Category: Uncategorized

>Valley Renewal: I don’t believe the VC is in the position to make a decision about the Valley expansion

I don’t believe the VC is in the position to make a decision about the Valley expansion; there are too many unanswered questions:

1) Long before any public meeting, the Planning Board was told that alternatives to doubling in size in Ridgewood had already been examined and eliminated– because they were deemed not viable. No studies, no numbers, no details were ever presented—and the PB never asked, the just took this at face value. The Council, and the public, still don’t know why Valley won’t consider a split campus, or some alternative that will make everyone happy.***REMEMBER, we can’t really trust Valley’s promises without digging deeper. Looking for precedents, Valley told us early on that it had examined 21 other NJ hospitals that were “similar” to Valley and had expanded. No questions were asked by PB, but CRR did some fact-checking: turned out that of the 22 hospitals, Valley is the only one that is surrounded by homes on 3 sides and a school….

2) Valley keeps saying that plans have changed since the Geo-Technical expert gave his withering presentation. How? What has been changed? How can you make a decision based upon such a silly promise with no details?

3) The traffic expert examined ONLY the traffic on the Valley campus and bordering roads. How can you make a decision based upon this incomplete report? Wouldn’t it be essential to know how construction and expansion might affect traffic elsewhere in town? [it will]

4) Similarly,the geo-technical expert did not examine the soil, rock and infrastructure (waste and water lines, etc.) of land outside of Valley’s purview. How can you make a decision when you don’t know what is going on underneath the HO– USES in Ridgewood and how the construction will affect our land?

5) Why has Valley worked so hard to block the reopening of Pascack? Too many beds, they say.

6) Why then is Valley ADDING beds? The turnover rate for each bed is becoming faster and faster. This means that Valley’s 450+ beds will generating more and more traffic in the future.

7) Valley wants to expand here to “best serve the community”. What community is that? 95% of Valley patients do not live in Ridgewood. Still, at the last meeting, doctors spoke of the importance of getting to the hospital quickly—4 minutes? Four minutes from whose house? The majority of Valley patients don’t live here, so it is actually a LONGER trip for everyone else. Westwood is a part of the “community”, yet Valley wants to deny those residents close, convenient care? “Do No Harm”????

>Giuliani: “Obama Owns Occupy Wall Street”

by Nick Kalman | November 04, 2011

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani says responsibility for the Occupy Wall Street movement rests squarely on the shoulders of President Obama.

“This is a very dangerous movement, and it’s ironic it’s happening under a president who promised to unify us,” Giuliani said. “Barack Obama owns the Occupy Wall Street movement, it would not have happened but for his class warfare.”

The Occupy Wall Street protests broke out in cities all over the country shortly after president Obama called for tax hikes on the wealthiest Americans. Some of the protests have turned violent. In Oakland, California, more than 100 people were arrested and eight were seriously injured Thursday, with protesters leaving stores in flames, and streets littered with broken glass and debris. A week earlier a former Marine suffered a fractured skull in a confrontation with Oakland police.

Read more: https://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/11/04/giuliani-obama-owns-occupy-wall-street#ixzz1cpetJjvr

>Valley’s requested changes to the Master Plan are already in effect?

In a recent Ridgewood News article Village Attorney Matt Rogers,implied that the Master Plan or the H-zone has been changed. This process the Village Council is going through is not to confirm those changes, but to enact legislation to implement the changes. The Master Plan has been modified. That’s done.

So, what happens if the Village Council chooses either to (1) do nothing at all, or (2) only write ordinance for a portion of the revised Master Plan? Can the next iteration of our Village Council (e.g. after the next election) decide to revisit this and implement the changes ignored by the current Council?

So now we are told that Valley’s requested changes to the Master Plan are already in effect.

