Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Knights of Columbus Council #1736 recently presented donations to three local charities: Ridgewood Social Service Association, Camp Sunshine, and Good Counsel Homes. Representatives from each organization were on hand to give speeches to the Knights that highlighted their organizations’ good works and service toRidgewood and the surrounding community.
Denise Vollkommer of the SSA described the many services offered to families in the area, such as food through vouchers and their on-site food pantry, as well as emergency rent and utility assistance. She explained how many families have been affected during the economic crisis. SSA’s goal is to provide ongoing support to families in need, made possible with the help of generous donors.
Camp Sunshine and Camp Snowflake provide year round programs for multiply disabled young people in and around Ridgewood. Sal Schifano, a board member and father of one of the participants, spoke movingly about what the Camp has meant to him and to his family.
President and Executive Director Chris Bell represented Good Counsel Homes, which is celebrating their 30-year anniversary. Good Counsel is a nationally recognized nonprofit leader and innovator in creating supportive residential care and community-based services for homeless, expectant, and new mothers and their children.
“The Knights are proud to be helping out such praiseworthy organizations”, said Mark Stappenbeck of the Ridgewood Knights.
Ridgewood NJ, if the new parking lot goes through as designed, they will reverse the traffic patterns on Hudson ad Passaic streets. But more importantly (and this was never mentioned in the impact studies), is that they also plan to remove on-street parking. This will be devastating to Mount Carmel Church and Knights of Columbus .
Also many current Merchants on Broad Street and nearby are going to get hammered all around both before during and after. Many small shops will barely survive in durring the construction and later in the shadow of a garage.
Ridgewood NJ, Robert L. Pfund, 78, also of Harvey Cedars, died on Dec. 14.
Bob was a parishioner of Our Lady of Mount Carmel R.C. Church in Ridgewood and a U.S. Navy Veteran. Bob earned both his B.S. and master’s degrees at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He was vice-president and senior operating officer of Avon Products Inc., retiring in 1992 after 28 years. He served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Valley Hospital for 12 years. He was a former board member of Bush Boake Allen, Inc.; a past member of the Ridgewood High School Football Scholarship Committee; charter member of the Ridgewood Stablehands Breakfast Society; and a former member of both Hackensack and Ridgewood Country Clubs.
He was predeceased by his wife Georgette in 2012. He was the father of Gerald and Becky of Ho-Ho-Kus, David and Gina of Ridgewood and Cathryn and Amvrosios of Ho-Ho-Kus; grandfather of Sarah, Luke, Jackson, Ryan, Sienna and Colette.
A Funeral Mass will be held at Our Lady of Mount Carmel R.C. Church on Friday, Dec. 18 at 9:30 a.m., with interment to follow at Valleau Cemetery in Ridgewood. Visiting will be at the Feeney Funeral Home in Ridgewood on Thursday, Dec. 17 from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.
Memorial donations may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014.
Ridgewood NJ, could a new APP now being used in Boston be the answer to Ridgewood’s Parking problems? According to the news Park Wise App, it’s all in a days work . The Park wise App now available in Boston allows you to view free spots and soon-to-be open spots in your area . It also tracks parking regulations and street cleaning schedules and some would say the best part is it automatically reminds you where you parked .
From their website; ParkWise is a Boston based parking app that alerts users to scheduled street sweeping taking place in their neighborhood, as well as other features like helping them find an open parking spot.
When a driver is looking for a parking spot, ParkWise provides real time information about open parking spots, as well as the location of soon-to-be open spots in the area. Once a driver finds a spot and parks their vehicle, ParkWise will save the location for the driver’s future reference. It will also alert the driver about any upcoming street cleaning scheduled to take place at the parking spot location, or any other restrictions like events and festivals.
ParkWise automatically updates the status of a parking spot for other users. When a driver approaches their vehicle, ParkWisewill automatically alert other drivers in the area about the soon-to-be open spot, and once they drive away, it will be marked as open.
ParkWise aims to create drivers’ communities where neighbors share information about available street parking spots to save time and gas for everyone in the community.
Unlike other parking apps, ParkWise complies with city regulations and does not allow users to sell or hold their spots. We created an app that is fair and legal. All parking spots are first come, first served.
