Category: village of ridgewood

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Schedler House shenanigans, as expected

gwenn hauck

August 6,2015
Boyd A. Loving

Ridgewood NJ,  During what could only be described as one of the most bizarre Village Council meetings I’ve attended in quite some time, Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck publicly accused the “Friends of the Schedler House” organization of turning down a $45k donation from an unnamed individual.

However, according to an officer of “Friends of the Schedler House,” no $45k donation was ever offered by the “unnamed individual.”  What did happen was during a recent meeting between members of the organization and selected Village officials, Councilwoman Hauck merely suggested that a particular individual might be willing to donate the sum.

As you might expect, even though she was publicly corrected, Councilwoman Hauck offered no public apology for her erroneous accusation.

UPDATE: Village Council predicted to vote 3-2 on 8/12 to demolish Schedler House to facilitate construction of a 90 foot baseball field with concession stand.

Despite voting in support of spending up to $500k in “preliminary costs” for the design of a parking garage with a currently unknown shape, size, and final cost,  Aronsohn and Hauck object to spending $45k to save the Schedler House. Pucciarelli is on his honeymoon, so he wasn’t there to make a fool of himself too.

So there you have it folks. The Three Stooges will have one of the most historic buildings in Northwest Bergen County demolished just to secure the Sports Council votes next year.

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N.J. judge says parents can’t be made to pay for kids’ bullying

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AUGUST 5, 2015, 11:26 AM    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2015, 12:00 PM
ASSOCIATED PRESS

SOMERVILLE — A New Jersey judge has ruled that the parents of alleged bullies cannot be held financially liable for their children’s actions.

The ruling came Monday in a lawsuit against the Flemington-Raritan and Central Regional School Districts by the family of a boy who claims to have been bullied by others, saying the schools did not do enough to stop it despite years of complaints.

The school districts attempted to have the parents of 13 alleged bullies held responsible for negligence, arguing that parents share responsibility for their children’s actions even when they’re at school.

Their children are accused of making fun of the boy’s weight, using anti-gay slurs, throwing pasta at him and pulling down his pants. The lawsuit from the alleged victim, now a teenager, did not seek to hold individual classmates responsible.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/n-j-judge-says-parents-can-t-be-made-to-pay-for-kids-bullying-1.1386495

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Village Council digs in its heels at public meetings

Paul_Aronsohn_theridgewood blog

August 5,2015

Boyd A. Loving

Ridgewood NJ, Faced with an ever increasing number of meeting attendees who publicly disagree with his administration’s policies, Mayor Paul Aronsohn has invoked a protocol of accepting “comments only” from certain meeting attendees.  If the Mayor doesn’t like your comment/question, no response is offered, and you are asked to leave the podium and return to your seat.

Long gone are the days when a taxpayer could go to the microphone during a public meeting of the Village Council and engage in meaningful dialog with a Council member or members, regardless of your support for the “Council majority” or the issue at hand.  When asked why the new protocol was being instituted, Aronsohn said only that he’d “received complaints” about the interactive nature of the meetings’ public comment segment.  He did not say who had “complained.”

Here’s a comment for you Mr. Mayor – If you can’t stand the heat, don’t change the rules, just get out of the fire.

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After deaths at Hard Summer, experts push for new approaches to festival drug use

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By AUGUST BROWNcontact the reporter

After two drug-related deaths on the opening night of Hard Summer music festival at the Fairplex in Pomona this weekend, festival organizers, city officials and dance music fans continue to debate the best ways to prevent such tragedies.

As major festivals like Hard Summer grow — this year, the two-day event expanded from 40,000 to 65,000 fans for each night — County Supervisor Hilda Solis has called for a temporary ban of raves on county property, a move that echoes the ban on raves at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum after a teenage girl’s drug death in 2010.

Solis said that clearly the board action back then was insufficient and that further stronger action is needed.

“We will be doing our due diligence,” she said. “Obviously this is of great concern and very tragic,  and I cannot underscore how distraught it is to know two young women are going out to a concert and have to lose their lives thinking they are going to be enjoying themselves.”

“What passed on the board in 2010 may have been OK then. Things have changed now. Now we need to take a very serious look. … I will venture to say I will be doing that.”

