June 16,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Jim McCarthy is a fourteen-year resident of Ridgewood as well as the father of four daughters and husband to his wife, Gail. Listen to what he has to say about the upcoming garage vote on June 21st.
Ramon M. Hache
Councilman-Elect
Village of Ridgewood
Ridgewood NJ, On June 21st, residents will be voting on a binding referendum regarding the bonding of $11,500,000 to finance the cost of building the Hudson Street parking deck. There is a high level of speculation and misinformation circulating, including print and video propaganda posted on the Village website. As a member of the next Council, I feel it is important to communicate my views regarding the overall parking issue.
I am, first and foremost, committed to improving the quality of life of our residents, public safety and the health and well-being of our Central Business District. I certainly recognize that bringing additional parking to our Village, if properly done, will enhance quality of life, public safety and the vibrancy of our CBD. Also, as I stated during my campaign, I am supportive of a parking deck on Hudson Street. It is also important to note that the next Council is committed to implementing a comprehensive parking solution, that includes a parking deck, but most importantly, will bring much needed parking relief to the entire CBD. A parking deck on Hudson Street, while crucial, only solves part of the problem. Ultimately we have a parking distribution problem in our CBD, not a parking deck problem. We have already begun planning for more cost-effective solutions that will require minimal expenditures.
Without knowing the outcome of the June 21st referendum, we are exploring all options including the impact and viability of a smaller deck on Hudson Street combined with a second deck/lot at the corner of Walnut and Franklin. While the Hudson Street deck will address the parking needs of commuters and patrons of the shops and restaurants within its immediate proximity, we also need to consider the parking needs of the rest of the CBD. Again, this is why solutions in addition to the Hudson Street deck are so crucial.
We will be working with an expanded group of experts, residents, board and committee members. We are fortunate to have a tremendous amount of intelligent and caring people in our community. We will leverage their knowledge, expertise and love of community to devise the right solution that meets the broader needs of our Village, not just of a selected few.
Ridgewood has waited 90 years for a parking solution, not just a parking deck. The notion that a single parking deck will solve our parking problem is in itself an outdated 90 year old idea. The Village needs a comprehensive and modern parking solution that is both innovative and reflective of the world we live in. Coupled with bringing a better mix of businesses, it should serve to enhance an already vibrant Central Business District.
Being fiscally conscious, we want to avoid unnecessary and costly expenses including changes in work orders. The Village Council has already spent over $600,000 of taxpayer money and we have not added a single additional parking space. The next Council will make final decisions regarding size, shape, and look of the Hudson Street parking deck. What the final comprehensive solution will look like, will depend on the outcome of the referendum. Therefore it would be premature at this time to communicate any specific plan but rest assured we are prepared for either possible outcome. As I had promised during my campaign, I will support whatever the people want to do and I will not direct residents on how to vote. It is my duty as a member of the Council, to listen to the voice of the people and act accordingly. I look forward to working for you, and with you, in moving forward on the various important issues our Village is facing.
A review of Village Council Resolutions and related contract documents expose the plan
June 17,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Mayor Paul Aronsohn and Village Manager Roberta Sonnenfeld may be so desperate for a yes vote because, despite their promises to turn all design decisions over to the incoming Council, they have figured out a way to control those decisions from beyond their political graves. Most upsetting is that this comes on the heels of a carefully choreographed set of theatrical performances at the last Village Council meeting designed to give the impression that the outgoing Council was going to take a hands off approach. Of course, the very next morning the Mayor launched his illegal media blitz, which has already drawn an official ethics complaint and a lawsuit. Hardly an act of graceful stewardship on his way out. More like giving the new Council the back of his hand for delivering an election thrashing to his hand picked slate of successors.
The Council has hired an Agent, Barr & Barr, in a no-bid process as their representative to solicit bids from construction firms to build the garage. Further, they recently spent $ 20,000 more dollars asking for a Guaranteed Maximum Price contract, which not only is not the norm in NJ municipal construction (by the Village Engineer’s own admission), by its very definition it is only possible when the construction documents are at least 70% complete. So clearly in the minds of the lame duck Council Majority they are committing additional money to make sure Design D is built.