ParkWise currently covers most Boston neighborhoods including Somerville and Cambridge. ( https://www.northendparking.com/ )
So could this be it , a new APP to bring downtown Ridgewood Shoppers into the 21st century ? Certainly it would be far cheaper and faster to roll out than building a garage .
ParkWise helps Boston drivers find empty parking spots
There never seem to be enough parking spaces on Boston’s crowded streets, but a local company is teaming up with an Israeli firm to help drivers hunt them down.
Anagog Ltd., of Tel Aviv, uses the location trackers in thousands of smartphones to identify empty parking spots, much the way Google Maps reports on traffic conditions by using GPS to track the speed of smartphones traveling on the same road.
Anagog’s software can tell when a phone is moving at driving speed, when it’s slowed to a walking pace or stopped altogether. When a phone goes from 40 miles per hour down to a dead stop, then starts moving at 5 miles an hour, the software infers that the user was in a car, parked, and got out.
The place where the rapid motion stopped is now identified as a parking space. When the driver returns to his car and pulls away, the increased speed indicates the car has left its space, which is now available to others.
“It is not foolproof, but it certainly gives a level of visibility that is not available today,” said Jake Levant, Anagog’s chief marketing officer.
Anagog’s technology has been embedded into ParkWise, a free parking app developed by StreetInfoTech LLC of Boston, and the companies are currently testing the service in the North End.
Ridgewood NJ, (201) Family magazine has named 45 doctors from The Valley Hospital’s Medical staff to its “Top Doctors” list.
In order to select these exceptional physicians, MSP Communications completed an extensive, multistep vetting process. Candidates were initially identified through research and the recommendations of other physicians. They were then evaluated in 10 areas ranging from honors and awards to leadership positions. After a round of peer reviews, the final selection was completed, with only around 5 percent of physicians in a state or region being chosen for this distinction
Ridgewood NJ, parking is the issue in the Village ,but one issue that no seems to be talking about is if the increase in parking fees has been driving away business from Ridgewood’s Central Business District (CBD)?
In January of 2015 the Village increase parking fees across the board . While lack of parking has been often cited as an issue by local merchants ,what about the parking fees themselves ?
For added convenience the Park Mobil App was introduced but as of this date there have been little or no updates as to the overall numbers of people using the app and the amount of revenue it has been generating ?
Perhaps we should analyze out current parking situation to see how either Park Mobil increased parking fees have impacted or not impacted down town shopping, before we assume increased parking fees will finance the Hudson Garage Project .
January 2015 : New Hours and Fees
In response to concerns of the business community and residents, the Cottage Place lot now allows parking for 8 hours, Monday through Saturday from 10am to 6pm. The hourly rate for the meters is 75 cents/hour.
Hourly rates in all Village lots and in streets are now $.50 per hour for a maximum of 3 hours. Street and Lot meters are regulated from 10AM to 6PM, Monday through Saturday. Vehicles parking for more than 3 hours will be in violation and subject to a ticket. Repeat parking is also prohibited
In the journal entry, the co-authors wrote: “We cannot help but judge others on the basis of their speech.”
Ashley Cowburn
@ashcowburn
Saturday 12 December 2015
Those who are liberal in their use of swear words are not the lazy and uneducated individuals they are often made out to be, a new study claims.
In fact, a well-stocked vocabulary of swear words is actually a healthy indicator of other verbal abilities.
Writing in the Language Sciences journal, US-based psychologists Kristin Jay and Timothy Jay, dismiss the long-held belief that swearing is a sign of inarticulateness.
Working with the “poverty of vocabulary” concept (the assumption that people swear because they lack the intellectual capacity to find another way to express themselves) their experiment aimed to find out whether those more fluent in the art of swearing are less fluent in other forms of vocabulary.
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood blog is the lone independent voice of headline news in North Jersey . While much larger competitors have
come and gone the Ridgewood blog has persevered with your help. The Ridgewood blog is a unique social experiment were readers have the ability to create and determine what news matters most to them. With your support the blog has been mindbogglingly successful and its because of reader participation that has made it so .It is a unique interaction experiment in community dialogue .
We appreciate and are grateful for all the contributions made by readers and from the suggestion of several readers would like to
extend readers an opportunity to become patrons . The patron program is open to all . For as little as $25 you can become a patron .Patrons
will be listed d on the side bar or like always chose to remain anonymous. Contributions of $250 or more receive a special gift ,which
will be sent out in January . Every little bit helps , from contributions to content.
