Flash Flood Sees Ho Ho Kus Brook Breach its Banks in Ridgewood
Ridgewood NJ, The HoHoKus Brook went over its banks in Ridgewood on Friday, 08/01 causing the Village Hall/Ridgewood Public Library parking lot to flood as well as artificial turf athletic fields at Ridgewood High School, Maple Park, and Stevens Field.
Five (5) privately owned vehicles parked in the Village Hall/Ridgewood Public Library parking lot were not moved in time and heavily damaged. One vehicle reportedly belongs to a Library employee whose first day on the job was Friday.
The turf athletic fields were bubbled up and will need to be repaired.
Several streets, including Linwood Avenue, were closed due to flood waters.
No injuries were reported.
Damage to Village Hall itself was minimal; water entered at only one point, an overhead door on the north side of the building.
Turf Field Supporter We now have 3 turf fields that get used almost non-stop. That means more kids participating in more activities and being more active
Could we please stop with the turf field bashing, or at least get some facts straight? First of all, the turf at Maple is still there and still being used so I have no idea where “we only got 7 years out of Maple” comes from. Secondly, how could it be “way too much money” when the field at Maple was paid for with private money? And in regards to the loss of the 90 foot diamond after moving the track to BF that falls on the past Village Council. The Master Parks and Field plan called for all of the upgrades/changes that were made including moving the undersized/unusable track from RHS to BF. Almost all of the upgrades/changes were to BOE properties. The only component in that phase of the plan that fell to the the Village of Ridgewood was to renovate/expand Lower Hawes so to accomodate a 90 foot diamond to make up for the “lost” diamond at BF. They never did it. So now the focus is on Schedler.
We now have 3 turf fields that get used almost non-stop. That means more kids participating in more activities and being more active. That is a positive in my book. If we had not passed the bond and we still had the old facilities the RHS Stadium Field would be gettng used a maximum of 12 to 15 times a year instead of dozens of times a week. The same goes for Stevens. I actually disagree that the “turf looks nice.” I’d rather see real grass, I think it looks better but the reality of the situation is that with our limited number of fields and the sheer numbers of children we have involved in sports from the youth level thru the HS there is no alternative if we want safe, usable, fields. In fact I would bet we’ll be seeing a couple of more fields “turfed” in the next few years.
Reader says Turf fields looks nice , but way too much money
They only got 7 years out of Maple…not sure what the life expectancy range is for turf but I would’ve thought that it would’ve lasted longer than 7 years….
I don’t think the plan in place for the Schedler (sp?) property calls for artificial turf, but I could be wrong.
You can thank the voters in the Willard district that voted for the expanded bond that removed 2 usable baseball/softball fields at BF (specifically the second 90 foot baseball field) when they redid the track and field.
If that vote doesn’t get approved, there would be less of a push by RBSA to get a second 90 foot baseball field somewhere in town.
No doubt that the Willard parents tipped the scales and set this whole entitlement sentiment currently embraced by the sports groups.
Time to take the town back and vote for Sedon and Knudsen…or the “newbies” as one of the “townie” posters wrote last week.
Reader says If you want to truly save tax dollars, reduce the school budget.
Its one of the nicer things about Ridgewood. I’m tired of the new residents bitching about the nice things here, like the Paid Professional Firefighters, and rear yard trash pickup. They come here, raise our taxes with these foolish school budgets, million dollar artificial turf sports fields, 10 million dollar horse farms (turned into sports fields) then beat feet out of town after their last kid graduates RHS, leaving the rest of us to foot the tab. If you want to truly save tax dollars, reduce the school budget. A good first start is larger class sizes, and shift medical ‘benefits’ to a bare-bones plan
In New Jersey, rising flood insurance rates not just an issue at the shore
BURLINGTON CITY — If flooding were a real concern for Taylor Rambo, he said he wouldn’t have built a bar in his basement.
Yet he pays about $2,700 each year for flood insurance he is required to have as part of his mortgage, and the amount is likely to rise quickly as the federal government raises premiums paid by home and business owners through the subsidized National Flood Insurance Program.
“It worries me a lot because it makes my escrow go up and I can’t afford it,” said Rambo, who said he hasn’t had any water in his basement in the 17 years he’s owned his house in Burlington City, a blue-collar town between Philadelphia and Trenton and about 45 miles from the New Jersey shore, where flooding has become a high-profile and expensive problem.
