Ridgewood Firefighters Free Elderly Driver Trapped after Accident
March 2,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood
Ridgewood NJ, The elderly female driver of a Chevrolet Impala involved in a two (2) vehicle crash at the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Bellair Road in Ridgewood on Tuesday, 03/01, at approximately 4:15 PM, was trapped in her vehicle until freed by Ridgewood firefighters using forcible entry tools.
The victim requires the services of a walker and was unable to be removed from the vehicle via the passenger side door. She was transported to The Valley Hospital by a Ridgewood EMS ambulance with what appeared to have been non life threatening injuries. The other driver also sustained a minor injury in the crash, but did not appear to have been transported by ambulance for treatment. Both vehicles were removed from the scene by a flatbed tow truck. Ridgewood PD is investigating the incident.
Ridgewood Nj, it has been pointed out that an ad recently placed in The Ridgewood News from a group called “Progress Ridgewood” is asking the Council to vote unanimously on March 2nd to reintroduce the Village bond ordinance. The ad states that a small group is objecting again to the garage and that its based on incorrect information. They feel that the Council will agree to the Village bonding the garage if they all agree to the current garage revision.
According to sources , “Progress Ridgewood” was based on an email that was sent around, it was paid for by Mr. and Mrs. Halaby. They solicited names of people who wanted to be included in their ad. The ad’s characterization of “a small ground of vocal residents” is quite inaccurate, as it is now well known that over 1300 signatures were put on the petition to stop the BCIA funding, with more coming in this weekend. It must be emphasized that this grass-roots effort is totally within the laws of the United States’ democracy, and has been conducted with proper respect for the law. These citizens should be applauded for exercising their rights. The petition does not seek to stop the garage, but to stop the funding by the County. The ad’s characterization that “a small group…..stalled the project” is an unfortunate choice of words, as it is more accurate to state that a large group is seeking to keep the project funded in town. Something else to note is that least two of the signers are not Ridgewood residents and thus do not even vote in Ridgewood.
The Halaby name gives it all away .They are clearly not the best arbiters of what’s good for Ridgewood, as we have seen over the years as they seem to agree with every single major change that is called for and use rabid name calling as you have seen on this blog.
While many debate whether Ridgewood is or is not on a downhill slide; Mr. Halaby’s gloomy assessment is dead wrong as is his support for an over sized hospital, high density housing , and Godzilla garages in the central business district. Mr Halaby seems to have unwavering support for the council majority and is always on the wrong side for Ridgewood. Once again With all the distrust and misinformation flying around town its best to put off all major decisions for the New Council in June .
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Water detected lead in the water at homes and businesses having lead components in their plumbing. The utility is implementing a corrosion control treatment process that mitigates the problem. Ridgewood Water’s new hydraulic modelling software was used to test various combinations of treatment sites to provide effective protection for the entire system with the least amount of equipment and expense. The results indicated that all 30 points of entry into the system will require treatment.
Polyphosphate, a corrosion inhibitor is currently being added to the water at several locations. The permitting process is underway to extend this treatment to the remaining sites. Until the treatment plan receives final approval from NJDEP and is in full effect, residents can take one simple step to eliminate their exposure to lead in drinking water. Let the faucet run for several seconds before drawing water for cooking or drinking. If your service line is made of lead, run the water for a longer period to clear all of the water from the service line. Call 201-670-3372 to request information on your service line material.
Water that has not been in prolonged contact with lead-containing plumbing materials will be lead-free.
Other steps residents can take are to run water to flush out lead , use cold water for cooking and preparing baby formula , use alternative sources for drinking ,and if in doubt get your child tested.
Ridgewood Police Investigate Public Lewdness Complaint
March 2,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ., Ridgewood PD is currently investigating a report provided by an adult female who looked out of her apartment door peephole just prior to 1:00 PM on Tuesday, 03/01 and saw a man’s penis placed near the peephole. Obviously a tall man .
It is unclear as to whether she was responding to a knock on the door, or heard a noise of some sort in the hallway. A description of the actor was provided to responding uniformed patrol officers. No person matching the description was spotted in the neighborhood following a brief canvass.
