Paul Vaggianos was the first to get up at the mic at a town council meeting a year or two ago and ask that Van Neste be changed to accommodate lighting at night and entertainment every weekend.
Vaggianos said, “Let’s bring everyone together at Van Nest on the weekends.”
I obviously remember that. I was very saddened by his suggestion. Paul Aronsohn as mayor at the time was very receptive. I spoke against the idea at council meetings. I tried. I love Van Neste as a quiet park as it is now, an oasis of calm and beauty midst the busy downtown. Very charming invention!! Let’s keep it that way. Paul Vaggianos was happy with the big garage at Hudson. I wasn’t and wrote and spoke against it from day one. Vaggianos is a business owner in town and has influence , I have no influence. I think it would be wonderful to preserve Ridgewood a for future generations to experience, no expansion, not more congested. A town with easy accessibility to the Big Apple but with a small town charming quality. And yes, Van Neste is a big part of that as it is right in the center of the CBD. It says something by virtue of letting people experience of oasis of natural beauty and quiet in the midst of the hustle and bustle of a busy but small and charming downtown. ( I love that oasis ……sentence I made up)
Ridgewood NJ, this is a Recommended Reading List from C.S. Lewis ,looks like it time to hit the Ridgewood library.
Clive Staples Lewis (1898–1963) was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954, when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement.
Lewis wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. C. S. Lewis’s most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics in The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.
Aeschylus, The Eumenides (5th BCE)
Sophocles, Oedipus Rex (c. 429 BCE)
Aristotle, Poetics (335 BCE)
Virgil
The Georgics (29 BCE)
The Aeneid (29-19 BCE)
Lucian, Vera Historia (2nd)
Apuleius, Metamorphoses/The Golden Ass (late 2nd)
Unknown, Beowulf (8th-11th)
Unknown, The Song of Roland (11th-12th)
Laȝamon, Brut (c. 1190-1215)
Unknown, Huon of Bordeaux (c. 1216-1268)
Snorri Sturluson, The Prose Edda (early 13th)
Dante, Divine Comedy (1308-20)
Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales (late 14th)
Troilus and Criseyde (1380s)
Unknown, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (late 14th)
Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur (1485)
Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (c. 1516)
Arthur Brooke, The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet (1562)
Sir Philip Sidney, Arcadia (late 16th)
Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene (1590s)
William Shakespeare
Romeo & Juliet (1591-5)
Twelfth Night (1601-2)
The Winter’s Tale (1611)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1590-7)
Henry V (c. 1599)
John Donne, “The Apparition” (early 17th)
Michael Drayton, “The Shepherds Sirena” (1627)
Thomas Browne, Urn Burial (1658)
Jean Racine
Andromaque (1667)
Phèdre (c. 1677)
John Milton
Paradise Lost (1667-74)
Samson Agonistes (1671)
Alexander Pope, The Rape of the Lock (1712-4)
Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels (1726, 1735)
Voltaire
“Micromégas” (1752)
Candide (1759)
Samuel Johnson, The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia (1759)
William Beckford, Vathek, an Arabian Tale (1782)
James Boswell, Life of Johnson (1791)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798)
William Wordsworth
“Michael” (1800)
The Excursion (1814)
Jane Austen, Pride & Prejudice (1813)
Walter Scott, Guy Mannering (1815)
Benjamin Constant, Adolphe (1816)
John Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn” (1819)
James Hogg, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824)
Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Witch of Atlas (1824)
Elias Lönnrot, The Kalevala (1835-49)
Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo (1844)
Charles Dickens
The Pickwick Papers (1836)
Great Expectations (1861)
William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair (1848)
Edward Fitzgerald, Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (1859-89)
Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers (1857)
Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace (1869)
George Eliot, Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life (1871-2)
Samuel Butler, Erewhon (1872)
Lewis Carroll, “The Hunting of the Snark” (1874-6)
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov (1880)
Robert Louis Stevenson
Treasure Island (1883)
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886)
Edwin Abbott, Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (1884)
John Ruskin, Praeterita (1885)
Henry James, The Turn of the Screw (1898)
H.G. Wells
First Men in the Moon (1901)
“The Door in the Wall” (1911)
Beatrix Potter, Tales (1902-1930)
Joseph Conrad, Nostromo (1904)
E.R. Burroughs, Tarzan (1912-1965)
Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows (1908)
Arnold Bennett, The Old Wives’ Tale (1908)
James Stephens, The Crock of Gold (1912)
D.H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers (1913)
Gertrude Stein, “Sacred Emily” (1913)
James Branch Cabell, Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice (1919)
Kafka, The Castle (1926)
Mervyn Peake, Titus Groan (1946)
J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings (1954-5)
Photo Caption: Shown at Pony Power’s Therapeutic Riding Center are (left to right) Wendy Lupo, Director of Development, Pony Power Therapies; Judy Tamburro, Volunteer, Valley Home Care; Dana Spett, MSW, Founder & Executive Director Pony Power Therapies; and Dyana Thompson, Clinical Manager, Maternal and Child Health and Butterflies Palliative Care & Hospice Program, Valley Home Care.