If true, this seems inappropriate and anti-democratic. The contents of the Master Plan should not be subject to change without first being approved of by the Village Council. Particularly when the only reason that changes were being entertained at all was that an entity outside of government proposed them and advocated for them. Federal rules or regulations are typically not put through the final approval process unless and until a governmental body decides it is good and ready to do so. No third party has the right to force the government to amend the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

Has Valley exploited a loophole? Or did the VC have a vote at some point in the recent past to prompt the planning board to begin the process of amending the Master Plan at Valley’s request?

I’m also curious to know whether those voting ‘no’ on the VC need to come up with their own personal reasons for voting that way, or if those voting ‘no’ have to agree on a common statement (which will then be attacked by Valley). Village Attorney Matt Rogers, do you know the answer to this question?

>Ridgewood Schools : a better contingency plan

People should also be insisting that the schools/board come up with a better contingency plan. This is the second time in two years that Willard needed to remain closed a day longer than the rest of the schools. Its only November and Willard is already -1 in terms of emergency closings.

I’m no expert in school contingency planning, but there should be a plan in place. What would we have done if the power was not back at Willard for a week..??? (or longer). Three days is a long time to be closed for a storm like this. Consider the March windstorm of 2010 (which closed Willard for 3 days), Hurricane Irene (which would likely have closed schools for a few days) and now this storm.

 These are not “freak” 1 in 100 year events — there have been 3 in the past two years. If the schools are not going to implement a contigency plan than they should build more than 2 days into the schedule becuase storms like this do and will occur often.

>Valley Renewal : Sue ,Sue Sue 

The Planning Board, after their hearings and procedures, voted “yes” on an ordinance to change the Master Plan. This now goes up to the Village Council. They can either approve the ordinance, disapprove the ordinance, or remain undecided on the ordinance.

If the VC votes “yes”, the reality is that CRR will sue and continue their present suit against the Planning Board.If the VC votes “yes”, the don’t have to explain anything, they will be saying the Planning Board did their job.

If the VC votes “no”, The Valley will sue. Legally, the VC has to explain why, in writing, they are saying “no” to the result of the Planning Board process – and the Village Attorney has advised the VC that legally it can only be for planning, zoning related reasons. It is reviewing facts and process of Planning Board decision.

The VC isn’t obliged to vote “yes”, but they are obliged to follow the procedures and laws, and decide based on the planning and zoning issues.

If you want to do your own legal research, do it now, and get up at one of the public meetings at tell your findings.

>Valley Renewal : the answer should still be NO

VALLEY HAS BECOME A DISGRACE… in what they continue to try and do to the town of Ridgewood. The FACT is this plan has been voted down for many years and many councils before. So the answer should still be NO. This parcel of land has not grown any over the years and that H-Zone was put in place to protect Ridgewood! STOP this nonsense.

I can’t believe it’s gotten this far and continues to waste so much time and the Ridgewood taxpayer’s money.

Valley Hospital should be ashamed at what they are asking for!

They are so hypocritial in their comments and efforts to stop Pascack Valley Hospital from re-opening it basically states that they don’t need to expand! WE agree! Renew from within your existing structure! NO external expansion, if region (Pascack Valley) doesn’t need it, then you are already claiming that you don’t need it!

I hope Pascack valley gets the okay so you will stop this McMansion of a hospital in a community…Next to a school! Shame on you Valley Hospital for trying!! MT

>Valley Renewal : Residents of Ridgewood, we have a right to expect that the best interests of Ridgewood as a whole must be the determinant

Residents of Ridgewood, we have a right to expect that the best interests of Ridgewood as a whole must be the determinant.

If it is objectively and demonstrably in the best interests of Ridgewood that Valley receive approval for its expansion plans, then the Village Council should vote accordingly. They will obviously need to be prepared to defend their vote to those of us who disagree with it, but if they can do so with a straight face, then that is all we have a right to ask for as taxpayers and residents.

On the other hand, if it is not objectively and demonstrably in the best interests of Ridgewood as a whole that Valley receive approval for its expansion plans, then the Village Council should vote it down.

