Our Mayor has moved onto his own agenda..exclusively and Ridgewood is on the chopping block. Sleazy, self-centered government and years of scheming and plotting by some of our fellow residents has led our village down this dark hole. Ridgewood use to be a great town, under great stewardship for most of its history, until Aronsohn plotted and schemed to get the wrong people on the planning board and council. Collectively what is occurring right now will forever change the Village. A few will benefit from these sell outs, particularly Aronsohn in his bid for senator next year. All of this sleazy sellout of our village is what’s going to drive the good people away over the next decade, the decline will occur, and so the very thing you say you love you will have destroyed.
This is a shocking development on a couple of levels. First that Valley can sue us asserting that the needs of the region justify (in their estimation) such a profoundly negative impact on the town. Second, that Ridgewood can allow a Valley insider to negotiate a settlement when she had sworn an oath to represent the Village. It really is time for a citizens’ revolt at Village Hall since the Council majority are clearly using their remaining months in office to put their personal agendas in place. Shameful.
Our mayor has brought this village to this state of division and havoc. He is a man who only gets along with those that agree with him, look at his track record of former and current council members. This village never needed a civil committee before his arrival! When you don’t agree with him, he attacks and becomes aggressive and vindictive. Pitting clergy against clergy; neighbor against neighbor; lying to voters; calling hours at the podium where residents plead for a voice in the process a discussion; using committees to prop up your projects all the while lying to them; hiding information from other council members; hiring a VM to do your bidding; calling residents liars; and the ongoing scheming and plotting how subjects and issues will be brought up on the dais have brought us to this ugly chapter. These examples are just from the last 6 months….And people like this guy? I guess the ones who will make a buck off his “leadership” do! I don’t understand how anyone can defend or support someone like him. Scary! July 1st can’t come fast enough!
Mayor was FORCED to introduce this new ordinance for local bonding. He has no other option to build the garage with the petition in place. The petition has essentially killed the BCIA option.
Once again Aronsohn wrote the article for today’s Record. The petition initiative got less than one sentence. Aronsohn takes full credit for introducing the ordinance to bond in Ridgewood. Who is worse – our liar Mayor or his puppy dog reporter Janoski. They both stink.
the referendum was non-binding
Yes it was for a “parking garage on the Hudson street lot”, but the size and shape of the parking garage was not defined. It also was to be built and financed “by bonding up to $15 million in public funds, which will be paid for principally — if not entirely — with parking revenues.”
It was non-binding so it does not have to be built on the Hudson Street lot (or built at all), in the same way that it does not have to built for $15 million dollars or less nor be paid for principally (nor entirely) by parking revenues.
We all know that it will cost > $15 million dollars and will not be principally paid for by parking revenues so it also does not need to be built on the Hudson street lot – or at all.
The residents agreed by voting on the non-binding referendum to move ahead with the continued planning and funding of a deck at Hudson St. Lots of people who voted for it are now strongly opposed to what is being proposed. The non-binding referendum was put forth without alot of thought and people were not thinking about alternatives. Well, they are now and they are saying “Heck NO”. This garage just does not make sense and does not address the average Ridgewooodians needs. More centralized parking would better suit MOST of the businesses in the CBD. This deck makes sense only a few at the western end of Ridgewood Ave. The shopkeepers west of the train tracks have indicated it will do NOTHING to improve their situation and do NOT want this garage (contrary to the ad the Chamber of Commerce ran . . . not all business support this).
Ridgewood Nj, The fact is a BCIA garage is a county owned and operated parking garage , that is paid for by Village of Ridgewood taxpayers .The Village gives up all control of the garage and Village residents have no priority.
From the Bergen Record October 13th, 2014 , “The village has been in talks with the Bergen County Improvement Authority (BCIA) for more than a year about a partnership that would ideally result in the county building a 450-space parking garage at the site of the Hudson Street lot, where there are currently only a couple dozen 12-hour metered parking spots.
The county would own and operate the garage, which the village would pay for over the course of 20-30 years from the revenue from the garage.
