Category: village of ridgewood

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Telephonic or electronic communication between or among Councilmembers or between a Councilmember and a member of the public during public meetings is prohibited

gwen hauck

file photo Boyd Loving 

Ridgewood NJ, Resolution 13-87 (April 24, 2013), item #4 reads as follows:

Telephonic or electronic communication between or among Councilmembers or between a Councilmember and a member of the public during public meetings is prohibited.

This Resolution was written by Pucciarelli and Walsh in 2013. Pucciarelli initiated writing it because his conduct had been questioned as a possible violation of The Sunshine Law. He felt that a road-map for proper conduct was needed for council members. It is entitled “Village Council Meetings and Communications Protocol.” It was voted in unanimously.

When a member of the public asked the Council, in October of 2014, whether they were complying with this particular line item, Pucciarelli, Hauck, and Aronsohn all admitted that they do have their phones on and they do receive communications. Sedon and Knudsen firmly stated that they do not. Hauck was outspokenly affronted that her integrity had been called into question. Pucciarelli went on a riff about emergencies and his family having to let him know what is going on. (note to Albert – the POLICE DEPARTMENT is in the building, they can run upstairs if one of his family members calls in an emergency). Aronsohn said his wife sends him little jokey texts (how cute). No matter whether it is a family member or anyone else, these are members of the public who are in touch with members of the Council during Public Meetings.

What is the point in having the Resolution if it is not respected? What is the point of having a Sunshine Law if quiet communications are taking place during public meetings?

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Ridgewood Art Institute Fall Classes

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Ridgewood Art Institute announces Three Instructors New to this Fall’s schedule:
For New Fall Schedule click here

Oil Painting – Landscape, Seascape, Still Life & Portrait for Adults

With Instructor: Rebecca Leer
rebecca_leer@msn.com

Wednesday and/or Thursday 10am – 1pm

Click here for additional details

Oil Painting – Landscape, Seascape, Still Life & Portrait for Adults

With Instructor: Diana Gibson
dianakgibson@yahoo.com

Wednesday and/or Thursday 7pm – 9pm

Click here for additional details

Drawing for Adults, Figure & Still Life

With Instructor: Susan Hope Fogel
susanhopefogel@gmail.com

Thursday 7pm – 9:30pm

Click here for additional details

Pastel Class
Portrait, Still Life & Landscape For Adults

This class is to be held on Friday Mornings 10 am – 1 pmin the West Studio.

If interested, please send a resume, brief class description and six JPEG images of your most recent work to:

laura@paray.com

Laura Paray
Education Chairman
The Ridgewood Art Institute
12 East Glen Avenue
Ridgewood, NJ 07450

 

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Readers asks , who is Communicating with Gwen Hauck During Council Meetings ?

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Gwenn Hauck does not need to comprehend the report. Whoever keeps writing to her during the meetings will tell her what to say. Yes, Gwenn, we see that you are busy reading and writing during meetings, we see the glow of your device shining off your glasses. Your handlers are providing most of what you say. You are best when you go off script and start rambling on about people should all be nice to each other. You need to be reminded that you are one of the nastiest people in the room. Just last week you went after Mike Sedon like a pit bull, no that is a bad analogy, unfair to the pitt bull. You were badgering him and hammering him, just as we have seen you do to Bernie Walsh, Tom Riche, Susan Knudsen and others. Honey child, you need to look in the mirror – you can lecture the crowd about how you are always so respectful, and you can reprimand the naysayers, but in fact you have shown repeatedly that you can be a class-A B*TCH.

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Village of Ridgewood Senior Citizen Survey

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Ridgewood 55 and Older Community Survey

The Ridgewood Community Center Advisory Board, comprised of Ridgewood residents, is charged by the Village Council with maintaining and improving the Community Center and serving the broader Ridgewood community. To aid in that mission we wish to learn more about the priorities, needs and concerns of Ridgewood residents age 55 and older.

Please pardon the length of this survey. We know some questions apply more to some of you than others. We truly want to learn more about everyone in this age group in Ridgewood and encourage you to share with us as much as you can.

This is an anonymous survey. Please complete the survey if you are age 55 or over and a Ridgewood resident. One survey per person. More than one person in a household is welcome to complete the survey.

