the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, as Mayor, Vagianos has the power to elect and re-elect Zoning Board of Adjustment Members, he needs to recuse himself of this responsibility this term given the “loan” to the Partner of the law firm representing the Outfront media billboard. The following members of the ZB have terms expiring and can be re-elected by Paul:
Jonathan Papietro (12/31/2023)
Michael Pickholtz (12/31/2023)
Jason Curreri (12/31/2023)
Harold Maxwell (Alternate #1, 12/31/2023)
In light of this apparent scandal and where he has a vested interest, should recuse himself from any and all matters having to do with alleged impropriety and where the billboard is concerned. He should not be able to appoint anyone to zoning board this term as there is a conflict of interest and alleged unethical behavior with the $47,000 loan from Mayor Vagianos to Gail Price/Richard Brooks, also, Outfront Media should have to start their application over again with new legal counsel and the application process should be vacated until such time.
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He will never recuse himself !!! This pompous A$$ thinks he above the Law !!
So did Menendez
Vagianos has a huge ego and probably doesn’t think he has done anything wrong even though this wreaks of impropriety on so many levels. Question is, who brought Outfront Media to Ridgewood in the first place? Did Paul contact them and pass this on to his good friend Gail Price. Surely this would bring in big bucks to her law firm, Price, Meese, Shulman and D’Arminio and make her look like a star if this goes through, although her firm would get paid either way whether the application was approved or not. Alternatively, maybe Outfront Media went to her firm first and she brought it to her good friend and loan officer, Mayor of Ridgewood, Vagianos. After all, he owns restaurants, many real estate businesses with restaurants and stores, all of these people could advertise on a giant neon billboard on Rt 17 to draw business to the CBD, right. Either way, someone brought this company to Ridgewood. This should be scratched and a new law firm should take over and Vag should say goodbye.
Vag the loan officer
10% interest for your bestie? seems a little steep.
Mayor Vagianos should recuse himself:
1) Any matters having to do with the CBD should not be voted on by individuals with vested interests,
2) Any matters having to do with Parks and Recreation after paying off Richard Brooks, P&R Chair,
3) Any matters having to do with appointments to the Zoning Board of Adjustment members up for re-election,
4) Any matters having to do with Outfront Media billboards or Zoning Board matters, after paying off Gail Price, Partner of law firm representing billboard co.,
5) Anything else that seems to violate ethical standards in Ridgewood should be applied.
Residents should demand that until such time residents learn who was responsible for bringing the billboard project to Ridgewood, possible OPRA of emails or related documents related to this project coming out of Village Hall, the Outfront Media variances application should be put on hold. Outfront Media should be forced to obtain new counsel.
A full-scale investigation should be conducted to find out if any influence has been leveraged by Mayor Vagianos and any member of the Zoning Board of Adjustments in Ridgewood to ensure ethical standards were maintained.
Say NO! to this ridiculous billboard!
Should be an interesting VC meeting tonight….must see teevee !
Send in the clowns….don’t bother, they’re already here.
Weitz and Perron should distance themselves from this mess…but they won’t.
The property owner brought this issue to Rwood to help pay for the almost 30k tax bill. Many commenters here are way off base pinning this on the mayor!
Sorry, Pee Wee has been so underhanded with so many other things that he doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt anymore.
How do you know? Please provide proof. How did it end up with Gail Price who is a partner in the lawfirm representing them ans who is great friends with the Mayor in the same town who stands to benefit? Please put the pieces together for all to see if it is indeed legit, inquiring minds want to know.
The property owner rents out their space to the Tire and Wheel place, so there is a revenue stream. Did they not think about the impact to anyone and content allowed like legal marijuana sales, erectile dysfunction, dark religion, etc or just care about their taxes? As there is a school next door, which I can only assume they are aware of, it is even more of a heinous crime. But still want to know how of all law firms in the area, this multi million dollar company chose Gail Price?
If the current rent is below market, the property owner who is bound by a lease should appeal their tax assessment. However, if this is a net leased property, which it probably is, the tenant would have to appeal the assessment.
The village is in a major mess.
Besides the fact that Paul is a royal asshole and isn’t lookin too good right about now based on his undisclosed loan to friends with influence, the Outfront Media billboard comes with its own set of challenges. if approved, this will be an albatross around the neck of Ridgewood forever. You can Google lawsuits and you will see. Who do we have to thank for this, I am guessing Paul Vagianos and Gail Price. In addition to this council destroying the budget with their ridiculous special interests, Ridgewood will likely be in a long haul with this giant media company for years to come if approved. Do we need this, No we do not.
https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/20/20-1029/188169/20210820160516646_20-1029%20Amicus%20Brief.pdf
https://sanjosespotlight.com/san-jose-gets-sued-for-ignoring-its-billboard-rules/
https://casetext.com/case/outfront-media-llc-v-lemaster-2
the mayor doesn’t “elect” board members. The VC appoints them as a council, not as individuals. but go on. . .
We Don’t Care…
We are
RICH and STUPID
Time to sweep out all of the directors of the town. It’s time.