Ridgewood NJ, Progress Ridgewood? Ridgewood 2020? The Truth About Ridgewood Facebook page moderated by Ron Simoncini who was previously linked to a Hoboken, Hudson County mess with some dubious mail-in ballots. Google away using search terms Simoncini, Hoboken, mail in ballots, etcetera. Isn’t Mr. Simoncini the big time supporter behind the Weitz, Willet, Brooks ticket? Pay attention Ridgewood. Link here to one article but there’s more if you care to dig for The Truth. By the way Ridgewood had over 450 votes by mail for garage referendum in Nov. hmmm..
https://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/24627525/article-Hoboken-s-legacy-of-vote-by-mail-schemes–Rent-control-referendum-results-stand–and-shed-light-on-dubious-election-pastime–?instance=latest_story
This is so beyond the pale that one is compelled to check with another source before commenting as one would simply not think that Paul Vag’s letter was for real. Paul Vag says “you can come join my public debate” but he insists “so long as you pledge to accept my views.” NO candidate should accept an ultimatum or a demand like this. This is what you expect in North Korea where everyone gets one vote for one candidate, the exulted leader. Its not America, and it is certainly not the Village of Ridgewood.
Have these people no sense of shame? Have they no sense of decency? Have they no pride in themselves? Is there no shred of dignity left in these cronies, or did the loss in the last election mortally wound them beyond any hope of repair that they should stoop this low.
Clearly, the downtown developers are are desperate and concerned over losing money in their business interests to have gone to this depth. I would like to see which cowardly candidate accepts this demand – – which one of them pledges their dignity in exchange for votes.
I would like to see each and every one of the candidates stand up and denounce this assault on our democracy. They have all been mouthing the words “independence” “progress” “whats right for our Village.” Well, now is the chance to stand up and give meaning to those words. It won’t take any courage or any strength. It will simply take common sense to say “no, Paul, I don’t won’t any part of you, your petty partisan politics or your childish, pathetic pandering.”
Ridgewood NJ, The League of Women Voters will sponsor a Candidates’ Night for those running for Village Council . The Candidates’ Night will take place in the Village Hall Court Room, Wednesday, April 20th from 7:30PM to 9:30PM. All are invited to attend to learn positions on local issues.
Reader says the election is less than a month away and I don’t know where any of the candidates stand on important issues.
Do they have websites? Is there any campaign material? If the Ridgewood News were truely an unbiased local paper they would send questions to the candidates for answers and publish all responses.
I know that the League of Women Voters will have a forum but I expected more. What if the forum does not adress my questions?
What do you think the village should do about parking in the CBD? Do you think that we even have a parking problem?
Do you think that the housing density should be 25 units per acre? Do you think that it should be higher or lower?
How many high density projects can the congested downtown absorb?
Will you challenge the latest Valley Hospital Plan and ask for more concessions?
What can be done to end the cycle of empty-nesters fleeing the town because of high taxes? Do you think that there is a benefit to offer a tax break to stabilize the demographics and prevent an overflow of students in our schools?
Will you ask that all council and committee members disclose all conflicts of interest – perhaps without being asked by an angry and skeptical public?
I try to keep my local political opinion out of Tips From Town. It hasn’t been easy. I am not a journalist, but I appreciate ethics and it is my understanding media outlets have an obligation to equal and fair reporting. Of late, there have been complaints The Ridgewood News is presenting one side more than the other, and has been making it difficult for residents to place informational ads, quoting arbitrary rules and guidelines. These same rules and guidelines do not seem to apply to developers. Hopefully, this is simply poor management and/or an oversight at the newspaper, but either way, the two sides of this discussion are not getting equal exposure. So, I post this opinion piece. Happy to post one from the other side if you care to pass this along .
If the events that transpired last night do not shake your faith in the sham of a process that has transpired, nothing will. We are being held hostage by an institution that is engaging in a scorched earth policy against Ridgewood. They do not want to be a good neighbor and it is clear they would rather destroy our neighborhood than offer any real compromise.
I’m extremely disappointed that the majority of PB members did show a spine. I understand their concerns but we have to be firm in our resolve that this is not right for Ridgewood and we will continue to fight. What is the point of a Planning Board that can’t plan???
