Our Mayor has moved onto his own agenda..exclusively and Ridgewood is on the chopping block. Sleazy, self-centered government and years of scheming and plotting by some of our fellow residents has led our village down this dark hole. Ridgewood use to be a great town, under great stewardship for most of its history, until Aronsohn plotted and schemed to get the wrong people on the planning board and council. Collectively what is occurring right now will forever change the Village. A few will benefit from these sell outs, particularly Aronsohn in his bid for senator next year. All of this sleazy sellout of our village is what’s going to drive the good people away over the next decade, the decline will occur, and so the very thing you say you love you will have destroyed.
This is a shocking development on a couple of levels. First that Valley can sue us asserting that the needs of the region justify (in their estimation) such a profoundly negative impact on the town. Second, that Ridgewood can allow a Valley insider to negotiate a settlement when she had sworn an oath to represent the Village. It really is time for a citizens’ revolt at Village Hall since the Council majority are clearly using their remaining months in office to put their personal agendas in place. Shameful.
In Ridgewood ,Some can’t see the forest for the trees
To the editor:
Maybe some members of the Ridgewood Town Council along with Chris Rutishauser, Village Engineer and Tim Cronin, Director of Parks and Recreation, “Can’t” see the forest for the trees.”
I live on the East Side of Ridgewood and have been fighting passionately, along with many of my neighbors, to protect the large number of healthy trees in the small forest that encompasses the Schedler Property along West Saddle River Road. One of our key arguments for not building a 90-foot baseball field on this Schedler Property, is that it will require the clear cutting of these large healthy trees that beautify and protect our neighborhood and especially protect us from the noise pollution of Route 17.
I just finished reading an article in the March 11 edition of the Ridgewood News, entitled, “Presenters to reinforce value of trees.” I immediately said to myself, how can these be some of the same individuals that are not only ready but also willing to clear cut the trees from the Schedler property in order to build a huge baseball field? Why are these same people not fighting to protect the trees that are so important to the citizens who live on the East Side of Ridgewood is very disturbing to me and I am sure my neighbors?
This article in the Ridgewood News reinforces so many of the arguments that we have all been stating before for the Village Council, asking them not to clear-cut this property to build a 90-foot field. The clear cutting of these trees for such a large field will have a devastating effect not only on our neighborhood, but in the end all of the neighborhoods of Ridgewood.
Everyone who lives in this great Village of Ridgewood should read this article. You will then see why we must all join together to fight and protect all of the trees that have taken so many years to grow. These trees surround our Village and are very important to the health, safety and quality of life of all Ridgewood residents.
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
RIDGEWOOD – The village’s planning board met Wednesday night in the hopes of coming to decisions in regards to pressing matters currently before the board such as Valley Hospital and the village’s affordable housing obligations.
After taking a look at Governor Christie’s new budget proposal, Fitch Ratings affirmed New Jersey’s “A” credit rating Thursday instead of issuing another downgrade.
But Fitch analysts warned that pension costs are rising rapidly while Christie and lawmakers are unable to find common ground on New Jersey’s biggest financial problems.
BY MARY JO LAYTON AND LINDY WASHBURN
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD
Governor Christie is expected on Friday to call for legislation creating a two-year moratorium on efforts by municipalities to get property tax payments from non-profit hospitals – more than a dozen lawsuits have already been filed – as well as a blue-ribbon panel to study the issue.
Ridgewood NJ, Years ago, Donald Trump endorsed a series of books for his university written by experts in the financial sector, including one titled, “Trump University Asset Protection 101.”
With his meteoric rise in politics as a truly one-of-a-kind candidate, controversy is bubbling around the former reality-TV star’s past business dealings, including his university, with thousands of former students claiming the courses they took had no value.
“The world has had its fill of Trump, yet it seems to want more,” says attorney Hillel Presser of the Presser Law Firm, P.A., which specializes in comprehensive domestic and international Asset Protection.
“Love him or hate him, there could be at least one great takeaway from Trump’s media storm: maybe it’ll encourage some to look more closely at their financial vulnerabilities.”
Helping educate the average person on asset protection is why Presser wrote “Financial Self-Defense” (www.assetprotectionattorneys.com). He says there are several reasons people should take steps to safeguard whatever wealth they have.
• The world is a minefield of threats to your hard-earned money.Lawsuits, which can be unpredictable, often drive people to asset protection – and for good reason. The tort system in the United States is the most expensive in the industrial world, accounting for 2.2 percent of the gross domestic product. The annual cost of litigation in the U.S. is $867.4 billion. And don’t assume your good behavior will always protect you. Consider the school teacher defending a $5 million lawsuit because she dismissed a student caught cheating on an exam. • You don’t have to be wealthy to benefit from financial self-defense. Wealth is relative. If an old car and a small bank account are all you have financially, it still makes sense to protect them. Hard-working folks across the country are worried about creditor problems or lawsuits, and what little they have is precious to them. There are cost-effective ways for them protect their money. • Liability insurance doesn’t always protect you. Liability insurance is important, but it’s just a starting point. Most lawsuits and other financial claims aren’t insured, or your insurance company may deny you coverage on your claim because of an exclusion. You need more than insurance, which covers few financial catastrophes. You need a full, robust self-defense plan.
