Category: village of ridgewood

Posted on by — 4 Comments

Ridgewood Police Respond to physical altercation outside of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church

Ridgewood Police Mt Carmel

photos courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook
Ridgewood Police Respond to physical altercation outside of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church 
March 14,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, A physical altercation outside of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Ridgewood, following a Sunday, 03/13 late morning church service, left one (1) individual seriously injured, but resulted in no arrests.

1269644 490794947773210 2792140309649484335 o

Ridgewood PD units responded in mass to the Passaic Street side of the church after receiving numerous 911 calls reporting a heated dispute in progress. Responding units encountered an adult male victim, bleeding from a wound on his forehead, who claimed that he’d been assaulted by another adult male.

921416 490794951106543 7663549408415644669 o

As a Ridgewood EMS ambulance was being summoned to treat and/or transport the victim, uniformed patrol officers immediately began interviewing witnesses and the alleged perpetrator. At least one (1) bystander shouted out to arriving police officers that a priest from the church had been threatened by the injured man. No arrests were made at the scene and the victim refused ambulance transportation of a hospital. He was last seen leaving the area of the church on foot, accompanied by a female friend.

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Westside Presbyterian Church in Ridgewood, PREMIERE CONCERT PRESENTATION OF TYLER’S SUITE featuring the CHOIRS OF RAMAPO COLLEGE AND RIDGEWOOD HIGH SCHOOL

092910_tyler_clementi_400
A CELEBRATION TO HONOR THE LIFE OF TYLE R CLEMENTI
March 13,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, on April 24, 2016, 2:30 pm at the Westside Presbyterian Church in Ridgewood, the New Jersey PREMIERE CONCERT PRESENTATION OF TYLER’S SUITE featuring the CHOIRS OF RAMAPO COLLEGE AND RIDGEWOOD HIGH SCHOOL all to benefit the work of the TYLER CLEMENTI FOUNDATION .

The Tyler Clementi Foundation’s main focus is to end all online and offline bullying in schools, workplaces and faith communities. Using educational partnerships, awareness programs, public dialogues and research to create the safe, respectful and supportive social environment that all students and vulnerable youth deserve.

ABOUT TYLER’S SUITE Tyler’s Suite is a nine piece choral work dedicated to the memory of Tyler Clementi, a talented young musician who died by suicide after becoming the victim of cyber bullying. The choral suite explores the voices and experiences of Tyler and his family and ultimately shines a light of hope and endless possibility thanks to the words and music of some of today’s top composers and lyricists: John Adamo, John Bucchinno, Ann Hampton Callaway, Craig Carmelia, John Corigliano, Stephen Flaherty, Nolan Gasser, Jake Heggie, Lance Home, Stephen Schwartz and Pamela Stewart. Tyler’s Suite is moving and incredibly powerful. It carries the message that hearts and minds can be moved toward love, acceptance and respect for all people. Through this musical experience we are united in the conviction that no person should ever be targeted for bullying or harassment.

The Tyler Clementi Foundation is proud to be part of this special celebration of Tyler’s life and pleased that this new work will be premiered in Ridgewood, his hometown, and performed by the students of his former high school and Ramapo College. Tyler was a talented violinist, winning many awards and scholarships. He performed and actively participated in many high school and community musical events. His beloved violin lies silent now in its case but his music goes on. Composers and playwrights all over the country are inspired to keep his story alive and give hope to countless people everywhere. Special guests will be invited to this special concert, which premieres the new arrangement of Tyler’s Suite for choirs of mixed voices.

Among those joining the Clementi family will be the Ridgewood mayor, Paul Aronsohn, Dr. Daniel Fishbein, Superintendant of Ridgewood Schools, representatives from Ramapo College of New Jersey and faith leaders from the community. Sponsors for this celebration and concert are welcome and will be listed in the program. All proceeds will be given to The Tyler Clementi Foundation. Admission to the concert is free for high school students, $5 for college students, $20 suggested donation for adults. The Village of Ridgewood and its leaders, together with the Tyler Clementi Foundation, are actively working together to make our community a welcoming and supportive place for all to live and a safe place to raise our children.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Daylight Saving Time: Why Does It Exist? (It’s Not for Farming)

Ben Franklin(Barry Stevens)

Ben Franklin(Barry Stevens)

By DANIEL VICTORMARCH 11, 2016

Spring forward, fall back.

But why?