Finally, in the Mayor’s illegal propaganda video, created at taxpayer expense, Tim Tracy of the garage design contractor, Desman, indicates there is a 12% contingency fee to account for design changes. A cozy interesting side note is that Barr and Barr was referred in by Desman and the Village Manager indicated at a Council meeting that the Village did not even interview any construction firms that were not referred to them by Desman.
That’s right, we turned our largest construction sourcing decision in years over to an outside contractor in a no-bid process based only on the Village Manager’s undocumented opinion and her cozy relationship with Desman. The same Village Manager who has expended over $500,000 creating multiple sets of construction plans before a design is even finalized. The first set was commissioned even before an initial design was vetted with the Public. One of the plums falling from the taxpayer tree was a $295,000 contract with Desman that ballooned again when virtually every one who saw Garage Design A threw up on the idea as a grotesque monstrosity jutting 12 feet out into the street. To this day the Council Majority says that if it was up them they would have built Design A. I know the local architect had an unreasonable client, but he couldn’t have been happy designing what essentially looked like an upscale jail right in the middle of the CBD.
The net of all of this arrogance and gross mismanagement is that the new council may wake up theoretically owning the design decisions, but finding out the Mayor left them a contract that is booby-trapped with excessive design changes or cancellation penalties.
The ONLY way to derail this plan is to VOTE NO.
photo by Boyd Loving
June 16,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Gannett is adding to its stable of New Jersey papers by snapping up The Record , the Ridgewood News and some other weekly papers now owned by the North Jersey Media Group according to Media Ink.
According to insiders at the paper the announcement came as a shock to the Record newsroom and its already beleaguered staffers.
The 121-year-old paper long known as the Bergen Record is the second-largest daily paper in the state behind the Star-Ledger in Newark, which is owned by the Newhouse family. Gannett, the nation’s No. 1 newspaper publisher, also owns the Asbury Park Press and five other New Jersey papers.The Record seemed tired in recent years and after decades of playing a major role in setting the news agenda in New Jersey with its far left pro union slant .
While it bashed Governor Christie and harped on the tedious “Bridgegate” scandal it may have derailed presidential ambitions of New Jersey’s Gov. Chris Christie but circulation plunged , reporting lagged and the overtly biased coverage drove away advertisers .
The Record was purchased by the Borg family in 1930. Malcolm Borg is chairman, while son Stephen Borg — leader of the fourth generation of the family in control of the paper . Insiders say Stephen’s tenure at the helm has been a disaster.
As New Jersey’s government workforce shrinks, some of the highest-paid insiders are reaping the windfall of hundreds of millions of dollars in new-found overtime, an Asbury Park Press investigation found. Bob Jordan and Paul D’Ambrosio, Asbury Park Press Read more
Ridgewood NJ, The New Jersey Choral Society is holding auditions for two youth choruses, treble and SATB, for students in grades 6-12. Auditions will be held Monday, June 20, 2016 and August 29, 2016 from 4-6 pm at St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church, 169 Fairmount Road, Ridgewood, NJ. Treble voices are accepted from grades 6-12 and SATB voices from grades 9-12. Audition requirements, including a memorized solo, and registration details are available on the New Jersey Choral Society website at www.njcs.org under “Upcoming Events”. Interested students, parents and educators can contact Festival Youth Chorus Director, Noelle Dachis, at [email protected] for more information.
This is a unique and exciting opportunity for young choral singers to perform with the New Jersey Choral Society and Maestro Eric Dale Knapp, and a rare experience to include on college applications, especially for students heading into a music study. Students selected for the chorus are expected to attend weekly rehearsals, held at St. Elizabeth’s Church on Monday evenings, and all performances. The NJCS 2016-2017 concert season features Monteverdi’s Magnificat and Vespers of 1610 as well as the music of director-choreographer, Bob Fosse. The Festival Youth Chorus also has an opportunity to perform with Teatro Grattacielo in New York City in October.