Click Here

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The Rules only Apply for Some People : First the planters, then the sign, now this?

parking vote

October 11,2015

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Anyone else would be issued property maintenance and motor vehicle summonses for driving multiple vehicles up a curb, over a public pedestrian walkway, and parking in front of a commercial establishment.

But, of course, no summonses ever issued here.

I wonder why?

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Another Front Has Opened Up against Over Development in Ridgewood

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photo by Boyd Loving

Another Front Has Opened Up against Over Development in Ridgewood

October 11,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Another Front Has Opened Up against in what the majority of residents perceive as the over development and urbanization of Ridgewood .Last week signs began to appear the Zabriskie Schedler House, more commonly now called Schedler Park or Schedler field  .

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The Schedler property boarders Route 17 north in a very quite residential neighborhood cornered between Route 17 and Saddle river.The most notable feature, of the property is the 1830s-style Dutch wood frame home, which historians have dated the construction of the home’s main section to the 1830s, though the existing kitchen wing might have predated 1825. The four separate parcels at the Schedler tract were also the site to a Revolutionary War battle and have yielded artifacts from that time.

The RBSA has been pushing for a baseball field in the location since before the property was purchased by the Village in 2009. In 2014 the RBSA sponsored candidate Residents James Albano ran for Village Council with the express purpose of pushing a baseball field in the location . Albano was crushed by a landslide loss in a council election that featured a “mysterious” email to Candidate Michael Sedon employer at the time in an attempt to pressure Sendon to drop out.

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L- R: Isabella Altano from Ridgewood Eastside Development (RED) shows the map of the proposed sports field to Freeholder John Mitchell. Aug 15 2012

In 2012 after another historic home was torn down in Paramus , the site caught the eye of Bergen County Freeholder Maura DeNicola, and Bergen County Freeholder John Mitchell who met with then Ridgewood Village Manager Ken Gabbert, Village Historian Joseph Suplicki and Freeholder Robert Hermansen to discuss the Zabriskie/Schedler house .

A grassroots organization was formed called Ridgewood Eastside Development (RED) in an attempt to protect the neighborhood and preserve the area with some alternative modest development , but mostly the focus at the time was on land making the property and preserving the trees and open space .

The council majority Paul Aronsohn, Albert Pucciarelli ,Gwenn Hauck aka the 3 amigos have as usual ignored the wishes of the vast majority of Ridgewood residents and sided with developers and special interests . https://theridgewoodblog.net/ridgewood-s-schedler-park-maps-and-information/

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Key Points from the Village Council commissioned parking study prepared by Walker Associates

hudson parking garage

File photo by Boyd Loving

Key verbatim assumptions/findings taken from the Village Council commissioned parking study prepared by Walker Associates:

Easing crowding does not, in and of itself, create a new revenue stream; it transfers revenue
from other metered spaces in the Village. The garage will likely encourage people to come
downtown who have been avoiding it due to parking constraints, but this is not a quantifiable
revenue stream and is not included in our analysis. More conservatively, we project the
following net new revenue streams for the garage:

• The 72-space Brogan Cadillac lot on South Broad Street at Essex Street and at the 92-
space Ken Smith Motors lot just east of the train tracks and north of Franklin Avenue are
going to be demolished for development. Both of these dealerships have closed and
lease out their parking. The Ken Smith Lot is permit parking for downtown employees.
The Brogan Lot accommodates commuters during the day and is leased out for
restaurant valet parking at night. We anticipate these demand streams would transfer
to the garage.

• We understand from Village staff that there are other restaurants downtown that use
valet services in private lots that would use the garage instead (probably doing away
with valet service since self-park options would be easier).

• The Village used to have 120 non-resident commuter permits, but doubled non-resident
permit rates because there was not enough space for these commuters. Currently
there are very few non-resident commuters parking in the train station area. The Village
plans to reduce the non-resident commuter rate to $875/year to increase that demand
stream again.

It is typical in downtowns that the revenue stream in a given garage is not sufficient to cover its
operating costs and debt service. Downtown parking systems are just that – systems – that rely
on pooled revenue from all resources, and especially the on-street meters (which tend to
have the highest turnover), to cover the higher cost associated with building and operating a
garage. This is the case in Ridgewood, where the net new revenue projected for the garage
is not projected to offset its expenses.

Therefore, our revenue projection includes all downtown revenue and all expenses associated with the parking system.

