Category: village of ridgewood

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If it’s April, it must be allergy season

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APRIL 10, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY LUCY PROBERT
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

In our house, two lacrosse schedules, one muddy dog and a teenager’s pair of red, itchy eyes mark the beginning of spring. Ah, the allergy season; in this area, it comes up fast and hits pretty hard.

Just look at the number of streets named after trees (Oak, Maple, Chestnut), proof that pollen is alive and well and soon to start coating our cars and filling our kids’ noses.

But if you’ve got seasonal allergies in your home, you’re not alone; statistics show that up to 40 percent of children suffer from them with stuffy noses, sneezing and those itchy eyes. The good news is that it’s a relatively brief season. The bad news is that those few months can bring misery.

This pesky pollen comes from weeds, plants, grasses and trees, pretty much whatever we come in contact with just by being outside. Around here the allergy season starts with maple, says Dr. Patricia Hicks, an allergist in Ho-Ho-Kus. Then by mid-May we start to see oak pollen, then it’s grass, she says.

“The problem is that these add to each other, so by the time the season is in full swing, you’re dealing with multiple pollens.”

Peak time is around Mother’s Day and by summer most symptoms have lessened.

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/family/if-it-s-april-it-must-be-allergy-season-1.1306173

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Ridgewood approves increasing construction code fees

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APRIL 14, 2015    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2015, 9:42 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

The Ridgewood Council has approved new construction code fees, adopting the implementing ordinance by 3-2 vote during its meeting last Wednesday.

Council members Susan Knudsen and Michael Sedon voted against the fee changes.

Knudsen did not offer explanation for her vote; however, Sedon said he reviewed the Building Department’s upcoming budget when reaching his decision. In comparing anticipated revenues and expenditures, the councilman said the department is turning a $134,000 profit.

“My feeling is we’re covering the cost of the department and able to make a little bit of money while still offering residents a bit of a deal on inspections when they have work done,” Sedon said, suggesting the higher fees were unnecessary.

With the new ordinance, the building department is aiming to bring the village’s construction code fees more in line with surrounding towns and the state of New Jersey.

Tom Yotka, the new director of the Building Department and construction official, said the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) requires the construction official in each municipality to review the fees a minimum of every two years. Yotka noted the last effective change to the ordinance was in 2009, but did not know when the department last reviewed its charges.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/new-fee-structure-approved-1.1308346

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Ridgewood Bear ; experts say expect to see more

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photo from Ridgewood Police 

April 13,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. , Ridgewood Police with the help of Fish and wildlife officials tranquilized a bear found roaming through the Village in a sign that bear-sighting season is here.

Chief John M. Ward ,”I would like to thank Bergen County, Glen Rock and Ho Ho Kus Police Departments, TYCO animal control and NJ Fish & Game for their assistance in the tracking, containment and capture of the bear. Additionally I would like to thank Ridgewood Fire, Emergency Services, and OEM for their valuable assistance with notification of the public and helping to secure the perimeter, area sports fields and schools during the incident.
Finally I would like to thank our residents for their cooperation and understanding which allowed us to deal with the situation as quickly and safely as possible. “

Authorities speculate  that the 175-pound male black bear that was seen Saturday morning in Ridgewood,may have been the same one seen in Hawthorne Friday night.

Experts tell The Bergen Record that bear sightings pick up at this time of year as the bruins emerge from hibernating to look for food. Males can roam as far as 50 miles from their dens.

Bears have been seen all around New Jersey but sightings have been mainly concentrated in the northwest part of the state.

New Jersey hosts a state-sanctioned bear hunt that has killed about 1,900 bears since 2010 and the state has proposed expanding the hunt in coming years.

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More charges for Ridgewood man accused of improper sexual contact by college softball players

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APRIL 13, 2015, 8:02 PM    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2015, 8:03 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

SOUTH NYACK, N.Y. — Six additional charges were filed on Monday against Kurt G. Ludwigsen, the 43-year-old Ridgewood resident accused of inappropriately kissing and touching several softball players he had coached at Nyack College.

The additional charges were revealed at Ludwigsen’s arraignment in South Nyack court on Monday evening.

More than 90 charges of forcible touching of another’s sexual/intimate parts and harassment were brought against Ludwigsen last Thursdayfollowing interviews with between 10 and 20 of his players, who ranged from 18 to 23 years old, South Nyack-Grand View Police Chief Brent Newbury said.

Newbury confirmed another victim had come forward on Monday, resulting in six more “similar charges.” Those charges were not outlined during Ludwigsen’s arraignment. However, Newbury said three were harassment related and three were related to unwanted touching.

Dressed in khaki pants with matching shoes and a purple, white, and dark green plaid shirt and carrying a black backpack,  Ludwigsen sat at the back of the court room audience, occasionally cracking his knuckles.

Before his name was called by Judge Thomas Mascola, Ludwigsen — also known as Kurt Vogner — also sent text messages and checked sports scores on his phone.

Ludwigsen approached the bench with his attorney, David Goldstein, who didn’t once remove his sunglasses.