Ridgewood NJ, Councilwomen Gwen Hauck has announced her re-election bid for Ridgewood Village Council. On her email she lists village hall as the mailing address for her campaign?Maybe that is ok in NJ, but it does seem odd. Maybe she should also have add. ” Or visit my Field Office located at The Valley Hospital Campus in Ridgewood.
Gwen’s term on the Village council has been marred by controversy . In 2012 when she ran Gwen promised a return to a more “healthy dialogue” in the Village , results have been anything but. Gwen’s is part of the triumvirate known in the Village as the “3 Amigos” which includes Mayor Paul Aronsohn ,Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli and Gwen Hauck . The 3 Amigos are led by Mayor Paul Aronsohn and vote as a block on all issues .
Gwen known for her cookie baking for senior citizens had her tenure on the Village Council marked by massive conflicts on interest with Valley Hospital , the over reliance of electronic devices during council meetings, her absence during a key reorg vote, the use of a taxpayer funded newsletter to self promote ,the constant documented attacks from the dais on Village residents , and now the revelation of her implication in the whole sale murder of “wood turtles” at Irene Habernickel Family Park a “Threatened Species” and most recently totally ignoring and some suggest covering up of an alleged assault at a Village council meeting on a Ridgewood resident.
Dear Friends,
I am very excited to announce that I will be running for re-election on May 10, 2016.
Over the next five months I will be hosting focus groups in many of your neighborhoods to explain what I have accomplished and what I believe in. Most importantly, I will be listening to what residents have to say.
Ridgewood deserves diligent, centered leadership. Ridgewood deserves someone who works to find common ground; someone who works for all citizens, a practical problem solver who considers economic, political AND administrative details. My goal is to be that leader for you.
I have created a website, GwennHauck.com, which will highlight current council issues and my thoughts on them. I hope you will find this to be a place you come to understand my views on the current events that are affecting Ridgewood.
Find something interesting? Email me directly after you read an article to share your views. Want to join the discussion? Sign up to host a focus group where residents can learn more about me, and I can learn more about the issues that concern them.
Let’s work together to make us all proud of Ridgewood.
Aronsohn thinks he is playing with the big political boys by playing big-time political tricks, but he is the small-time type and also quite stupid. He forced his “reelection” as mayor by making Ms Hauck vote remotely from her family safari to impress dumb people such as Record reporters. He knows how to act sincere but he stares without listening and is probably the most pigheaded individual ever to sit on our dais. Once he decides something, he will move heaven and earth to make it happen. He is a classic opportunist without a single sincere bone in his carpetbagger’s body. His long series of efforts to defame sitting council members who refuse to kowtow to his every whim is an embarrassment to himself and his position and has tarnished the council for years.
Why all of a sudden all these crazy irresponsible planning boondoggles..
This is a serious management issue in the Town of Ridgewood.All these oversized non conforming parking decks and MIS sited ball fields / With Light Incursions into an existing neighborhood have a common theme..
Our Town is out of control with some pushing own Agendas and telling homeowners to just move over and suck it up. Despite serious impact to property Rights and values as well as dangerous mis planning. Who will pay the lawsuits for injuries fatalities for misplaced expansion accidents.
boon·dog·gle ˈbo͞onˌdäɡəl,-ˌdôɡəl/
NORTH AMERICAN
informal noun
1. work or activity that is wasteful or pointless but gives the appearance of having value. “writing off the cold fusion phenomenon as a boondoggle best buried in literature”
verb
1. waste money or time on unnecessary or questionable projects.
December 18,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog and Readers
Editors note this article was complied with both staff and reader input
Ridgewood NJ, well Paul, how is this working out for you? Can you say BACKFIRE? You have FECES all over your face with this pitiful attempt to discredit the upstanding Councilwoman. I would suggest that you go to hell, but hell is too good for you.
Yet again our Council majority reaches new depths of hypocrisy. For any of them to talk about conflicts of interest is just laughable. They continue to hold others to standards that they have not come close to reaching themselves.
This story in the Ridgewood News attacking Susan Kundsan is pathetic. Another shining example of pathetic vindictiveness.