I’m sure many of you realize this, but if you haven’t made the connection yet to the Valley expansion, Garagezilla, and the increase in allowed housing density in town, let this be clear: any judge and court will. Therefore, even if you haven’t signed the garage petition yet, please consider doing so. We need to show the courts and other interested parties that we aren’t going to cause self inflicted wounds first in order to help prevent a hospital that will triple in size in a residential neighborhood.
Secondly, the upcoming VC election is more important than ever. We need to get strong defenders of our town in place because clearly the troika in charge of this town has had their own agenda. Please consider supporting Bernie Walsh and Jeff Voight in May.
The full page ad from the Garage Cabal was an insult. It had Roberta’s exasperated catch phrase “enough is enough”. Well, I am fed up to, but I am fed up with our local government. Look at the list of signers in the ad. I recognize many of the names of business owners and residents who make their living working for these businesses (architect, PR guy). We also have some Financial Advisory Committee and Historic Preservation members. And then there are the hangers-on Don, Tim and Rurick. They did not make the list alphabetical because you would be able to see that entire families signed the petition just to make it look like a ground swell of supporters.
We are on the cusp of overdevelopment and everyone is grabbing for what they can get. The businesses care only about themselves. If business was not profitable they would have moved on to another town. They stay because they make a buck – good for them. I did not move to Ridgewood 27 years ago for the restaurants and banking opportunities. I moved because I liked the community as a whole.
Build the right-sized garage in downtown Ridgewood and limit high density housing. Thankfully we will soon have a new council and I hope that they can slow things down. I am not against change. Planned development can be a good thing. We are a community first, not a shopping center.
Look carefully at those running for a seat on the council. Two are FAC members (we need a separate thread just about this group – what exactly is their function?) who supported the garage in its original form. A third person seems to have nothing to do with the garage/development issue (The Manchurian Candidate). He is bff with Vaggianos and would like to help out his friend on the development side.
That leaves us with three other candidates. They have posted things on this site and social media. They are explaining their positions. I am listening carefully. We don’t want Englewood and Montclair as our models for a downtown. We have something unique here and we have to be careful not to destroy it.
Ridgewood NJ, Reader say it is a well know fact in Village Hall circles that Ms Green and the Library Board has been looking at the Elks property for some years. If you recall a post here that the L:library Board have been talking about plans for a Performing Arts center in our around the Library. Im sure you could go to the Library Board past minutes and fine that .
Its just to much of a coincidence that this comes up with everything going on in town.I don’t trust these three. Also check current and past board member you will see that 2 Council people were on the board and our mayor was the representive from the Council to the Library. Then there in one of the developers that also was a former member of the board along with one or two of the finical board members. Check it out you will surprised who is involved
Ridgewood Elks assessed value was cut in half in 2014.Their assessed value went from $1,169,300 in 2014 to $584,600 in 2015.
As someone near retirement and looking to cut fixed costs I would like to have that deal. What other taxpayers had their property taxes cut in half? What brought this change about?
Just when you thought you’d heard it all the fly has learned that . . .In Uncategorized on March 1, 2007 at 2:59 pm
Library Board members have proposed buying the Ridgewood Elks Lodge building at 111 North Maple Avenue for library expansion purposes (additional parking and building expansion). Just what we need; another property taken off the tax rolls.
A Graydon Pool Improvements Committee has been formed. Reportedly, one plan under consideration by committee members is converting the existing facility into a year round “mini country club” and imposing significant fees for membership. Can you say “exclusively elite” 10 times fast? Hold onto your wallets tightly ladies & gentlemen!
North Jersey .com July 2015 : A couple of library board trustees said they want to move ahead with the original plan, which called only for the renovation of the library, and add in the construction of a performing arts center next to the library and village hall. This would turn the library and its surrounding area into the cultural hub the members are seeking.
From the Mayors web site : Approximately 40 Ridgewood residents, members of the business community and arts enthusiasts met with Aronsohn and Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli two Saturdays ago to gauge interest in establishing a new performing arts center and the feasibility of turning the idea into a reality. The former bank site was mentioned several times during that meeting.