To operate the garage and have a revenue-positive parking utility (with funds available for other parking lot
maintenance projects), we project that the Village will increase meter rates as follows:

• In 2016, meters will be extended until 9 p.m. and meter rates on key downtown streets
will increase to 75¢.

• In 2017, 75¢ meters will be increased to $1 and the rest of the on-street and off-street
meters will increase to 75¢.

• If needed, rates would increase by 25¢ after five years.

• Commuter permit rates would increase by $25 in 2021 and 2025.

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Transformer Fire Creates West Side Power Outages Saturday Morning in Ridgewood

transformer fire

photo courtesy of Ridgewood Police Department

October 10.1015

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ , the Ridgewood Police reported around 6:48 am the closing of W.Glen Ave between Oak St. and N.Monroe St. due to a transformer fire. There were power outages in the neighborhood  and PSE&G was on scene.

Power was restored on West Side of town and West Glen within a couple of hours and W.Glen was reopened to traffic soon after
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Registration for Ridgewood YWCA Fall Classes Starts October 19

Ridgewood_YMCA_theridgewoodblog

October 10,2015

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Registration for the next session of YWCA Bergen County programs starts Monday, October 19 at 8:30 a.m. Classes run from November 1 through December 26 at the YWCA’s 112 Oak Street, Ridgewood location, and members can register at www.ywcabergencounty.org, by phone, or in person.

New for Kids & Teens: YWCA Tiger Sharks Swim Team for ages 8 to 15 years offers the best combination of team sport and individual challenge with emphasis on skill development, positive values, and competitive experiences. Synchronized Swim Team for ages 7 and older provides the opportunity to work as a team in a multi-sport environment; combining the skills of swimming, gymnastics and dance. Cooking, Art, Music & Science for ages 3 to 5 years and Art & Design, Cooking & Zumba for ages 6 to 12 years offers creativity and self-expression.

For Adults: 360 Movement Classes cross-train the body with a wide variety of challenging and motivating group fitness classes. Active Older Adult Fitness Classes provide a friendly and supportive environment to help improve member’s health and well-being. WEN: Women’s Empowerment Network provides women with ongoing support, inspiration and opportunities to connect, share, learn and lead as they travel their personal and professional paths.

Plus: Special Needs Programs, Children’s Dance, dozens of other fitness, wellness, and enrichment programs, as well as American Red Cross certified Swim Classes for swimmers at every age and level. Drop-in child care is also available at the 112 Oak Street, Ridgewood facility. Visit www.ywcabergencounty.org or call 201-444-5600 for more information.

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Ridgewood Daffodil Festival October 18th

spring_time_Daffodil theridgewoodblog

Daffodil Festival 25,000 Residents = 25,000 Daffodils

Sun, October 18, 2015 from 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM

The Stable Community Center, 259 N. Maple Ave. Ridgewood, NJ 07450

Ridgewood NJ, The Conservancy for Ridgewood Public Lands has, with our community, planted 14,000 daffodil bulbs throughout our Village. The goal is 25,000.

Please join the Conservancy at the Stable, Sunday October 18, 11am-2pm, to help plant 5,000 daffodils. Then come to Van Neste Park on Sunday April 17, 2016 to celebrate our annual Daffodil Festival.

You’re invited to be a part of this new Ridgewood legacy. Please support the planting of 5 daffodils with a donation of $25. visit the website www.cfrpl.org.

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Finances, design of Ridgewood garage are detailed

Hudson_street_parking_theridgewoodblog

Rich, thanks for the pointer to page 24.“Given that the new demand stream is not anticipated to cover debt service for the garage, the parking system will need to increase revenue on existing spaces if it is to be self-supporting.”

OCTOBER 9, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015, 9:09 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Designs and architectural renderings for a potential parking garage on Hudson Street were presented on Wednesday, providing the public an opportunity to view different proposals for the deck. A financial review was also presented.

Representatives from Desman Design Management and S&L Architecture Studio offered three different options with varying degrees of size and parking efficiency, along with distinctive architectural structures.

All three design ideas were for a four-story building with five levels of parking, one of which included a building that stayed within the footprint of the site while the other two explored taking some of the right-of-way from Hudson Street.

The Hudson Street site does have some constraints, said Desman Design principal Tim Tracy. The first option for a garage did not explore any unique solutions and contained angled parking and side ramps at the western and eastern ends of the building, which resulted in a 124,000-square-foot building and a net gain of 236 parking spaces.