This is the single largest expansion plan of any business entity in village history, involving major changes to the village Master Plan. The onus is and must continue to be on Valley to demonstrate that Ridgewood’s best interests are being served. If a Ridgewood Council Member makes a decision in his or her political capacity to vote no on such a plan, he or she should not be placed in fear of any lawsuit.

>New York City Officials Reach Agreement On Pension Reform
By: Bobby Cuza

City officials were joined by municipal union leaders Thursday afternoon to announce an agreement on a new pension system that will consolidate funds under a unified board in hopes of producing higher returns and lowering costs to the city. NY1’s Bobby Cuza filed the following report.

Right now, the pensions for city employees reside in five different pension funds, each with their own separate board overseeing investment decisions, with 58 trustees in all. It’s a system critics say is inefficient, duplicative and outdated.
Web Extra

“Right now, if we want to make an investment, it’s like turning the Queen Mary around in the Hudson River. By the time you do it, you may be going in the wrong direction,” said Stephen Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association.

On Thursday, labor leaders joined the mayor and city comptroller to announce a new way of doing business: All five funds will be overseen by a single unified board, which will hire a new chief investment officer, independent of any one elected official, to manage the money. The aim is to produce higher returns and, in turn, lower costs to the city.

“The extra investment dollars that pension funds earn free up city taxpayer dollars that can instead go for police and fire protection and for teachers’ salaries or to pay for all the other essential city services,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

https://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/149725/city-officials-reach-agreement-on-pension-reform

>Garrett Unveils Proposal to Reform Secondary Mortgage Market

WASHINGTON, DC, October 27, 2011 –

Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises, today unveiled his proposal to reform the secondary mortgage market to ensure robust private investment in the U.S. mortgage market without a government guarantee.

“Since taking control of the House in January, we have remained steadfast in our drive and determination to end the ongoing bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, protect taxpayers from future bailouts, and encourage private capital to re-enter the secondary mortgage market,” said Garrett.  “Now that we have taken the important step of introducing a series of bills to wind down the government-backed mortgage twins, it’s time to start thinking about the ways we can jumpstart the private market to step in once they’re gone.  My proposal to reform the secondary mortgage market will facilitate continued standardization and uniformity, ensure rule of law and legal certainty, and provide investors with the standardization and transparency necessary to ensure that a deep and liquid market develops in the absence of Fannie and Freddie.”

“Most, if not all, of my colleagues, Republican and Democrats alike, recognize the status quo is unsustainable.  The government-sanctioned duopoly of Fannie and Freddie is not only systemically dangerous to our economic security, it’s un-American,” added Garrett. “For too long the government’s manipulation of the housing market has crowded out private market participants at the expense of the American taxpayers.  It’s time to move from the era of crony capitalism that defined our housing finance system during the last century to an era of free market capitalism that will define our housing finance system in the next century.”

Garrett’s proposal to reform the secondary mortgage market will do the following:

    1.   Facilitate Continued Standardization and Uniformity of Mortgage Securitization

        Direct Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) to create several categories of mortgages with uniform underwriting standards for each.
         Direct FHFA to develop standard and uniform securitization agreements and representations and warranties.
        Streamline the process for securities that meet the standard underwriting characteristics and securitization agreements to be sold to investors.
        Provide FHFA authority to ensure underwriting and securitization standardization compliance.
        Abolish risk-retention provisions included in Dodd-Frank.

    2.   Ensure Rule of Law and Legal Certainty

        Remove conflicts of interest between servicers and investors.
        Clarify the rules around the eligibility of obtaining second lien mortgages.
        Require mandatory arbitration on disagreements between investors and issuers on reps and warrants.
        Prevent regulators from unilaterally forcing investors to reduce the principal of loans they have invested in.
        Allow for the appointment of an independent third party to act for the benefit of investors in mortgage-backed securities.
        Standardize servicer accounting and reporting for restructuring, modification or work-out of loans used as collateral.