“I wouldn’t have thought that a presidential election could possibly highlight the importance of asset protection, but here we are,” Presser says. “These are interesting times.”
About Hillel L. Presser, Esq., MBA
Hillel L. Presser’s firm, The Presser Law Firm, P.A., represents individuals and businesses in establishing comprehensive asset protection plans. He is a former adjunct faculty member for law at Lynn University and offers complimentary copies of his book “Financial Self-Defense” throughwww.assetprotectionattorneys.com.
The ranks of retired public officials who collect more than $100,000 a year from New Jersey pensions have more than doubled in the past five years, according to an NJ Spotlight analysis of state Treasury data. Mark Lagerkvist, NJSpotlight Read more
This garage process has been pushed through in such a deceitful manner from the start.
Lie #1 – Tell Father Ron in July the town plans to build a deck on the lot.
Lie #2 – tell voters the garage will be self-funding
Lie #3 – tell voters that nothing has been decided with respect to the design or size. You are just voting whether you want a deck at the Hudson street lot.
Lie #4 – hide the fact that the intended garage is 23 feet beyond property line, 12 feet into Hudson street
Lie #5 – bury Maser report that shows actual encroachment, claim it was in draft form and it didn’t need to be shared with all council members, only share with those that can keep the secret
Lie #6 – vote for option A, then tell the public that the “discussion” that was promised with respect to size and design just happened. Residents… You didn’t think we really meant that did you?
Lie #7 – when residents realize in late December the true extent of the garage the council majority VOTED on, they come to plead and beg to change this monstrosity. They are told “it’s too bad if you didn’t realize before the vote what you were voting on”.
Lie #8 – told residents that they were going back to the drawing board to pull garage back onto the lot. New design still does not fit on the lot.
Lie #9 – Council run a design meeting with the HPC before the vote but doesn’t clarify to the members that the garage is sitting 12 feet in the street. They write a letter to support garage not realizing they were lied to regarding intended garage being built 12 feet in street.
Lie #10 – architect renderings for option D, not accurately depicting true mass or height of garage or width of street.
Lie #11 – 1 lane of traffic with option D, not 2 as stated in resolution.
Lie #12 – mayor publicly calls residents liars during collection of signatures for a petition. Says they are lying about how much garage will cost if they choose to continue with financing through BCIA. Truth…it could costs thousands over 25 years.
I’m sure I missed a few. We deserve better government. You can turn a blind eye to the way this process has occurred, because you want a garage so badly, but you shouldn’t.
Ridgewood NJ, Thanks to Valley Hospital’s major donor and Ridgewood lawsuit and mediation member Councilwoman Hauck, the tsunami of inappropriate developments in Ridgewood has just intensified tenfold. This could become ‘Black Spring’ for Ridgewood. Pitchforks, anyone?
Valley Mediation – “reduced” from 995,000 square feet of building to 961,000 square feet, reducing by 34000 sq feet. They also forgot to mention there will be a 5 story 200,000 + sq feet parking garage on the corner of Van Dien and Linwood!.
Guess who represented us (Ridgewood) in this mediation? Final public hearings before this plan goes in effect on 3/30, 3/31, 4/4, 4/5 and 4/7.
Ridgewood NJ, here is a video of Village Council Candidate Jeff Voigt, regarding his views on the high density issue. Jeff’s perspective is thoughtful and I believe reflective of how many of us see it.The video was filmed by resident Dana Glazer .
It’s so important that people understand what is at stake here and how important it is for all of us to be present at Ridgewood High School on the night of March 23rd for the vote on this issue.
It doesn’t matter where new residents come from. It doesn’t matter if they are here for years or here for just one year. What is important is our town’s ability to provide a great education for each and every student, no matter how new or how old that student is to our district. With a state imposed cap on our school budget that is only allowed to increase by 2% per year, our district may not be able to handle a large influx of children without stressing already large class sizes. More kids does not lead to the hiring of more teachers and additional classrooms, the 2% cap won’t allow for this. If these new zoning approvals to build at 35 units an acre are the beginning of a new development trend in Ridgewood, then the residents deserve to know how this new trend will impact our schools and how will we pay for it? The good news, your taxes won’t go up because the state-imposed 2% cap will not allow for a tax increase. The bad news, you will pay for it with larger class sizes. 200 plus units today will look like a drop in the bucket 5 or 10 years from now when all of this expands throughout our CBD.
