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Higher Taxes and Congestion Likely from New Ridgewood Apartment Complexes

high density housing CBD

May 4,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The massive new 66 unit, multi-retail store complex coming to Franklin and Broad sets off a chain reaction of traffic problems in Ridgewood. As always, taxpayers will be left holding the bag for nearly a million dollars worth of needed traffic signal upgrades alone.

In the zoomed in version of developer John Saraceno’s “rendering” above we see the Franklin & Broad intersection which will be drastically impacted by the new 5 story building and the nearby 4 story Chestnut apartments. The archway on the right is one of two entry/exit for the 150 new parking spots on Franklin. The current lot is private and not open to the public. There will be a great deal of new traffic at one of the most important, dangerous, and crowded intersections in the village.
The new light at this intersection will cost $300k, Saraceno has offered to pay 25% [which is more than the law requires]. The bigger problem is how other, non-upgraded intersections will handle the traffic flow. By law, developers of Ridgewood’s 4 new high-density buildings only have to pay a small fraction of any needed new lights.
Listen here to the village’s traffic expert, Andrew Feranda: https://youtu.be/ENr_LFZAQuQ?t=10238
As northjersey.com reported:

The board also spent considerable time with its own traffic professional, Andrew Feranda, further discussing the Franklin Avenue thoroughfare.  They looked specifically at the coordination of traffic lights in the area. Feranda recommended coordinating the timing of the lights on Franklin Avenue at Broad Street and Oak Street to ensure more efficient traffic flow.

Voigt said any traffic improvements made to those intersections, the two closest traffic lights to the development, could necessitate changes at all lights from Wilsey Square to Maple Avenue. Feranda agreed the corridor would be more efficient with all the lights working in tandem.

“It certainly doesn’t move traffic efficiently if they’re not coordinated,” said Feranda.

Feranda said his layout would look “similar” to the plans put forth by the applicant. He cited the use of the signalized intersection at Broad Street and Franklin Avenue, and the fact that the driveway, on Chestnut Street, was about as far away from Franklin Avenue as possible.

 https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/bergen/ridgewood/2017/04/19/ridgewood-housing-hearing-focuses-franklin-ave/100647038/
All 4 of the high-density developments downtown are allowed thanks to controversial laws championed by Ridgewood resident Saraceno and then-mayor Paul Aronsohn.
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2 N.J. towns are finalists in national main street competition

CBD ridgewood ArtChick

file photo by ArtChick

Maple Shade is in contention for a best main street competition, as is Haddonfield, 

By Amy Kuperinsky | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on May 02, 2017 at 1:42 PM

New Jersey is home to some of the country’s most beloved main streets and downtowns, according to an ongoing national contest.

Maple Shade and Haddonfield are both contenders in Independent We Stand’s America’s Main Streets competition.

The winner of the contest, whose goal is to “help promote the importance and strong economic benefits of these main streets and the small businesses that help them thrive,” gets $25,000. Business associations, improvement districts and main street groups were all invited to enter.

Independent We Stand is a national network of independent small business owners. The competition is sponsored by Stihl, a manufacturer of chainsaws and other outdoor equipment (the winner also gets a $1,000 certificate for Stihl products).

https://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/05/americas_main_streets_contest_haddonfield_maple_sh.html#incart_river_index

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How Amazon’s ‘invisible’ hand can shape your city

amazon_theridgewoodblog

The Seattle e-commerce company’s influence goes well beyond shopping

BY PATRICK SISSON  MAY 2, 2017, 11:43AM EDT

It begins with boxes. For most people who order goods from Amazon—with nearly half of U.S. householdsenrolled in the company’s Prime program, that’s quite a few of us—interactions with the Seattle e-commerce giant start with a search and a click, and end with a delivery.

While the ubiquitous company—a retail and shopping juggernaut worth roughly $430 billion that personifies the rapid growth in e-commerce—has an extensive footprint, a growing warehouse network, and a nascent brick-and-mortar retail presence, most of us just see piles of boxes on stoops, on doorsteps, and in apartment lobbies.

But that passing perspective would be a gross underestimation of the way e-commerce in general, and Amazon specifically, has and will reshape cities and communities around the country.