Just remember posters Paul Aronsohn could not do this or any thing without the help and votes from Big Al and The Valley Girl. So just remember next year when you vote all three must go. They are all Complicit in these acts. Don’t be fooled by the big words from Al or the cookies the Gwen bakes.
Aronsohn thinks he is playing with the big political boys by playing big-time political tricks, but he is the small-time type and also quite stupid. He forced his “reelection” as mayor by making Ms Hauck vote remotely from her family safari to impress dumb people such as Record reporters. He knows how to act sincere but he stares without listening and is probably the most pigheaded individual ever to sit on our dais. Once he decides something, he will move heaven and earth to make it happen. He is a classic opportunist without a single sincere bone in his carpetbagger’s body. His long series of efforts to defame sitting council members who refuse to kowtow to his every whim is an embarrassment to himself and his position and has tarnished the council for years. I would gladly throw him under a commuter train.
Unfair hit piece on Susan.From what I remember, the vote was to change the residency requirement for positions other than Police & Fire.
If the vote was to change the residency requirement for Police & Fire, then she may have a conflict.Do you wonder why people are hesitant to participate in local government? (https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-wrestles-over-whether-councilwoman-s-employee-residency-vote-was-a-conflict-of-interest-1.1474652)
However Aronsohn did attempt to delay former Mayor Keith Killion’s son from being appointed to the police department now his pulling the same nonsence with Susan Knudsen’s sons.
“Well first Paul Aronsohn had Chris Harris now he has Steve JANOSK from the Record He has the new reporter from the Ridgewood News and the Daily Voice is doing a pretty good job of keeping his smiling face and the parking garage on the front page these last couple of week.
Ridewood NJ, Reader posts , “Paul Aronsohn – the same Paul Aronsohn that contacted one of my clients and tried to convince him not to stop using my services. All because I do not support Mr. Aronsohn’s policies. I ask you, what gives Mr. Aronsohn the right to interfere with my business operations? The answer is, he has no right to do so but he thinks because he is the mayor of Ridgewood and I’m a resident of Ridgewood, he can get into my personal business. Time to contact an attorney about Mr. Aronsohn’s big mouth.”
We have heard this story all to often , most are familiar with the attempt to derail Mike Sendon’s campaign with a despicable and cowardly email to his employer . And most are keenly aware that this was a third rate low life attempt to disenfranchise Ridgewood voters .
Advertises on this blog have been attacked and subtly threatened , fake blogs have been set up by local failures to attack this blog the list goes on and on.Playing favorites may not be a crime but it is terrible governance. Bringing Hudson County politics into Ridgewood is lowering the entire standing of this town and its residents . The bad news for the purveyors of this garbage is that this isn’t Hudson County and its never going to be . Elections come and go but Ridgewood will always be Ridgewood .
I am writing to share our “next steps” with respect to a proposed parking deck.
As you know, we have spent the last few months engaged in a community-wide conversation on this topic – one that has been asking and answering a series of fundamental questions: Do we need a parking deck? If so, what should it look like? How big should it be? Where should it be? How should we pay for it?
To inform this conversation and to fully involve the public, the Council did two things:
First, the Council commissioned architectural renderings and a financial analysis that – together – have not only helped answer those questions, but have also given us a good sense of the challenges and the opportunities. We have made all of the information available to the public on our website and have discussed it during several public meetings … including Council work sessions, a Planning Board meeting, a Historic Preservation Commission meeting and a handful of public forums that involved presentations by the design team and one-on-one conversations with the experts. The renderings — which have evolved to reflect input received throughout this process — have been on display at Village Hall, the train station and the library. And the Village Manager and I have even set up shop outside of Memorial Park at Van Neste to answer questions and hear people’s ideas and suggestions.
Second, the Council also decided to put a referendum question on the November 3 ballot, so that we could gauge public opinion. The result was not only a record turnout on Election Day; it was also a show of strong support for a parking deck, which received a full 65 percent of the vote. In fact, the parking deck was the big vote getter for the day … receiving more support than any of the candidates on the ballot … 3,236 votes in support!