The response to our recent email was very gratifying !
or if you prefer checks can be sent James Foytlin PO Box 227 Ridgewood NJ 07451
The funds will be used to offset IT services which have been a bit
staggering the last couple of years .
Founders Day : the History of the Ridgewood blog
the History of the Ridgewood blog
Monday, October 26, 2009
The Ridgewood blog ( https://theridgewoodblog.blogspot.com/ ) was founded in March of 2006 by James J Foytlin aka PJ Blogger .[1] Mr.
Foytlin was born and raised in Ridgewood ,New Jersey and is a graduate of Ridgewood High School .[2] [3]
After many years living in New York City[4] Mr Foytlin returned to Ridgewood after a divorce and the tragic events of 9/11 . Once he
settled in he noticed a lack of sufficient news coverage of local events . One day a friend from Brazil[5] showed him her home town on
the internet and to Mr. Foytlin’s great surprise when he tried to reciprocate he was utterly dismayed at the absolute lack of coverage
of his home town. After all Ridgewood is only 18 miles from midtown Manhattan[6] the media capital of world and there was not a single
picture of Ridgewood to be found . How could this be? Ridgewood is a picturesque upper middle class village of around 25,000 located in
Bergen county in northern New Jersey[7] . Founded by Dutch settlers before it became an English colony[8] . The town or village as its
called is steeped in rich history and tradition .Known for a large amount of Victorian era housing , a quality school system and a family
friendly atmosphere.
Though busy getting reacquainted with his home town the fact that the Village of Ridgewood was so under represented on the internet
continued to disturb Mr. Foytlin. Mr. Foytlin had been writing news letters for his job in financial services since the mid 1990’s . The
popular flip, off beat investment strategy news letters had become email blasts with the advent of readily accessible internet.[9] By
2004 the email blasts were converted into blog format for the One Small Voice blog ( https://onesmallvoice.blogspot.com/ ). [10]
Around that time the Village of Ridgewood had finally completed it’s much anticipated and long delayed renovation of the Village hall which
has been flooded out due to Hurricane Floyd.[11] The renovation was marred by huge cost over runs and lengthy delays. In 2005 it opened
with great fan fare , was once again flooded with the very first rain . Mr. Foytlin was more shocked by the abject lack of responsibilitytaken by elected officials than the fact that the $9 million dollar renovation had to some extent been a failure . That was the breaking
point and Mr. Foytlin had had enough so he decided to give , citizen journalism a go and created the Ridgewood blog in March of 2006. [12]
The birth of PJ Blogger .By this time Blogging its seems had become quite the rage and mainstream news anchors such as Dan Rather had
questioned the validity of information from non professionals sitting around in their Pajama’s blogging.[13] Mr. Foytlin not a fan of Dan
Rather or any of the mainstream media decided to blog under the name PJ Blogger as a play on words and to plant himself firmly in the camp
of the new digital media.
Innovations by the Ridgewood blog to citizen journalism.
“The Fly” is a column on the Ridgewood blog the originates from the expression ,”I’d like to be a fly on the wall “ . The idea is that
every citizen has both a unique perspective and experience and these two factors can be used to gather news and opinions about local
issues. Originally only of handful of people in town participated but with time the Ridgewood blog can now count on 20–40 semi regular
contributors. These post are both anonymous and signed and are largely opinion as well a breaking news.[14]
The Ridgewood blog brings a free market lassie fare point of view to local issues . Mr. Foytlin aka PJ Blogger has stated that for local
issues there are only two kinds of people ;the ones who say spend what every you want because I will not be around to pay the bill and the
second group which are more focused on the ,”be careful this is my money your spending” . The Ridgewood blog is dedicated to the
interplay of there two groups.[15]
[1][12] the Ridgewood blog website https://theridgewoodblog.blogspot.com/
[2] Birth Certificate born in Valley Hospital , Ridgewood 04/09/1962
[3] Ridgewood High School Class 1980
[4] 444 East 86th street ,530 East 72nd
[5] Monica Rocha
[6] Mapquest
[7] United States 2000 Census, the village population was 24,936.
