Category: village of ridgewood

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Village of Ridgewood Steps Up Sign Ordinance Enforcement

garber square LED sign
file photo by Boyd Loving
March 26,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The Village of Ridgewood will begin enforcement of Chapter 190-122 of the Code of the Village of Ridgewood on April 1, 2016. This ordinance regulates the construction, installation or display of signs within the Village. Please ensure that any non-conforming signs (ie. A-frames, banners, temporary signs, neon, etc…) are removed prior to April 1, 2016. Failure to comply with the ordinance may result in the issuance of a municipal court summons. Periodic monitoring will be occurring on a regular basis.

We understand the signs may be an integral part of advertising your business, but those that are not permitted by ordinance must be removed. This effort is being made to coincide with the enforcement of the Sidewalk Café ordinance with the ultimate focus on public safety.

For your convenience, the Village ordinances may be viewed by visiting the Village website atwww.ridgewoodnj.net. Please click on the “General Code” link on the right side of the homepage. This will link you to ECode 360 at which time you can search for the applicable ordinance.

Should you require further clarification on this matter or any other property maintenance issue; please do not hesitate to contact Tracy Jeffery, Code Enforcement Official at 201-670-5500, ext. 214. Our unified efforts will result in a safer environment for all.

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Jack-knifed tractor trailer forced Route 17 North in Ridgewood on Friday

Route 17 North Ridgewood
photo courtesy of the Ridgewood Police department

Jack-knifed tractor trailer forced Route 17 North in Ridgewood on Friday
March 26,2016
the staff of thye Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, On Friday March 25th a section of Route 17 north in Ridgewood was closed in Ridgewood ,when
the northbound lanes were blocked due to Jack-knifed tractor trailer just north of Paramus Road. The highway was closed at around 1:45 p.m., according to the state Department of Transportation.

Delays of at least 30 minutes were reported in the area and Village as authorities including Ridgewood Police worked to clear a jack-knifed tractor trailer . Route 17 North has been reopened later in the afternoon.

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RIDGEWOOD PLANNING BOARD SPECIAL PUBLIC MEETINGS – VALLEY HOSPITAL

valley_hospital_theridgewoodblog

PLANNING BOARD SPECIAL PUBLIC MEETINGS – VALLEY HOSPITAL

Planning Board Amendent to Meeting Schedule – Special Public Meetings – March 30, 31 and  April 4,5,7

For complete details for the meeting schedule – Click Here

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Due to development of Ridgewood CBD we have been forced to close the store

underground skateshop

This is not the end!!

To all our Ridgewood customers, we are sad to announce that on April 2nd we will be closing our doors to the Ridgewood location. Due to circumstances out of our control with the development of the town we have been forced to close the store. But as the say, “when one door closes another one opens”, which is exactly what we are doing!!! We are currently in the process of building our flagship store in downtown Newark. We hope to have this is open by April 30th. Its 1500 sqft space located on Halsey St.

We would like to thank each & everyone of you that has supported the store and the scene for the past 3 years, you guys have been great and will truly be missed. We know that a great shop relies on its community and we thank you for being part of it.

We will continue to serve the community in the area and at Ridgewood Skate Park and we will still have the Nutley store and online store www.undergroundskateshop.com where you can still continue to support us.

We will keep you all updated via social media on the progress of the Newark store and as soon as we have a set date we will inform you all of the grand opening

Once again, we thank you for your support.

Mark & Clint

Underground Skate Shop #2  

 Address: 43 Hudson St, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Phone:(201) 857-3000
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Ridgewood Village Manager speaks out, inappropriately

Village_Manager_Roberta_Sonenfeld_theridgewoodblog

 

March 26,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld has often exceeded her authority by speaking her mind (that is, the mayor’s mind) on issues that are not within her purview. At council meetings, on Facebook, and elsewhere she holds forth in a way that is entirely inappropriate for, and unbecoming to, an employee of the Village. (You will never see such things from any other Village employee.) Most objectionably, she does not hesitate to reprimand residents, sometimes harshly, for expressing their views. The mayor insisted on hiring her above more qualified applicants to be his junkyard dog, and that’s precisely what she has become, with increasing stridency.

