Category: Upper Saddle River NJ

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10-year-old runner from Ridgewood to compete at Nationals

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file photo Ridgewood Run

10-year-old runner from Ridgewood to compete at Nationals

DECEMBER 10, 2014    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY NEIL AMDUR
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD |
THE RECORD

They are as different as night and day. Camryn Wennersten, 10, is quiet and competitive, stubbornly unyielding. Her younger sister Peyton, 7, is outspoken, a “sparkle diva,” according to track coach John Murtaugh, who has worked with the sisters.

But the Wennersten sisters share a common passion, running, that appears to have no limits in a Ridgewood family steeped in sports. Last month their mother and father, Kevin and Taryn Wennersten, completed the New York City Marathon. On Thanksgiving Day, the entire family — Kevin, Taryn, Camryn, Peyton and their older brothers, Bryce and Triston — ran a 5-kilometer race in Upper Saddle River.

On Saturday Camryn, already the best in her age group in the county, state and mid-Atlantic region, will measure her skill and will in a 3-kilometer race at the USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country championships in Myrtle Beach, S.C. More than 3,000 runners in categories from 8-and-under through 17-18 will compete.

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/family/setting-the-pace-for-the-family-1.1149425

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Teenage boy in custody, 1 still at-large after high-speed pursuit in Bergen County

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Teenage boy in custody, 1 still at-large after high-speed pursuit in Bergen County

November 20, 2014, 8:50 AM    Last updated: Thursday, November 20, 2014, 9:28 AM
By STEFANIE DAZIO
Staff Writer |
The Record

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP — A teenage boy canvassing a Hampshire Road home early this morning, possibly to steal a Porsche parked in its open garage, sparked a foot chase through the woods and a high-speed car pursuit along the Garden State Parkway, authorities said.

The chases ended with one stolen car recovered and the teenager’s arrest, but another car was stolen and a second man escaped, Washington Township police Chief Glenn Hooper said.

The boy, believed to be 15 or 16 years old, is in police custody and charges are pending, Hooper said. He did not have identification on him and is not cooperating with authorities.

The incident began around 2:15 a.m. when a police officer saw the teenager walking around the home, Hooper said. The boy noticed the police car and started walking away, then ran down a side street.

Another man jumped out of a Mercedes Benz — which police later determined had been stolen out of the township a month ago — and they both ran into the woods. Officers from Paramus, Ridgewood, Ho-Ho-Kus, Hillsdale and Upper Saddle River and a Bergen County Sheriff’s Department K-9 unit joined the search, but didn’t find anyone and called it off before 5 a.m.

While they were in the woods, Washington Township police received a call about a Jaguar stolen out of a driveway on Jackson Avenue, Hooper said. The key fob had been left in the car.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/teenage-boy-in-custody-1-still-at-large-after-high-speed-pursuit-in-bergen-county-1.1137904

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Readers says the council can issue a non-binding referendum to get a sense of whether residents like the Idea or Not

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Readers says the council can issue a non-binding referendum to get a sense of whether residents like the Idea or Not 

Reader also suggests the Village Planner should other opportunities of employment

The council can issue a non-binding referendum to get a sense of whether residents like the idea or not (this is what Upper Saddle River just did, when it was voted down 11-1).

There is also a way for residents to petition for a referendum vote of the ordinance that made this whole process possible, 3066.

What I would love to know is a way to petition to get Blais fired. He was almost incoherent last night, answering few questions, and admitting that no independent studies were done (all studies on impact were paid for by builders). We have no sense of the financial burden to the town nor is it relevant in his opinion. Traffic, number of new school children are also not a problem…well, because the builders say so.

That snippet of an article does not represent at all just how clueless Brancheau sounded. We have no concrete numbers on anything basically: the number of units, number of new schoolchildren, costs to village, new traffic/accidents, burden on facilities, etc. All figures to date have been derived from the builder’s research and there have been 0 independent studies. If there is ever a transcript available it should be required reading before deciding what is or is not a fair minded report.

About Brancheau and his research abilities: You all need to remember back during the first round of the Valley expansion when, after many hearings, it was suddenly revealed that the project was hundreds of thousands of feet larger than they had been discussing — Brancheau had failed to count the basement floors!

Brancheau said it was difficult to predict the future, but that his numbers suggested that for every five units built, there would be one additional child signing up for instruction.

