photo by Boyd Loving
February 4,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Only one (1) resident from the affected area showed up at the meeting last night. The plan seems to be moving forward with just some minor tweaking required in the contract language. The main sticking issues from the neighborhood’s point of view are: 1) increased traffic, including large school buses during the school year between 10 AM and 3 PM, 2) signage on the building and, 3) possible field use conflicts (with softball, soccer, etc.). Most could not believe that only one (1) person took the time to show up given the amount of new bus traffic in the neighborhood and the potential interference with local sports , possible loss of property values as well as the potential conflict with Green Acre funding.
see below
Good Afternoon
Thank you for contacting me with your concerns. While the change in zoning from residential to business is not under Green Acres’
jurisdiction, the use of Habernickel Park most certainly is. The Village was forthcoming in educating Green Acres in the business
looking to lease the Habernickel Gate House. The Village sent me a brochure and directed me to the HealthBarn USA’s website. However, while I did see the popularity and many accolades of this business it did not translate into the number of potential students
you have given me.
You are correct that busses bringing students to the Park on a regular basis would be disruptive to community as
would 60 to 75 students attending classes on a daily basis in addition to the park’s regular visitors. However, I do want to point
out that the programing will go through the Village Recreation Department or Community School and that ultimately the Village
has control of the course offerings. Additionally, private clients cannot be served in this location; Ms. Antine would need
to bring her classes / workshops to her private clients.
You are also correct that the classes being proposed to be held are not all recreation / conservation oriented however Green Acres has stressed and the courses encouraged the use of the parkland in the programing. N.J.A.C. 7:36-25.7(f) (attached) allows for the use of a building that existed on funded parkland at the time of receipt of
Green Acres funding as a recreation center provided the town complies with the change in use procedures at N.J.A.C. 7:36-25.6.
Green Acres believes that the type of classes / workshops that will be offered at the Habernickel Gate House are of the sort that would be found at any community or recreation center.
I appreciate your concerns regarding traffic and the business getting bigger. Green Acres does not want the size of the Business,
HealthBarn USA, to negatively impact the park due to the business they are conducting onsite. Green Acres looks at HealthBarn USA as a concession, providing to the residents a service the Village could not do on their own. It will
not be allowed to become the headquarters for HealthBarn USA.
I am copying Janet Fricke on this email as she is responsible for addressing the public’s concerns regarding this change in use. I
encourage you to voice your concern at the Public Hearing scheduled for Wednesday evening so that you can get the answers to your questions regarding how many classes, how many students, traffic, etc. .
Thank you for taking the time to contact me. If you have further questions please let me know. The State Offices are closed tomorrow, Election Day. However, I will do my best to respond back in a timely fashion.
Regards,
Nancy Lawrence
Compliance Officer
Bureau of Legal Services and Stewardship
NJDEP Green Acres Program
Mail Code 501-01, P.O. Box 420
501 East State Street, 1st Floor
Trenton, NJ 08625-0420
609.341.2054 direct
609.984.0608 fax
I watched online and was disappointed that more from that neighborhood didn’t question council (I am not in that area for the record). Who is paying to supervise the business? They said parks and rec will have an office to monitor so who is paying for that employee to be there? How much profit will she be making? A concession not just to Ridgewood residents though right? were limits proposed for out of town events such that we are only servicing Ridgewood residents with this concession??
I watched from my chalet in Breckenridge….but I do care about my home neighborhood.
I went last night and was surprised at the lack of turnout from the neighborhood. When council berates residents for complaining about things after they are voted on, this should be example #1. No one in Habernickel gets to complain now.
Now, back to my fight against a parking deck that is owned by the county not the village and these huge, high-density developments that will choke our schools with even more crowded classrooms.
You snooze, you lose. The residents of that neighborhood will get screwed now that the Village Council knows only one of them cares enough to come out for a meeting.
Dollars to doughnuts most local residents still do not know about what is about to happen to them and did not know about the meeting. Somebody who cares should have gone door to door with a flier. Once this monstrosity is up and running the complaints, even lawsuits, will be loud and long. The town should have gone to the neighbors, not set it up so that they had to know about it and go to them. People still naively expect their elected officials to have their best interest at heart.
First They Came – Pastor Martin Niemoller
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
That’s a shame.
The people who live around the Habernickel neighborhood did show up in droves a few meetings ago.
The Mayor and manager even said Wednesday night that they were glad there were so many concerned residents from the neighborhood who voiced their concerns.
Wednesday night only one showed up, but many previously. They all were against it. If there is tons of traffic the residents will probably have to wait five or six years to protest again, when the lease will be up for renewal.
“For Want of a Nail” is a proverb, having numerous variations over several centuries, reminding that seemingly unimportant acts or omissions can have grave and unforeseen consequences.
“For the want of a nail the shoe was lost,
For the want of a shoe the horse was lost,
For the want of a horse the rider was lost,
For the want of a rider the battle was lost,
For the want of a battle the kingdom was lost,
And all for the want of a horseshoe-nail.”
― Benjamin Franklin
They did not go because it really does not matter. It was a simple business decision for the town.
We’ve got bigger fish to fry.
Yes…in the grand scheme of things this isn’t as big a deal as the other things going on.
Hopefully this will be positive usage of the property, since it just sits there underutilized.