The Facebook page on which her note below appears does not accept posts that criticize the mayor’s circle; however, if the Ridgewood Blog reproduces her letter, which after all is addressed to “residents and friends” (not necessarily the same thing), all residents, including those who choose not to use Facebook, will be able to see what she is doing and have an opportunity to comment. The link is given for those who can access Facebook and wish to see the original.

A fair amount of the information being promulgated here is simply NOT CORRECT.

===================================================================================

https://www.facebook.com/roberta.sonenfeld?fref=nfhttps://www.facebook.com/roberta.sonenfeld?fref=nf

Roberta Sonenfeld

3 hrs

Dear Residents and Friends,


Given the 5-0 Village Council vote on Wednesday, many if not all of you may feel that the parking deck at Hudson Street is a done deal. This would be a normal reaction given the unanimous vote. Sadly this is not the case, however, as a group of people are challenging this vote by petitioning to rescind this ordinance. This is the same group of petitioners that have raised opposition to the deck previously because they wanted Ridgewood to bond by itself and not use Bergen County. Another week, another new excuse to stop a much-needed parking facility in our downtown. This time the excuse is that the deck, despite having been redesigned several times, is still too large.


The design of our deck has undergone much change and much compromise based upon the input of residents and professionals. The deck has decreased from 405 spots to 325 spots. The width of the deck has decreased 18’, from 122’ to 104’8”. The cantilever over Hudson Street has been totally eliminated. The larger tower has decreased by approximately 7’, to 60’10”; this is consistent with the other two towers currently existing on the NE and SW corners of E Ridgewood Ave and Broad Street. The height of our structure is only 43’ to the roofline. It exceeds the 45’ height code only when adding the 3’9” parapets (a safety/aesthetic feature). With this decrease has come some changes in the financials, causing the per parking spot cost to increase from less than $30,000 to about $33,000.


We have gotten to this point by careful and responsible management. There have been environmental studies, site surveys, financial analyses, traffic studies, engineering/architectural renderings and more. We have involved our police and fire professionals since the start to insure the safety of our building and the people who will eventually use it. We are at the point of completing our construction bid documents and almost ready to embark upon the exciting next phase of building this deck.


After decades of discussion, we are so close to doing the right thing for our residents, for our commuters, for our visitors, for our business district employees, and for our businesses in the downtown. Do not let a group of people who have continually tried to find any argument for not building this deck succeed in thwarting our progress.


Enough is enough.

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Conservancy for Ridgewood Public Lands spruces up park land

Twinney Pond Park 2

BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

RIDGEWOOD – A citizen group was present at the village’s Twinney Pond this week, observing the removal of some invasive plants from a natural landscape that has been “in existence since the days of the glaciers.”

Cynthia Halaby, president of the Conservancy for Ridgewood Public Lands group, explained via email that her organization is dedicated to tending to public lands that do not get enough care due to village budget cuts.

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/clubs-and-service-organizations/conservancy-group-spruces-up-park-land-1.1533207

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Reader says change is Coming to Ridgewood and Change Costs Money

village of Ridgewood

Change? As in making a city? No. Let’s be real here…. No one, I mean no one…. will move to Ridgewood without the idea of having children. People move here fore the schools. Dont believe me? Go see a Travell school directory and see the amount of kids from the Oak St. area. that live in apartments.

3000k a month for a luxury apartment for a commuting husband and wife? Why? We have nothing to offer that other closer more stable cities have. 3000k a month with children sounds like a better idea.

We are NOT hoboken, we are NOT montclair, we are NOT morristown. We have few similarities at best as in a train station and some nice shops but thats it.

Your schools class sizes are about to get a shock of their life, your nice class sizes are about to get big. No one seems to remember when Hawes and Sommerville had trailers as classrooms because of over-crowding, I remember because I was taught in them and it takes years for infrastructure to catch up to over building. If you have young children entering the schools you should be the most concerned.

Sewer, water, police, fire and DPW services all have to be increased to support additional population. We ALL pay for that. Don’t want to pay for it? Enjoy more county involvement.