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-after-deaths-at-hard-summer-experts-push-for-new-approaches-to-festival-drug-use-20150803-story.html#page=1

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Saab collides with a pickup truck at the intersection of South Van Dien Avenue and Grove Street in Ridgewood

Auto accident Van Dien

photo courtesy of Boyd Lovings Facebook
Saab collides with a pickup truck at the intersection of South Van Dien Avenue and Grove Street in Ridgewood
Augusr 3,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, A 4-door Saab collided with a pickup truck at the intersection of South Van Dien Avenue and Grove Street shortly before 1 PM on Monday, 08/03, pushing the truck up onto a curb, and knocking its bed cap to the ground. No one was injured in the crash, but the pickup was heavily damaged and removed from the scene by a flatbed tow truck. Ridgewood PD Patrol Officer Patrick Elwood investigated the incident.

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Discussion of Schedler Property and House MUST BE AN ELECTION YEAR COMING UP

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THE RIDGEWOOD VILLAGE COUNCIL’S
PUBLIC WORKSHOP AGENDA
AUGUST 5, 2015

1.         7:30 pm – Call to Order – Mayor
2.         Statement of Compliance with Open Public Meeting Act
Mayor:  “Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by a posting on the bulletin             board in Village Hall, by mail to the Ridgewood News, The Record, and by submission to all persons entitled to same as provided by law of a schedule including the date and           time of this meeting.”
3.         Roll Call – Village Clerk
4.         Flag Salute/Moment of Silence
5.         Public Comments (Not to Exceed 5 Minutes per Person)
6.         Presentations
a.         Senior Citizen Needs Assessment Survey
b.         June Year-to-Date Financial Review

7.         Discussion
a.         Parking
1.         Hudson Street Parking Garage Update
2.         Proposed 15 Minute Parking Spot

b.         Budget
1.            Capital Ordinance – Funding for Grant – Handicap Ramp at Graydon Pool
2.            Award Contract – F150 Pickup for Parking Enforcement
3.            Award of Contract Under State Contract – Purchase & Servicing of Firefighting            Equipment and Supplies
4.            Award Contract Under State Contract – Snow Plows
5.            Award Partial Contract – Siding Repairs to Traffic and Signal Building
6.            Award Contract – Maintenance Agreement for SCADA System and Software Support
7.            Authorize Change Order – Emergency Service Repair to Water Pollution Control          Facility SCADA System
8.            Authorize Change Order – Benjamin Franklin Middle School Drop-Off
9.            Award Contract – Printing Services – Ridgewood Water
10.        Award Contract – Consulting Engineering Services – Ridgewood Water
11.        Award Contract – Emergency Laboratory Services – Water Department

b.         Budget (continued)

12.        Award Contract – Lead and Copper and Water Quality Parameter Testing &   Compliance Services – Ridgewood Water
13.        Award Contract – Groundwater Under the Direct Influence of Surface Water –             Ridgewood Water
14.        Award Contract – Emergency Repairs of Graydon Pool Well
15.        Approve Agreement with Washington Township – Paving and Curbs – Hampshire Road and Standish Road
16.        Approve Shared Services Agreement – Fuel – Ridgewood Board of Education

c.         Operations

1.                  2016 Village Council Meeting Dates
2.                  Establish Deposit Fees for Use of Village Barricades

d.         Policy
1.         Discussion of Schedler Property and House
2.         Middlesex Regional Education Services Commission Cooperative Pricing                                              Agreement
3.         Green Business Recognition Program

8.         Review of August 12, 2015 Public Meeting Agenda
9.         Manager’s Report
10.       Council Reports
11.       Public Comments (Not to Exceed 5 Minutes per Person)
12.       Resolution to go into Closed Session
13.       Closed Session
A.        Legal – Valley Hospital
B.         Personnel – Human Resources Position
14.       Adjournment

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The Ridgewood Guild Presents 2015 Movies in the Park

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The Ridgewood Guild Presents 2015 Movies in the Park Schedule

All movies are on Wednesdays and start at sundown (approximately 9pm in June and July and 8:30pm in August). In case of rain movies will be shown the following day (Thursday). Follow-us on Facebook for the latest information.

June 10: Star Wars
June 24: Citizen Kane
July 8: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
July 22: Momma Mia!*
August 5: Murder on the Orient Express
August 19: Harry Potter and the Sorcer’s Stone*

*Join us for an event with food, music and more!