Ridgewood NJ , correct me if I am wrong is this not a violation of the Faulkner Act, the Village of Ridgewood was established as a non partisan town . Why is the mayor promoting partisan politics?
The Optional Municipal Charter Law or Faulkner Act (N.J.S.A. § 40:69A-1, et seq.) provides New Jersey municipalities with a variety of models of local government. This legislation is called the Faulkner Act in honor of the late Bayard H. Faulkner, former mayor of Montclair, New Jersey and chairman of the Commission on Municipal Government.
The Faulkner Act offers four basic plans (mayor–council, council–manager, small municipality, and mayor–council–administrator) and two procedures by which the voters of a municipality can adopt one of these plans. The Act provides many choices for communities with a preference for a strong executive and professional management of municipal affairs. Twenty-one percent of the municipalities in New Jersey, including the six most populous cities (Newark, Jersey City, Camden, Trenton, Paterson and Elizabeth) all govern under the provisions of the Faulkner Act. More than half of all New Jersey residents reside in municipalities with Faulkner Act charters. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faulkner_Act )
Ridgewood is governed within the Faulkner Act (formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law) under Council-Manager plan B, as implemented on July 1, 1970, by direct petition.[46] Under this form, the governing body consists of five council members who are responsible to hire and oversee a professional Village Manager who has full executive power for all departments. The government consists of five council members, with all positions elected at-large in nonpartisan elections to serve four-year terms on a staggered basis, with either two or three seats coming up for election in even-numbered years on the second Tuesday in May. At a reorganization meeting held on July 1 after newly elected council members take office, the council chooses a mayor and deputy mayor from among its members, with the mayor presiding over Council meetings, but without any executive authority.[6] The Village Council appoints a Village Manager to oversee the day to day operations of the Village, to handle personnel, citizen inquiries and complaints, and to handle the administrative duties of the Village. The Village Council passes local laws, makes appointments to various Boards and Committees, and awards various contracts for purchases of goods and services used by the Village. They also review, amend, and adopt the annual budget for the Village prepared by the Village Manager and Chief Financial Officer. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridgewood,_New_Jersey )
COUNTY COMMITTEE PETITIONS AVAILABLE
Petitions for County Committee are available in the Village Clerk’s Office. County Committee members represent their political party in each voting district, and they vote at the convention for the County Officials. There are two County Committee members for the Democratic party and two County Committee members for the Republican party from each voting district, one male and one female. The candidates running for County Committee must run to represent the voting district in which they reside. The petitions must be signed by voters in the same voting district and be of the same political party as the candidates. County Committee members are voted on in the Primary Election. The deadline to submit completed County Committee petitions to the Village Clerk’s Office is April 4, 2016 at 4:00 P.M. (https://www.ridgewoodnj.net/news/672-county-committee-petitions-available )
New math rule: 40+ feet is about 80% of 30 feet. Here is the proof:
Reader say rendering is out of scale
Print the attached image and then measure the two red arrows. The building which is supposed to be 40+ feet high has an arrow which is 80% in length of the street width’s red arrow. Hence Proved (that 40+ is shorter than 30)!!.
Ridgewood NJ , New phone scam making the rounds . Several residents report receiving curious calls from someone asking questions about there home alarm system. The “salesperson” on the other line tries to pretend like they already have information about your home alarm system or tells you you’re eligible for an upgrade. Residents have tried to call the number back, and it would not go through.
Please do not give out any information! 201-211-0822 is the number that calls . Ridgewood Police have been contacted about it, and sources say this is the first time they’re hearing of this kind of call but took the information.
Ridgewood NJ, In the desire to fit maximum spots on the Hudson St lot the current proposed design still proposed 5 stories (including roof level parking) while the height of the building has been reduced. This was achieved by reducing the height of every story. Residents hope the council does the right thing and does not compromise on safety in their attempt to fit maximum cars at one spot. Here is what happened at Short hills mall: Quote from the article:
“Then, more time passed because the ambulance was unable to fit under the parking deck’s ceiling, forcing first responders to roll a stretcher up an entrance ramp to Friedland.”