Goldstein waived a reading of the charges against his client, and a not guilty plea was entered on his Ludwigsen’s behalf. The Ridgewood man will return to South Nyack for another hearing on May 11.

Mascola on Monday also approved a protective order sought by the most recent player to press charges against Ludwigsen.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/more-charges-for-ridgewood-man-accused-of-improper-sexual-contact-by-college-softball-players-1.1308099

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Millions facing higher premium rates for flood insurance

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file photo by Boyd Loving

APRIL 12, 2015, 11:51 AM    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, APRIL 12, 2015, 11:56 AM
BY FRANK ELTMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS

MINEOLA, N.Y.  — A $24 billion sea of red ink has millions of Americans in vulnerable flood zones, including homeowners still struggling to recover from Superstorm Sandy, facing steep increases in flood insurance premiums.

New legislation that went into effect this month — the second time in two years Congress has tweaked the troubled National Flood Insurance Program — allows rate increases of up to 18 percent.

“This appears to be death by a thousand cuts,'” said Scott Primiano, an Amityville, New York, insurance broker who has been holding seminars for clients to explain the new legislation. “The concept sounds good, but no one can say what the full risk is. … They are going to take it in bits and pieces every year and it keeps going until Congress determines we’ve had enough.”

Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesman Rafael Lemaitre said the flood insurance program has for decades been paying out more than it took in, with the United States as a whole totaling more than $260 billion in flood-related damages between 1980 and 2013. He said the new legislation is “intended to improve the long-term sustainability of the program while being sensitive to needs of policyholders.”

Lemaitre noted that a previous overhaul in 2012 had socked many policyholders with even higher rate hikes — as much as 25 percent annually.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/millions-facing-higher-premium-rates-for-flood-insurance-1.1307515

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Meet the Manager – Thursday, April 23 4:30pm to 7:30pm

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Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld will hold office hours for Ridgewood residents and business owners on Thursday, April 23 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 Garden Room – on the First 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

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Authorities Tranquilize Black Bear Roaming Around Ridgewood, NJ

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photo courtesy of the Ridgewood Police Department

April 11, 2015 11:25 PM

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – A black bear reportedly roaming around Ridgewood, New Jersey, was tranquilized by authorities Saturday.

According to posts on the Ridgewood Police Department’s social media accounts, the 175-pound bear was roaming the community earlier but was removed by the New Jersey Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Ridgewood police tell WCBS 880 a call came in at about 8:10 a.m. about a bear in the area heading into town.

https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/04/11/authorities-tranquilize-black-bear-roaming-around-ridgewood-nj/

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Reader says All the rhetoric about wanting to hire the best available employee is B.S.

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Village Clerk, when acting VM, violated ordinance and was called out on it by resident. Same resident had applied for a Village position. Resident denied position in violation of residency requirement ordinance by same Village Clerk while Acting Manager. New Vm (R.S.) learns of violation in May, 2014 and decides to amend ordinance to support her Village Clerk. Councilwoman Knudsen got to close to discovering the truth and the V.M. and 3 amigos decided to sic their attack dog(labor attorney) on her. All the rhetoric about wanting to hire the best available employee is B.S.

That’s either a crass indictment, or a rare glimpse of truth and municipal reality that the public was not supposed to be afforded. One can’t necessarily decide between the two possibilities without more information or an alternative source, but you may be assured that at least one inquiring mind wants to know which is real, and which IS an illusion!

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Reader says Councilwoman Knudsen actions are an attempt to get to the bottom of this sordid affair

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file photo by Boyd Loving

Councilwoman Knudsen, if she really sits and thinks about it, will realize that she has the municipal equivalent of Legislative Privilege to shield her from negative repercussions from the actions she took in an attempt to get to the bottom of this sordid affair, and the public statements she made in attempting to articulate her impressions of the apparent suspicious misfeasance and unaccountable nonfeasance of many of those with whom she shares the local governmental stage. We should all pray for her that she not buckle or crumple under the combined weight of all the unfair attacks lodged against her in response to her probing questions (and they really do seem to be rolling out the big guns). If Ms. Knudsen backs off now the precedent will have been set and this set of circumstances will be repeated as necessary and ad nauseum until legitimate political opposition by the minority becomes a lost art in Ridgewood. On the other hand, if instead she stands her ground (as she absolutely should, since she has done absolutely nothing wrong, and so much that is so sweetly right) and manages to carry her point to its logical conclusion, we will be blessed with a shining, Patton-like example of courage which we can then use as a touchstone during future disputes with the sulphurous political element that has unfortunately surfaced in Ridgewood (and those disputes will come…).

BTW, there is no way a contracted labor attorney can go toe-to-toe with an elected member of the Village Council, regardless of the pure truth of the matter, when there the criticisms made against the former party has such a clear basis in publicly-confirmable fact.

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College coach from Ridgewood charged with dozens of sexual offenses involving players

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by Paul Milo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on April 09, 2015 at 10:24 PM, updated April 10, 2015 at 12:24 AM

A women’s college softball coach who lives in Ridgewood was charged Thursday with more than 90 counts of improper sexual contact and behavior, The Journal News of New York reported.

