Tag: North Jersey

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Snow-buried hydrants present unusual fire hazards across North Jersey

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Ridgewood Firefighters dig out Hydrant Photo by Boyd Loving

Snow-buried hydrants present unusual fire hazards across North Jersey

January 27,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blogRidgewood NJ, Snow-buried hydrants present unusual fire hazards across North Jersey . The responsibility for keeping hydrants clear of snow varies from town to town.

If you have a fire hydrant in front of your house, help yourself and help your neighbors by keeping it clear of snow. Ridgewood Police and Fire Departments urge resident to clear a path around the hydrant of 3 feet by 3 feet .

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Some schools in North Jersey dropping midterms, finals

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Some schools in North Jersey dropping midterms, finals

DECEMBER 20, 2014, 11:23 PM    LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2014, 11:28 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

It looked as if Wayne High School students would miss the equivalent of 30 days of new instruction this year because of tests, trips, assemblies and snow days.

So school officials did something radical; they got rid of midterm and final exams.

“Kids go to school because they enjoy learning; they want to explore and they want to learn about themselves,” said Michael Ben-David, assistant superintendent of Wayne schools. “That doesn’t come from taking [tests] that take up large chunks of the school year.”

Wayne is one of several North Jersey school districts that have dropped midterms and finals, a staple of education for as long as anyone can remember. The motive is partly to regain instruction time as standardized tests take up more days each year. But school officials say they’re also tossing out the traditional, high-stakes exams as they look at the larger issue of how to determine what students have learned.

Acting state Education Commissioner David Hespe said the decision to drop teacher-generated midterms and final exams is innovative and “makes perfect sense for districts.” All school districts in New Jersey, he noted, are already required to give end-of-course exams provided by the state, which could make midterms and finals redundant.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/some-schools-in-north-jersey-dropping-midterms-finals-1.1173233

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Mitzvah Day volunteers spread good works across North Jersey and beyond

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Mitzvah Day volunteers spread good works across North Jersey and beyond

NOVEMBER 2, 2014, 4:25 PM    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2014, 9:11 PM
BY LINDA MOSS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

In Washington Township, volunteers wrote messages on baseballs to send to members of the U.S. military. In Paterson, a group braved the windy, bitter cold to pick up trash on the grounds of the Great Falls. And in Teaneck, in fellowship Jewish and Korean-American teenagers teamed up to paint a residence for developmentally disabled men.

More than 1,000 people across North Jersey on Sunday collectively contributed their small good deeds, so-called “mitzvahs,” to make the world a better place. These volunteers participated in the 17th Annual Mitzvah Day, the signature event of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, which is based in Paramus. This year there were activities at some 40 sites in Bergen and Passaic counties.

Volunteers had a wide array of choices, like cleaning up various park sites; assembling and packing gift packages for U.S. soldiers and clothing for children in Israel; and even a “Stitch and Schmooze” fest where knitters whipped up such items as scarves and hats for needy families.

Temple Beth Or in Washington Township hosted a “Put-It-in-Your-Pocket Mitzvah Fair,” where roughly 300 volunteers gathered to make small gifts to send to members of the U.S. military and in some instances, to Israeli soldiers. Participants have several choices at that site, with many doing all three.

Billy Cook, 13, of Washington Township was overseeing the signing of 400 baseballs as part of his Billy’s Baseballs non-profit. As his Bar Mitzvah project last year, self-described “die-hard Yankees fan” Billy came up with the idea of asking people to write notes and sign baseballs to send to U.S. troops, thanking them for their service and sacrifice.

Frank Kirk of Ridgewood accompanied his daughter Alison, 12, as she decorated baseballs with small flowers and wrote her messages, including, “Thank you for protecting us.”

Kirk said that earlier Rabbi Noah Fabricant had told the synagogue one never knows how important their mitzvah can be.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/mitzvah-day-volunteers-spread-good-works-across-north-jersey-and-beyond-1.1124983

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In North Jersey’s suburban jungle some animals thrive, others struggle near humans

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file photo by Boyd Loving

In North Jersey’s suburban jungle some animals thrive, others struggle near humans

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014, 6:49 AM
BY JAMES M. O’NEILL
STAFF WRITER
NORTHJERSEY.COM

Canada geese get sucked into the engines of a jet, forcing it to make an emergency landing on the Hudson River. The carcasses of struck deer dot the shoulders of Bergen County roadways. A groundhog slashes the face of a family’s pit bull in Wayne. A black bear kills a hiker in West Milford.