Mayor was FORCED to introduce this new ordinance for local bonding. He has no other option to build the garage with the petition in place. The petition has essentially killed the BCIA option.
Once again Aronsohn wrote the article for today’s Record. The petition initiative got less than one sentence. Aronsohn takes full credit for introducing the ordinance to bond in Ridgewood. Who is worse – our liar Mayor or his puppy dog reporter Janoski. They both stink.
the referendum was non-binding
Yes it was for a “parking garage on the Hudson street lot”, but the size and shape of the parking garage was not defined. It also was to be built and financed “by bonding up to $15 million in public funds, which will be paid for principally — if not entirely — with parking revenues.”
It was non-binding so it does not have to be built on the Hudson Street lot (or built at all), in the same way that it does not have to built for $15 million dollars or less nor be paid for principally (nor entirely) by parking revenues.
We all know that it will cost > $15 million dollars and will not be principally paid for by parking revenues so it also does not need to be built on the Hudson street lot – or at all.
The residents agreed by voting on the non-binding referendum to move ahead with the continued planning and funding of a deck at Hudson St. Lots of people who voted for it are now strongly opposed to what is being proposed. The non-binding referendum was put forth without alot of thought and people were not thinking about alternatives. Well, they are now and they are saying “Heck NO”. This garage just does not make sense and does not address the average Ridgewooodians needs. More centralized parking would better suit MOST of the businesses in the CBD. This deck makes sense only a few at the western end of Ridgewood Ave. The shopkeepers west of the train tracks have indicated it will do NOTHING to improve their situation and do NOT want this garage (contrary to the ad the Chamber of Commerce ran . . . not all business support this).
RIDGEWOOD — The Village Council may introduce a bond ordinance Wednesday to fund a proposed municipal parking garage without using county money, despite recent approvals from the county.
The move is a sharp departure for the council, the majority of which agreed in January to ask the Bergen County Improvement Authority to bond for the garage’s approximate $12.3 million cost. That vote came after the governing body could not get the required four-vote super-majority necessary to authorize the municipality to bond for the project on its own.
But the idea of locally bonding the costs of the proposed Hudson Street deck was put forward again on Feb. 21 by Mayor Paul Aronsohn in an email to some community members. It’s seen as an attempt to assuage the unsatisfied council minority — as well as residents who’ve started a petition drive to force the funding issue into a public referendum.
“Although I still believe that a partnership with the BCIA would be a good thing for Ridgewood, I want to give my council colleagues another chance to make this happen,” Aronsohn said in the email.
The reintroduced ordinance will be for $11.5 million, a smaller number that reflects the garage’s newly reduced size — instead of 405 spaces, the garage would accommodate 325.
Some on the council initially favored the larger structure, but officials scaled back plans last month after vocal public opposition. Many residents said the building would be too large, protruding into Hudson Street and constricting local traffic.
Ridgewood Water Info Session 2/23/16 from Glen Rock TV on Vimeo.
GLEN ROCK, NJ , Glen residents questioned , Ridgewood Mayor Paul Aronsohn, and Ridgewood Water officials during special public meeting recently.
The meeting was the second such meeting giving the new Ridgewood water management team a chance to explain the complexities of managing a decentralized water system as opposed to a single source system.
The Village of Ridgewood owns the embattled utility company, which services Wyckoff, Midland Park, and Glen Rock.
A major lawsuit by officials from those municipalities alleges that the utility artificially inflated its costs by commingling Village of Ridgewood expenses with that of the water utility. In a recent press release Wyckoff officials claim the, “massive” 37 percent rate increases approved since 2010 are “unlawful” and “excessive,”
As the holiest week of the Christian calendar approaches, Christ Episcopal Church in Ridgewood offers a variety of services for worship and celebration. Some of the services are geared toward children and youth, including the JOY! service every Sunday for infants and up, and child-friendly services for Good Friday and the Great Vigil of Easter on Saturday. The church also features a special Lenten breakfast every Sunday in Lent, February 14 through March 13 from 8:45 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. in the Great Hall. The price for adults is $5.00 and kids eat free. A special Maundy Thursday service will be held jointly with The United Methodist Church of Ridgewood and Emmanuel Church and the community is invited to a light meal followed by the service. As well, the Easter Bunny will be in attendance for the church’s annual Easter egg hunt on Easter Day and the community is invited to join in the services and Easter festivities, directly after the 9:15 a.m. and 10 a.m. services.