Ridgewood NJ, We asked Council Candidate Ramon M. Hache on his thoughts on the high density housing and here is what he said ,”I am a proponent of responsible development and protecting our community from the wrong development. We need to carefully decide on projects that will make our town better without sacrificing the corevalues and character that make Ridgewood the special place we are proud to call our home.”
Ramon then gave us more specifics ,”In terms of high density housing, all the zones around our CBD are currently being considered for a density of 35 units per acre. There are currently four areas under consideration and three zoning changes proposed. Although each area is unique and needs to be analyzed individually, I am comfortable with an average density of 20-24 UPA. This is more in line with the total average throughout the CBD. ”
As for the studies ,” Traffic and pedestrian safety are very important when analyzing the various projects. The impact to schools is a different issue and needs to be looked at collectively for all sites. Although the recent studies suggest there would be a minimal impact to the schools, we all know that Ridgewood is known for its schools and exceptional program for special needs children. Therefore, I would be cautious to solely rely on the student enrollment projections which did not take into account the fact that it could cost around $100,000 a year to educate special needs children.”
Ramon went on saying ,”Ideally, I would rather see us approve one of the proposed zoning changes first. It could provide a good ratable and we could get real-world data on the actual amount of new students attending the schools. We need ratables to finance many of the needed improvements and for stabilizing property taxes.”
We also asked about his thoughts on the fact that the issue is being decided by council members who are leaving office ? Ramon
emphasized , “the current council needs to work together for the welfare of the entire community and make decisions as if they were not going to be replaced by a new council.”
Ridgewood NJ, The Village Council has planned a public hearing and possibly a vote on March 23rd on High Density Housing Issue. It’s widely expected the three outgoing council members are going to vote to increase the residential density in some downtown lots from the current 12 units per acre to 36 units per acre, while the residents have asked them to consider 20-24 units per acre.
This is a big change for Ridgewood, which will probably alter our village forever. The local newspapers have so far reported from the press releases issued by the village administration or from the commentary of what happened at the meetings. Proactive journalism on this issue has been missing so far.
Residents have asked the reporters:
1. When are they going to cover the conflict of interest on the garage vote by Tony and Jim at HPC?
2. When will they be talking to taxpayers ahead of the 3/23 vote to measure opinions?
3. When will they be asking the candidates for VC office to state their positions on the 3/23 vote?
4. When will they talk to the superintendent about class sizes at the middle schools and high school which were not covered by the studies?
5. When will they ask Orchard and Ridge School principals if they can accept the increased class sized?
6. When will they ask the consultants (Ross Haber Associates) on how did he reach to a conclusion of 63 new kids from 4 new developments, while similar sized apartments in the village and the number of school aged children from those apartments suggest that it can be close to 225 new children in the Ridgewood schools?
7. When will they ask and report on the question of ‘what happens to all the 1 acre or more lots that are available in Ridgewood downtown and are waiting for these first four to be approved”?
8. What are the financial impacts to the taxpayer (police coverage, etc.?)?
If you would like our local reporting to question our village government on these very important questions, before next Wednesday’sMarch 23rd VOTE, see below for contact information.
Paramus NJ, A pedestrian was struck and seriously injured by a hit and run vehicle on Route 17 northbound in Paramus near the Toys ‘R Us store just after 8 PM on Tuesday, 03/15. The victim was transported by ambulance to a hospital. Route 17 northbound between A&S Drive and Ridgewood Avenue was closed to facilitate a police investigation of the incident. Police are said to be looking for a black colored Toyota SUV with heavy front end damage. Numerous vehicle parts were observed strewn about the accident scene. Paramus EMS and Rescue Squad and a paramedic unit from The Valley Hospital were also at the scene.
RIDGEWOOD YMCA OFFERS SCHOOL VACATION CAMP APRIL 11-15
March 15,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood YMCA will be offering School Vacation Camp from Monday, April 11 through Friday, April 15 from 9:00am to 5:00pm with extended hours of 8:00-9:00am and 5:00-6:00pm also available. The camp is open to all children grades K-8 and no YMCA membership is required.
School Vacation Camp at the Ridgewood Y offers kids the opportunity to enjoy daily recreational and educational activities including swimming, arts and crafts, and special theme days. For parents, the camp offers an affordable daycare alternative during the April school holiday.
The cost for camp is $65 per day for Ridgewood YMCA members, $80 per day for non-members and $60.00 per day for those registered for Ridgewood YMCA 2016 Summer Camp.
For further information, please contact Mike Rainere at 201 444 5600, ext 339 or [email protected]
The Ridgewood YMCA is located at 112 Oak Street in Ridgewood.