More than 1,000 property owners in Burlington City, which is situated along the Delaware River, paid $1.5 million in premiums subsidized by the program last year. In the 40 years the community has been part of the program, residents have received payouts of only about $500,000.
That’s a sharp contrast with several towns on the shore — including Toms River, Union Beach and Sea Bright — where the historic payouts have been 50 times the premiums collected there each year. (Associated Press/Press of Atlantic City)
The ceaseless nightmare of Hurricane Sandy victims has a new twist: More than a year after their homes were wrecked, hundreds of people face yet another hurdle that could further delay relief.
The reason is that New Jersey, unlike New York, requires a letter from a local flood expert to certify a home is substantially damaged before relief money is awarded. That may be a reasonable guard against fraud, but the implementation, again, has been botched.
Some towns helped storm victims get these letters, due today. Others didn’t. The result is a bureaucratic mess, housing advocates say.
Sandy victims in less proactive towns say they knew nothing about this requirement until late November or well into December. That’s when the state warned 900 storm victims — nearly 1 in 4 people approved for rebuilding grants — that they’d be bumped to the waiting list unless they could get this letter in by Jan. 15.
Which means that after making it all the way to the finish line, they might lose their long-awaited relief money. Today was a hugely important deadline. Why were so many apparently caught unaware?
The blame falls on both state and local officials. The state agency in charge of the rebuilding program, the Division of Community Affairs, requires these letters to be written by a full-time floodplain manager. That’s a position many towns don’t have. (Star-Ledger Editorial Board)
Flawed bid process will delay Maple Field cleanup in Ridgewood
TUESDAY DECEMBER 17, 2013, 10:32 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Ridgewood Council has rejected the lone bid it received for the Maple Park turf cleaning job, a move that will delay a much-needed procedure at one of the village’s most used fields.
According to a council resolution unanimously passed last week, the village will put the project back out for public bid because the initial bid process was declared flawed.
Plans for open space in Ridgewood still to be determined
Tuesday September 24, 2013, 11:31 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
It’s not uncommon to catch a glimpse of a youth ball game while driving through the Route 17 corridor. To date, motorists can spy the action on sports fields from the heavily trafficked highway in East Rutherford, Carlstadt and Hasbrouck Heights.
Ridgewood’s Open Space Committee last October recommended that any individual or group interested in preserving the Schedler house on West Saddle River Road should present plans to the Village Council within 12 months. Several residents had the opportunity to tour the property and interior, pictured here, of the home last month.
If funding falls into place, a fourth location and the first adjacent to the thoroughfare’s northbound lanes might one day pop up in Ridgewood. Plans to convert the heavily wooded, 7-plus acre lot between Route 17 North and West Saddle River Road into a multi-use athletics facility have made the first run through the village’s engineering department but are still under scrutiny and far from complete.
The fate of what is known to most residents as the Schedler property is still up in the air, though a youth sports complex has already won the endorsement of a number of key groups in Ridgewood, including the Open Space Committee. Specifically, a 90-foot baseball diamond with a multi-purpose turf field overlaying the baseball outfield has been laid out on the table. The plan also calls for designated areas for passive recreation and an accompanying parking lot.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/recreation/225034202_Plans_for_open_space_in_Ridgewood_still_to_be_determined.html#sthash.wawaqmTI.dpuf
Funds secured for fixes at two Ridgewood fields
Wednesday August 28, 2013, 10:30 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
Grants and gifts will pay for needed field improvements at both Maple Park Field and the Irene Habernickel Family Park.
The Ridgewood Council recently accepted a $20,000 grant from the Bergen County Open Space Trust Fund to offset a portion of the cost to rehabilitate the turf at Maple Field. The total price tag hovers over $40,000.
“We were approved at 50 percent of the total cost for the matching grant,” said Village Manager Ken Gabbert.
The artificial surface has “taken a beating” in recent years and the turf has hardened significantly, creating poor playing conditions. Money already appropriated by the village, in addition to the county grant money, will pay to “redo” the turf field, Gabbert said.
Believe it or not, every house in town does not have central air conditioning, not to mention a private pool. Graydon has always been a delightful, convenient hot-weather respite at reasonable fees for those in town who do not own second or third homes and can’t spend half the summer at resorts–as well as those who do have vacation homes but would like a cool dip when they can’t go there. It looks great, too–a refreshing oasis in the center of town.