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Candidate Jeff Voigt Comments on March 23 Council Meeting , ” last night – no surprises”

Jeff Voigt Ridgewood

March 24,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ , Council Candidate Jeff Voigt give the Ridgewood blog his take on the March 23rd meeting .

Jeff started off , ” last night – no surprises.   Yes we need parking (I actually voted for parking on Hudson St).  However, I did not vote for the options presented by the council to the public.  My mistake was actually believing that the council majority would be reasonable in coming up with a garage that would fit on the Hudson St/S. Broad area.  As it happened, the Village residents were presented with 4 bad options and the council asked for input/feedback from the community.  This was called compromise by the council majority.  Compromise in my mind is when two parties, who are on opposite ends of the spectrum, meet somewhere in the middle.   If this has occurred, a much smaller parking deck would likely have been the result.  What occurred, however, was nothing but a multiple choice test amongst 4 bad choices.”

Jeff mentioned a new petition , “There is a petition going around (which I support) for repealing Ordinance 3521 (Ridgewood bonding the garage) – for the very reason that the garage does not fit in this space as it is currently configured.  The website https://www.its2big.com has more information; email:[email protected].   As you can tell by this website, the garage is way too big (5 levels; 4 stories; with 60+ foot high towers [note: that zoning in this area is for 45 feet]) and; does not fit with the aesthetics of the surrounding area.   The committed Village citizens leading this petition initiative include:  Jacqui, Anne Loving, Gail McCarthy, Ellen McNamara  and Saurabh Dani .   As well please reach out to Lorraine Reynolds (phone: 201-264-8151).  Thank you to all of these people for heading this up.”

Regarding high density housing and the Ordinances 3489-3492 that were passed, Jeff said he left the meeting with the following impressions and thoughts:

“·       Affordable housing is driving the Master Plan and appears to hold precedence (from a legal standpoint) over the Village employing spot zoning to address it (note:  the NJ Supreme Court has ruled that spot zoning is illegal; Riya Finnegan LLC v Township S. Brunswick; 2008).  It also appears the current council majority is holding good land use planning (via our Master Plan) hostage to affordable housing.  While I am not against affordable housing and agree that Ridgewood should do its best to meet its obligation, we still do not know what this obligation is and; we have no plan for it.   This makes no sense to me.  As well, it would be nice to understand from some good lawyers, which of the following holds precedence if the 2 are intertwined – the use of spot zoning (to address an issue – is this legal or not) or affordable housing.

·       What would be optimal regarding Ridgewood’s affordable housing obligation is for the Village to wait and see what this obligation is from the state and then plan for it.  It is hard understanding why we are chasing an elusive target and zoning in a willy-nilly fashion (e.g.  new AH-3 zone on Rt. 17 North across from the park and ride).  This new zone, AH-3, was presented on at the 3/15/16 planning board meeting – where the Valley Hospital resolution was also presented.  Note: Since the agenda for this meeting was published on the Ridgewood website only 3 hours prior to this meeting, only about 10 people attended.  The open public meetings act requires that agendas be published 48 hours before a public meeting.  Therefore, no surprises as to why so few people attended and why so few people know about it. ”

 

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Village of Ridgewood Council Majority Supporters full of Foul Language, Laughter, and Un-Civility

paul Aronsohn

March 24,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, At a recent council meeting pets of Mayor Aronsohn used foul language, laughter, and un-Civility. Mayor Aronsohn the so called champion of civility showed his true colors proving once again the whole ‘civility ” issues was nothing more than an attempt to silence dissent.  Why it feels like Jersey City already in the new Ridgewood .

I am interested to know why you neither stopped nor even reprimanded a speaker at the March 23 Village Council meeting who referred to some members of the public as “fornicators.”  The use of this pejorative certainly would not fit in with anyone’s definition of “civility in public discourse,” and as the self-proclaimed champion of such civility it is shocking that you allowed this speaker to continue.  This is particularly surprising since you reprimanded me a couple of weeks ago for laughing, yes laughing, during a meeting.  I look forward to hearing your explanation as to why foul language is acceptable and laughter is reprimand-worthy in a meeting of which you are the chair.

