Location: Benjamin Franklin Middle School, N. Van Dien Ave., Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Event Description
Thursday, November 26, 2015
The Ridgewood Thanksgiving Day Run
Racefaster would like to invite you and your family to attend our inaugural Ridgewood Thanksgiving Day Run. It’s a sanctioned 4 mile race beginning and ending at Benjamin Franklin Middle School. Stop by the Racefaster Store, 211 E. Ridgewood Ave, for discounted registration rates.
Village Hall and The Stable will be closed on November 26 & November 27, 2015, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. On November 27th, there will be east side garbage collection, recycling pick-up for Area 8, and the Recycling Center will be open. The Police Department, on the second floor of Village Hall, will be open on both days. All offices will open again on November 30, 2015 at 8:30 a.m.
Photo credit: Boyd A. Loving
Vote “Yes” For Parking signs in CBD paved the way for others
November 24,2015
Boyd A. Loving
Ridgewood NJ, Now that everyone knows it’s perfectly legal to place non-commercial signs basically any place you want to in Ridgewood, they’ll be popping up everywhere as evidenced by this “Ridgewood Thanksgiving Day Run” sign, one of several placed in flower pots within the Central Business District.
Thanks Paul A. and Paul V. for starting the unsightly trend.
Ridgewood NJ, According to Village Hall residents will have an opportunity to chime in on the parking garage design on December 2nd. The three designs presented included the original structure, as depicted on Villlage of Ridgewood (VOR) site, with 405 spaces (130,000sq ft), a modified version with 355 stalls (120,000sq ft) and the lowest profile version with 305 stalls (109,000 sq ft). The cost per stall decreases for each added level:
405 stalls @ $28,000 = 11.5 mil
355 stalls @ $29,300 = 10.4 mil
305 stalls @ $31,000 = 9.5 mil
You can see the higher you go the more efficient the project becomes IF, of course, those spaces are utilized.
As far as the design, it is exactly as shown at the informal meetings. The 355 version indicates a lower profile along Hudson St but retains the same height along Broad. The 305 version includes the lower profile on both Broad and Hudson. For some reason I didn’t include the heights in my notes but will ask Roberta for those details. Each version includes cantilevering over the entire Hudson St sidewalk with an additional 20″ cantilever extending over the street. The cantilevers were depicted in the original design and, I believe cannot be eliminated due to the lot width.
Also Mayor Aronsohn sent an email (personal email) to residents regarding the three garage designs and process moving forward. His letter indicates surprise ,surprise higher cost for each version likely based on factoring in the original $500,000 bond.
I just wanted to provide you with a status of where we are with leaves at this point in the season. As of last Friday, we collected 20,295 yards or 58% of the total yardage typically collected for the entire season. Compared to last year at this time, we have collected 6,300 yards or 18% more. This is directly related to the heavy dropping of leaves we had about 1 ½ weeks ago after the rain storm.
As a result of the above, it has been taking us a little longer (about two extra days) to finish up in an area and begin the next area. In previous communications, I have mentioned that we have had some operational issues with the new contractor we are using in Area B – although we are still monitoring him closely, he has picked up double the amount at this point in the season than last year’s contractor. Another interesting factoid is that Area B is responsible for about 35% of the total leaves that have been picked up this season.
Net-net this makes collection more cumbersome for the present time, but bodes well for the remainder of the season as the bulk of the leaves are down or have been collected; therefore the last weeks of collection should be easier. Please bear with us, as we do our best to clean up as much volume as possible before the Thanksgiving holiday. As a reminder, we will be doing a last go through after your final collection date, weather permitting. For residents who like to bag their leaves, free bags are still available for pick up at the Recycling Center.
On to another topic: violations of the leaf collection policy. As you know, we listened to you last year when you reported that your biggest issue was neighbors placing leaves out on the street outside of the permitted schedule. This is just not a safety issue and a violation of our ordinance but it is also a violation of NJ State regulations that mandate leaves cannot be put out more than 7 days prior to the scheduled collection date.
As a result, this season we started active compliance monitoring of the various areas. I think I mentioned in an earlier E-Notice that we saw a large number of violations the first weeks of the season supporting the views that you have been sharing with me. On my own block, I witnessed leaves being placed in the street two days after the collection period! We made a decision not to write summonses at that point but to issue warnings. This was also due to the fact that this violation required an in court appearance, a burden we did not want to place on our residents.
Now that we are almost through the second cycle of leaf collection, we are issuing summonses and there will unfortunately be many of them. The only fortunate news is that the Court Administrator successfully petitioned to remove the requirement for an in-court appearance.
Ridgewood is a very leafy town – we collect between 32,000-35,000 yards of leaves across 95 miles of roads – a real challenge when coupled with the vagaries of weather. I would like to continue to hear your input on enforcement as well as any other suggestions that you may have for better service. Some of you may have seen our new claw which we just introduced and which seems to be working very well – we plan on adding a second one for next leaf season. Also next season, we will also be getting a new leaf vacuum that is significantly better than the ones we are using. We did a post mortem of last season and we will do one this season – we do bring your suggestions and thoughts to those forums.
