Hooban for Village Council
Ridgewood NJ, if you want to know what’s at stake for this election, take a look at these two pictures.
The first one shows a small Hudson Street firehouse that stood at the Hudson Street location until several years ago. This charming firehouse was paved into a parking lot. My opponent owns or has an interest in several buildings and businesses in the CBD including the one next to this Hudson Street parking lot.
In 2015-2016, my opponent wanted to build a huge garage at Hudson Street – pictured in image 2 – this garage would have intruded 18 feet into the street (6 feet of sidewalk and reducing the street by 12 feet) and would have been 5 stories high to overshadow the beautiful church and reducing quality of life for so many neighbors. Imagine being on the hook for that bond NOW?
Make no mistake, my opponent wasn’t just issuing statements in favor of “Design A”, he fought hard for that design option. No concern, interest, or knowledge of safety, traffic flow, cost, or aesthetic.
I was one of the five petitioners who fought against this monster garage and its debt and initiated a citizen petition, which resulted in an election that defeated the bond for this garage, resulting in a much smaller garage that fits into the space and doesn’t reduce the street width or traffic patterns. It was a compromise that couldn’t be avoided. My own personal opinion about the necessity for a garage at all was put aside and I actively worked to get residents what they wanted while keeping the neighborhood, safety, and streetscape in mind.
I have a history of fighting FOR the residents and my opponent has a history of fighting for his business interests. These same interests which make no mistake, reach far past just the central business district, will prohibit him from valuable interactions, discussions, and votes on the council level.
This should be a no brainer. Give Hooban a chance.
It SHOULD be a no-brainer, but Ridgewood is full of commie dumbasses…
The gullible rich and “poor” of RW will vote along party lines. Vagianos is heavily associated with Dem party, Hooban is not. Logically one should never vote for someone who has huge personal interests in urbanizing this former beautiful suburb but anything can be expected by the brain dead social warrior base of RW.
The villages in one big spiral mess. The old world charm is done, now it’s turning into a city. In a few more years it’s going to be a mess.
Both are Democrats so that isn’t really an issue.
C u next Tuesday
correct james – more details on this topic can be found here – https://www.facebook.com/votehooban/posts/123315276748929
Isn’t Paul a property owner in the cbd? How will he handle the conflicts of interest that will naturally arise? These are all spelled out in the village code
I agree with the premise that candidates and elected officials, should not be putting their own business interest and family interests ahead of the interests of the town residents. Thus, it’s a good time to revisit the concerns of many Ridgewood residents that the Mayor and other elected officials should not be using their office to benefit family members or friends. This cannot be tolerated even if benefiting your own business or family interest does not directly violate the law. I hope that Hooban is in agreement with this premise.
Maybe Vagianos could give Hooban a job.
maybe even you
Melanie worked for Marge Roukema and she has been affiliated with the dems for a few years.
I think her stance on Ridgewood being non partisan is fantastic and she’s always managed to keep it that way. She’s not beholden to ANY of them. And they sure didn’t act like they owed her anything.
Good. I’d rather have it that way.
Vaginao’s is a LIAR. He sent out a mailer with Melanie’s debate issues. He has been a pro-development advocate for years and fought hard for high-density housing and huge garage, and now since Melanie brought it up, he sent out a mailer saying he is going to prevent over development.
Please save that mailer and call him out if he wins and starts working for county Dems to add more development like Paul Aronshon.
LIAR.
Yep, Vagimous’s last flyer was over the top. It lists everything he has NOT supported over the years.
Paul’s favorite constituent is Paul. He’s looking to pad his resume for the Bergen Democrats. Melanie is the ‘hometown favorite’ but is a Democrat committeeperson. Is there anyone who just wants to help Ridgewood without higher political aspirations? (Aronson, Hache, Sedon, et al come to mind) smdh