[8] https://www.americantowns.com/nj/ridgewood/organization/village-of-ridgewood
[9] Fahnestock & Co. now Oppenheimer & Co.
[10] https://onesmallvoice.blogspot.com/
[11] https://www.ridgewoodlibrary.org/localhistory/lh_vh_pease.htm
[13] https://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110005611
[14] [15] James J Foytlin
DECEMBER 11, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Editor’s Note – The third event of Parlance Chamber Concerts’ ninth season will take place this coming Sunday afternoon, Dec. 13, at 3 p.m. at West Side Presbyterian Church in Ridgewood. Here concert founder Michael Parloff gives us some background to the musicians and the program.
The concert will feature three spectacular virtuosi, violinist Kristin Lee, pianist Gilles Vonsattel (both winners of the coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant) and the celebrated cellist Paul Watkins of the Emerson String Quartet.
In honor of Beethoven’s 245th birthday next Wednesday, Sunday afternoon’s concert will be devoted to three highlights of his chamber repertoire: the heroic A-major violin sonata (“Kreutzer”), the intimate cello sonata in C, and the ever-popular D-major piano trio (“The Ghost”).
Parlance Chamber Concerts
All Beethoven Program – Sunday, December 13 at 3pm – West Side Presbyterian Church, 6 S. Monroe Street, Ridgewood Free parking and Childcare Tickets at the Door – Adults $40; Seniors $30; Young Adults $20; Students $10
DUI the culprit in Route 17 South Bound Crash early Sunday Morning in Ridgewood
December 13,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , The adult female driver of a 4-door Ford Taurus was charged with driving under the influence in connection with a crash on Route 17 southbound in Ridgewood early Sunday morning. The crash occurred just prior to the Linwood Avenue overpass and shut down two (2) lanes of traffic on Route 17 southbound, plus an on ramp to the highway southbound from Linwood Avenue, for almost one (1) hour beginning at approximately 1 AM. No injuries were reported in the incident. HoHoKus and Paramus PD units assisted Ridgewood PD officers at the scene; Ridgewood FD personnel attended to a crash related fluid spill. A flatbed tow truck removed the Taurus from the roadway. The incident reportedly involved two (2) vehicles. One (1) of the vehicles was said to have fled the scene and was later involved in another crash on Route 4 westbound near the Garden State Parkway in Paramus. No word as to whether the driver of that vehicle was charged in connection with the Ridgewood incident.
DECEMBER 11, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015, 3:23 PM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
A local temple will give residents a fun opportunity to celebrate the last night of Hanukkah at a party scheduled for Sunday evening.
The event, which is to occur at Reconstructionist Congregation Beth Israel (RCBI), will feature food and refreshments for attendees, according to Caryn Starr-Gates of RCBI.
“Pizza, potato pancakes, salad and jelly doughnuts are on the menu,” she said via e-mail, explaining that the latkes and doughnuts are part of the Jewish holiday’s traditional.
“They are cooked in oil,” she said, stating that this method ties “into the Hanukkah miracle story about the scarcity of available oil when the Jews re-entered the pillaged temple, but there being enough for eight days to light their way as they reclaimed and rededicated the temple.”
The event will be suitable for residents of all ages.
DECEMBER 11, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Conservancy to continue work
To the Editor:
This time of year gives us a chance to reflect on the recent past. The Conservancy for Ridgewood Public Lands is extremely grateful for the community support we have received. Without this, we never would have been able to accomplish all that we have in 2015. Our tasks have been numerous, from continuing the plantings at North Broad Street, running a Second Annual Daffodil Festival in conjunction with the Ridgewood Environmental Advisory Committee, placing a large decorative planter at the train station plaza, planting 5,000 more daffodil bulbs towards our ultimate goal of one for each resident, to organizing a cleanup at Twinney Pond Park with the Ridgewood Wildscape Association.
Twinney Pond Park is a unique ecological gem, a kettle pond dating back to the ice age. Ridgewood native and Rutgers ecologist Jean Epiphan has completed a thorough report on the vegetation. It has been determined that by removing the worst of the invasives and replanting with natives in the spring, that we will be able to help preserve this extraordinary park. We are making this project an ongoing educational opportunity for our Ridgewood students. Our Dec. 6 cleanup was a huge success and brought in countless community volunteers of all ages.
