Father Ron of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Issues a VERY STRONG statement on Hudson Garage

Dear Friends,

I liked last year’s Father’s Day reflection, so I decided to put it in again. I may fail to be as clever as my neighbor down the street, I may fail to be as wealthy as some other men I meet, I may never win the glory which a lot of men have had, But I’ve got to be successful as a little fellow’s dad. There are certain dreams I cherish which I’d like to see come true, There are things I would accomplish when my time of life is through, But the task my heart is on is to guide a little lad And to make myself successful as that little fellow’s dad. I may never come to glory, I may never gather gold, Men may list me with the failures when my business life is told, But if he who follows after me shall be manly, I’ll be glad, For I’ll know I’ve been successful as that little fellow’s dad. It’s the one job that I dream of, it’s the task I think of most, If I fail that growing youngster, I’d have nothing else to boast; For though wealth and fame I’d gathered, all my failure would be sad, If I failed to be successful as that little fellow’s dad. God bless all our dads on their special day and thank you for who you are. As a gift from the parish, please take a pen with you and know how much your faith contributes not only to your family but to the parish family as well.

Here we go again. I had resolved not to write on the deck again but I find myself on the subject one last time (since the referendum is Tuesday). Someone said to me that there was a video on the Village website and I should be sure to view it. I did. Several times. And that’s why I find myself writing. Notwithstanding the article in The Ridgewood News, dated June 10th, in which Council members indicate the referendum is about the bonding for a deck, the statement is made in the video, “There will be one question on the ballot that day, ‘Do you support this parking deck.?’” And the video clearly points to the 325 car deck. I find the ambiguity between these two positions worrisome. I have said all along I will not comment on the aesthetics of that deck, “its size, its proportionality to surrounding buildings and the streetscape it creates.” My two issues remain the traffic pattern changes and the on-street parking on the south side of Hudson Street. You will find in the video this statement, “There are two churches on South Broad and in looking at that we decided that directing traffic from the parking deck to Prospect provided better dispersion and less of a loading on South Board St. Our Office worked with ….” And then the video lists a number of entities that were consulted.

You will not hear the name of Our Lady of Mount Carmel mentioned in that consultation. Incredibly, the single largest reality, neighbor, directly across the street from the deck, not four or six blocks away was ignored. This is despite the fact that Mount Carmel hired its own traffic consultant from an equally reputable traffic consulting firm. In their review of the Village’s traffic report, they had this evaluation. “The traffic analysis in the STIS shows that with Hudson Street remaining one-way in the westbound direction, the parking garage will not (their emphasis) cause failure operations at the Hudson Street intersections with South Broad and Prospect Street. As such, we believe there is no need to reverse the traffic flow on Hudson Street or Passaic Street.” Of prime importance to the operations of Mount Carmel Church is the on-street parking on the church side of Hudson Street. In the early months of the year, it was claimed that even with the deck encroaching five feet into the sidewalk (and thus into the street), it would still allow for three lanes on Hudson Street, a parking lane (on the church side), a drive-thru lane and a turning lane into the deck. At a meeting of the Preservation Committee in March, this was unqualifiedly debunked. With the width of Hudson Street narrowed, even by only five feet, there will only be enough space for two lanes. Does this mean that in the future it may be found necessary to eliminate the on-street parking on the church side of Hudson? That will unquestionably have a negative impact on the operations of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

I just thought you needed some further information before you go to the polls on Tuesday. God Bless,

Father Ron