the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Yankees Hall of Famer Yogi Berra once said ‘It’s deja vu all over again’ and when it comes to 90 ft. baseball diamonds at Schedler Park its certainly is .
The following is republished from at post February 5th 2019 called “Zabriskie-Schedler House and Schedler Property-Park“:
The Zabriskie Schedler Property is a long story with many missteps , including the fact that a former councilwomen didn’t know it was in Ridgewood . The Village Council rescinded the 2015 Aronsohn/ Sonenfeld resolution that included a 90 ft. baseball diamond and a 120 x 75 yard multi-purpose field. To be clear, a 90 ft. diamond refers to the distance between the bases, not the depth of the outfield. The 2015 plan would have led to the clear-cutting of most of the trees on the property and the athletic fields component would have taken up more than 4 acres (total size of the property is 7 acres). The Schedler property presented a few challenges, some of which were immediate and some required some planning into the future. There were numerous dead trees, hanging limbs and leaning trees that had to be removed immediately since they posed a liability. The cleanup was completed in late 2017.
In order to move forward on planning for the future use of the property, the Village Council created an ad hoc committee to propose a development plan. The ad hoc committee met regularly and also reached out to residents and sports groups for input regarding their respective needs. The ad hoc committee presented its recommendation to the Village Council in December 2017. Click herefor the presentation. The new plan is significantly scaled down compared to the 2015 plan. It strikes a balance between the needs of the neighborhood, and sports groups, while taking consideration of historical preservation and passive recreation. The new plan does not include a baseball diamond and the proposed 50 x 75 yard multipurpose field only takes up a little over ¾ of an acre. The plan includes parking, a playground, walking trails, and bathrooms with a built-in overhang that can provide shelter from lightning. The Village Council voted to adopt this new plan in 2018. Later in the year, our Engineering Department brought in free landfill from multi-family housing developments and Ridgewood Water repairs to create a berm and level out the land.
Hearings were held on the pre-approval of bidders for the historic house. The scope of the work included the replacement of the roof, as well as interior restoration of the house including replacement of doors and windows, plumbing, HVAC, and renovation of the kitchen. Preliminary work was done for the submission of the Zabriskie-Schedler House into the National and State Register of Historic Places, which will be considered by the State in March this year. The Village applied for, and received, grant funding through Bergen County Historic Preservation grants. We received 50/50 matching grants of $116,725 (Phase I), $200,000 (Phase IIa) and $75,650 (Phase IIb), for a total in grant funding of $392,375, which will be matched by the Village. The Village also applied for a Community Development Block Grant for the ADA ramp into the house from the parking lot.
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RBSA has field envy. Glen Rock and Fair Lawn recently installed new turfed fields.
The Soccer bunnies want turf because BF middle school’s field is a cow pasture.
Former mayor Pat Mancusco stopped one of the many land grab attempts by the sports organizations by saying “residents are entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of their homes.”
We used to have good if not great mayors. What happened…?
“We used to have good if not great mayors. What happened…?” The residents voted the Three Amigos in .
The town went from “Right Leaning” to “Left Leaning”.
That’s what happened… It’s Settled Science.
The town went from “Right leaning” to firmly and permanently sworn to the left no matter what”.
I fixed it for ya.
You are correct.
I was trying to be polite…
They really should consider putting up a sound barrier wall across the property from west side of a road right up at 17. Who’s going to maintain all this, the village should really consider moving box to publish a tree out of the flood zone on Glen Avenue and bring them over to route 17 behind the state yard site. It’s going to be more feasible more room convenient better location out of flood zone. If the village is going to move forward with all these new sites, that’s going to need a lot of maintenance. They’re going to need a new housing facility for equipment personnel.
The Council also need to invest in a shuttle bus and driver to bring the kids over from the West side.
Limos would be preferred.
Everyone, please remember this post.
Turf sports in THIS location is a huge error, and a tragedy just waiting to happen. Route 17 is the primary threat, West Saddle Road secondary, but just as potentially deadly. No parent should be comfortable with their child playing with FEET, literally feet, of speeding vehicles and trucks despite a berm. The berm can not stop a speeding truck, or vehicle. Vehicles speed and jump barriers ALL THE TIME. Vehicles exiting Route 17 onto WSR road don’t adjust well to the 25MPH speed limit coming off a 55 MPH road. They speed all day long, and this will not change.
Despite fencing, nets or whatever perceived solution that may be proposed, NOTHING will deter a determined child from chasing their ball onto WSR or God forbid, Route 17. This WILL happen, a child will be lost, and citizens will wonder why such a STUPID idea was even entertained, never mind built.
Stop the insanity before this moves one inch closer to reality. Please.
Ho Ho Kus has a field on Rt17 at Hollywood Ave. Hasbrouck Heights High School field in on Rt17. Carlstadt Little League has fields on Rt17. East Rutherford High School field is on Rt 17 both football and baseball. Secaucus High School field is on the NJ Turnpike.
Saddle Brook has a little league field Vander Sande Field on the GSP. Teaneck High School field is on Rt 4 (hence the Highwaymen). FDU baseball field is on Rt4. Booton High fields are on Rt 287.
People that berm will not stop a tire that comes off truck trailer s all the time, and drivers don’t even feel it. I’m sure some kind of debris has come off the ground or trucks cars etc. of 17 onto that land . Come on drive up and down rt 17 and see all the garbage. How much would a wall be. How much is a life ?
Burn the houser to the ground and make it all a field. House has no value inside. Its been butchered and bandaided. Let it go already
I believe the sport community would welcome a field wherever it is suitable, however there are some real concerns to take into account (not just build it and they will come). There are real health and environmental concerns to take into consideration. There are a whole host of toxic pollutants from traffic that proven studies have shown to cause serious illness. So before the town gets to the implementation phase of a field, studies should be completed on these. I believe these studies have been or are to be, submitted to the Mayor and Council for serious consideration. Also, while a number of plans have been developed, there may not be full transparency on exactly what is planned and how close the proposed field will be to a historically preserved property.
Ridgewood’s Historic Schedler property was designated as a historical Revolutionary War site and a plan to develop a park was already approved. Recently, the new Village Council moved to replace the approved Schedler Park Plan by proposing a full sized regulation turf field. Based on this, many Village residents, including the neighbors directly impacted by development of this property have expressed concern over this new proposal. Residents and neighbors should be insisting on a full assessment of the impact that would result from any changes to the existing plan along with a fact based analysis of the comprehensive impact on the Village and the State of NJ made by the development of the Schedler property. This should include:
-Due process to which residents of Ridgewood are entitled to, which means that any changes to the approved plan require transparency and a comprehensive review.
-Review of Studies that Highlight Health Implications to children and residents (airborne particulates, gaseous pollutants and toxins emitted by diesel trucks and cars).
-Traffic patterns that will impact safety. The prior traffic study was conducted way back in 2015 without any consideration to buses and an increased traffic pattern to the surrounding area.
-Wildlife and environmental preservation.
-Accurate assessment of flooding impact. if there are any additional proposed changes to the plan, flooding concerns need to be addressed.
-Preservation of Historic district. Based on the 2019 independent archeological assessment related to historic properties.
-Accurate assessment of field demand. ie., what is required based on real numbers of teams/players, ages, etc.
-Clear and transparent budget for plans. The Council should present an itemized budget which include design and maintenance fees. Private funding should not override public input and public safety.