Ridgewood, Wyckoff and other towns who sent supplies their way.

One Wood-Ridge mother, Elizabeth Diaz, told her 7-year-old daughter, Sophia, to make the newcomers welcome during their temporary stay. “You have to make them comfortable and happy,” she said. Opening doors to them “shows we’re strong. We move on.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/177837771_Schools_pitch_in_to_help_one_another_after_storm.html

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18 year Resident says Mr Mayor Stop Blaming PSE&G

pseG truck2 theridgewoodblog.net 41

Dear Mr. Mayor,

Please stop blaming PSE&G for your poor leadership skills in responding to a crisis. After 9 days I finally got power back yesterday. There were 6 trees  and 3 utility poles down on my block. Everyone involved with PSE&G was doing their job, from the local PSE&G crew to the crew from Illinois. It was not a quick fix. 3 poles had to be replaced and all utilities needed to be marked. PSE&G checked every day on the progress and spoke freely about the procedures and steps that needed to occur. Frankly, I was amazed that we got our power back as quickly as we did after seeing and hearing stories of the devastation to residents of Ridgewood, Little Ferry, Moonachie and other communities.  You may have driven around last night (probably the first time) but when a local resident mentioned our problem to you a week ago, you had no idea that our street even existed and never bothered to check on us or visit.

My problem with you Mr. Mayor was your lack of leadership in providing local residents with helpful information. Instead of Robo calling to throw blame on PSE&G, why didn’t you call to tell us where to get hot food, because eating out every meal got to be very expensive. How about calling to say where we could get ice, extra water, computer access, charge our phones, help for our pets, extra blankets, a place to sleep or get warm, or that we were still having garbage pick -up. Not everyone had family to go to or could afford to get a hotel, or a generator and pay the cost to fill it.

In one of your Robo calls you mentioned that we were responsible for taking the tree branches down to recycling center on our own and to not put them in the street. I have no idea of how we are suppose to accomplish that.  Meanwhile you had trucks collecting leaves? That is a perfect example of your pathetic leadership.

You sir, failed to do your job as a mayor, so just stop talking and calling, because frankly I’m tired of hearing from you!!

just sign me
A  very pissed off 18 year Resident

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COUNTY BEGINS ACCEPTING DONATED ITEMS TO HELP STORM VICTIMS

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COUNTY BEGINS ACCEPTING DONATED ITEMS TO HELP STORM VICTIMS
11/5/2012
Contact: Jeanne Baratta
(201) 336-7521

(Hackensack, NJ November 4, 2012) Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan reported today that donations to help those displaced or severely impacted by Hurricane Sandy are now being accepted.

“Many of our generous, community-minded residents have been asking how they can helpthose in need in Bergen County,” said Donovan. “I want to thank them for their kindness and encourage all those who can help our fellow citizens to please do so. We have established drop off points for donated items and we will make sure they reach people in need.”
Currently said the County Executive; people harmed by the hurricanes are in need of the following items:

• New clothing (not used) especially for children and large adults. Used clothing can be dropped off at the Salvation Army.
• New blankets
• Non-perishable food
• Cleaning products
• Hand sanitizer
• Pet food (dog and cat)
• Gift cards so people can get specific items they need at nearby stores.

The donations can be dropped off at the following locations between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. :

Community Transportation at 178 Essex Street, Lodi

Midland Park Senior Center – 46-50 Center Street, Midland Park

St. Margaret of Cortona Church: 31 Chamberlain Ave, Little Ferry
The PSE&G Disaster Recovery Center at 100 Redneck Road, Moonachie (tent set up in the field next to UPS)?. Anyone with questions on health issues, call 201-785-576

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>Payouts for unused sick days vary in North Jersey towns

>Payouts for unused sick days vary in North Jersey towns


Here’s a breakdown of data provided by Christie’s office for the obligation in each town in Bergen County:

Allendale – no obligation

Alpine – total obligation, $850,523.00; obligation per taxpayer, $1,169.46

Bergenfield – total obligation, $701,579.00; obligation per taxpayer, $83.44

Bogota – total obligation, $398,360.00; obligation per taxpayer, $162.76

Carlstadt – no obligation

Cliffside Park – total obligation, $100,000.00; obligation per taxpayer, $13.27

Closter – total obligation, $1,704,092.00; obligation per taxpayer, $549.02

Cresskill – total obligation, $319,192.00; obligation per taxpayer, $107.24

East Rutherford – total obligation, $1,101,518.00; obligation per taxpayer, $172.98

Edgewater – total obligation, $1,480,618.00; obligation per taxpayer, $266.69

Elmwood – total obligation, $2,004,685.00; obligation per taxpayer, $324.27

Emerson – total obligation, $400,926.00; obligation per taxpayer, $148.38

Englewood – total obligation, $5,353,655.00; obligation per taxpayer, $576.40

Englewood Cliffs – total obligation, $2,150,583.00; obligation per taxpayer, $793.98