The reason the United States and many other countries, mostly in the West, shift to daylight saving time is contentious and confusing, and some of the more popular explanations are not grounded in reality. (It isn’t for farmers, as you may have learned in school.)

The general concept is to move an hour of sunlight from the early morning, when many would sleep through it, to the evening, when you could most likely do more with the light.

“For most people, an extra hour of daylight in the evening after work or after school is much more usable than the hour of daylight in the morning,” said David Prerau, the author of “Seize the Daylight.”

But since the idea was put in place, it has faced detractors and debate. Several states, including California and Rhode Island, are considering abolishing the practice. As with many other congressional acts, it’s worth considering who the beneficiaries are.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/12/us/daylight-saving-time-farmers.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FDaylight%20Saving%20Time&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=collection&_r=0

Posted on by — 12 Comments

Readers Say Current Ridgewood Historic Preservation Committee is Very Lenient Compared to Past Committees

clock_cbd_theridgewoodblog

The 5-6 parking spaces are being deleted because of the sidewalk? No, They are being removed because the new building deleted the old sidewalk.

Storeowners are behind the parking. The HPC member who is a storeowner and former Chamber of Commerce president should not be voting. It is a conflict of interest. Someone in a different post siggested that another HPC member owned the building next to the garage. Is that true and was he allowed to vote? It How do so many people with conflicts get on the HPC?

I did a renovation more than ten years ago needed a variance, the architect suggested that we get planning HPC approval even though we are not in a designated historic area. The HPC agonized about how the addition would fit in with our neighborhood of old homes.

The current committee is very lenient. They do not seem to care about the historic district and what the impact will be on the neighborhood. the garage overwhelms the neighborhood. I am shocked that the HPC cannot see this.

Mr Damiano, you had to use your real name. It would have been hard to defend your mailed-in decision if you posted anonymously. We would have figured it out. It does not matter that the reason that you gave in your letter was wrong, you were still voting yes.

Posted on by — 22 Comments

Ridgewood News Ad Shows Out of Scale Picture of Hudson Parking Garage

hudson Garage Ridgewood News Ad

photo by Melanie McWilliams‎

Ridgewood News Ad  Shows Out of Scale Picture of Hudson Parking Garage
March 13.2016
the staff of the Ridgewood Blog

Ridgewood Nj, Many readers point out the complete discrepancies discovered regarding the scale and measurements of this photo. The village green roof line is made to look significantly larger than it is. It is approximately 24 feet tall give or take a few feet. The place on the garage that meets that point is significantly distorted to make the garage look smaller than it actually is.

View 3 Looking West on Hudson Street copy revised 4 1
photo by Saurabh Dani
This photo would have you thinking the village green and the garage are similar in size. For a reference point, the lights shown on the garage are 11 feet.
During the recent HPC meeting it was called  “Planes” this… and “Sight line” that.. when Councilwoman Knudsen tried to suggest adding labels or height markers so it would be more clear, she was summarily dismissed.
1501447 10153504625323947 5067010893500319914 o
photo by Saurabh Dani
The claim is that it is because of the “plane”. Say whatever you want. It’s out of proportion. Giving viewers a sense that if the garage really was going to be this small, perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad. Do NOT be fooled. And please feel free to pass this information along to anyone who might be fooled by the ad in today’s paper.
Posted on by — 47 Comments

Tony Damiano of the Historical Preservation Committee Calls Posters Cowards

hudson parking garage ridgewood

photo by Saurabh Dani

Dear All,
I never comment on this blog, but I feel the need to clarify a couple of comments being made. I did not approve the plan because it fits on the lot. I approved the plan because this plan works from a design standpoint. To err is human. I was asked to write the letter to the HPC since I could not make the meeting. I made the mistake of saying the 4th plan fit the footprint. More importantly, the sidewalk is 10′ from the building to the curb. The 5-6 parking spaces that will be deleted, are being deleted to accommodate the 5′ extension of the sidewalk.
In defense of Mr. Parrillo, he simply stated that a liaison is not authorized to vote. In recollection, when I was president of the Chamber of Commerce, our liaison also was not permitted to vote. They simply were a conduit to the council.
Thank you…

Tony Damiano
P.S. Notice I signed my name, not like the cowards who make comments, mail distorted post cards, etc

Posted on by — 3 Comments

Full-day kindergarten: Need to do what is best for kindergartners

friendshavingfun theridgewoodblog.net

 

TO THE EDITOR,

As we move closer to full-day kindergarten, we need to look at developmentally appropriate practices. Young children thrive in an environment that fosters their way of learning. That means that they need to handle objects; feel textures; talk with one another while they explore an idea; count objects that they hold; play with one another; and express themselves through art, music, and P.E.