August 23, 2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgwood NJ, Children and their family members who receive services through Valley Home Care, including the Butterflies Program for children with serious or life-limiting illnesses, are benefiting from a unique recreational opportunity with therapeutic benefits offered not in a medical office or home-care setting, but on a fully accessible farm in Mahwah.
The children, their siblings and their parents recently wrapped up a weeklong summer extended-day program at Pony Power Therapies that included horse-assisted ground activities for children and parents, as well as riding sessions for the children.
During the therapeutic horseback riding sessions, riders are paired with a team of trained volunteers and certified instructors who tailor the riding experience to the abilities and needs of the individual rider. Therapeutic horseback riding at Pony Power provides both physical and emotional benefits to children, such as increased strength and muscle development as well as fostering feelings of self-confidence and pride. Importantly, the project also allows siblings to enjoy a range of activities together regardless of limitations. The parents also spend time with the horses engaged in activities that encourage them to work on their own self-care and to serve as a source of support for each other.
Riding can help increase strength and muscle development and foster feelings of self-confidence and pride. The young riders work on balance, body positioning, communication, critical thinking and partnership skills. Most importantly, the children enjoy a unique, shared experience with their brothers and sisters, as it’s one of few recreational activities that is completely inclusive, regardless of a person’s limitations. When engaging with horses during ground activities, children and parents learn how to stay present and focused; they experience life in the moment without the worry of usual stresses or concerns. Plus, tailored sessions help parents build upon current skills and develop new skills for handling the emotional difficulties that can come from caring for an ill child.
For five years, Pony Power Therapies and The Valley Hospital have partnered to provide integrative health and wellness programming to the children and families of Valley Home Care. From therapeutic riding sessions for patients and siblings during the school year to week-long summer programming for families to horse-assisted ground activities for Valley staff, the organization’s comprehensive and holistic approach has empowered hundreds of patients and their “teams” — parents and professional caregivers. Valley’s financial support of the program allows Pony Power to continue facilitating Valley families’ physical and emotional growth, as well as introducing the power of ponies to adults battling serious illnesses.
Ridgewood NJ , Ridgewood Police report and upsurge bicycle related crimes an East Ridgewood Avenue resident responded to headquarters on 8/8/16 to report the theft of two bicycles from her garage in the past. One bicycle was described as a male Schwinn mountain bike red in color and the second bicycle was described as a female Schwinn mountain bicycle purple and pink in color. The bicycles were valued at $150.00 each.
A Fairfield Avenue resident reported the theft of a bicycle on 8/19/16. The victim reported the bicycle was left unlocked at the rear of an East Ridgewood Avenue business. The bicycle was described as a Nishiki male racing style bike and is black and white in color.
On 8/22/16 a Spring Avenue resident reported the theft of a bicycle tire. The victim reported the bicycle was left locked along the fence at the Station Plaza underpass. The value of the front tire is unknown at this time.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Police report a series of unrelated incidents involving parked cars in Ridgewood .Ptl. S. Amoruso responded to North Pleasant Avenue on 8/10/16 to investigate a criminal mischief in the past. Upon arrival the resident reported an unknown person damaged a parked motor vehicle by egging and scratching the vehicle. The cost of repairing the damage is unknown at this time
On 8/14/16 Ptl. S. Amoruso responded to Ackerman Avenue to investigate a criminal mischief. Upon arrival it was reported an unknown person threw a rock through the rear window of a parked vehicle. The cost of repairing the damage is unknown at this time.
On 8/20/16 a Butler, N.J. resident reported a burglary and theft from a motor vehicle while it was parked in Ridgewood Duck Pond. An unknown actor did force entry into the vehicle by damaging the rear window and removing personal property from within. The Bergen County Sheriff’s Department requested our assistance with their investigation.
A Richards Road resident responded to police headquarters on 8/22/16 to report a theft from a motor vehicle in the past. The victim reported discovering personal items missing from her motor vehicle upon arriving at the Ridgewood Library parking lot but is unsure of where the theft occurred.
Park is SMALL. Stop filling everything up. A stage when not in use (i.e., 99% of the time) would co-opt open space. We need more of it, not less. Everybody seems to think their kids are future Broadway stars. Get with the program–amateur performances are for the performers. Noise in the middle of town would just drive people away. What happened to peace and quiet? You can’t even just sit on a park bench any more without acres of concrete? Even sitting in the dark on a summer night is nice. No need for Klieg lights. How about Strobes?
