You know Jeff, a lot of people worked very hard and contributed plenty of money and time to get you elected. Now you have gone off the rails like a lunatic with your ever-present hatred of Susan. You have accused her of breaking the law but have not backed that up with anything. Nothing. Don’t the people who worked for you, and in fact all the people in Ridgewood, deserve to know what the hell is driving your unbridled hatred of our much-loved mayor???
Very important not to assume they are truly gone. They still have much skin in the game and want more. Every person appointed to a committee/board/etc. as a future source of information/votes should be dismissed, as should every preexisting staff member drawn to their questionable glow and continuing to feed them information and work on their behalf (grants for construction, etc.). Every committee or other group created solely to further Aronsohn’s post council career should be eliminated pronto, starting with the super-bogus Financial Advisory Committee.
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood YMCA will be offering School Vacation Camp from Monday, December 26 through Friday, December 31 from 9:00am to 5:00pm with extended hours of 8:00-9:00am and 5:00-6:00pm also available. The camp is open to all children grades K-8 and no YMCA membership is required.
School Vacation Camp at the Ridgewood Y offers kids the opportunity to enjoy daily recreational and educational activities including swimming, arts and crafts, and special theme days. For parents, the camp offers an affordable daycare alternative during the February school holiday.
The cost for camp is $65 per day for Ridgewood YMCA members, $85 per day for non-members and $60.00 per day for those registered for Ridgewood YMCA 2016 Summer Camp.
For further information, please contact Mike Rainere at 201 444 5600, ext 339 or email [email protected]
The Ridgewood YMCA is located at 112 Oak Street in Ridgewood.
December 17,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood Nj, On Tuesday, November 15, more than 90 Women For Health group members gathered at the Ridgewood Country Club for their Annual Meeting to vote on the designation of their collective gift to Valley. This year, the members are donating $170,000 to The Valley Hospital Fertility Center’s Reach for Hope program. This gift is Women For Health’s largest gift since its inception in 2011. The Valley Hospital Fertility Center (VHFC) is committed to offering fertility preservation options for cancer patients, and their Reach for Hope Program reduces the oncology patient’s financial responsibility for her IVF cycle. This gift will provide financial assistance and hope in the form of fertility preservation options to qualified oncology patients.
This year’s gift has an additional level of meaning for the group’s philanthropic members, as they are making the gift in memory of one of their founding members who passed away in June of this year – Ann B. Alford. In addition to being a founding member of Women For Health, Mrs. Alford was an honorary trustee of The Valley Hospital Foundation and a trustee of Valley Health System. Present for this announcement were two of Mrs. Alford’s daughters, Elizabeth Hogan and Maria Suehnholz.
Formed in 2011, The Valley Hospital Foundation’s Women For Health philanthropic group has grown from 30 charter members to its current membership of 170 women, primarily from Bergen, Passaic and Rockland Counties. These women have pooled their social and philanthropic resources to assist The Valley Hospital and Valley Home Care in providing the best possible healthcare. Each year the members gather to hear presentations on three funding opportunities at Valley and then vote to determine which program will receive their collective gift.
If you are interested in becoming a member of this unique group of women philanthropists, please contact Sandy Carapezza at 201-291-6300 or [email protected].
Ridgewood NJ, Ernest began his new role at the Ridgewood Y on December 5 and is succeeding Rick Claydon, who served as CEO for 22 years and will retire at the end of this month.
Ernest Lamour previously served as Chief Executive Officer at the Stamford YMCA in Connecticut, and has more than 15 years of leadership experience in development, community partnerships, strategic operations and programming.
“We are privileged to welcome Ernest Lamour to the YMCA,” said Michael Davis, President of the Board of Directors of the Ridgewood YMCA. “Ernest is an energetic, thoughtful leader with an unparalleled commitment to community and economic development. His accomplishments include completely revitalizing and growing the membership and program base of the Stamford YMCA to its current level of success. We know that Ernest will provide the leadership to guide the Y as it continues its mission of ensuring that all community members have the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive.”