NOVEMBER 23, 2015 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015, 1:56 PM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
With the November election and the affirmative results of the non-binding referendum in the rearview mirror, the next steps for the village include further discussions on specifics for a garage on Hudson Street and the presentation of a few different design options for the public.
Earlier this month, voters approved a non-binding referendum question asking residents if they were in favor of bonding up to $15 million in public money for the construction of a parking garage, which is expected to be paid for principally, if not entirely, with parking utility revenues. The measure passed with 65 percent of the vote.
In the subsequent weeks, the village appears to have settled on three different designs for a parking deck, which vary in terms of overall size, height, cost and the number of cars it can house. Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld provided The Ridgewood News with specifics on each of the options.
Option “A” is the design that has been most prominently featured at public meetings with a capacity of 405 cars, which would provide a net gain of 305 spaces. The 136,650 square foot building is 49 feet, two inches, to the top of the highest parapet with the tower extending to 68 feet. The approximate construction cost per space is approximately $29,630 and the village would plan to bond $12 million.
A second rendering, known as Option “B,” brings the height of the building along Hudson Street down to 37 feet, four inches, but the highest parapet on South Broad would remain at the 49 foot mark and the corner tower would also remain the same height. This garage will hold 355 cars for a net gain of 255. The village would plan to bond about $11 million for this 119,800 square foot proposal.
Option “C” scales down the building even further with the tower now lowered to 56 feet, eight inches, and both the Hudson and Broad parapets down to 37 feet. This design can house 306 cars for a net gain to the village of 206. Ridgewood would plan to bond $10.1 million for the 109,350 square foot structure.
In a letter sent from his village email account, Mayor Paul Aronsohn invited residents to come to the Village Council’s meeting on Dec. 2 to weigh in on their preferred design. Renderings will be made available on the village website and in the first floor lobby in Village Hall, the mayor said.
Bill credits will save typical customer $124 over three months
Annual bills down 55 percent since 2009 due to falling natural gas prices
November 23,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G), New Jersey’s largest utility, announced today that it will provide bill credits this winter that will lower bills by about 30 percent during the months of December, January and February for a typical residential gas heating customer. Those customers will see a total bill credit of approximately $124 this winter.
Including this winter’s bill credits announced today, since January 2009 annual bills for PSE&G’s typical residential gas heating customer will be 55 percent — or $916 — lower due to supply rate reductions. In fact, PSE&G’s gas supply rate is at its lowest in 15 years.
“I can’t think of any other commodity that costs 55 percent less today than it did in 2009,” said Jorge Cardenas, PSE&G vice president of asset management and centralized services. “Falling natural gas prices, our transportation and storage capabilities, and the way we manage our contracts have enabled us to pass these savings along to our customers as the temperature drops.”
Ridgewood NJ, Long time resident suggests what the Ridgewood blog suggested some years ago and was barraged by disparaging comments from friends of Tommy Rica .
“I care very much about this village and I never felt we needed this parking garage. I own properties in the the downtown and I do not feel burdened by a lack of parking or the need for much more parking.
Furthermore I hardly ever feel I can’t quickly and cheaply (compared to NYC) find a parking spot on the block I’m going to, and I’m in town every day.
My suggestion though to the village fathers would be to go to a Muni Meter system as we use in NYC. The cost savings would be tremendous… Less maintenance and I think most people pay with a credit card… So needless to say we wouldn’t need to worry about a half million $$$ in quarters disappearing!”
Obviously if you have been downtown lately, you must have noticed the little green stickers affixed to our existing meter-heads. That is because now, you can park anywhere in the central business district, using credit cards, phones, coins, or the incredible app.to park! And, you don’t have to walk to another location to get a piece of paper to leave on your windshield…
While park mobile has its pros and cons , its a shame that we had a simple solution so many years ago and it was ignored ! The Village even went out of its way to install quarter meters at great inconvenience to commuters at the Ridgewood train station.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood has always been a quaint and desirable village notably distinct from its neighboring towns and will always have some degree of crowding. A 300 space parking garage is only another step away from that “quaintness”.
When the Mayor Aronsohn was at the train station one morning lobbying for yes-votes for the garage, Residents asked him if 300 spaces would solve any problems. His response was that some people estimate it at 1,000 spaces and he’s looking at other locations for other garages as well. It’s like a runaway train.
The fact that we have some congestion goes hand-in-hand with desirability. Many would rather have the village we have now and pay the price that charm requires rather than chip away at its ambiance (and these are pretty big chips) and end up paying an even larger price in the long run.
