Ridgewood NJ, Look in the sky its a bird no its a plane and the new flight path to Teterboro Airport, intended to reduce noise around Hackensack University Medical Center, could take jets over Valley Hospital and Benjamin Franklin Middle School in Ridgewood . This according to a map of the new flight procedure published by a navigational aid company ahead of a six-month trial of the route, which is due to begin on Monday.
The Bergen Record is reporting that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has emphasized that its new they call it the “quiet visual” approach for Teterboro Airport shifts aircraft west of their current route to track Route 17 south from Mahwah to Rochelle Park. The idea is to minimize noise pollution by keeping aircraft over or close to the highway, itself a source of noise.
But the new flight procedure, published by Jeppesen, a Boeing company, shows that a significant portion of the approach takes pilots west of Route 17, particularly between Waldwick and Paramus.
The new flight path according to Jeppesen’s chart has jets approaching Teterboro dropping to a minimum of 3,000 feet around Mahwah, passing over Mahwah and Ramsey high schools. The next descend brings flights to about 2,000 feet, as they approach Julia A Traphagen Elementary School in Waldwick. Then planes would continue south, passing Ho-Ho-Kus Elementary School and, in Ridgewood, Benjamin Franklin Middle School and The Valley Hospital.
As flights continue over Paramus, jets will fly over Stony Lane School and Midland Elementary School as well as close by Bergen Community College, before coming in to land over the top of IKEA and the Westfield Garden State Plaza, while staying more than 1 mile west of Hackensack University Medical Center.
MAHWAH — The Bergen County-owned archery range at Campgaw Mountain remained closed over the weekend, as Bergen County officials investigate allegations in a power struggle splitting members of one of the oldest archery clubs in North Jersey.
Bergen Bowmen longtime members Joann and Joe Mills of Ridgefield Park say a band of “impostors” has taken over the non-profit club through improper elections in December and that they’re worried about the club’s future and that of the range its members have helped maintain for decades. But those who call themselves the new leaders of the Bergen Bowmen and their supporters argue online that they were fairly elected and that ousted members must turn over club records.
The tension is a notable low point for the 60-year-old storied club, which had a membership of about 70 last year and has drawn newfound interest among fans of the archery-heavy book series “The Hunger Games” and its film versions, as well as “The Avengers” movie. Over the years, the club has been a leader in promoting archery in North Jersey, while also backing state legislation expanding the black bear hunt and allowing hunters to donate venison to soup kitchens.
The county has stopped processing permits needed by the club to access the range until the two sides “completely” resolve the dispute, said a Feb. 5 letter by Deputy County Counsel John Libretti.
Jack Spoto, executive vice president of the United Bowhunters of New Jersey, said his organization isn’t “picking sides,” but called the infighting a “shame.”
“It means a lot of archers aren’t allowed to go to Campgaw and shoot and practice,” he said. “We’re trying to help the county get the archery range up and running until the infighting is over. We’d be willing to allow the county and archers to use our insurance policy.”
The fight over who are the “real” leaders of the club is playing out over competing “official” websites and Facebook pages — all named “Bergen Bowmen.” A key question is: Who has the legal right to obtain the $2 million in general liability insurance that Bergen County requires? The club must have it to be eligible for a $100, one-year club permit allowing members to shoot arrows at the Campgaw range.
The range also has been open to the general public. Typically, it costs a county resident $12 for an annual archery permit for the range, and $60 for a non-resident, who must show proof of homeowner’s or renter’s insurance.
Bergen’s nearby Darlington County Park is one entity handling archery permits. A park employee who answered the phone Friday said the range would “hopefully” reopen soon, but that it was closed over the weekend because “of a problem with archery clubs.”
The two factions are trading allegations of actions amounting to criminal conduct. Libretti, the deputy county counsel, wrote that the Bergen Bowmen members and affiliates can’t access the range “until further notice,” and that the county will “remove and prosecute as trespassers” any members or associates who try to do so.
“Meanwhile, various county departments are conducting investigations in an attempt to sort through the myriad of allegations alleged by all parties,” Libretti wrote to leaders of both factions, Joel Riotto of Demarest and Joann Mills, whom he addressed as secretary of the Bergen Bowmen.
Bergen County spokesman Mike Pagan said that given the investigation, county officials are not allowed to comment on any related matter.
When reached by phone, Riotto declined to discuss the dispute. The bergenbowmen.com website lists him as the 2016 membership data committee chairman and a past Bergen Bowmen president.
“It’s not a lack of a desire to cooperate,” Riotto said, “and again I caution you, do some due diligence before you quote anyone. You may find it’s possible that you’ve been misled.”