“I am grateful for the opportunity to lead an organization that has such a meaningful impact on the lives of so many” said Ernest. “The Ridgewood YMCA has consistently provided innovative ways to address critical social needs in New Jersey and I look forward to continuing that vital work”.
Ernest received his Bachelor of Science in Leisure Studies and holds a master’s degree in Sports Management from West Virginia University.
Please join us in welcoming Ernest to the Ridgewood Y!
Hello everyone! I would like to cordially invite you all to an event this Saturday in the neighborhood . We would be singing a few holiday songs to stay warm in the cold ! So if you are interested, feel free to stop by. It would be great if you can RSVP though not compulsory. Thank you ! – Sanjukta Basu
Old Paramus Reformed Church at 5:45 pm ,660 East Glen Avenue – Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Emmanuel offers “Blue Christmas” Service
Sun, December 18, 2016
Time: 10:30 AM
Location: Emmanuel Baptist Church, 14 Hope Street
Emmanuel Baptist Church will offer a special “Blue Christmas” service on Sunday, December 18, 2016 at 10:30am.
This service is an opportunity for anyone to recognize a special person they have lost or a special Christmas memory from their family tradition.
for more details:
Jessica Fargnoli
[email protected]
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood AM Rotary has been active in Ridgewood for thirty years. Its members come from not just Ridgewood, but also twenty-three of the surrounding towns and communities. Expand your horizons. Expand your network Learn more about Rotary. Join us for one of our weekly meetings.
Visit our website at www.ridgewoodamrotary.org and our Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/TheRotaryClubofRidgewoodAM.
You may be our guest at one of our weekly breakfast meetings each Thursday morning, 7:30 a.m.–8:30 a.m. at:
“Roots”
17 Chestnut Street
Ridgewood, NJ
Please use the rear entrance in the parking lot. If you have any questions or would like to attend, please call John or Greg at 201-760-9489
December 17,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, this is a first in a new series of articles for the Ridgewood blog promoting our local merchants and restaurants.
It seems the Village Tea Shop out did themselves taking care of a resident.
“A HUGE thank you to my friend May from the Village Tea Shop in Ridgewood. She just rang my doorbell and completely surprised me with a hot cup of wellness tea with ginger honey because she heard from my friend Geary that I am down and out with a crummy virus. I am not at the tea shop (as the posting indicates) but I am sipping the delicious tea in my easy chair and envisioning myself there right now. Maybe in a few days . . . Thank you May! And for my Facebook friends that are local, you need to get to the tea shop and try their amazing products. Good for the body and soul!”
The Village Tea Shop is a small cozy shop serving a large selection of organic and fair trade teas from around the world. Crafted tea drinks, smoothies, bubble tea, and yes coffee.
10 S Maple Ave
Ridgewood, New Jersey
@VillageTeaShop
Call (201) 857-0230
if you have a situation where you felt a merchant or restaurant went above and beyond email us at [email protected]
December 17,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, some of you may remember Greg May, he ran for Ridgewood School Board a number of years ago . Greg’s sister needs our help .
I am writing this on behalf of my sister. In the beginning of November, she was viciously attacked and held captive for a couple days. During that time, her attacker assaulted her and threatened her life. During her escape she suffered numerous injuries, including a fractured vertebrae and a broken ankle. While her attacker was arrested and given a bail of $500,000, he was able to post bail and is now walking the streets while awaiting trial. I unfortunately can not go into more details as there is an ongoing criminal investigation; however, we are thankful that she was able to escape with her life. Since her attacker was bailed out, we had to quickly move her from the hospital in the town she was living at and move her into hiding for her safety as her attacker had already violated a no contact order. We really don’t know what her attacker is capable of as he has tried to contact her and find her location since he was released on bail. As you could imagine this has caused quite a hardship for my sister. At this time, she has no job and no means of support outside of her family. She is using the services provided by the state but sadly we have had to move her out of her state of residency for her own safety thus making her ineligible for some of the state sponsored programs. She is facing a long road to recovery and is in need for some assistance. We are hoping we can raise $20,000 to help her cover some of her medical expenses, counseling, and basic daily living expenses. She currently is disabled and is not going to be able to work for approximately six months according to her doctors. From the conversations we have had from the prosecutor and lead detective, we are expecting her attacker to be going to trial sometime in mid 2017 so we have to keep her in hiding till her attacker goes to trial. Her world has really been turned upside down and wrecked. My sister would appreciate any help folks could give. Any monies donated will go to supporting her daily living expenses like food, shelter and such and to help cover her medical and counseling expenses. Thank you in advance and I will post any updates we can as long as it doesn’t compromise her safety or jeopardize the criminal case against her attacker.