    3.   Provide Additional Transparency and Disclosure

        Increase the quality of the loan level information and the disclosures that investors can use to evaluate the value of the mortgages.
        Ensure investors have sufficient time to review and analyze disclosed information before making investment decisions.
        Increase pricing transparency by disclosing pricing history on securitization deals.
        Require the creation of an individualized marker for each loan within a securitization.

Throughout the 112th Congress, Garrett and his Republican colleagues on the Financial Services Committee have taken an incremental approach to gradually chip away at government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  In March, House Financial Services Republicans unveiled eight bills during the first round of legislation and then followed it up with a second round of seven bills in May.  To date, fourteen of the fifteen bills have been cleared through the Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee and are scheduled to be considered by the full Financial Services Committee in the next few months.

>New Street Lights To Have “Homeland Security” Applications
 
High-tech system to include speakers, video surveillance, emergency alerts
Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
Wednesday, October 26, 2011

UPDATE: Presumably in response to this article being linked on the Drudge Report, the company behind ‘Intellistreets’, Illuminating Concepts, has now pulled the video from You Tube entirely, presumably nervous about the negative publicity that could be generated from concerns about street lights being used for “Homeland Security” purposes – their words, not ours. We have added an alternative version of the clip below, but it may be subject to removal at any time. The video is still available on the company’s website.

New street lights that include “Homeland Security” applications including speaker systems, motion sensors and video surveillance are now being rolled out with the aid of government funding.

The Intellistreets system comprises of a wireless digital infrastructure that allows street lights to be controlled remotely by means of a ubiquitous wi-fi link and a miniature computer housed inside each street light, allowing for “security, energy management, data harvesting and digital media,” according to the Illuminating Concepts website.

https://www.infowars.com/new-street-lights-to-have-homeland-security-applications/

>Watching the ‘Days’ fly by
By By Sean Reichard

Quick: are you chill? Relaxed? Affably lackadaisical? Then the band Real Estate may be for you.

An indie band from Ridgewood, New Jersey, Real Estate plays a brand of rock n’ roll that lolls and gently hums like the sound of waves on the Jersey shore. Drawing together surf rock and jangly guitar à la the Byrds and R.E.M., Real Estate manages to be soothing without being sleep inducing.

Real Estate returns with Days, an album that is both an extension and improvement of their sound. 2009’s Real Estate was by all measure a fine album, but sometimes so mellow that highlights and changes between songs were hard to distinguish. It was a low key affair.

Days flows along the same vibes, but is fuller and brighter than Real Estate. Keeping the laid-back atmosphere, Real Estate coasts through ten songs with just an added measure of punch. Opener “Easy” bursts like a flash of light, and “Municipality” features airy vocals wrapping around each other through a haze of guitar strums.

Suburbia is a recurring theme as well, with “Green Aisles” melding two oft-remarked suburban motifs: sterile grocery stores and cookie-cutter houses, as well as the aforementioned “Municipality.”

https://www.dailycardinal.com/arts/watching-the-days-fly-by-1.2661535#.TqXwhZsg9kY

>
Railroads aim to replace or revamp aging bridges

Union Pacific Railroad is anticipating operational efficiency gains from a major bridge replacement project, as well. The Class I plans to replace a 103-year-old, 890-foot-long structure spanning the Mississippi River on the Overland Route in Clinton, Iowa. The double-track, steel through-truss swing span bridge is a major choke point on the route, which accommodates up to 65 freight trains daily and is used to haul about 140 million gross-tons of cargo annually, UP officials said in an email.

During a 24-hour period, the swing span might be open a cumulative total of five hours to accommodate barge traffic during the peak river shipping season; barge traffic has priority over rail traffic.

This swing span bridge is obsolete, with a horizontal bridge opening of only 177 feet — well short of the 300-foot minimum now required by the U.S. Coast Guard, UP officials said. In addition, the bridge has been struck by river barges and watercraft more than 100 times in the past 15 years, they said.