Now, we need to move forward and decide on the size of a parking deck.
To that end, working with our design team, we have settled on three alternative designs. Each has pros and cons. Each reflects feedback received from people throughout our community. And each would cost much less than the $15 million originally discussed.
§ Option A: A parking deck with 4 floors and an open roof that could accommodate 405 cars and cost approximately $12 million. (The current rendering on the Village website.)
§ Option B: A parking deck with 3 ½ floors and an open roof that could accommodate 355 cars and cost approximately $11 million.
§ Option C: A parking deck with 3 floors and an open roof that could accommodate 306 cars and cost approximately $10.1 million.
To facilitate this decision, the design team met individually with Council members last week to go through these options, and the design team will be on hand at our next Council meeting on December 2 to do the same with residents, too. We are also making available in the Village Hall lobby renderings that show what each of the options would look like and the costs associated with them. Our plan is to make a decision by mid-December.
Your involvement throughout this process has been invaluable, and we want to hear from you … again. Please stop by the lobby. Please come to our December 2 meeting. Please let us know your preference.
And as we get closer to resolving this issue – the need for more parking – that has been discussed and debated for over 50 years, I sincerely hope that we can share in the excitement of the moment and work together to make it happen.
Thank you.
Paul
PS. Please let me know if you have questions.
Paul Aronsohn, Mayor
Village of Ridgewood
@paularonsohn
In the article it states that Morristown Hospital has agreed to pay $15.5 million over the next decade to settle demands for property taxes and that Valley’s Hospital tax liability would be $4.5 million in Ridgewood if its main campus were not exempt.
The article goes on to state Mayor Aronsohn has not been able to bring this issue up because of Valley’s pending application for approval of building plans. Which seems to open the door for Valley expansion and leaves many residents are still looking for some clarification on this as I don’t understand how one issue precludes the other.
Council women Gwenn Hauck’s has articulated over and over that the potential for money is an important factor in the Village Council’s assessment of the High Density Housing issue. Clearly the Judge in Morristown has just given Ridgewood a much simpler path to a financial windfall then increased High Density Housing could.
The garage is a done deal. wake up people. the mayor wants this as his legacy. Of course it will be a financial disaster when we take money from NJ transit and Bergen county and the garage will end up being a commuter parking for out of town people. I predict the taxpayers will get stuck footing the bill as the garage will be underutilized and not meet the expected income Keep in mind that the money we now get from the parking garage goes to subsidize other elements of the town budget. Those funds will now be used to subsidize the debt on the garage so the taxpayers will need to fund that shortfall.
The recent report explaining that the income steam from the garage would be insufficient to cover the cost of the bond used to erect it, and that our entire parking fee system (i.e., meters all over town) will be made much more financially and logistically (in terms of having to pay through until 9pm every night) onerous to motorists in order to defray just PART of the added financial burden, should now be made the subject of a village-wide discussion, regardless of what 3000 die-hard supporters of big government wish to say in a “non-binding” way and during an off-year election cycle when for the first time since 1999 the lowly NJ assembly was at the top of the ticket.
Note: Of course, no mention of design & construction costs, increased parking fees, displaced street parking, etc.
From: Paul Aronsohn <[email protected]>
Date: 10/11/2015 9:56 AM (GMT-05:00)
To: [email protected]
Subject: Parking Campaign — Help Make it HappenDear Neighbor,Our campaign to build a downtown parking deck is gaining momentum.
All of this is leading to election day. On November 3, Ridgewood voters will have a chance to express their support for a parking deck … a widely-shared goal that has eluded our community for generations.
There are several ways to support this campaign:
ü Learn: If you would like to see parking proposals/studies dating back to 1945 … please visit the library archives<https://www.ridgewoodlibrary.org/#!ridgewood-resources/ctia>; and see the attachment. If you would like information about our current effort – including a brand new study that outlines our parking challenges and ways we could finance a parking garage without taxpayer money – please visit the Village website<https://www2.ridgewoodnj.net/main_recent.cfm?ArticleID=1740>;.