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Picky eaters more likely to suffer anxiety and depression

picky eaters

Fussy eating in children signals a higher chance they will go on to suffer from mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, research suggests

By Laura Donnelly, Health Editor
6:00AM BST 03 Aug 2015

Picky eating in small children may be a sign of serious mental problems that should not be ignored, say experts.

Parents and doctors who view food fussiness as a passing phase could be making a grave mistake, a study suggests.

Even “moderate” pickiness was associated with significantly increased levels of depression and anxiety in a population of more than 3,000 children aged two to six.

Those with highly selective eating habits were more than twice as likely as normal eaters to have a diagnosis of depression.

Lead researcher Dr Nancy Zucker, director of the Duke Centre for Eating Disorders in the US, said: “The question for many parents and physicians is: when is picky eating truly a problem?

“The children we’re talking about are not just misbehaving kids who refuse to eat their broccoli.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/11778893/Picky-eaters-more-likely-to-suffer-anxiety-and-depression.html

 

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Fallen tree blocks busy through street in Ridgewood

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Photo credit:   Boyd A. Loving

Fallen tree blocks busy through street in Ridgewood
August 03,2015
Boyd A. Loving

Ridgewood NJ, Tree crews from the Village of Ridgewood Parks Department work to remove a fallen tree that completely blocked Lincoln Avenue in Ridgewood on Monday morning, 08/03.  The fallen tree was reported at approximately 8:15 AM and affected the roadway between Rock Road and Highland Avenue.

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No injuries were reported, nor were there any reported disruptions to utility services in the area.  The roadway was reopened for traffic at approximately 9:45 AM. Uniformed patrol officers from Ridgewood and Glen Rock provided traffic control while crews were busy at work.

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Reader says Town is moving in the wrong direction

clock_cbd_theridgewoodblog

Valley is a disgrace to Ridgewood with their actions. Why would anyone support Valley in this town anymore? I believe Hackensack is Top 5 in the country. The 10 minute extra drive is now worth it for me. This town has so many issues. A 3-2 Council, we’re the minority on this.

High Density housing, unreasonable size units we’re given. A 15 Million dollar parking garage? Are you insane? How much did the Town Hall cost in the flood zone. How many studies have we paid for? Let’s do another study. Steel beams and concrete..$15 million dollars, only in RichWood. Town is a disgrace and moving in the wrong direction. I just heard, needs to be confirmed, the Engineer is asking taxpayers sidewalks to be repaired? Take a look at the sidewalks in the CDB. Hint, the red bricks meeting concrete. Don’t ask others to do when you don’t! True

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Reader says Retirement Crisis hits Village Police Department

Ridgewood-_Police_cars_theridgewoodblog
file photo by Boyd Loving
we have six to seven police officers retiring this year and are any of them being replaced soon. all across this town we lost so many workers in the last five years, and they come back and say the village don’t have the money to replace workers, but in the school ‘s they get over a 100,mill. this is not right. something needs to be done. because down the road ,o we are at the end of the road now. we are in big trouble as in work force.
They’re retiring this year because they get 65% of their final comp if they retire by 2016… it’s not because the Village hasn’t been hiring new officers, that’s BS. PFRS member’s special retirement benefit after 2016 will be 60% of final compensation, plus 1% of final compensation multiplied by the number of years of creditable service over 25 but not over 30, instead of the current benefit of 65% of final compensation plus 1% for each year of service over 25 but not over 30. That’s for anyone who didn’t have 20 years of service as of 2011, so it’s in their interest to retire now.
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Reader says Apps on phone are the most vulnerable to hackers

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.Apps on phone are the most vulnerable to hackers. This is according recent to PBS newshour segment So why would I want a parking App and only make myself more vulnerable to hackers and also pay more for parking

What Roberta is not saying: Teaneck is contemplating going from free parking to metered parking with parking meters. If parking meters are becoming obsolete why would Teaneck be considering them.

The GREAT ALL KNOWING Roberta is either wrong about parking meters becoming obsolete or she is purposely not telling us the truth and pretending to us that they are becoming obsolete when in fact they are not. Witness all the towns across the U.S. that use them.

If Ridgewood is so great on community why can’t Roberta and town staff find someone honest to collect quarters. I don’t believe that honest people don’t exist, they do.

What doesn’t exist are smart managers who know how to hire honest people. Roberta, are you reading this?