 

 

https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/ridgewood-news-letter-need-to-do-what-is-best-for-kindergartners-1.1526262

Posted on by — 2 Comments

Reforestation program in Ridgewood and the Clear Cutting of Trees on the Schedler Property

maple+field1-300x19911

 

BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

RIDGEWOOD – Village residents will have an opportunity to learn about reforestation later this month at an event explaining the practice on Monday, March 21 in the Senior Lounge at Village Hall.

“Reforestation and how it works in the Village” will be presented by the team of professionals responsible for this valuable planning and planting of young trees within our community.

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/presenters-to-reinforce-value-of-trees-1.1526415

 

Presenters to reinforce value of trees at reforestation program in Ridgewood

Good Opportunity to ask about the Clear Cutting of Trees on the Schedler Property in Ridgewood

An also examine the effects on Turf fields on the overall  environment?

Posted on by — Leave a comment

New restaurant, Piccolo Bistro in Ridgewood, Opens to Great Reviews

Piccolo Bistro , Ridgewood NJ

March 10,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Piccolo Bistro is located at 29 Chestnut Street , Ridgewood, NJ 07450. Piccolo is a BYOB place and offers contemporary Italian cuisine, Giancarlo Borletti is the executive chef .The atmosphere was cozy, rustic, Candle lit, warm, and comfortable for dinning.

A perfect place for an intimate dinner with friends or for a romantic night out. The outside has a garden area perfect for outdoor dining in the Spring and Summer months. There is also small bar inside and a more private dining area towards the back of the restaurant .

The food is unique while still Italian and the service is excellent . Several friends recommend the Piccolo burger , the tuna with baked polenta , lentil stew , mussels or the chorizo  and several mentioned that the polenta being top notch.

Posted on by — 3 Comments

Ridgewood Police Report Rash of Overnight Burglaries to Vehicles

Ridgewood_Police_theridgewoodblog
March 11,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood Nj, Ridgewood Police report that on Friday March 11th at 4:00am a Colonial Road resident observed seeing a person described as an adult black male enter his vehicle that was parked in the driveway.

The resident chased the male who entered a dark colored SUV driven by a second person and the vehicle sped away. Patrol was unable to locate the vehicle.
Five additional residents on the east side of Ridgewood reported their vehicles were entered in the overnight hours. Video footage obtained by the police department at a secondary location shows the vehicle in question to be a newer model Range Rover with no front license plate.
Residents are reminded to lock their vehicles and remove valuables or store them out of sight. The Ridgewood Detective Bureau is investigating. If anyone has additional information please contact the Ridgewood Police 201-652-3900. In an emergency dial 911
Posted on by — 31 Comments

Historic Preservation Chairman Teams Up With Mayor to Silence Councilwomen

susan village council
file photo by Boyd Loving
March 11,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The Historic Preservation Chairman, Vince Parillo,  asked if any members of the HPC had any comments.  When Councilwoman Susan Knudsen commented,Vince Parillo then asked, do any voting members have any comments?, thereby ignoring Councilwoman Knudsen’s comments. When it was time to vote, Councilwoman Knudsen explained her vote,  the Mayor questioned the audience whether Councilwoman can vote, and the HPC  Chairman Vince Parillo replied that her vote doesn’t count.

Basically Mayor Aronsohn and HPC Chairman Vince Parillo had teamed up to discredit Councilwoman Knudsen and make her presence irrelevant in the meeting.

Tony Damiano, a store owner and also President of The Ridgewood Guild, is a newly appointed HPC member.  He sent a letter because he could not attend. In his letter he mentioned he is approving “Plan D” because this design fits the lot, which is not correct, as he well knows as he attends Village Council meetings at which this fact has been clearly discussed.

Jim Shimmel voted on the design while he should have recused himself because he owns a building next door to the proposed garage.

In the meeting it was also discovered that the resolution passed on January 27th for design D requires two lanes for traffic on Hudson Street but design D only provides one lane.

