multi familiy housing - THE RIDGEWOOD BLOG.

By Joe Cutter April 17, 2017 3:00 AM

Smoke rises from an Edgewater, NJ apartment complex Jan. 22 as firefighters battle a fast-spreading blaze. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Legislation to improve fire protection and safety in multi-family dwellings has been rolled out by Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto.

It was prompted by a massive blaze at a multi-family luxury apartment complex in Edgewater in 2015 that displaced over 500 residents. The fast-moving blaze spread through sealed spaces in the building that didn’t have sprinklers.

Prieto wants to require fire suppression in those spaces.

“I think it will add minimal cost and that way it will still be able to be built.”

There are three main provisions in his two-bill package of legislation, which is co-sponsored by Assemblywoman Angelica Jimenez, Assemblyman Tim Eustace and Assemblyman Joe Lagana.

Read More: NJ lawmaker thinks towering wood-frame buildings are too dangerous | https://nj1015.com/nj-lawmaker-thinks-towering-wood-frame-buildings-are-too-dangerous/?trackback=tsmclip

Dear Friend,

Please come tonight, 7:30pm at Village Hall, to help remind the Planning Board who they really represent.

If you cannot attend, please consider emailing the secretary of the Planning Board, Mike Cafarelli, (mcafarelli@ridgewoodnj.net) to share with the Planning Board that we need these questions formally investigated per the complaint filed on September 20th:

Why didn’t our former deputy mayor recuse himself from March 23rd’s vote on High Density Housing, when, as a member of the Planning Board, he had previously recused himself for the same issue?

Why was an unvetted/unsubstantiated letter from the Fair Share Housing Center written into the record as fact/evidence by the former Planning Board Attorney?

Lastly, on the same day a resident complaint was filed against the Planning Board, one of its members who was named as having a conflict of interest, should happen to resign. Is that just a coincidence?

These are questions that we as residents deserve answers to. According to their By Laws, the Planning Board has the right to stop the pending high density housing site plan review and investigate these matters. Let’s hold them to doing so.

Thanks for doing your part to protect Ridgewood.

Dana