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood Police report on 8/19/16 a South Broad Street resident responded to police headquarters to report a fraud in the past. The victim reported an unknown person applied for an Amazon credit card utilizing his personal information but was denied.
A Beechwood Road resident responded to police headquarters to report an incident which occurred in February 2016 when an unknown person attempted to file a tax return utilizing the victim’s personal identity fraudulently. The victim reported several months later he received a notice from Discover Card regarding a bank account being opened and most recently he received a notice from PNC Bank that an unknown person was attempting to change the address on his current accounts. The victim reported the IRS and credit bureaus have been notified of the fraudulent incidents.
An East Ridgewood Avenue resident reported the theft of impersonation on 8/20/16. The victim reported an unknown person fraudulently opened three separate accounts between 12/1/15 and 8/8/16. The victim reported a Victoria Secret account was opened in Orlando, Florida, a Sprint Mobile account was opened in Tennessee and a third fraudulent account was a Paypal account opened in August 2016. The victim was provided a Ridgewood Police identity theft fact sheet.
The Ridgewood Police Department would like to remind citizens of the increased amount of scams. Always investigate communications made through postal mail, telephone, and/or the internet to prevent fraud and deceptive activity. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Ridgewood Police Department to ensure you’re not becoming a victim of these scams.
The time has long passed for pleasantries. And don’t fool yourself thinking that this blowback directed at the volunteers is uncalled for. To think that someone like Gail was donating her time because she was giving back is laughable. Look at the connections, connect the dots. It’s pretty simple to see the payday just a we bit over the horizon. As far as the over paid / over pensioned lot it’s been a long time coming…people have HAD IT with the continued abuse in the form of over taxation and as soon as I complain about a $100MM school budget or the local FD/PD taking a 100K pension after 20 I get some union lackey putting his foot up my arse because “its only fair”.
Well guess what? PARTY’S OVER.
Ridgewood NJ,Patrolman Patrick Elwood assists with traffic as a new flag pole is installed at the Ridgewood Post Office this morning. The new flag pole replaces the original flag pole installed in 1937.
Ridgewood NJ, On Sunday, September 25, 2016 our Nation honors our Gold Star Mothers and families. The Presidential Proclamation in 2011 commemorating this day pronounces, “As members of a grateful Nation, we owe a debt we can never repay, but hold this sacred obligation forever in our hearts, minds, and actions. We honor their sacrifice, and stand with our service members, military families, and Gold Star families as they have stood for us.”
The American Legion Post 53 and Ridgewood NJ’s Blue Star Families are committed to bringing awareness to our community and to commemorate the sacrifices these mothers and their families have made for our Country.In the aftermath of World War I, Washington D.C. resident Grace Darling Seibold formed an organization called Gold Star Mothers to support the moms who had lost sons and daughters to the war. Grace’s son, First Lieutenant George Vaughn Seibold, was an aviator killed in combat over France in 1918. In 1928, the small D.C.-based group decided to nationalize its efforts. In 1936, a joint congressional resolution established the last Sunday in September as
Gold Star Mother’s Day. The Gold Star Mothers grew from a support group of 60 women to today’s extensive nationwide network with tens of thousands of members and hundreds of local chapters.
In Ridgewood, NJ the Gold Star Mother’s Day Committee will sponsor our fourth annualevent commemorating Gold Star Mother’s Day on Sunday, September 25, 2016. There will be a short ceremony starting promptly at 7:00 p.m. and hundreds of luminaries will be lit to honor Gold Star Mothers and their families. But in addition, our goal is to see thousands of other luminaries lit throughout Ridgewood and other towns on September 27th to honor the Gold Star Mothers and families!
Luminaries will be available for a donation before the ceremony at the following
location:
Residence of Bob Paoli, Commander American Legion Post #53,at 368 N. Pleasant Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ. 07450
Call 201-445-1738 to arrange time to pickup
Everyone also can stand with us in honoring the Gold Star Mothers and families by
helping to raise awareness through:
talking to your family, friends, and neighbors about the event;
joining us at Van Neste Park; and,
supporting this event with a donation (please make checks payable to the American
Legion Post #53, write “Gold Star event” on the memo line, and send it to the American Legion Post #53, P.O. Box 1525, Ridgewood, NJ 07450).
Thank you for your support and cooperation,/s/ Ridgewood, NJ Gold Star Mother’s Day Committee.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” George Santayana
Ridgewood NJ, by destroying Village history and discarding those who made sacrifices in our past are we not trampling on the very foundations of what made the Village of Ridgewood ,the Village of Ridgewood?
There are hundreds of commemorative bricks in Van Neste Memorial Park and large commemorative markers associated with the 1995 restoration project, are we so willing to disregard the people and the past ?