To alleviate problems associated with the antiquated structure, the Class I proposes to build a new clear span bridge, which would “greatly increase river traffic safety and eliminate a railroad bottleneck,” UP officials said. Project details still are being finalized and a construction schedule has not been determined.

Because the bridge’s design calls for a clear span, longer approaches will need to be employed to gain the necessary elevation over the river, UP officials said. The new bridge, along with other nearby projects — including a new crew change facility — will bring the total investment in the area to about $400 million, they estimate.

A short line already is investing capital in a bridge project, to the tune of $500,000. New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway Corp. (NYSW) crews are beginning to upgrade a bridge near Ridgewood and Midland Park, N.J., that retains a 25 mph speed restriction.

The project is an example of an alternative method to bridge replacement or rehabilitation, according to NYSW officials.

The 83.5-foot-long, double-track, through-plate girder bridge was built on two abutments in 1913 and carried tracks over a long-abandoned trolley line right of way.

Instead of building a new bridge, crews will employ an earthen fill and drainage pipe method. To complete the project, 225 linear feet of ballast and track will be installed on top of the fill, which will be graded to the same level as the tops of the old abutments. As of press time, work was slated to begin late last month or in October.

Bridge maintenance no longer will be required and the railroad will register locomotive fuel savings because the speed restriction will be eliminated, according to NYSW officials.

https://www.progressiverailroading.com/mow/article/Railroads-aim-to-replace-or-revamp-aging-bridges–28321

>

Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi ,Wednesday, October 26th @ 5:00pm
Star of The Jersey Shore will sign her new book:  Confessions of a Guidette.  Books available October 25th

Appearing authors will only autograph books purchased at Bookends and must have valid Bookends Receipt.Availability & pricing for all autographed books subject to change. Bookends cannot guarantee that the books that are Autographed will always be First Printings.
Autographed books purchased at Bookends are non-returnable. Please call the store for details.

Bookends, 211 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ   07450   201-445-0726

>FREE SHRED DAY FOR RIDGEWOOD RESIDENTS – November 12, 2011

Saturday, November 12, 2011, the Ridgewood Recycling Division will host another Shred Day event from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM. Shred Day is an opportunity for Ridgewood residents and businesses to dispose of sensitive documents by shredding them. A mobile, on-site paper shredding company will be at the recycling center for this rain or shine event. Those who wish to do so may watch on camera as their documents are shredded for recycling.

Acceptable items include cancelled checks, computer printouts, copy paper (all colors), envelopes, letterhead, and stationary. Prohibited items include binders, plastics, overnight shipping envelopes, photos, carbon paper, and non–paper items.

The Village of Ridgewood Recycling Division is not being charged for this service. It has been made possible by the Bergen County Utilities Authority.

The Recycling Center. located at 205 E. Glen Avenue, Ridgewood, is open from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Monday through Saturday. Items accepted at the Recycling Center include electronics, clothing & textiles, appliances, bottles & cans, papers & cardboard, yard waste, tires, and metals.

>Bullying Law Run Amuck @ GW 

An eighth grader was written up this week for bullying.  An action which, by law must be reported to the State of NJ.  Her crime; calling someone “retarded” for drawing on a music folder with white-out.  When the teacher heard this comment, she promptly reported the incident to the administration which then went into full punitive action.  Now, what dopey teacher defines bullying as calling someone “retarded?”  Since when is a kid calling out another for doing something stupid or silly, bullying?  This law was meant for real acts of intimidation and harassment not a child describing someone for being stupid.  White-out is for correcting mistakes not painting on a folder.  Unless of course we want to make the argument that the “retard” was expressing themselves in a creative and unconventional manner.  If that is the case then why not smear feces on a piece of paper and call it art too.  No, we have lost our way and government is now the thought and speech police.  If children grow up indoctrinated to believe this drivel, how long before we loose the rest of our rights as citizens.  For these kids will believe it normal to sensor things they don’t like or hurt their feelings.  It is a slippery slopes the do gooders have put us on.