Established in 1980, the New Jersey Choral Society is one of the state’s most prestigious choral groups, well-known for presenting outstanding and unique programs. Under the direction of Eric Dale Knapp, NJCS performs three major concerts annually in Bergen and Essex counties. They have performed at Carnegie Hall and the White House and have toured internationally in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, China, Australia, England, and France.
I am not a Christie fan but I will give him credit for trying to reel in the unsustainable pension and medical benefits public employees receive. it has to change. I don’t think it is right that money was diverted from the teacher’s pension fund starting with Christie Whitman and that has to be repaid. For heaven’s sake, it is time to freeze pensions and move onto 401K style plans and keep medical costs in line with what private sector receives. Long gone are the days when public employee salaries were lower than the private sector so delayed remuneration in the form of pensions, etc. made up the difference. As for Ridgewood’s current travesty with the NJEA and our BOE – I’m just sick. I wish all these complaining teachers could be replaced. And, yes, I’m one of those who wears the cloak of anonymity because I have kids in school and I know the teachers retaliate. Many are not as dedicated to their students and the field of education as they profess.
“Residents will have to pay for the Mayor and Village Managers legal fees.” TRUE. Which begs the question, why would Roberta, Paul et. al do something so blatantly out of step with the law so as to cause taxpayers to spend money to fight them legally, in addition to taxpayers footing any legal bills they have? Additionally, where is Matt Rogers? The bond counsel has been providing legal advice on these matters to date…why has he not weighed in?
This is a horrible precedent to set for our Village…I would think residents would be outraged if the Village was promoting one presidential candidate over another on the website. Thank you to Gail, Lorraine and everyone else involved with these efforts. It is sad it came to this, there was no need for Paul, Roberta etc to go this far as they had a lot of support on their side, but now everything is tainted.
June 16,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood
Ridgewood NJ, An employee’s conduct is subject to the laws of the state and the regulations of the employing agency. With respect to those jurisdictions operating under Title 11A of the the New Jersey Civil Service Act, the following provisions apply: “a person holding a position in the career service or senior executive service shall not directly use or seek to use the position to control or affect the political action of another person or engage in political activity during working hours.” N.J.S.A. 11A:2-23
file photo by Boyd Loving
Am completely sickened by what people write on this blog about our elected officials. Gwenn, Paul, and Albert are some of the smartest, most devoted town leaders we have had in Ridgewood.
The electorate of Ridgewood voted FOR the parking garage by a 2-1 majority.
Why are you costing us more money with a $45,000 NEW referendum? Where were you the first time we voted? You came too late to the game, and you may win after all, but you haven’t done it by posting nasty things on this blog or with costly lawsuits and second referendums.
We need a table where people sit down together and discuss the misunderstandings here–not a social media blitz that calls information propaganda. The REAL propaganda is on this blog.
June 15, 2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Hackensack NJ, A group of Ridgewood residents filed a lawsuit in Superior Court today, challenging a decision by the Bergen County town to place a political propaganda video and written propaganda on the municipal website “expressly advocating a “yes” vote on a bond referendum to finance a parking deck, which is slated to go before Ridgewood voters on June 21, 2016, and have urged voters to view this one-sided presentation. This action is brought to redress these violations of law.”
The filing comes less than a week after Ridgewood officials began distributing an 11-minute political video and four-page parking referendum guide, via the Village of Ridgewood website, urging voters to support an $11.5 million bond issue to build a parking deck on Hudson Street. The town’s mayor, manager, CFO, and engineer, along with the architect and contractor hired to design the garage. All appear in the video.
Ridgewood voters will go to the polls on June 21 to decide whether or not to adopt an ordinance that would allow Ridgewood to bond 11.5 million for a parking garage at Hudson Street. The $11.5 million is associated with what is known as Design D- 325 spaces, 4 stories, 5 levels, 5 ft over the footprint of the existing lot.
Ever since a 1953 ruling issued by former U.S. Supreme Court Justice and New Jersey Supreme Court Justice William Brennan, it has been illegal for local governments in New Jersey to use public resources to influence voters on a local election. While towns are allowed to send evenhanded factual material to voters, the ruling says it is “outside the pale” and “not lawful” for towns to spend money on political materials urging voters to pass or reject referendums.