The second option tinkered with the footprint of the site on the western side and resulted in a slightly larger facility at 130,000 square feet and a net gain of 253 spaces.

A third design expanded further on the idea of extending the lot and building a cantilever over the sidewalk, which would give the village a net gain of 317 spaces and a building that is 139,000 square feet. This option enables the village to get 330 square feet per car, which Tracy said is within the industry standard and also allows the access easement on the eastern end to be retained.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/garage-finances-design-detailed-1.1429249

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Reader says the downtown will become even more of a place to avoid than it is now

hudson parking garage

I hate them all so much. Throughout the state of NJ and country (taxes, tolls) and now the town, everything goes on the back of the average person.

Now they want money from people eating breakfast and dinner at all the restaurants–lunch wasn’t enough. I suspect that the restaurant owners will not be pleased.

Thursday evenings when many stores were open and the meters were “off” used to be a convenient time to shop. That’s gone.

Can I “afford” a dollar? I can afford a dollar. Am I willing to pay it? No. I also happen to detest valet parking for a long list of reasons–including that they change your radio settings and I simply don’t want strangers in my car or to tip someone for a service that I don’t need in the first place (parking in my own town).

For me and surely many others, the downtown will become even more of a place to avoid than it is now. And we’ll be stuck paying for the garage that’s being built only to absorb lost parking spaces when the apartments go up.

If we were paying more for parking to maintain Schedler as a nice park, or rebuild the dam at King’s Pond, or some other project I could support, I might feel differently. Who wants that stupid, ugly garage, anyway? Last week I advised Sook to move as soon as her lease was up (soon).

I may do the same.

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30% cost overrun for ADA ramps at Graydon Pool & Lester Stable

ada ramps

Photo credit:   Boyd A. Loving

30% cost overrun for ramps at Graydon Pool & Lester Stable
October 10 ,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Due to an estimating error made by the Village’s Engineering Department, the new handicapped ramps at Graydon Pool and the Lester Stable will cost $28k more than anticipated, an increase of approximately 30% above what was originally projected.

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According to Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld, the error was associated with miscalculating the quantity of materials needed for the project.

No word as to whether any disciplinary action was taken as a result of the mistake.

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Why are parking meter rates in Ridgewood about to sky rocket?

parking_CBD_theridgewoodblog

October 9,2015
Boyd A. Loving

Ridgewod Nj, This pretty much sums up the issue.  Taken verbatim from a report commissioned by the Village Council:

“Given that the new demand stream is not anticipated to cover debt service for the garage, the parking system will need to increase revenue on existing spaces if it is to be self-supporting.

There will be a natural uptick in revenue as Parkmobile becomes more utilized. Apps of this sort increase compliance and also disallow “piggybacking” onto a previous parker’s leftover meter time. We have increased revenue in 2015 and 2016 to account for Parkmobile’s impact. While a 15 percent increase is common, we are projecting a five percent increase.

Extending meter hours and enforcement until 9 pm is the first recommended step. Since daytime retail and restaurant customers pay to park, it is fair to ask evening restaurant customers to pay as well. In addition, metering the streets in the evening can provide parking management solutions to crowding in the future, should the Village wish to reduce employee parking along streets that should be available to customers.

Evening rates alone will not cover the projected debt service; it will be necessary to increase rates as well. In order to achieve a debt service coverage ratio of 1.5, our projections assume the following:

• Evening rates will go into effect in 2016.

• On-street meter rates will be increased to 75¢ along key streets (blocks 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, and 11) in 2016.

• Core area rates will be increased to $1 in 2017, with the rest of the on-street parking and all off-street parking going to 75¢. This is projected to be the opening year for the garage.

• After five years (in 2022), $1 parking should increase to $1.25 and 75¢ parking should increase to $1 if necessary.

• We assume some reduction in parking demand with each increase as people look for free alternatives (farther away on street, or in private lots) or choose to go elsewhere. We use an assumption of 10%.

• We have not projected a shift in demand away from Ridgewood Avenue and other core streets to the cheaper garage or other off-street lots, as we assume the 25¢ differential will not significantly alter people’s preference for convenient spaces.

We further assume that the demand reductions discussed above will cover the limited shift from more expensive to less expensive resources.