A growing web of Amazon warehouses is poised to further speed up and reshape commerce, putting more pressure on retail. Increasing deliveries, a result of this bigger and better logistics network and consumer demand, is leading to increased freight traffic on city streets. And an expansion into physical retail, including brick-and-mortar Amazon grocery stores, predicted by many analysts, could make an even bigger dent in urban landscapes and commercial strips. Curbed reached out to Amazon for this story, but they declined to comment on the record.

https://www.curbed.com/2017/5/2/15509316/amazon-prime-retail-urban-planning

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We must stop the affordable housing crisis

CBD high density housing

Holly Schepisi 12:06 p.m. ET May 2, 2017

New Jersey has the highest property taxes, foreclosure rate and is the most expensive state in the nation to own a home.  Common sense and basic economics tell us that there is too much supply and too little demand, with high taxes and a dense population distorting total housing costs upward.

Now we are facing the equivalent of housing Armageddon.  A non-profit entity with ties to developers is attempting to force towns across the state to build 280,000 affordable housing units in the next nine years.

https://www.northjersey.com/story/opinion/contributors/2017/05/02/we-must-stop-affordable-housing-crisis/101146216/

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Jersey Shore town’s rule targeting Airbnb rentals to get public hearing

artchick_jerseyshore_theridgewoodblog

By Alex Napoliello | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on April 30, 2017 at 8:30 AM, updated April 30, 2017 at 8:33 AM

TOMS RIVER — The public will get a chance to chime in on a revised version of a controversial ordinance regulating short-term rentals, like those found on Airbnb and Vacation Rentals By Owner.

The amended ordinance eases restrictions on the minimum number of rental days on properties on the barrier island from three nights to two nights through April 1 through Nov. 30.

“It was determined that a minimum two-day rental during an extended season would be more workable on the barrier island and would not detract from the overall purposes of the ordinance,” it states.

A minimum 30-day stay will be enforced in all other parts of Toms River.

The township’s assistant attorney, Anthony Merlino, told the Asbury Park Press that the original ordinance was introduced after the council received complaints of houses advertised on Airbnb as daily rentals.

https://www.nj.com/ocean/index.ssf/2017/04/public_hearing_scheduled_for_jersey_shore_towns_on.html

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Saraceno’s Apartments: By the Numbers

Saraceno's Apartments: By the Numbers
May 1,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The “rendering” of new apartments at Broad and Franklin by John Saraceno’s architect leaves a lot to be desired, like a connection to reality for starters. So let’s break down the reality of what Saraceno is planning. Built on the former home of the Ken Smith car dealership, the 66 unit apartment with thousands of square feet of retail space is allowed under new village laws championed by Ridgewood resident Saraceno and then-mayor Paul Aronsohn.

Frontage:

Franklin St- 198 feet
Chestnut St- 119 feet
Height: 5 stories, putting it above all neighboring buildings and higher than the train station. Saraceno says his 5 story building is 50 feet high. The “tower” is 57 feet. The new Chestnut apartments several hundred feet away are four stories and 53 feet high.

Parking:

155 parking spots, the arches at the ends of the building on Franklin and Chestnut are the lot entry/exits. The Chestnut entry is near the new 43 unit high-density apartments being built on the old vehicle inspection station lot.

Reminder:

Saraceno and Aronsohn, who partnered to raise the density in this area to 35 units, said these two and three bedroom apartments won’t have a lot of school age families. The Ridgewood school budget has grown ~25% in less than 10 years on just about flat enrollment.

The Saraceno, Aronsohn, Hauck, and Pucciarelli dream of turning Ridgewood into high-density heaven is just a few months away. The most densely populated county in the most densely populated state in the union is about to get more crowded. Ridgewood used to be a place to get away from that, no more.

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Hard times for Whole Foods: ‘People say it’s for pretentious people. I can see why’

whole_foods_theridgewoodblog

The upscale grocery chain is valued at almost $12bn, but six straight quarters of declining sales have led to speculation of a takeover bid. What went wrong?

Lunchtime customers at Whole Foods in Manhattan’s Union Square had little trouble expressing the shortcomings that have led the once high-flying, organic-focused retailer to become linked with a takeover.

“I love the sushi, but I wouldn’t shop here except maybe for a special ingredient,” said Argentinian software designer Benjamin Vinas. “People say Whole Foods is for pretentious people, and I can see why. It’s too expensive. I don’t have the budget.”

Vinas was not the only customer to express a similar point of view. Others said that for their groceries they went several blocks north and west to lower-cost rival Trader Joe’s, where products may not be so exquisitely selected but are, in general, more uniformly discounted.

Maria Johnson, a postgraduate student, said Whole Foods’ pricing, with some items marked competitively and other expensive, was inconvenient.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/29/whole-foods-hard-times-retail

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Time to Add the Ridgewood Train Station Parking Spaces

Ridgewood Trainstation_theridgewoodblog

April 26,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, as previously reported on this blog , Village Engineer Christopher Rutishauser was asked to ascertain the feasibility of adding approximately 40 additional parking spaces at the Ridgewood train station.  Mayor Susan Knudsen suggested that additional parking spaces might be added by removing some of the large, grass & tree covered center island in the current parking lot.