And if you are willing to sacrifice the past,who’s decision is it anyway ? A Village employee trying to make political points?
History is what makes you who you are. In Van Neste Square there is a memorial dedicated to Abraham Godwin. Abraham Godwin was born July 16, 1763. He was a Soldier, Statesman, artist, poet, engraver, and a very talented musician. As a soldier Abraham went to Fishkill joining his brother, Captain Henry Godwin’s regiment, the Fifth of the Line, January 17, 1777, as a fife major. The regiment was ordered to Fort Montgomery to lay the chain across the Hudson River. He was in the Governor’s life guard at Schenectady protecting the frontier at Lake Otsego under General Sullivan during the Finger Lakes campaign and at Yorktown, where he witnessed the surrender of Cornwallis to Washington.
Before Ridgewood got its name, it was called Godwinville in his honor. Godwin Avenue is now named after him. There are various other war memorials in Van Neste Square as well.
No one is against “change” but why is it the politicians always look to “fix” things that are not broken ? Why must we always “change” the good but never change the bad?
Why must we destroy and denigrate our history but put up with a “3rd world water system” ? If your looking for change how about changing Ridgewood Water instead, so we do not have water restrictions every summer?
We should memorialize this caper with a village plaque to hubris and for the future generations to Trust but first Verify.Could have turned out quite differently without the hard and determined efforts to overcome those developers and some whom they called to dance to their opportunistic tune.
First of all why is Christopher Rutishause e-Mailing plans for the park to Bill Gilsenan? Why is Gilsenan getting involved in the park? Im tired of all the so called Demigod running this Village. Paul Vagianos, John Saraceno Ed Sullivan, Tom Hillman and now Bill Gilsenan. Their names were not on the Village ballot for council. This council has to watch very closely what goes on because there has always been a small group self proclaimed Demigod who try to run this town from behind the scenes. Simply voting out the 3 Amigos is not going to stop this because its Systemic.
VM, Assistant to the VM, HR, Village Engineer, Superintendent of Parks and Rec. and the above named are running this town not the new council. Poster just need to reflect back to some of the fiascos that have happen in the last 4 years to find the common thread. Wise up new Village Council and get a grip on this. Don’t let them distract you while they plan or plot.
Ridgewood NJ, Another bombshell uncovered as a result of a recent Open Public Records Act request –
In an e-mail dated July 27, 2016 from Village Engineer Christopher Rutishauser to Bill Gilsenan, the Subject of which is: “Van Neste Park,” Mr. Rutishauser writes:
“We are thinking of renovating the brick walkways, relocating some of them, installing a small protective fence along the South Walnut Street wall area (so no one falls off the wall), maybe crate [sic] a small stage area, upgrade/add water fountains, and maybe even turn the monument eagle to the correct orientation.”
No “small stage area” was ever mentioned during the Village Council Work Session of August 3, nor during the Village Council Public Meeting of August 10, nor is a “small stage area” included as part of a proposed project plan diagram prepared by the Village of Ridgewood Engineering Division, Christopher J. Rutishauser, P.E. (initials J.M. also noted on the plan). However, the aforementioned plan does indicate that walkways now located in the center of the park will be removed, creating a moderately sized, circular shaped, open/vacant space.
The staff of The Ridgewood Blog surmises that this open/vacant space is the intended location for the “small stage area” referenced in Mr. Rutishauser’s July 27, 2016 e-mail, and that for some as yet unknown reason, this fact was kept under wraps – not mentioned to Village Council members, not included as part of a project plan diagram, and definitely not mentioned during two (2) separate open public meetings.
What is the intent of this “small stage area” and why was it never mentioned? Did Mr. Rutishauser himself come up with the idea, or was it brought to him by someone else? Fenced off park, small stage area – it would seem this sets the stage (no pun intended) for concerts/performances/shows to be regularly held at this location. If this is the case, what organization(s) will be sponsoring them? Might this explain the need to build an $11.5 million parking garage two (2) blocks away?
Ridgewood NJ, if have noticed your having trouble getting to work on time ,its true you are the NJT rail on-time performance data, found in NJ Transits annual report, calculates the percentage of trains that arrive on-time to their destination.
The current data shows that while the Main/Bergen County Line on time performance has actually improved from 2011 to 2015 , you connection to New York Penn Station at Secaucus Junction has suffered significant deterioration.
The Northeast Corridor commuter trains (NEC) are the now the most frequently late, and more of them are arriving later.The NEC has had the lowest percentage of on-time trains every year for the past five years. It’s been getting worse, falling to a low of 89.9 percent on-time in 2015 after reaching a five year high in 2013 of 94.4 percent.
NJT considers a train late if it arrives to its final destination six minutes after its scheduled time.The performance measures are in fiscal years, which for NJ Transit starts July 1 and goes through June 30.