file photo by Boyd Loving
Knudsen and Sedon went through Hades for two years with the Three Amigos insulting them at every turn. They do not deserve this kind of treatment from Voigt. It really must grate on them. If you think about it, that must be the desired result — to demoralize them, wear them out, and persuade them not to run for re-election. They are certainly under no obligation to run again but Ridgewood would be very fortunate if they were to do so. We need as many people like them as we can get in elected office. The amount of destructive energy the Three Amigos mustered and expended on a regular basis while in office was prodigious. They were constantly conniving and dissimulating, spewing their duplicitous rhetoric like possessed Energizer Bunnies. How good officeholders can justify dealing with that kind of stuff without resigning on the spot is a mystery but we are lucky here in Ridgewood.
December 16,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Its the idea we have the problem with not the people proposing it. Folks is manners learn them they are not just for other people.While we have been told in no uncertain terms, that this is “nothing like the anti-free speech civility committee” we are always concerned and suspicious about “good intentions” of people as well as the whole idea of “intolerance” seems to have morphed into ; if you say anything I disagree with you are automatically “intolerant” . This is not a justification for poor manners but sorry folks there is just some bull sh$t no one should have to put up with. There we go with the”normalization of hateful rhetoric and behavior”. So another words if I don’t do or say exactly what you like and what you want all the time I am hateful. No that’s not going to work sorry just watch TMZ or any of your favorite garbage on TV and you will see nothing but the atrocious behavior.Oh that’s right the rules are different for some of us I forgot but again we saw too much of that with the ex-Hudson county Mayor Ridgewood used to have so I think I’ll pass on that as well.
Friends,
Some residents and I in New Jersey have created a movement called ‘Gate The Hate’ in which we are reaching out to our local town leaders/clergy and getting them to make a statement against intolerance. Below is a video statement that the mayor of the town where I reside just put forth last night as a result of our outreach.
The purpose is to get our local leaders to publicly acknowledge the normalization of hateful rhetoric and behavior, to treat it as non-partisan and to publicly condemn it. This action should not be seen as a ‘one off and we’re all good’ affair but in terms of creating a relationship with our local leaders which can be built upon.
Our hope is to have this action spread from town to town and across our country. If you are interested in learning more or becoming involved, please pm me.
Thanks for your time and all of your effort to protect our great nation.
Dana
photo courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook
December 16,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The adult male driver of a Ford Thunderbird failed to observe a “Dead End” sign and drove his vehicle into a drainage ditch on Franklin Avenue near the PSE&G right-of-way in Ridgewood on Thursday evening, 12/15. The undamaged vehicle was winched out of its predicament by a hydraulic lift tow truck. The driver, who was attempting to locate the Bone Fish Grill in Paramus, was uninjured in the mishap. Ridgewood PD officers stood by with the driver until towing company representatives arrived.
December 16,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, one of Paul Aronsohn’s babies and was clearly set up as a ruse to manipulate spending priorities, like pushing Garagezilla. Where is the Value Added for The Taxpayer from the Financial Advisory Committee?