According to the lawsuit, the video and the 4 page parking referendum guide on the village website, are “propaganda” that contains a “one-sided, slanted and unjust presentation” of the parking vote. Using “extravagant and dramatic language,” the ads argue in favor of the referendum’s passage, while disparaging the referendum’s opponents.
“The use of Ridgewood’s municipal funds to pay for political marketing is unconscionable,” said resident Gail McCarthy..
The lawsuit comes two days after Ridgewood’s mayor, Paul Aronsohn and village manager, Roberta Sonenfeld, were accused, by the New Jersey Foundation for Open Government, of state ethics law violations for their roles in the political video.“Aronsohn and Sonenfeld are certainly entitled to their own opinions about the referendum, but they are not entitled to use taxpayer dollars to aggressively promote a one sided opinion to the public,” added resident Lorraine Reynolds.
The lawsuit asks for an injunction declaring the advertising illegal, and asks for a formal accounting of all public money and time spent promoting the referendum. If the referendum succeeds, the suit also serves notice that the voters will seek to have the election set aside as being based on “payments and expenditures that are contrary to law, and not authorized by the election or other laws” of the State.
Dear Neighbor,
I’m writing about the upcoming garage election and specifically about something that has happened which now puts the whole process into question.
On June 9th, a ‘Vote yes’ video and other materials were posted on our Village website, along with an e-notice that was sent out by our Village Manager, which directed residents to this site. To use government funds to make such slanted materials and to post them on a government website goes beyond inappropriate.
NJ Fog, a government watch group, has filed a formal complaint against Mayor Aronsohn and Village Manager Sonenfeld, which can be viewed here.
It is imperative that every resident knows about the situation.
So, I am asking you to a) share this email with every resident that you know and b) contact the Ridgewood News at 201-612-5400 and ask for either Alexandra Hoey or Jaime Walters to request that this issue be given a front page article, which it deserves. Please call them this morning as they go to print shortly.
Thank you for doing your part to protect our Village.
Sincerely,
Dana
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Glen Rock Patch calls ethics complaint , “Gadfly Files Ethics Complaint Against Ridgewood Mayor, Manager” ( https://patch.com/new-jersey/ridgewood/gadfly-files-ethics-complaint-against-ridgewood-mayor-manager ) . Interesting choir of words , once again leading to the question why is the Patch always looking to protect Mayor Aronsohn ?
While the “Patch” came under heavy criticism for its coverage lapses during the Ridgewood Village Council election ,the above headline will do nothing but add fuel to the fire that the Patch continues to chose the Village Council Majority over Village of Ridgewood residents and taxpayers .
file photo by Boyd Loving
Readers react to ethics complaint against Mayor and Village manager :
Just when you think Aronsohn cannot get any lower, well guess what he digs himself in deeper. The list of crummy things he has done to soil our village goes on and on. Such as the Mike Sedon affair, another election tampering effort by Aronsohn. Glad he is being called to task on this one and his bobble headed village manager too.
These two are so dirty, The manager and her lap dog need to go by july 1, End of the story. we are all sick of this bull shit in town, This manager staff all needs to go, what a bunch of shit heads. They don’t know how to treat people. what a joke. scam after scam.they are all in bed together.
The real kicker here is that taxpayers paid for those unlawfully produced materials and we will pay again in terms of legal fees to defend Mrs. Carroll and Mr. Aronsohn. The only justice will be when they are both walked out in cuffs.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Many readers over the years have often complained about petty vandalism ,and in particular the stealing of Village signs around town . From the Facebook page “it takes a village” we recently learned that the Dunham Trail sign has gone missing . According to Patricia Barnwell Pechko “My pet peeve has always been vandalism. I am so upset that one of the signs my son built for his Eagle Scout service has been stolen from the Dunham Trail entrance on Spring Street. It was multi-bolted and steel reinforced so this was no small task to steal. If anyone sees it laying around, please let me know so we can fix and remount it.”
Folks it is often more than just the signs its the effort and thought as well as the cost that goes into these things.