Anne LaGrange Loving

Mr. Aronsohn, when the first speaker at last night’s long council meeting, recent and questionable recipient of a good citizen award, began to pontificate about people he disagreed with, his voice growing louder, and going so far as to call those who had distributed a flier about the garage some time ago “fornicators”–to audible gasps from the crowd–why didn’t you stop him?

Is cursing at one’s fellow residents not uncivil? Did this not begin the proceedings on a very low note? Is it not your responsibility to keep council meetings cordial?

You have not hesitated to chastise other residents for doing far less. Had someone on “the other side” said anything remotely like this, that person would surely have been reprimanded and possibly ejected from the room–appropriately.

Sincerely,

Marcia Ringel

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It was not enough of a disaster the first time : A Super Bowl return to MetLife stadium?

Met_life_stadium_theridgewoodblog

BY JOHN BRENNAN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

John Mara, a co-owner of the Giants, and Woody Johnson, the owner of the Jets, said this week that they are interested in bringing another Super Bowl to the metropolitan area, touting what they described as the success of the event that MetLife Stadium hosted in February 2014.

“I’ve spoken to Woody Johnson about it, and yeah, we think it would make sense to try to bring it back,” Mara told reporters at the NFL meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., on Sunday. “We think it was very successful, it was great for the region, so why not have it back?”

But many North Jersey officials are far less enthusiastic about the idea, saying that the previous game did little to stimulate the economy in the Meadowlands.

Asked if he would like to see another Super Bowl in his borough, Mayor James Cassella of East Rutherford replied: “If things were going to be run the same way as last time, then no. If they made some changes, I’d have to see.”

Michael Gonnelli, the mayor of Secaucus, was equally blasé on Wednesday.

“I have to tell you, it was a non-event for us in more ways than one,” Gonnelli said. “We didn’t see a lot of increased business for hotels and restaurants, and we didn’t see an impact on traffic. The problem was that it was billed as a New York Super Bowl, not New Jersey. We didn’t see benefits.”

The two mayors, along with state Sen. Paul Sarlo, D-Wood-Ridge, and Jim Kirkos, the chief executive of the Meadowlands Regional Chamber, all pointed to the necessity of avoiding a repeat of the massive delays that hindered fans who took trains to and from Secaucus Junction and MetLife Stadium on game day. The league’s estimate that 10,000 fans would take NJ Transit trains to the 82,500-seat stadium fell more than 20,000 short of the actual number who used the service, creating departure delays of up to two hours after the game ended.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/nj-state-news/a-super-return-to-metlife-1.1532780

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Ridgewood Mayor says he will be introducing an ordinance to repeal ordinance 3519 (BCIA funding) at the next meeting, and not to proceed with the referendum question on the May ballot

Hudson Street Parking Garage

march 24,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, the no2BCIA petition was certified by the village clerk at the village council open public meeting tonight. (certified means she confirmed that we needed 814 signatures and we had at least 814 valid signatures).

The petition provided two options -the council could either withdraw the ordinance 3519 (bond for garage through BCIA), or put that as a referendum question to the voters of Ridgewood.

The mayor tonight at the council meeting, promised that he will be introducing an ordinance to repeal ordinance 3519 (BCIA funding) at the next meeting, and he decided not to proceed with the referendum question on the May ballot.

According to the petitioners , based on understanding of the law, the BCIA option for garage funding, as it was passed in ordinance 3519 appears to be dead for now.

Ridgewood will get a garage that’s funded by a local bond where Ridgewood will be in complete control. (The size of the garage is still an open question, and if you would like to be a part of petition, which will request the council to consider a smaller sized garage that’s right for that specific lot, please reach out to us at its2big.com

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Ridgewood Village Coucil Majority Votes For High Density Housing In Ridgewood

3 amigos

file photo by Boyd Loving

March 24,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ,last night It was a very predictable, 3-2 votes on anything meaningful and the majority stating all the reasons they were voting yes except representing the people. The leaving council majority aka the 3 amigos are enacting a “scorched earth policy” as they will be gone. Turn out was lower than expected because so many saw the vote as a for gone conclusion.