Demarest – no obligation

Dumont – no obligation

Fair Lawn – total obligation, $1,635,758.00; obligation per taxpayer, $132.70

Fairview – total obligation, $1,473,045.00; obligation per taxpayer, $444.53

Fort Lee – total obligation, $9,225,587.00; obligation per taxpayer, $706.40

Franklin Lakes – no obligation

Garfield – total obligation, $2,692,885.00; obligation per taxpayer, $373.63

Glen Rock – total obligation, $1,004,087.00; obligation per taxpayer, $238.49

Hackensack – total obligation, $18,875,368.00; obligation per taxpayer, $1,030.51

Harrington Park – total obligation, $594,486.00; obligation per taxpayer, $356.08

Hasbrouck Heights – total obligation, $237,175.00; obligation per taxpayer, $55.77

Haworth – total obligation, $489,559.00; obligation per taxpayer, $370.61

Hillsdale – total obligation, $201,417.78; obligation per taxpayer, $56.48

Ho-Ho-Kus – total obligation, $1,283,024.58; obligation per taxpayer, $847.04

Leonia – total obligation, $551,626.93; obligation per taxpayer, $195.06

Little Ferry – total obligation, $227,896.00; obligation per taxpayer, $66.81

Lodi – no obligation

Lyndhurst – no obligation

Mahwah – total obligation, $2,033,561.94; obligation per taxpayer, $175.99

Maywood – total obligation, $140,840.00; obligation per taxpayer, $40.81

Midland Park – no obligation

Montvale – total obligation, $468,626.00; obligation per taxpayer, $129.63

Moonachie – total obligation, $552,913.00; obligation per taxpayer, $272.68

New Milford – total obligation, $2,738,820.00; obligation per taxpayer, $578.04

North Arlington – total obligation, $80,000.00; obligation per taxpayer, $17.53

Northvale – total obligation, $847,361.00; obligation per taxpayer, $402.78

Norwood – total obligation, $282,132.00; obligation per taxpayer, $135.63

Oakland – no obligation

Old Tappan – no obligation

Oradell – no obligation

Palisades Park – total obligation, $1,591,795.00; obligation per taxpayer, $328.29

Paramus – total obligation, $575,800.00; obligation per taxpayer, $38.45

Park Ridge – total obligation, $772,804.00; obligation per taxpayer, $230.36

Ramsey – total obligation, $2,425,192.27; obligation per taxpayer, $373.12

Ridgefield – no obligation

Ridgefield Park – total obligation, $678,973.00; obligation per taxpayer, $157.71

Ridgewood – total obligation, $7,203,566.23; obligation per taxpayer, $861.41

River Edge – total obligation, $733,050.20; obligation per taxpayer, $197.51

River Vale – total obligation, $1.00; obligation per taxpayer, $0.00

Rochelle Park – no obligation

Rockleigh – no obligation

Rutherford – total obligation, $3,620,854.00; obligation per taxpayer, $569.54

 Saddle Brook – total obligation, $1,295,495.00; obligation per taxpayer, $202.96

Saddle River – total obligation, $412,800.00; obligation per taxpayer, $318.05

South Hackensack – total obligation, $539,525.00; obligation per taxpayer, $320.47

Teaneck – total obligation, $4,379,922.16; obligation per taxpayer, $335.08

Tenafly – no obligation

Teterboro – total obligation, $94,299.77; obligation per taxpayer, $42.01

Upper Saddle River – total obligation, $986,895.00; obligation per taxpayer, $338.73

Waldwick – total obligation, $1,214,624.00; obligation per taxpayer, $324.61

Wallington – no obligation

Washington – total obligation, $567,071.00; obligation per taxpayer, $162.59

Westwood – – total obligation, $1,060,665.00; obligation per taxpayer, $247.79

Woodcliff Lake – no obligation

Wood-Ridge – total obligation, $1,417,724.00; obligation per taxpayer, $425.22

Wyckoff – no obligation

https://blog.northjersey.com/thesource/1768/payouts-for-unused-sick-days-vary-in-north-jersey-towns/

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Toxic-items disposal offered by counties

>Toxic-items disposal offered by counties

Friday, January 2, 2009
Last updated: Friday January 2, 2009, 7:46 AM
BY SCOTT FALLON
NorthJersey.com
STAFF WRITER

Some things don’t belong in an ordinary trash can, like computer chips, motor oil or paint thinner.

To help you get rid of some of the more toxic household items, recycling coordinators in Bergen and Passaic counties have set up a 2009 schedule for free disposal.