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Ridgewood Blog Summer Sunday Book Review : Harper Lee’s Go Set A Watchman, by artist Jen Bissu

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Review of Harper Lee’s Go Set A Watchman, by artist Jen Bissu

I had very high hopes for this book. Perhaps that’s in part why I am so terribly disappointed. I must credit Harper Lee’s editors: it was a wise decision to insist that she rewrite this novel, and continue revising it, until it turned into the magnificent To Kill A Mockingbird that we all know and love. There are only perhaps two or three parts of this book that I found actually enjoyable; the rest I grudgingly endured. It had its good points: her vocabulary is strong, and some of the writing is eloquent. Unfortunately, much of the writing in this book is nebulous. There is a great deal of philosophizing, which I found tiresome. Also, most apparent in the beginning of the book, Lee chooses to “tell” the reader about her characters, rather than “show,” as she did in Mockingbird. “Showing” rather than “telling” is a much stronger writing technique. I found the “telling” juvenile, prosaic, and not engaging at all. Fortunately that ceased after the beginning of the book. If I weren’t so determined to read this book for its historical value, having been published some sixty years after it was written, I would’ve dropped it after the slow, poorly told beginning. So I pushed through, and upon completing it, I found myself with an empty, dissatisfied feeling. I’m almost sorry this book was published. I just re-read To Kill A Mockingbird very recently, in anticipation of this book, thus deepening the stark contrast between the brilliance and delightfulness of Mockingbird and this disappointing book. I do recommend reading it just for the sake of historical background, because it is interesting to see where one of the best, most revered pieces of American Literature got its start. I’m giving this three stars, which I feel is a bit generous, but I’ll allot extra credit for the admirable vocabulary.

Here is a video review/ discussion of the book that I feel hits the nail on the head. https://youtu.be/vPNk-0dv5_Y

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Kasschau Memorial Shell Music Under the Stars

Kasschau_Band_Shell_theridgewoodblog

2015 Kasschau Shell Schedule

Here is the schedule for you to make plans for the upcoming 2015 Entertainment Under the Stars at the Kasschau Shell on Vet’s Field in Ridgewood. All programs are free. Just bring a chair or blanket and enjoy the music!

Click Here for 2015 Season Schedule.

August 4, 2015

Kasschau Memorial Shell
The Bishop and His Abbotts – Rio Clemente
Free Entertainment Under the Stars! Bring a chair or blanket. Show starts at 8:30pm at Kasschau Memorial Shell – on Veterans Field – behind the Library

August 6, 2015

Kasschau Memorial Schell
Mack Brandon & The Connection – Popular Gospel
Free Entertainment Under the Stars! Bring a chair or blanket. Show starts at 8:30pm at Kasschau Memorial Shell – on Veterans Field – behind the Library

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Instructors show at the Ridgewood Art Institute

Ridgewood_Art_Institute_theridgewoodblog

JULY 31, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY EILEEN LA FORGIA
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

The Ridgewood Art Institute’s Summer Show features works of art that people can connect with, be it childhood memories or recent experiences like a trip to a lighthouse in Maine, or a summer moonlight walk along the beach, a day of sailing and boat watching, fishing along a pier, arranging picked flowers from a garden, enjoying the morning’s freshly brewed coffee or admiring the harvest from one’s vegetable garden, according to Diana Gibson. She is co-chairing the show with fellow artists/instructor William Brown.

“The paintings remind us of the simple pleasures and pleasant times of summer, nostalgia if you will,” said Gibson, adding that they would be ideal for a summer home or perhaps as a special gift. She is showing “Moonlight.” Brown is showing “Morgan Creek.”

The annual show features more than 100 artworks by members and instructors, professionals as well as student members of R.A.I. The exhibit offers a multitude of works masterfully handled in oils, watercolors, pastels, and pencil in an array of subject matter from landscape, portraiture, still life, seascape and more. All the artworks are beautifully framed and for sale. The two gallery rooms are filled with the artwork.

Carl Holst, president of R.A.I., called the show an opportunity to display and sell beautiful paintings and visit the recently increased size of the “Barn.” Upstairs the two studios are joined with a library between and an elevator has been installed, making it possible for people to avoid stairs.

https://www.northjersey.com/towns/instructors-show-art-at-summer-show-1.1383986