Zoning vote 3-2
Garage vote 5-0

All 5 voted for the Village to bond the garage not the county., Susan and Mike had no other choice but to vote that way because the council majority aka the 3 Amigos would have just gone to the BCPA. This way Ridgewood may retain control of the size, commuter parking and rates. Mike said something about researching a surcharge for businesses owner that are close to the garage to defray cost of maintenance.

The traffic study spokesman talked about increased traffic in several locations( 2 on Broad) and that is without the consideration of the garage.  He mentioned some additional policing. No one in the garage discussion talked about the need for policing there or the need of an attendant.  I believe I could live with the garage if it was one deck shorter, remained completely on the foot print and the street parking spaces would remain on Broad and Hudson Streets. Local business in those locations will take a hit without them.

Residents again questioned how is it that the council majority refuses to listen to the public? Could it be that they truly are in their own heads and are immune to incoming sounds,like the voices of the residents?

One nuclear physicist spoke wondering how they could be so emphatically certain that the were correct and that the developers could see no cause for concern?  He said nothing is that certain and his world is one of exactness.

Mike and Susan seemed on there game and nobody clapped for Rurik and Jim when pontificated .

For most residents it is just too much development/ construction at once ,Yes these developments will bring traffic. The Hudson garage will not be enough. and the business owners must be salivating  but  most central business district businesses will not survive the construction phase.

Lastly Former Mayor Kieth Killion gets the last laugh , so many voted for this trio ,now buyers remorse .

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The Ridgewood blog we will be livestreaming the meeting starting at 7:30pm

ridgewood village council

file photo by Boyd Loving

Dear Friends,

After the September 16th Village Council meeting, everyone I spoke with said, “Well, it’s a done deal with the High Density Housing.” But then September 30th proved us different.

The point is, as Rocky Balboa once said, “It ain’t ’til it’s over.” To add to that: It’s only over if we don’t show up.

Tonight is probably the most important Village Council meeting in the history of Ridgewood. It is the night when it’s decided whether we live in a Village or a City.

No one can foresee the future, but one thing is for sure: coming tonight will send a strong message – not only to this outgoing Village Council majority, but also as a mandate to those who are running for election. Perhaps even more important is that we can say that we showed up when our Village needed us the most and did what we could to stop this madness.

Lastly, if it’s absolutely impossible for you to come,  The link to the broadcast can be found here: https://livestream.com/accounts/18208820/events/4985052

(NOTE: this is an unofficial broadcast and can ONLY be viewed at the above link.)

Please share this link and forward this note to as many residents as you can.

Thank you for helping protect our most wonderful village. Hope to see you tonight.

Sincerely,

Dana

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Ramon Hache , “I hope the Ridgewood Council will listen to the input from residents and will decide on responsible development that will preserve the character of our town while improving traffic safety

Ramon Hache ridgewood NJ

march 23,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Council candidate Ramon Hache also shared his feeling on the high density meeting tonight , “I think tonight’s meeting is unfair to residents. There are two major decisions on the agenda tonight. Having two major topics on the same agenda will cause the meeting to go until early Thursday. The issues should have been split onto two agendas.”
First Ramon commented on the Hudson Garage ,”I hope the Council will vote to bond the garage ourselves. The newest design option, although not perfect, represents a compromise between residents and the Council.  The original proposed size and footprint of the garage were simply too large.”

Then Ramon followed up on the high density housing, “The Council will vote on the proposed housing density of 35 UPA.  I understand the need to develop the proposed sites but I would like to see mixed use, and a density of between 20 and 24 units per acre, more in line with the total average throughout the CBD. Although the recent study by BFJ suggest there would be minimal to no impact to the schools, Ridgewood is known for its schools and exceptional educational programs for special needs children. Therefore I would be cautious to rely on the student enrollment projections alone, which did not take into account the higher cost of special needs programs.
Ideally, I would rather see us approve one of these zoning changes first, to see how it goes.  We would get real-world data while providing a good ratable which we need to finance the things we need and to stabilize property taxes.”

Ramon emphisized, ” These are very important issues that will have an enduring impact on the future of our community. I encourage residents to attend the meeting. I hope the Council will listen to the input from residents and will decide on responsible development that will preserve the character of our town while improving traffic safety.”