ü Discuss: I would welcome the opportunity to come talk about our parking garage plans with you, your friends, your neighbors and your colleagues. Please contact me to schedule a date and time. Also, we will continue to discuss this initiative in public meetings. Please see Village website<https://www.ridgewoodnj.net/> ; for dates/locations.
ü Promote: In our effort to generate awareness and excitement, we have law signs, posters and palm cards to distribute. (See design is below.) If you want some … just say the word, and we will deliver them to you.
ü Share: Please share this email with friends and neighbors.
ü Vote: On November 3, you will have the chance to express your support for a downtown parking garage. Please vote. And please encourage your friends and family to vote, too.
Together, let’s make history.
Thank you.
Paul
Paul Aronsohn, Mayor
Village of Ridgewood
@paularonsohn
Just a small town guy…ya know, one of “us”…Ridgewood NJ, I don’t believe any other mayoral candidate in the history of Ridgewood has received one cent from the Teamsters, United Auto Workers or SEIU…..especially those interested solely in “volunteering” for this “thanksless” job……that’s alot of “thanks” in my book…where’d it go when the coffers slammed shut on the dead campaign’s war chest?
from Paularonsohn.com….
Paul Aronsohn has closed their account and is no longer accepting donations…..but he sure did rack ’em up for awhile!
https://www.fec.gov/press/press2008/20080912murs.shtml
Paul Aronsohn for Congress and Paul Aronsohn acknowledge violation of “testing-the-waters” provisions
In MUR 5693, Paul Aronsohn for Congress, the principal campaign committee for Paul Aronsohn’s 2006 campaign in New Jersey’s 5th Congressional district, and Mr. Aronsohn entered into a conciliation agreement with the FEC regarding violations of reporting requirements in the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). During 2005 Paul Aronsohn’s activities crossed the line from testing the waters into candidate status when he sent a solicitation letter indicating he had decided to run for federal office. However, Mr. Aronsohn and his campaign committee failed to register with the FEC and file a year-end financial report in 2005, as required by the FECA. In the conciliation agreement Mr. Aronsohn and the committee agreed to pay a civil penalty of $6,500.
The Mayor received massive campaign contributions from unions :
Paul Aronsohn (D)Political Action Committee Total Contributed
Teamsters Union $10,000.00
Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers $10,000.00
United Auto Workers $6,500.00
Carpenters & Joiners Union $5,000.00
American Fedn of St/Cnty/Munic Employees $5,000.00
National Air Traffic Controllers Assn $5,000.00
Sheet Metal Workers Union $5,000.00
Laborers Union $3,500.00
AFL-CIO $2,661.00
American Federation of Teachers $2,500.00
Operating Engineers Local 825 $2,500.00 NJ Plumbers/Pipefitters Union Local 475 $1,000.00
Service Employees International Union $1,000.00
Plumbers/Pipefitters Union Local 274 $1,000.00
Plumbers/Pipefitters Union Local 9 $500.00
https://www.bluejersey.com/tag/NJ5/10
According to an April 14th electronic filing with the FEC, Paul Aronsohn for Congress raised nearly $214,000 in the first quarter of 2006. The filing, which was signed by campaign manager Parisa Sabeti, makes official the contributions which had been rumored in excess of $200,000. After expenditures, the Aronsohn campaign had $135,125.31 cash on-hand.
Paul Aronsohn (D)
Raised: $214,005
Spent: $78,879
Cash on hand: $135,125
Last Report: 3/31/2006
Mayor’s Office Hours for Residents – October 3rd, 2015
Mayor Paul Aronsohn holds office hours for Ridgewood residents on Saturday’s every month. Mayor Aronsohn will meet with residents on Saturday, October 3rd from 9AM to Noon in the Council Chambers (Sydney V. Stoldt, Jr. Court Room) on the fourth floor of Ridgewood Village Hall.
For an appointment to meet with the Mayor, please call the Village Clerk’s Office at 201-670-5500 ext. 206. You may come to the Mayor’s office hours without an appointment, but those with appointments will be given priority.