From the Ridgewood Blog : Also the wife of Glenn F.Jorgensen, founding president of the library board has been appoint chairwoman of the new tiger team ( Financial Advisory Committee ) Looks like the library is set for awhile.
And don’t forget PETITION SIGNING LOCATIONS ELKS CLUB
(111 Maple Ave-next to library-across from Kings)
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 20TH
11:00AM-4:00PM
Board of Trustees 2016 ( round up the usual suspects )
Associate Directors
· Glenn Jorgensen, Founding President
· Harlan Coben
· Daniel Cumming
· Tony Damiano *
· Elia Desruisseau
· Thomas Dougherty
· Paul Goldberg
· Joshua Grunat
· Jacques Harlow
· Gwenn Hauck *
· Phyllis Heilborn
· Teresa Hutchins
· Jeffrey Karpf
· Michelle Lenhard
· William Meakem
· Barbara Moreira
· Joan Popkin
· Deborah Primiano
· Albert Pucciarelli *
· Ellen Quinn
· Catherine Redlich
· Fred Strype
The Members of the 2012 Financial Advisory Committee (alphabetically)
Rich Barclay
Bayard DeI\/Iallie
Ed Feldsott
Nancy Johansen *
Charlie Kime
John Maxwell
Jim McCarthy
David Sabath
Jim Schimmei
Fran Shovlìn
Roberta Sonenfeld *
Bob Zeller
To all our Ridgewood customers, we are sad to announce that on April 2nd we will be closing our doors to the Ridgewood location. Due to circumstances out of our control with the development of the town we have been forced to close the store. But as the say, “when one door closes another one opens”, which is exactly what we are doing!!! We are currently in the process of building our flagship store in downtown Newark. We hope to have this is open by April 30th. Its 1500 sqft space located on Halsey St.
We would like to thank each & everyone of you that has supported the store and the scene for the past 3 years, you guys have been great and will truly be missed. We know that a great shop relies on its community and we thank you for being part of it.
We will continue to serve the community in the area and at Ridgewood Skate Park and we will still have the Nutley store and online store www.undergroundskateshop.com where you can still continue to support us.
We will keep you all updated via social media on the progress of the Newark store and as soon as we have a set date we will inform you all of the grand opening
Change? As in making a city? No. Let’s be real here…. No one, I mean no one…. will move to Ridgewood without the idea of having children. People move here fore the schools. Dont believe me? Go see a Travell school directory and see the amount of kids from the Oak St. area. that live in apartments.
3000k a month for a luxury apartment for a commuting husband and wife? Why? We have nothing to offer that other closer more stable cities have. 3000k a month with children sounds like a better idea.
We are NOT hoboken, we are NOT montclair, we are NOT morristown. We have few similarities at best as in a train station and some nice shops but thats it.
Your schools class sizes are about to get a shock of their life, your nice class sizes are about to get big. No one seems to remember when Hawes and Sommerville had trailers as classrooms because of over-crowding, I remember because I was taught in them and it takes years for infrastructure to catch up to over building. If you have young children entering the schools you should be the most concerned.
Sewer, water, police, fire and DPW services all have to be increased to support additional population. We ALL pay for that. Don’t want to pay for it? Enjoy more county involvement.
Ridgewood NJ , Council Candidate Jeff Voigt give the Ridgewood blog his take on the March 23rd meeting .
Jeff started off , ” last night – no surprises. Yes we need parking (I actually voted for parking on Hudson St). However, I did not vote for the options presented by the council to the public. My mistake was actually believing that the council majority would be reasonable in coming up with a garage that would fit on the Hudson St/S. Broad area. As it happened, the Village residents were presented with 4 bad options and the council asked for input/feedback from the community. This was called compromise by the council majority. Compromise in my mind is when two parties, who are on opposite ends of the spectrum, meet somewhere in the middle. If this has occurred, a much smaller parking deck would likely have been the result. What occurred, however, was nothing but a multiple choice test amongst 4 bad choices.”