Mahwah firefighters battled a multiple alarm fire rescue child
February 2,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Mahwah NJ, Mahwah firefighters battled a multiple alarm fire in a condominium complex located on Juniper Way late Tuesday afternoon, 02/02. The fire was reported shortly before 4 PM by a neighborhood resident who saw smoke emanating from the roof of a residential building.
Mahwah units were assisted at the scene by Suffern and Ramsey FD personnel. The fire reportedly started on the 3rd floor of 917-928 Juniper Way and spread to the attic. A female child was rescued from a 3rd floor balcony by police officers who convinced her to jump into their open arms. No injuries were reported. Mahwah mayor Bill Laforet was observed at the scene comforting residents who were affected by the blaze.
Mahwah NJ, Police, fire, and EMS personnel working at the scene of a serious accident on Route 17 southbound near Route 202 in Mahwah. A medevac helicopter landed on the closed highway to evacuate one (1) victim from the scene.
At the time there were conflicting reports regarding the nature of the incident. Some broadcast radio reports indicated that a passenger vehicle had collided with a motorcycle, while bystanders at the scene said that a pedestrian trying to cross Route 17 had been struck by a passenger vehicle. A crew cab Dodge Ram pickup truck with driver’s side damage was observed being examined by police officers in the parking lot of a nearby Super 8 Motel.
SEPTEMBER 21, 2015, 12:58 PM LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2015, 12:58 PM
BY STEFANIE DAZIO
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
MAHWAH — Police have a man in custody Monday morning after school officials reported a suspicious person in the area.
The man, whose name has not been released, ran from an officer when police arrived on Ridge Road around 9:30 a.m., Chief James Batelli said. Officers chased him in and out of the woods nearby for a few minutes and caught him.
AUGUST 12, 2015, 8:00 AM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015, 1:07 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS AND STEFANIE DAZIO
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD
MAHWAH — Police have arrested a brother and sister in connection with a stolen bag containing $150,000 cash that had been accidentally left on a curb in Mahwah last month.
Mahwah Chief James Batelli said that Jamar Bludson, 35, was apprehended in Newark on Tuesday, around the same time his sister, 32-year-old Irvington resident Tamirah Laberth, was detained by police.
The other suspect in the bag’s theft, Alton Harvey, 42, of Hillside, was arrested a few days after the alleged crime. Harvey and Bludson were both charged with one count of theft of mislaid property, a second-degree crime.
JULY 30, 2015, 7:05 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2015, 7:46 PM
BY ABBOTT KOLOFF
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
MAHWAH — Police have arrested one of two men allegedly involved in the theft of a bag of about $150,000 in cash that had been accidentally left on a curb this week and are looking for the other suspect, saying in a news release on Thursday that the pair already spent some of the money, using cash to purchase an SUV.
Alton Harvey
Alton Harvey, 42, of Hillside was arrested Wednesday afternoon as police conducted surveillance in Irvington of the white van allegedly used by the suspects on the day of the theft and a Chevrolet Tahoe that had been purchased with money from the bag, Police Chief James Batelli said Thursday. Police are also looking for Jamar A. Bludson, 35, of Newark, he said.
Video surveillance cameras recorded the passenger of a white van removing the bag from the lawn, Mahwah Police Chief James Batelli said.
Police said that Harvey drove the van and that Bludson, the passenger, was the person seen on video surveillance picking up the satchel of money from the curb. The bag had been left there accidentally by two workers for an ATM company located on Industrial Avenue. Police have not identified the company for security reasons and company officials have not responded to messages seeking comment.
Mahwah — It’s a rainy Saturday afternoon in June and a dozen people — wearing matching shirts — have gathered at Society Hill, a local condominium complex. (Nobile/The Bergen Record)
MAY 22, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2015, 2:46 PM
BY TOM NOBILE
STAFF WRITER |
MAHWAH SUBURBAN NEWS
Mahwah — Permission to post signs in an effort to recall Mayor William Laforet was granted by the Township Council on Thursday, May 21, despite allegations by one member that the mayor had pressured him to deny the request.
Prior to the governing body’s vote, Councilman Steve Sbarra read a statement on record claiming the mayor had approached him late Tuesday, May 19, after an Affordable Housing Commission meeting in an effort to sway the council’s judgment.
“[Laforet] then said, and I quote, ‘You need to talk to your fellow council members and make sure they vote ‘no’ to the signs or things in this town will get worse,” Sbarra stated.
He also referred to measures that have been implemented to improve relations and communication between the council and the police department. Police Chief James Batelli said in an interview Friday, May 22, that he had recently agreed to provide the council with a briefing packet of police activity every two weeks, in response to council complaints that information has been falling through the cracks.