Many Village residents enjoy and demand amenities, such as increasingly expensive sports fields and turf remediation, that are of no interest to others, but who nevertheless pay for them through property taxes. Fairness is an issue. Nevertheless, if the Village marketed Graydon in any way beyond Parks & Rec fliers, more people would join. There isn’t even an obvious place on the Village website to learn details about the place and join.
“Ridgewood uses lessons from Irene to prepare for Sandy” , a bit early for back slapping November 4,2012 the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Many resident felt it was a bit over the top and premature for the Village to be patting it self on the back while some many residents didn’t have power,heat or hot water .
The Ridgewood Police got high marks for everything except for the “ticket frenzy ” . The use of Facebook to put out information received many kudos.
The Village however failed a basic test when power failed at Office of Emergency Management, Village Hall and Village Police Department . Old time residents remarked thankfully we did not have too much rain or flooding because all of the Village’s first responders are still located in flood zones .
Residents also need to understand the Village given how well it fared during Sandy was not going to be Governor Christie or PSE&G ‘s most pressing priority . Take a drive down to Bay Head and you will see what I mean. The Village was very lucky that the CBD was lights on and so many neighbors and local institutions pitched in to help out
The town attracted visitors from all over North Jersey and as far as Hoboken .People came not only to warm up ,and charge their batteries but also to get a hot cup of coffee and a good meal .The Village seemed to make a good impression on everyone who came to visit and I think many local merchants may continue to get business as an after affect from all the good will.
Many remarked how the Village leave crew hustled and yes even the Ridgewood blog will admit it the BOE and particularly Dr. Fishbien really stepped up .The Village Council and Village Officials also should be commended for just like the article says being prepared !
But folks this is not the time to for photo ops and back slapping many residents in the tri-state area are still without power and face a far more daunting situation than almost any of us could imagine . , it best to take a little time out just to remember how lucky we all are. RIDGEWOOD NEWS: Ridgewood uses lessons from Irene to prepare for Sandy
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2012
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
As Hurricane Sandy’s predicted impact and damage quickly became reality, Ridgewood officials were thankful that they applied lessons learned from last year’s extreme weather conditions to preparations for this October’s super storm.
Debris is cleared from the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook in anticipation of Hurricane Sandy. The village was hit hard by flooding during last year’s Hurricane Irene, but was spared any water damage from Hurricane Sandy.
Emergency response teams, led by Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Jeremy Kleiman, began their hurricane preparation plans in the middle of last week, several days before Sandy was expected to hit landfall. The OEM held meetings with all village department heads on Friday and offered specific instructions and details of what to do and what to expect.
Outage update: We are making steady progress. In three days, we have restored service to more than 1 million PSE&G customers following Hurricane Sandy. The storm impacted 1.7 million of PSE&G’s 2.2 million electric customers. We’ve also increased the stability of our transmission system to ensure that the high-voltage lines can deliver the power.
Our estimate is that we will have virtually all of our impacted customers restored to service within the coming week. The majority of customers will be restored before then. After Nov. 9, there may still be isolated pockets of customers who have individual flooding or downed line issues that may take slightly longer.
The storm surge flooded a large number of substations along the Passaic, Hackensack and Hudson rivers, and the Arthur Kill, disrupting service to customers in Hudson, Essex and Middlesex counties. The magnitude of the flooding in contiguous areas is unprecedented. PSE&G had to take these stations out of service, wait for the flood waters to recede to assess the damage, dry out the equipment, replace equipment when necessary and re-energize the system to restore service. We continue to make progress on the substations affected by flood waters from the tidal surge. This is a painstaking process to thoroughly clean the equipment so that it can be safely re-energized.
The total number of people who have come from other states to assist is now more than 2,000. This includes additional line personnel, tree crews and substation operators.
PSE&G’s key areas of focus are:
• Repairing our damaged switching stations and substations in Hudson and Essex Counties so we
can energize them and deliver the power to customers.
• Gas refineries – We have restored power to the Conoco Phillips and Buckeye Pipeline gas
refineries. We are making progress on restoring the other two refineries that we serve in the area.
• Gas stations – We are working with the NJ Gasoline Service Association to identify gas stations
that have the commodity, but need power restored to get the gas flowing.
• Overhead infrastructure – We continue to clear trees, debris and downed wires from state, county and municipal roadways so we can begin repairing overhead infrastructure in Bergen and Passaic
Counties.