Computers and electronics: Computers contain heavy metals like lead and arsenic that can be harmful if released into the air through incineration or leaked from a landfill.

Motherboards, monitors, laptops, printers, keyboards, fax machines, hard drives, modems, speakers, wiring and other electronics will be accepted during several dates this year in Bergen and Passaic.

Passaic County officials expect to receive more than the 35 tons collected last year. The bulk of the increase, they say, will come from televisions that can’t receive a digital signal.

The federal government is requiring a switch to all digital transmissions in February, meaning some older televisions will require converter boxes.

In Bergen

* April 26, and Aug. 22 at the Bergen County Community Services Building at 327 E. Ridgewood Ave. in Paramus.

* June 13 and Nov. 7 at Campgaw Mountain Reservation at 200 Campgaw Road in Mahwah. Proof of residency is required at both locations. Residential disposal only.

In Passaic

* May 8 and 9 and Sept. 25 and 26 at the Passaic County Para-Transit facility, 1310 Route 23 north in Wayne. Businesses can schedule an appointment for either May 8 or Sept. 25.

Household chemicals: Head down to your basement or out to the garage and chances are you’ll find a dusty bin of batteries, paint remover or insecticide. While they may no longer serve their purpose, the toxicity in these items still remains.

“We’ll take just about anything: solvents, herbicides, oil-based paints, propane tanks, antifreeze, used motor oil, fire extinguishers, you name it,” said Nina Seiden, Passaic County’s solid water and recycling administrator.

About the only items Bergen and Passaic officials won’t accept are explosives, medical waste and radioactive material.

In Bergen

* April 5, June 28 and Oct. 4 at Bergen Community College, 400 Paramus Road in Paramus.

* March 14 and July 18 at the Bergen County Utilities Authority, Empire Boulevard in Moonachie.

* May 16, Sept. 12 and Nov. 21 at Campgaw Mountain Reservation in Mahwah.

In Passaic

* April 25 and Oct. 10 at the Passaic County-Para Transit Facility in Wayne and June 6 at the West Milford Recycling Center at 30 Lycosky Drive.

Tires: If not properly disposed of, tires can become a fire hazard, a source of air pollution or a perfect incubator for mosquito larvae.

In Bergen

* April 26, and Aug. 22 at the Bergen County Community Services Building in Paramus.

* June 13 and Nov. 7 at Campgaw Mountain Reservation in Mahwah.

Proof of residency is required at both locations. Tires can be with or without rims. There is a four-tire limit per person.

Passaic County does not have a tire disposal program for 2009.

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>Moonachie Students Use Discarded Items to Decorate Christmas Tree

>Recycled items deck the halls in this school

THE RECORD
Monday, December 15, 2008

BY JOHN A. GAVIN

MOONACHIE — The theme this year at the Robert L. Craig School has been recycling — reusing old items that otherwise would be discarded.

There are trash receptacles made of soda cans, Styrofoam food containers that now store paint, and a collection bin for used batteries.

But perhaps the most innovative idea is a 6-foot tall Christmas tree. It is a work of art designed by students using a secondhand ladder as its base; outfitted with cardboard tubing as a dowel; and decorated with bottle caps, string, old CDs and green transparent bags once used to hold The Record newspaper.

In fact, all the holiday décor at the Craig School has taken on a recycling theme, with wreaths, mini trees and menorahs ornamented with bottle caps, buttons, worn pipe cleaners and those green bags.

“I want them to have an appreciation for art,” said Lee Ten Hoeve, an art teacher, who came up with the theme: “Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle.”

“I know that everyone doesn’t have a talent for drawing, but they can be creative and become a problem solver,” she said.

At the 285-student school, youngsters used junk mail to design collages and created an American flag using bottle caps as the stars and scrap paper for the stripes. They wore hand-me-down hospital scrubs as smocks while painting and pasting.

“It’s good for the environment.” said James Pichardo, 12, a seventh-grader. “We need to recycle a lot of things.”

That theme will also be relayed in the school’s Christmas musical, “Have a Green Holiday,” an original script about the environment that students will perform Dec. 23.

Jillian Mazzo, 12, has persuaded her mom to make homemade Christmas wreaths and said she has already learned an invaluable lesson.

“Not only should we recycle, but it’s good for the economy, too,” Jillian said. “We need to help go green and use [the green] plastic bags as much as we can.”

At school, secretaries and support staff have also caught on, making double-sided photocopies and using small note pads instead of full sheets of paper to write memos.

“It brings an awareness to all the school,” said Mark Solimo, the school’s superintendent and principal.

Alejandra Torres, 12, was philosophical about the importance of saving the environment.
“If we don’t recycle soon, the trash in the landfills will overflow,” she said. “It would be bad for all living creatures. &hellip It’s really going to affect our generation and our kids.’ “