Lastly, a resident asked the architects why the archways of the garage, which are supposed to be 11.5 feet high, look smaller than the entrance door of The Village Green restaurant, which is probably six feet eight; the architects could not explain this apparent inaccuracy

 

Posted on by — 19 Comments

Ridgewood Hudson Garage Architect Contradict Mayor’s “Two” Traffic lane Assertion

Mayor_theridgewoodblog

file photo by Boyd Loving

March 11,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood Nj,  the resolution passed by the Village council on Jan 27th, for the 5 principals of the “design D” for the Hudson Parking Garage .

The mayor mentions that there will be TWO traffic lanes, and one parking lane in the new design D/the resolution which he approved on Jan 27th.

At  Historic Preservation Commission meeting the architects informed tthe commission that currently, there is 30 feet of asphalt – 9 feet each side is parking, and 12 feet is used for a one way traffic lane. From that 9 feet parking on the north side, 5 feet will now go to encroachment, so the ‘cart way’ (car lane ) will be widened from 12 feet to 16 feet. When asked if 16 feet is enough to drive two lanes if current single lane is for one car 12 feet, and his answer was “NO, Hudson Street will NOT have two lanes”.

The mayor and the village manager both tried to convince him that there are two lanes, at least where the traffic turns, and the architect re-confirmed that NO – Hudson Street will have ONE traffic lane.

SO bottom line is that the resolution that was passed for design principals for the garage on Jan 27th does not match with the current design D. Our mayor was probably reading that resolution when he called residents liars. Here is the video, where the mayor says 2 traffic lanes on Hudson St.

https://www.tubechop.com/watch/7778289 courtesy of Saurabh Dani .

1. https://www.tubechop.com/watch/7782575 – Here is where the architect corrected the mayor and the village manager.
2. Here is the resolution that was passed on Jan 27th – see page 3 – point 4b – https://mods.ridgewoodnj.net/pdf/manager/hudson/Resolution1631.pdf
Posted on by — 16 Comments

Historic Preservation Commission Meeting : Yet another example of the misinformation regarding the presentation of the Hudson Street Parking garage For Ridgewood

hudson parking garage ridgewood

photo by Saurabh Dani

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Last night I videotaped the Historic Preservation Commission meeting and the full recording of everything I shot can be viewed here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOCBptQJMcs

My camera angle had an obstructed point of view of the drawings presented, but they can be viewed here:

https://www.ridgewoodnj.net/p…/423-hudson-street-parking-deck

Last night was unfortunately yet another example of how our local government is conducting business. The misinformation regarding the presentation of this parking garage is in glaring view.

For such a massive project that is going to cost us millions of dollars, why can’t we get a proper view of how this proposed garage is really going to look? Why isn’t there a 3D rendering, both virtual as well as a physical model built of the garage as well as the other buildings, so that we can truly understand what is being proposed? Why is the proposed garage still not residing inside of the municipal lot footprint? Why does the “Plan D” proposal that the Village Council voted in favor of on January 27th now have only one lane of vehicular travel, when for that vote there were two driving lanes?

Lastly, the treatment of Councilwoman Knudsen by other members of our government as well as the architectural firm was beyond reproach. Her concerns were dismissed by Commissioner Parillo – as was her vote. This is not how we treat a Councilwoman or anyone for that matter.

Once again, we as residents are faced with difficult choices. Many of us want a garage, but this is not how to do it.

On March 23rd, the Village Council will be voting on this proposed garage as well as the high density housing issue. I strongly encourage you to mark your calendars for that evening and to share your concerns with our Village Council and members of the Historic Preservation Commission in the meantime.

There is so much that can be done with improving our wonderful village, but let’s do it right and with care.

Thanks for listening.

Dana Glazer
Posted on by — 12 Comments

Person reportedly stabbed during the altercation at Ridgewood Group Home

Ridgewood Police

photo courtesy of Boyd Lovings Facebook

Person reportedly stabbed during the altercation at Ridgewood Group Home 
March 10,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ , 03/10/2016: Ridgewood PD units responded in mass on Thursday evening, 03/10, to a reported fight at a group home for young girls. One (1) person was reportedly stabbed during the altercation. Glen Rock PD assisted at the scene. An ambulance transported an individual to Bergen Regional Medical Center.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Nick Currey Fund reaches $1 million

Nick-Currey-Fund

BY SUBMITTED BY BEN CURREY
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

The Nick Currey Fund has reached its initial fundraising goal of $1 million. The landmark number carries special significance for the timing, as it occurred just before what would have been Nick’s 30th birthday, on Jan. 30.

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/nick-currey-fund-reaches-1-million-1.1524173

Donate :

https://curesearch.org/Nick-Currey-Fund