Christie Administration Announces Restoration of Limited Rail Service to Newark on Friday
Christie Administration Announces Restoration of Limited Rail Service to Newark on Friday
Northeast Corridor Service to Operation on a Special Schedule Between Trenton and Newark Penn Station
North Jersey Coast Line Service to Operate Between Woodbridge and Newark Penn Station
Raritan Valley Line Service to Operate Between Raritan and Newark
Trenton, NJ – The Christie Administration announced the restoration of limited rail service on three of NJ TRANSIT’s rail lines starting Friday, November 2, as part of the Administration’s ongoing efforts to restore NJ TRANSIT service as soon as it becomes possible. This service restoration includes service along three lines: Northeast Corridor service between Trenton Transit Center and Newark Penn Station, North Jersey Coast Line service between Woodbridge and Newark Penn Station, and Raritan Valley Line service between Raritan and Newark Penn Station. A special schedule will be posted on njtransit.com by 7:00 p.m. this evening.
“As the backbone of the NJ TRANSIT rail system, the restoration of Northeast Corridor service is a significant step in providing a level of service to NJ TRANSIT’s customers,” said Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chairman James Simpson. “Our work is far from done, as we still face a number of operational challenges, but we will continue working tirelessly to further restore service where we can safely do so.”
Service to Penn Station New York will resume following Amtrak’s restoration of the Hudson River Tunnels and it’s signal system is complete.On Thursday, November 1, NJ TRANSIT restored the majority of bus service throughout the state, operating full service on 68 bus routes in northern New Jersey and 18 bus routes in southern New Jersey, and restoring partial service on 58 bus routes in northern New Jersey and 17 routes in southern New Jersey. Also on Thursday, River Line service was restored between the Trenton Transit Center and the Entertainment Center in Camden, operating on a Sunday schedule. Limited Access Link paratransit service resumed operation as well.
NJ TRANSIT is advising customers of the following:
Rail Service:
Northeast Corridor: On Friday, November 2, service will resume between Trenton Transit Center and Newark Penn Station, operating on a special schedule.
North Jersey Coast Line: On Friday, November 2, service will resume between Woodbridge and Newark Penn Station, operating on a special schedule. Rail service between Bay Head and Woodbridge remains suspended. An assessment of rail infrastructure has revealed significant damage across the system, including:
Morgan Drawbridge in South Amboy sustained damage from boats and a trailer that collided into the bridge.
There are wires and trees down, as well as rail washouts (no ballast under the tracks), between South Amboy and Bay Head.
Raritan Valley Line: On Friday, November 2, service will resume between Raritan and Newark Penn Station only, operating on a special schedule. Rail service between High Bridge and Raritan remains suspended.
Morris & Essex, Montclair-Boonton, Main/Bergen and Atlantic City Rail lines: Service remains suspended. An assessment of rail infrastructure has revealed significant damage across the system, including:
There is major damage due to downed trees between Summit and Millburn, as well as in Denville and Morristown. There is also overhead wire damage, including signal wires, with support poles down in Lyons and Bernardsville. In addition, rail washouts (no ballast under the tracks) occurred at Kearny Junction, where Midtown Direct service connects to the Northeast Corridor. Rail washouts also occurred at several tracks in Hoboken Terminal and at Netcong Station.
Elsewhere on the rail system, local power outages have prevented NJ TRANSIT rail operations from being able to further test crossing gates and operating signals. In addition, hundreds of downed trees have fallen across the rail system, which have caused damage to overhead wires and signal wires. Several rail stations have sustained flood damage, including Hoboken Terminal.
Bus Service:
Bus service is operating on 68 bus routes in northern New Jersey and 18 bus routes in southern New Jersey, providing service over the entire routes with no detours or truncations. For a complete list, visit njtransit.com.
Partial service is operating on 58 bus routes in northern New Jersey and 17 routes in southern New Jersey, with detours or truncations due to ongoing impacts from Hurricane Sandy. For details, visit njtransit.com
Bus service on routes not listed remains suspended until further notice. Power outages in local communities have resulted in the loss of traffic control devices critical to safe operation in some areas. Downed tree limbs and power lines continue to make many roads impassable. Personnel are in the field reviewing and assessing these conditions in order to ensure that service is restored as soon as it becomes safe to do so.
Light Rail Service:
River Line is operating on a Sunday schedule between Trenton Transit Center and the Entertainment Center in Camden.
Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and Newark Light Rail service will remain suspended until further notice. There is currently no estimated time for resumption of service. An assessment of rail infrastructure has revealed significant damage across the system, including:
Newark Light Rail sustained flooding in Newark Penn Station, as well as major debris damage between Newark Penn and Branch Brook Park stations.