“There will be some impact,” Brancheau explained. “The schools are at capacity now

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Ridgewood Planner’s report on multifamily housing misses the point

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Ridgewood Planner’s report on multifamily housing misses the point

To the editor:

After recently moving to a home that is only a block outside of our Central Business District, I had an even more vested interest in attending the last Planning Board meeting. I was curious to hear our village planner, Blais Brancheau, as he told our Planning Board about this new high-density zoning change. I was incredibly disappointed with Blais’ presentation. He talked in circles and back peddled, saying not much about very little.

We want our village planner to have a plan, not just deal with developers as they come along! We need to know the long-term repercussions of this zoning change. We deserve this, as citizens and taxpayers of this town. He has yet to set forth facts on how these developments will impact our municipal services, traffic, our schools and the future of Ridgewood.

Instead, we heard about State of NJ planning guidelines and recommendations from NJ Transit. Why didn’t Blais discuss local and regional issues ahead of generalized state planning recommendations? Our schools are at or are near maximum capacity, yet Blais told the Planning Board this should not be a primary concern. Really? That is why we live here … the schools are the best.

According to Blais’ report, Page 14, using the Rutgers Study, the actual number of schoolchildren attending Ridgewood schools from apartments in/around the CBD was almost four times higher than the projected amount. And Blais neglected to highlight data that would make this projection even higher.

Our lack of parking is a huge issue right now, yet all of these high-density zoning changes will come with less than the state required parking. Our town’s Open Space committee gave a full presentation on our severe deficit of open space in this town, yet rezoning for up to 500-700 new apartments will surely exacerbate this problem.

Our Planning Board needs to think long and hard about the decisions before them. Yes, there is a need for beautiful, higher-end apartments to keep empty nesters in Ridgewood, their town they love and invested in for years. But people cannot be expected to sit through endless testimony, read through ridiculous blogs, or pay for attorneys in order to fight for their town. But that is the way it is today.

Why not put forth a non-binding referendum to see what the taxpayers of Ridgewood see for the future of Ridgewood? Upper Saddle River just did it. How about a village-wide mailing of the facts to every resident to educate us on exactly what the Master Plan amendment includes? Upper Saddle River just did that, too. (Oh, and Upper Saddle River just voted 11-1 against high-density zoning.)

It is up to the Planning Board to do what is right for Ridgewood, not for the developers, today and in the future. As leaders of our community, we truly hope they will.

Gail and Jim McCarthy

Ridgewood

https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/letter-planner-s-report-on-multifamily-housing-misses-the-point-1.1133373

 

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Security Concerns Prompt YMCA to move nursery school program from Ridgewood to Upper Saddle River

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Security Concerns Prompt YMCA to move nursery school program from Ridgewood to Upper Saddle River
January 9, 2013, 5:17 PM
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The YWCA of Bergen County is relocating its nursery school and parent/child classes to its more secure location in Upper Saddle River.

The school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut  prompted the Y to move the programs from the Ridgewood facility at Oak street in Ridgewood which is open to the public, to Upper Saddle River a dedicated early learning site where entrants must use a key code or be buzzed into the locked building.

In a press release issued by the YWCA ,Arlene Vasquez, President of the YWCA Bergen County’s Board of Directors said ,” The safety of the children entrusted to our care has always been our number one priority,”

The move was not spurred by specific security concerns raised by parents or any security issues within the organization, Donna Gould, a spokeswoman for the YWCA, told the Bergen Record said Wednesday. ( https://www.northjersey.com/news/YMCA_of_Bergen_moving_nursery_school_from_Ridgewood_to_Upper_Saddle_River__.html )

Gould went on to say . “ I think from a standpoint of really trying to keep the facility kid-safe parents will appreciate that we take it that seriously.”

Nursery school classes for children 2½ to 4 years old, as well as Parent/Child classes for ages 15 months to 2 years will begin in the new location on Feb. 20. The Upper Saddle River center, is on Pleasant Avenue, about 6 miles from the current Ridgewood location.

Over 100 children from Ridgewood, Ho-Ho-Kus, Waldwick and other towns to the north, attend the nursery school program at the YMCA.

sourced : https://www.northjersey.com/news/YMCA_of_Bergen_moving_nursery_school_from_Ridgewood_to_Upper_Saddle_River__.html

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