While the Village Engineer has attempted to upgrade the project to include moving the bus station, the simple solution and cost effective solution would just be to stick with adding the new spaces to the train station .It would ad the most spaces quickly and effectively.

It amounts to a small sacrifice  of removing a few feet of grass with a net gain of anywhere from 28-40 spaces .

No it will not solve the whole problem but it will help out commuters , and generate more revenue for the Village with passes .

It will also shift commuters from taking up valuable spaces in front of merchants free ups spaces for shoppers.

 

 

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Reader says You wanted to make the village into your vision of a “Montclair light “. You lost

Ridgewood 3 amigos

The carpetbaggers came to town, they hedged their bets, bought some real estate,.they had confidence their puppet council would accommodate their demands so they can build build build , pocket the profits, and leave while sticking the taxpayers with the tab for a garage to enhance their bets, You made a bet. You wanted to make the village into your vision of a “Montclair light “. You lost. Now do us all a favor and go home, back to your real home which isn’t 07450

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A Parking Garage in Ridgewood Will Not Solve this Problem

A Parking Garage in Ridgewood Will Not Solve this Problem

photo courtesy of DT

April 26,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, pulled this picture off of Facebook , it would limply the problems in Ridgewood run far deeper that building a parking garage . Perhaps a picture is really worth a thousand words. .

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Davidoff Cigar Tasting & Seminar – May 3 at Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood

bikeattheCigarshop theridgewoodblog.net 1

April 25,2017

the staff of the Ridgeood blog

Ridgewood NJ , the Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood  will be hosting a Davidoff Cigar Tasting & Seminar on May 3 .Exploring the Davidoff Flavor Experience : Soil and Seed ,featuring Brand Ambassador Jeffery Stone.
It is $20 per person limited seating available call today !

The Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood. & Davidoff Lounge. 10 Chestnut Street • Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450 • 201-447-2204. Hours: Monday – Saturday 10:00AM

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Reader says There is a big demand for parking from 6-10pm, Let the restaurant owners pay for the garage

Village _resturants_theridgewoodblog

file photo

There is a big demand for parking from 6-10pm weekends to accommodate the dining crowd from oak to broad area. If the lazy diners walked 3-4 blocks they could get a parking space,
Many good spaces haven been eliminated as they are dedicated valet .
Let the restaurant owners pay for the garage,
As a long time resident I have zero interest in subsiding your business

Posted on 5 Comments

Brick-and-Mortar Stores Are Shuttering at a Record Pace

closing

Years of overbuilding and the rise of online shopping have come to a head; malls as ‘energy suckers’

By Suzanne Kapner
April 21, 2017 7:53 p.m. ET

American retailers are closing stores at a record pace this year as they feel the fallout from decades of overbuilding and the rise of online shopping.

Just this past week, women’s apparel chain Bebe Stores Inc. said it would close its remaining 170 shops and sell only online, while teen retailer Rue21 Inc. announced plans to close about 400 of its 1,100 locations.

“There is no reason to believe that this will abate at any point in the foreseeable future,” said Mark Cohen, the director of retail studies for Columbia Business School and a former executive at Sears Canada Inc. and other department stores.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/brick-and-mortar-stores-are-shuttering-at-a-record-pace-1492818818

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Reader says the Hudson Garage is to compensate legally for building LESS parking at nearby apartment developments

godzilla

Its most significant intended purpose, and the one motivating past council members, is to compensate legally for building LESS parking at nearby apartment developments. Otherwise why would Aronsohn & Co. have cared so much that they made a video about it (on village tax money)? DO NOT BE FOOLED. Garage is a boondoggle to end them all. We have enough to worry about re: property tax increases without adding this unnecessary, voted-down, impossible-to-maintain monstrosity (at any size). ADD retail space? No, please. Let’s just reconfigure the Hudson St. lot.

Posted on 4 Comments

Reader asks What could possibly go wrong by trusting a real estate developer and a disgraced politician?

Paul_Aronsohn_dunking_theridgewoodblog

Remember that the former Mayor and Mr. Saraceno conducted studies that showed that there would be LESS traffic and only 4 additional children in the schools as a result of this project. No really, they did – and expected us to believe it. The studies assumed that only empty nesters with no cars would be moving in to these apartments. They further assumed that apartment dwellers would simply walk to get everything they needed in Ridgewood and take the train everywhere else. What could possibly go wrong by trusting a real estate developer and a disgraced politician?