At the time Councilman Tom Riche “expressed some trepidation that the governing body might surrender some of its decision-making powers by forming a new committee.” (from the RidgewoodNews)
In May a reader suggested, a reader said the Financial Advisory Committee was created by the mayor solely as a breeding ground for future council members willing to live in his shadow and image. It didn’t work. Disband it!
https://theridgewoodblog.net/ridgewood-financial-advisory-committee-political-hacks-or-valuable-input/
FINANCIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Resolutions:
13-88
14-171
Members:
NAME TERM EXPIRES
Charles DiMarco 6/30/17
Alex Kisilevich 6/30/17
Brian Lahey 6/30/17
Evan Weitz – Chair 6/30/18
Rei Shinozuka 6/30/18
John Cavanaugh 6/30/19
David Hough 6/30/19
Robert Kotch 6/30/19
Nick Whitney 6/30/19
Councilman Jeff Voigt is the Council liaison
MISSION AND BY-LAWS
Establishment:
A new committee known as the “Financial Advisory Committee” was created by the Village Council of the Village of Ridgewood on April 24, 2013, by Resolution No. 13-88.
Duties and Responsibilities:
The Committee is hereby charged with the following duties and responsibilities:
The Committee shall assist the Village Council by marshaling and channeling its expertise and insight to complement the judgment of the Village Council and Village management with respect to financial matters.
The Committee shall identify both short- and long-term financial challenges. As potential issues are raised, the Committee shall study selected issue(s) at its own initiative and at the request of the Village Council and recommend solutions/potential actions to the Village Council.
The Committee shall have ongoing responsibility for the following:
Analyze and evaluate the annual Village budget process (expense and capital) and the resultant budget, to advise the Village Council in their decision-making process to ensure that necessary revenues are raised in an equitable manner and that taxes are spent effectively and efficiently.
Review the quarterly financial reports and the current year’s revenue and expenditure projections.
Advise on the development and implementation of effective financial reporting policies and procedures for the Village Council and Village management that build upon and retain the public’s faith and trust in the Village’s policies and procedures.
Assist in the review and improvement of organizational structures and recurring contracts arrangements, including collective bargaining agreements, with due regard for applicable legal requirements governing civil service, procurement and labor relations.
Provide an annual report to the Council.
The Committee may also perform the following:
Study critical issues and perform independent research to formulate and develop thoughtful and well-developed recommendations on strategies and opportunities.
Provide a forum for community education and discussion concerning the financial condition of the Village and various alternatives for improvement.
Meetings:
The Committee shall meet once per month and/or on an as-needed basis. Decisions shall be made by consensus and if necessary, by majority vote. The minutes for regular monthly meetings shall be kept, transcribed, and made available to the Village and Council and such other Village officials as the Village Manager shall direct. Public comment will be requested at the beginning of a meeting and will be capped at 3 minutes per person; public comment will not exceed 15 minutes. The Committee may also hold closed working sessions as needed.
Composition and Terms:
The Committee shall comprise up to nine (9) regular members of the public appointed by the Village Council, a liaison from the Village Council, and a liaison from the Department of Finance of the Village at the discretion of the Council and the Village Manager. The public members of the Committee shall be appointed on July 1 of each calendar year and serve for a term of three (3) years, with the exception of the initial Committee appointed as of July 1, 2013, with three members appointed for a term of three (3) years, two members appointed for a term of two (2) years, and two members appointed for a term of one (1) year.
If a public member resigns, the Village Council shall appoint a replacement as
soon as possible to serve out the remainder of his/her term. The Financial Advisory Committee, through the Village Council liaison, will provide input into this process.
December 15,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Councilman Voigt has a message for residents about his ruthless attacks,”I can’t and won’t apologize. I don’t intend to and I just want to make sure people know that.”
Watch his loud and clear message here.
https://www.vibby.com/v/mJnEeZSRM
In a comment to the Ridgewood blog,similar to one posted on Facebook Councilman Voigt Says He will Continue to Speak Out:
“Nice to see all the comments.Actually, I am quite consistent in how I treat people. When I find that someone is abjectly unfair, deceitful to others, and violates the Faulkner Act, I will speak out. We need this in government. I would be happy to speak to any anonymous person above about what occurred any why you should be concerned.
Enjoy your holidays.
Jeff Voigt
201-251-8204″