Ridgewood NJ, as an observer of council meetings for well over 25 years, talk of transparency is missing the point. The problem is we don’t have transparency and that is why in this time of many issues( Valley, CBD Development, Habernickle, Schedler, Parking Garage, Garber Square, Coin Gate ,recent hirings and council majority treatment of the minority in the past several years) the public is frustrated and is demanding to be heard.While public comment is allowed , answers are not always forth coming and sometimes not at all. It is clear that separate meetings should be held when the topic of interest is so controversial. To try to hold a regular business meeting at the same time is really not possible. Everyone is short changed.
Certain council members have stated that the meetings do not begin until after the public comments have concluded . This suggests that public comments are not a valuable part of the meeting. This is extraordinarily disrespectful to those who come to speak.
At each of the recent very long meetings, both Council women Gwen Hauk and Council member Albert Puccarelli have made derogatory comments about the length of time that the public comments consumed. It is very clear to all of the residents that although you claim to love public input, in fact you find it to be a time-consuming annoyance that delays the start of the “real meeting.”The Fact that so many people are upset and speaking out should be an indicator that something is wrong with the process. Many residents have been trying to say this for months but to no avail.
And we all know village employees are not always in a position to speak freely to the public. They have concerns about their jobs. That is the case every where. I am deeply concerned about our village committees and feel they may be compromised because of the active participation of some of our professionals. It is beginning to feel like that some of the committees are extensions of the Village Council snd not necessarily representing public opinion.
Ridgewood NJ, in the PDF on the Village website called “Hudson Street Parking Deck – Message from the Village Manager” . The Village manager makes the bold pronouncement that the “We have already confirmed the economics by commissioning an independent consulting firm whose work was studied and endorsed by the Financial Advisory Committee. ” . Sounds a bit bold given that the final garage decisions have not been made . The three garage options listed would involve different economic assumptions .
The three designs presented included the original structure, as depicted on VOR site, with 405 spaces (130,000sq ft), a modified version with 355 stalls (120,000sq ft) and the lowest profile version with 305 stalls (109,000 sq ft). The cost per stall decreases for each added level:
405 stalls @ $28,000 = 11.5 mil
355 stalls @ $29,300 = 10.4 mil
305 stalls @ $31,000 = 9.5 mil
You can see the higher you go the more efficient the project becomes IF, of course, those spaces are utilized.
While we have gotten many assurances that the garage will pay for it self ,Several funding options had been presented to the Council. Have decisions been reached on increasing parking rates, increasing hours of meter operation, adjusting rates for non-resident parking passes, and increasing enforcement times? Until such decisions have been made and trialed, how could we possibly have “confirmed the economics?” As they stand now, these are just assumptions made on paper by the consultant. Lets face it does anyone really know how much money the parking authority really takes in ? And what happens to all the money being currently used from the parking authority to subsidize other Village activities ?
Before we commit to spending millions of dollars based payback from projected revenue streams, let’s check some of the assumptions out in the field.
Hudson Street Parking Deck – Message from the Village Manager
Ali Stroker has been rolling with the punches (literally, as she puts it) since she was two years old, but has proven time and again that nothing can stand in her way. She opens up about making her Broadway debut — and history — as the first actress to rock a wheelchair on the Great White Way in this season’s Spring Awakening.
“Alright, I’ve got to find my way in. I’ve got find a way in,” says Ali Stroker of the challenges she faces on a daily basis. Stroker, who made her Broadway debut as Anna in Spring Awakening, says that the main obstacle she faces in her daily life is fear. “We have a lot of fear to deal with. About what someone can and can’t do and about our ideas of what is possible.”
So, how does an actress who uses a wheelchair find her way “in” and push past the fear?
“I’ve just decided to completely surrender and own it and be creative and let it stump me and let it take people places,” she says.
– See more at: https://www.playbill.com/news/article/this-is-how-i-roll-literally-ali-stroker-on-auditioning-the-same-way-she-dates-and-making-history-on-broadway-372809#sthash.mKx4f5pX.dpuf
Location: Ridgewood YMCA, 112 Oak St., Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Looking for the perfect tree this year? The Ridgewood YMCA’s annual Christmas Tree lot will open at 6pm on Friday, November 27 with a selection of Fraser trees in sizes to fit any home.
All proceeds from tree sales benefit the Ridgewood YMCA Good Works Programs.
Through its Good Works Programs, the Ridgewood Y addresses community needs and strives to serve everyone, regardless of ability to pay. “Buying a tree from the Y is a great way to make a difference in the community and get a wonderful tree at the same time”, says Gary Imhoff, Marketing and Membership Director at the Y.
The Christmas tree lot also sells wreaths, roping and other holiday items.
Opening hours for the tree lot are Fridays from 6pm to 9pm, Saturdays from 9am to 9pm and Sundays from 10am to 5pm.
The Ridgewood Y Christmas Tree lot is located at 112 Oak Street in Ridgewood, NJ.
Ridgewood NJ ,Join the Ridgewood PBA Local 20 on Monday December 7th 2015 as we honor six officers retiring from the Ridgewood Police Department with a dinner and Comedy show at Seasons Restaurant in Washington Township.