Kurt Ludwigsen, 43, worked as a coach at Nyack College between September and last month, when he was fired after the administration of the Christian school began to receive complaints from parents. Ludwigsen, also known as Kurt Vogner, is accused of behavior including harassment, kissing and unwanted sexual touching involving the 13 players he coached.

Ludwigsen has been charged with 44 misdemeanor counts of forcible touching, 49 misdemeanor counts of second-degree harassment, and one misdemeanor count of third-degree sexual abuse.

He was being held on $15,000 cash bail in the Rockland County jail.

https://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2015/04/college_coach_from_ridgewood_charged_with_dozens_o.html

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Reader says Village Council Meeting a disgrace

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The meeting was a disgrace. Go to villageofridgewood and follow them on ustream (upper right corner) there are 2 parts to the meeting. Click on the one that shows the black screen and not a person. Go to 15:25-that’s basically when the bashing of councilwoman Knudsen starts. It is beyond my comprehension that she asked for some information to help her understand an ordinance they were voting on. Knudsen still has not received all the information she asked for, And the mayor gets the labor attorney to come to the council meeting to blast Knudsen and threaten her under the guise of “she’s here to explain things”.
If the labor attorney wanted to explain things, she could have picked up the phone weeks ago to speak with Knudsen and not left her in the dark about things since Knudsen’s request of March 11th.
They should all be ashamed of themselves, but of course this is typical of Aronsohn, Pucciarelli and Hauck. The village manager is a hot head. She can barely control herself. You can tell when she gets angry. She can’t stop fidgeting. Scratching her head constantly, bouncing in her chair, turning red, fanning herself etc. Shame on Matt Rogers for allowing the bashing to continue. I thought his job is to represent the council. He certainly did not represent councilwoman Knudsen last night.

Village of Ridgewood Public Access (180:00)
Village of Ridgewood Public Access
Wednesday at 4:57pm
50 views
https://www.ustream.tv/recorded/60890176

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Ridgewood eases residency requirement

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APRIL 10, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

RIDGEWOOD – The Village Council, after hours of debate that included allegations of harassment, has voted to eliminate a residency requirement for most civilian hires.

The 3-2 vote at the Wednesday council meeting ended weeks of often contentious discussion on the change and opened up all municipal positions not affiliated with the police and fire departments to applicants statewide.

Councilwoman Susan Knudsen and Councilman Mike Sedon cast the two dissenting votes, arguing that village openings should be filled with qualified village residents.

“I have faith in our residents,” Sedon explained. “Getting rid of this [residency requirement] is a disservice to the town.”

Mayor Paul Aronsohn, Deputy Mayor Al Pucciarelli and Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck all insisted that the village would benefit most from hiring the best possible candidates for each position, regardless of their address.

https://theridgewoodblog.net/wp-admin/post.php?post=73630&action=edit

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Ridgewood faces tax increase under ‘recommended’ budget

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April 9, 2015    Last updated: Thursday, April 9, 2015, 4:02 PM
By Darius Amos
Staff Writer |
The Ridgewood News

Emphasizing an investment in personnel and the revitalization of village services, Ridgewood finance officials this week unveiled a “recommended” spending plan that would boost 2015 municipal taxes by 1.2 percent over last year.

For the typical Ridgewood household, this budget would increase tax bills by $46.72, based on the average assessed home value of $690,662.

The proposed $47.06 million budget was one of three spending scenarios presented by Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld during a special public meeting on Monday.

Each plan calls for a tax increase, a situation that the municipality avoided while crafting budgets during the previous two years.

Sonenfeld explained that keeping taxes flat while maintaining a high level of municipal services “is hard,” particularly during years when Ridgewood is obligated to pick up certain expenses, such as increases related to police and fire department contracts. This year was no exception, she said, noting that the police department budget will increase by more than $500,000 over last year’s actual amount spent.

“We took the message that the council gave us very seriously – with tax increases you would like to see service improvements and improvements in quality of life in the town. I think we all agree with that,” said Sonenfeld, who, along with treasurer Steve Sanzari, formulated the recommended budget using previously provided input from Ridgewood’s department leaders.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/recommended-plan-would-boost-tax-bills-by-46-1.1306062

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Dom, ” I have lost all confidence our Councilmen (for now) on the public behavior of these matters”

DomNizza005_theridgewoodblog

4-8-2015 Public meeting.

This my personal opinion on last nights public meeting.

1. A delay of almost 50 minutes before beginning the scheduled agenda to hear a “personal grievance”statement  by the employee labor attorney for the Village.
2. It was not on the agenda and a matter that should have first been discussed in a closed meeting.
3. Sadly, the Mayor permitted the “employee” to make her statement at the public Village meeting hoping to “clear the air” and be helpful. “which was a BIG mistake.
4. I have lost all confidence our Councilmen (for now) on the public behavior of these matters.

I have been a residence in Ridgewood since 1948 and have seen “many meetings” —  that one was the worse..

Respectfully,        Dominick Nizza ,Robert Street. Ridgewood