Jeff mentioned a new petition , “There is a petition going around (which I support) for repealing Ordinance 3521 (Ridgewood bonding the garage) – for the very reason that the garage does not fit in this space as it is currently configured. The website https://www.its2big.com has more information; email:[email protected]. As you can tell by this website, the garage is way too big (5 levels; 4 stories; with 60+ foot high towers [note: that zoning in this area is for 45 feet]) and; does not fit with the aesthetics of the surrounding area. The committed Village citizens leading this petition initiative include: Jacqueline Hone (phone: 201-377-8556), Anne Loving, Gail McCarthy, Ellen McNamara (phone: 201-874-0966) and Saurabh Dani (phone: 973-903-5361). As well please reach out to Lorraine Reynolds (phone: 201-264-8151). Thank you to all of these people for heading this up.”
Regarding high density housing and the Ordinances 3489-3492 that were passed, Jeff said he left the meeting with the following impressions and thoughts:
“· Affordable housing is driving the Master Plan and appears to hold precedence (from a legal standpoint) over the Village employing spot zoning to address it (note: the NJ Supreme Court has ruled that spot zoning is illegal; Riya Finnegan LLC v Township S. Brunswick; 2008). It also appears the current council majority is holding good land use planning (via our Master Plan) hostage to affordable housing. While I am not against affordable housing and agree that Ridgewood should do its best to meet its obligation, we still do not know what this obligation is and; we have no plan for it. This makes no sense to me. As well, it would be nice to understand from some good lawyers, which of the following holds precedence if the 2 are intertwined – the use of spot zoning (to address an issue – is this legal or not) or affordable housing.
· What would be optimal regarding Ridgewood’s affordable housing obligation is for the Village to wait and see what this obligation is from the state and then plan for it. It is hard understanding why we are chasing an elusive target and zoning in a willy-nilly fashion (e.g. new AH-3 zone on Rt. 17 North across from the park and ride). This new zone, AH-3, was presented on at the 3/15/16 planning board meeting – where the Valley Hospital resolution was also presented. Note: Since the agenda for this meeting was published on the Ridgewood website only 3 hours prior to this meeting, only about 10 people attended. The open public meetings act requires that agendas be published 48 hours before a public meeting. Therefore, no surprises as to why so few people attended and why so few people know about it. “
After the September 16th Village Council meeting, everyone I spoke with said, “Well, it’s a done deal with the High Density Housing.” But then September 30th proved us different.
The point is, as Rocky Balboa once said, “It ain’t ’til it’s over.” To add to that: It’s only over if we don’t show up.
Tonight is probably the most important Village Council meeting in the history of Ridgewood. It is the night when it’s decided whether we live in a Village or a City.
No one can foresee the future, but one thing is for sure: coming tonight will send a strong message – not only to this outgoing Village Council majority, but also as a mandate to those who are running for election. Perhaps even more important is that we can say that we showed up when our Village needed us the most and did what we could to stop this madness.
Lastly, if it’s absolutely impossible for you to come, The link to the broadcast can be found here: https://livestream.com/accounts/18208820/events/4985052
(NOTE: this is an unofficial broadcast and can ONLY be viewed at the above link.)
Please share this link and forward this note to as many residents as you can.
Thank you for helping protect our most wonderful village. Hope to see you tonight.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Council candidate Ramon Hache also shared his feeling on the high density meeting tonight , “I think tonight’s meeting is unfair to residents. There are two major decisions on the agenda tonight. Having two major topics on the same agenda will cause the meeting to go until early Thursday. The issues should have been split onto two agendas.”
First Ramon commented on the Hudson Garage ,”I hope the Council will vote to bond the garage ourselves. The newest design option, although not perfect, represents a compromise between residents and the Council. The original proposed size and footprint of the garage were simply too large.”
Then Ramon followed up on the high density housing, “The Council will vote on the proposed housing density of 35 UPA. I understand the need to develop the proposed sites but I would like to see mixed use, and a density of between 20 and 24 units per acre, more in line with the total average throughout the CBD. Although the recent study by BFJ suggest there would be minimal to no impact to the schools, Ridgewood is known for its schools and exceptional educational programs for special needs children. Therefore I would be cautious to rely on the student enrollment projections alone, which did not take into account the higher cost of special needs programs.