Hudson-Bergen Light Rail experienced track washouts at Port Imperial and West Side Avenue stations, as well as trees in the overhead wire in Weehawken and flooding in Hoboken.
Access Link:
Access Link service is operating in the following regions:
Region 2, which includes Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties.
Region 3, which includes Atlantic, Cape May and Southern Ocean County.
PSE&G : 10 Days till full Restoration ,but Majority of Customers will be Restored before then
Our best forecast as of now is that we will have virtually all of our impacted customers restored to service within the next seven to 10 days. THE MAJORITY OF CUSTOMERS WILL BE RESTORED BEFORE THEN. There may still be isolated pockets of customers who have individual flooding or downed line issues that may take slightly longer.
OUTAGE UPDATE: At this time approximately 1 million PSE&G customers have had their power restored following Hurricane Sandy. About 716,000 customers are currently without power. The storm impacted 1.7 million of PSE&G’s 2.2 million electric customers.
Our crews work to restore power to the largest numbers of customers first, taking into account “priority customers” such as hospitals, police and fire stations, water and sewer facilities, communications facilities (TV, radio and telephone), and customers on life-sustaining medical equipment (See graphic illustration below). If someone in your family relies on life-sustaining medical equipment, it is important to let the utility know as soon as the equipment is installed. We then focus on restoring power to homes and businesses, starting with the circuits with the largest numbers of customers.
PSE&G storm update – Thursday, November 1, 2012 at 11:30 a.m.
November 1 2012
–Outage update: At this time approximately 950,000 PSE&G customers have had their power restored following Hurricane Sandy. About 781,000 customers are currently without power. The storm impacted 1.7 million of PSE&G’s 2.2 million electric customers.
— Our best forecast as of now is that we will have virtually all of our impacted customers restored to service within the next seven to 10 days. The majority of customers will be restored before then. There may still be isolated pockets of customers who have individual flooding or downed line issues that may take slightly longer.
— The storm surge flooded a large number of substations along the Passaic, Hackensack and Hudson rivers, and the Arthur Kill, disrupting service to customers in Hudson, Essex and Middlesex counties. The magnitude of the flooding in contiguous areas is unprecedented. PSE&G had to take these stations out of service, wait for the flood waters to recede to assess the damage, dry out the equipment, replace equipment when necessary and re-energize the system to restore service. We continue to make progress on the substations affected by flood waters from the tidal surge. This is a painstaking process to thoroughly clean the equipment so theta it can be safely re-energized.
— PSE&G has assembled a “virtual army” of over 1,730 technicians – 600 PSE&G workers and 1,050 workers from across the country — plus an additional 600 contractors to cut and remove trees. We continue to secure whatever resources become available to us from other utilities; additional crews from the Midwest are arriving this afternoon.
— Many of the outages were caused by falling trees and limbs, which bring down power lines. Downed wires should always be considered “live.” STAY AWAY FROM ALL DOWNED LINES. Do not approach or drive over a downed line and do not touch anything that it might be in contact with. To report a downed wire and other visible equipment damage, call 1-800-436-PSEG and tell PSE&G the nearest cross street.
— To report a power outage, call PSE&G’s Customer Service line: 1-800-436-PSEG.
PSE&G is distributing free ice and water to customers without power at the following locations on a first come, first served basis between 8:00 am and 4:30 pm:
Elizabeth Customer Service Center, 550 N. Broad Street, Elizabeth, NJ 07202
West Orange Customer Service Center, 59 Main Street, West Orange, NJ 07052
Paramus Park Mall 700 Paramus Park Paramus, NJ 07652 Next To Macy’s behind the Crown Plaza
Burlington Customer Service Center (PSE&G lot across the street from CSC), 501 High Street, Burlington, NJ 08016
— Customers with wells are advised to have a supply of bottled drinking water on hand, and should fill the bathtub with water for sanitary purposes.
— Crews work around the clock to repair equipment and restore power. The utility’s call center also has been fully staffed on a 24-hour basis to handle calls from customers. Other employees are assisting with assessing storm damage, keeping the public away from any downed power lines and other functions that support restoration efforts.
— Electric crews work to restore power to the largest numbers of customers first, taking into account “priority” customers, such as hospitals, police stations, fire stations, water and sewer facilities, communications facilities (TV, radio, and telephone), and customers on life-sustaining medical equipment. At the same time, the utility restores power to homes and businesses, starting with the circuits serving the largest number of customers.
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