The Holy Week Schedule includes:
March 20 – Palm Sunday
Holy Eucharist at 8:00 a.m., 9:15 a.m. JOY! and 10:00 a.m.
March 21, 22 and 23 – Daily Mass during Holy Week
Holy Eucharist at 6:30 p.m.
March 24 – Maundy Thursday
Soup and sandwich dinner at 6:30 p.m. followed by Holy Eucharist at 7:30 p.m.
Dinner will be followed by stripping of the Altar and the Minor Vigil.
March 25 – Good Friday
Good Friday Liturgy with Communion from Reserve and Veneration of the Cross at 7:00 a.m., 12:00 noon, and 4:00 p.m. The 4:00 p.m. service is child-friendly.
March 26 – The Great Vigil of Easter
A child-friendly service beginning at sundown 7:15 p.m.
March 27 – Easter Day
Holy Eucharist at 8:00 a.m., 9:15 a.m. JOY! and 10:00 a.m.
Christ Episcopal Church is an open and inclusive community that embraces all people, wherever they may be on their faith journey. The church is located at 105 Cottage Place, at the corner of Franklin Avenue, in Ridgewood; 201-652-2350; christchurchridgewood.org.
Ridgewood NJ, While Franklin/Covey has been partnering with Law Enforcement on a wide variety of trust and leadership programs this will be their first national pilot program which involves police, public safety & community members training together.
The overall concept is to provide police and community members the opportunity to enhance understanding, break down silos and build trust through shared learning experiences. Participants will be armed with enhanced trust, understanding and the tools to effectively solve community problems implement and sustain community policing projects.
The program involves four core foundational training’s to enhance community policing /trust and four core trainings to help police and community leaders effectively implement, operate, evaluate and sustain community policing programs.
Community members are teamed with police officers and can receive the training for free.
The pilot program is not limited to Ridgewood. In fact Glen Rock and several other communities have already expressed interest in participating.
According to police sources ,Franklin Covey dramatically reduced their prices the Community Policing/Trust Leadership initiative provides full access to 8 of their premier programs annually for 100 officers/public safety leaders and another 100 community members who receive these training (with police officers) for free.
Ridgewood Police worked with partners at covey to select the programs we believe will help communities effectively develop, enhance and sustain effect community policing and trust initiatives.
The programs will include 4 Core Community Policing/Trust Foundational programs;
Nobility in Policing, Policing/Leading at the Speed of Trust, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Diversity Centered Leadership and 4 core Effective Execution & Operations Core Trainings which include; Leadership Foundations, Leadership Great Leaders, Great Teams, Great Results, The 4 Disciplines of Execution and Project Management Essentials
Ridgewood NJ, with the announcement that the citizens group has gathered enough signatures to force a binding referendum on BCIA funding of the garage . Mayor Paul Aronsohn has already announced his intention to go back to Village financing for the project .
With a council election just around the corner it makes sense to postpone any action on the garage until the next council . Recent verbal and physical attacks on residents have crossed the line and the public no longer feels comfortable with the current council. Lets face it ,the entire project is now suspect and the public has lost all confidence and trust in the current Village Council.
Key information like the Maser report appears to have been withheld from the public and some council members as well as the conclusions in the Walker report seem to have been misinterpreted,with the reality being the garage has little chance of paying for itself.The projects design and financial impact on the village , as well as increases in parking rates appear to be left to chance by the current council majority .
Other projects are waiting in the wings , like the high density housing for the central business district, negotiations with Valley Hospital and the Ridgewood Water suit all of which will force major changes to the Village of Ridgewood .
Common sense should prevail and all major decisions about the Village and Village business should be postponed until the new council takes over in June and restores the public’s confidence in the Village council’s ability to represent the residents of Ridgewood .