Ideally, I would rather see us approve one of these zoning changes first, to see how it goes. We would get real-world data while providing a good ratable which we need to finance the things we need and to stabilize property taxes.”
Ramon emphisized, ” These are very important issues that will have an enduring impact on the future of our community. I encourage residents to attend the meeting. I hope the Council will listen to the input from residents and will decide on responsible development that will preserve the character of our town while improving traffic safety.”
Ridgewood Nj, Candidate Jeff Voigt offered his view of tonight’s events, “While we may not be able to stop the vote for the high density housing – we need people to attend to demonstrate via a large turnout that the few should not benefit to the detriment of the many.
Unfortunately our process was hi-jacked by self-interests who used Ordinance 3066 to turn what should have been zoning issues into a planning issue. The planning board could have denied any of these applications but chose not to – resulting in a deviation from the original Master plan and a change in it. Each of these high density housing developments should have been decided individually and separately by the zoning board. Initially they were (i.e. the Enclave). However when the Enclave developers realized that there were too many variances that they were seeking and; that they were going to have major issues with the zoning board, they did an end around the zoning board and went to the planning board. The makeup of the planning board needs to be closely scrutinized by the new council to ensure it is non-partisan and holds Village interests of highest importance.
There is a case, decided by the 2008 NJ State Supreme Ct. – Riya v Township South Brunswick 2008 which ruled that if areas of a township/municipality are rezoned, they need to be consistent with the surrounding zones. It is my concern that what has occurred in Ridgewood goes against this ruling – as an example: commercial zones between the train tracks/Chestnut/Franklin Ave have been rezoned for residential use – which is inconsistent with these existing zones. Why the Council would expose us to potential lawsuits I believe is reckless on their part and smacks of favoritism for the few (e.g. developers) to the detriment of the Village.”
Ridgewood NJ, Readers say , “The only way to stop this is to fill up the room and let our Village Council know how we feel about this vote. It is important that everybody in town come out tonight. It is probably the most important vote in Ridgewood history because it is a question as to whether we want to continue living in a village or make it into a city. If the Village Council votes in favor of this high density master plan amendment, nothing will ever be the same again in our town.”
As Dave Slomin from CBR pointed out, “Ridgewood’s future held by the current powerholders in our Village Council and Planning Board, and that of a large majority of Residents. These powerholders see downtown Ridgewood as bigger scale, taller, denser, and much more bustling. They are planning a town center with a more urban look and feel, not a small town character. I don’t really know what is influencing them, as virtually every Resident CBR has spoken with – 1,000s of them over the past 4 years – wants Ridgewood to maintain its small town feel. Residents want to give their children and grandchildren the same wonderful town we enjoy.
Slomin went on , ‘Oddly, all three of the Council Members who support this over-scaled development are not running again. Why? We can only guess. But what we do know, is that in approving such unprecedented development as a Council Majority, but a Ridgewood Minority, they leave the mess to the next Council and to every Resident of this town… and to our children. Again, bad and unfair planning.”
Most readers find the idea that there will be No material impact? Really? These studies were hastily arranged at best and are not at all credible. If 70 units is so immaterial, why can’t you and your developer friends and family live without them?
The reality is that most residents for or against the planned development have no confidence in the Village Council majority aka the 3 amigos and do not think they are the people who should be making this decision . The current council majority has no overall vision of the future , and no plan just funding from special interests ,turning the Village into an urban environment .
The Village Council Meeting of March 23rd will be held at the Campus Center of the Ridgewood High School, located at 627 East Ridgewood Avenue.
Match 23,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , The March 23rd Work Session meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. During the Work Session there will be a Special Public Meeting for the Public Hearings and vote on the multi-family housing ordinances as well as a public hearing and vote on the bond ordinance to appropriate money for the Hudson Street parking deck.
The meeting will be streamed live using UTube. This location is not equiped to broadcast the meetings live on the cable stations. The meetings will be filmed and available both on UTube and the Village Public Access Channel (Cablevision 77; Fios 37) the following day.
The Final Downtown Zoning Impacts Analysis that address the four multifamily housing study areas is now available. For the complete document Click Here
Click Here for the Reexamination of the Master Plan and Development Regulations adopted by the Planning Board February 2, 2016.