Our goal is to keep working on projects throughout the village, to enhance and improve our wonderful and varied parks. As we embark on our Annual Membership Drive, we urge you to look at our website to find out more information on our projects and to sign up to help: cfrpl.org.
Our sincere thanks for your support and our best wishes for the holiday season.
Meet the Manager – Wednesday, Decelber 16th- 4:30PM – 7:30PM
Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld will hold office hours for Ridgewood residents and business owners every month. The next session will be Wednesday , December 17th between the hours of 4:30PM to 7:30PM. This is an opportunity to share your thoughts and provide input to Roberta. These sessions will be scheduled at 15 minute intervals and will be held in the Court Room – on the Fourth Level of Ridgewood Village Hall. Please contact Beth Spinato at 201-670-5500, ext. 203 to make an appointment. Walk-ins are welcome but should realize that the schedule may already be booked. We will announce the schedule for these meetings on a monthly basis.
Senior Survey – Residents 55 + Please Complete the Survey
Share your thoughts with us! The Ridgewood Community Center Advisory Board needs your input to determine the priorities, needs and concerns of the Village’s eldest citizens. We are committed with maintaining and improving the Community Center and serving the broader Ridgewood community. The survey is anonymous and intended for ages 55 and older. Please click the following link to access and print survey. Once completed, it can be returned to the Stable, the front reception desk at Village Hall or the Circulation/Reference Desks at the Library. If you would like to receive a copy by mail please call the Recreation Office at 201-670-5560.
Survey of Ridgewood NJ Residents 55 Years and Older
Updated Information on Leaves from Ridgewood DPW:
• Collection: We are still running three to four days behind. With the recent damage to the pusher catching up is going to be unachievable.
• Schedule: We are recommending a shift in the leaf schedule based on the following new dates:
DECEMBER 11, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Print
Neighbors request more experts for best possible park
To the Editor:
Your reporter concludes in his article on Dec. 4 (“Officials face open space shortage,” The Ridgewood News, page A1) that one group or another will be unhappy by the council’s ultimate decisions regarding the development of the Schedler property. As a Schedler neighbor, I respectfully disagree with the conclusion.
The Schedler neighborhood is seeking the best possible design and development of the Schedler property for the benefit of all Ridgewood citizens. Specifically, the Schedler neighborhood has asked the council to hire an expert landscape architect to design the best park possible for all citizens. The current design was prepared by our village engineer, who has limited experience designing parks.
The Schedler neighborhood has also requested the hiring of a traffic safety engineer to design a safe park for the benefit of the players, their families and the neighborhood. The Schedler property is next to Route 17, where over half a million cars travel daily. Let’s be safe and hire the proper experts.
Finally, all of those cars are noisy. Players need to communicate with each other, with their coaches and with the officials. Spectators also want to converse in a comfortable environment.
The Schedler neighborhood has asked the village to hire a noise expert in order to recommend appropriate noise abatement strategies. We want to avoid spending several million dollars on a park, only to discover that it’s too noisy and unsafe.
A reputable dentist is perfect for a toothache, but you wouldn’t call him if you were experiencing chest pains. The Schedler neighborhood advocates hiring genuine experts in order to obtain the best possible park for all Ridgewood citizens. That’s a win for the players, a win for their families, a win for the neighborhood, and a win for all citizens of Ridgewood.
Ridgewood News Letter: Will parking deck pay for itself?
DECEMBER 11, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Will parking deck pay for itself?
To the Editor:
The results of the recent election have indicated that there is a need for a parking garage. The village website provided inadequate information. Of the three designs only one was shown.
The consultants have stated that the bond can be retired from the projected revenues. However, there is no evidence of the reliability of these projections.
The design that is favored by many is one that has brick panels. It is pleasing aesthetically. The design is more expensive to build and more expensive to maintain in this climate. No financial considerations appear to have figured in this design. In addition, there is only a small building in the vicinity that has some brick exterior. If the construction bids come too high, will the architect redesign the project at no additional fee?
The revenue projections are based on increased meter fees. When fees are raised, occupancy tends to go down. The financial report cites one case where this happened. If sufficient revenues are not generated, the town residents will be left holding the bag. The consultants and the council members will be long gone.
There is no urgency to build a large deck given the uncertainty of revenue projections. I therefore suggest that the project be built in two phases.