For a variety of reasons, suburbia is growing more wild. Some species are learning to thrive in this human-engineered landscape, leading experts to warn that the number of conflicts between people and wildlife will only increase.

The issue is forcing officials to assess how best to manage these species in places where traditional methods of wildlife management – hunting and trapping – are unpalatable or impractical.

At the same time, as suburbia expands its footprint, other species – those that need specific habitat to survive – struggle to hang on. The bobwhite quail, once common, is virtually extinct in New Jersey, as its grassland habitat disappears. Another bird, the piping plover, crowded out by beachgoers, now numbers about 120 nesting pairs in the state.

“The suburban environment has changed the makeup of wildlife,” said Stewart Breck, a wildlife biologist at the National Wildlife Research Center in Fort Collins, Colo.

Researchers are still learning how suburban development alters ecosystems, and what the impacts could be.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/environment/in-north-jersey-s-suburban-jungle-some-animals-thrive-others-struggle-near-humans-1.1098967#sthash.f8FNqJa3.dpuf

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Phone scams getting more common, complex in North Jersey

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Phone scams getting more common, complex in North Jersey

SEPTEMBER 5, 2014, 11:43 PM    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2014, 11:57 PM
BY ABBOTT KOLOFF AND ANDREW WYRICH
STAFF WRITERS
THE RECORD

Police in North Jersey say at least four people were targets in the past 10 days of a so-called virtual kidnapping scam that federal authorities say has its roots in Mexico and has been a growing problem in Texas even as other scams have been spreading across the nation.

Typical scams

E-ZPASS: Someone sends an email purporting to be from E-ZPass saying you failed to pay a toll and provides a link to an invoice where you are told you can make payment. The Better Business Bureau warns that clicking on the link could unleash a virus on your computer that will steal your personal information. Authorities say that E-ZPass never sends such notifications by email.
IRS: Someone claiming to be from the IRS calls and says you owe unpaid taxes to the government and asks for payment by credit card. The IRS says it always sends notifications about unpaid taxes by mail. If you believe you owe taxes, you may call the IRS at 800-829-1040. If you believe you were the target of a scam, you may call the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 800-366-4484.
JURY DUTY: Someone calls saying he or she is a law enforcement officer and you owe a fine for failing to appear for jury duty or a court appearance. Threatening to have you arrested, the caller asks for immediate payment by credit card or for you to purchase a money card and to provide information that would allow the caller to access it. Anyone with information about such a scam may call the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office at 201-646-2222.
VIRTUAL KIDNAPPING: Someone calls saying he or she has kidnapped a loved one and demands you pay a ransom, often by wiring money to a location in another part of the country. In some cases, the callers say they are members of drug cartels, and someone can be heard screaming for help in the background. The FBI suggests requesting to speak to the victim, asking questions that only the victim would know, and asking to have the victim call back on his or her cellphone.

Wyckoff police said on Thursday that a 49-year-old resident began wiring $900 to people who told him they had kidnapped his brother. Fortunately, he was able to stop the money transfer last week after calling police, who arrived at his home in time to pick up the phone when he was called a second time.

“I was just kidding,” the person on the other end of the phone said after the officer identified himself, before quickly hanging up, Wyckoff Police Chief Ben Fox said.

Police reported that two Westwood residents were targeted in separate incidents over the Labor Day weekend, with another incident reported in Saddle Brook on Aug. 28. The Wyckoff incident occurred on Aug. 30. None of the four Bergen County victims paid the purported kidnappers, authorities said.

Police say virtual kidnappings are an outgrowth of similar scams that crop up for a time, then fade away, such as one targeting senior citizens who were told their grandchildren were in trouble and needed money. The most popular scams over the past few months have involved emails telling people they owe money to E-ZPass and people pretending to be from the Internal Revenue Service asking for payment of overdue federal taxes.

In May, the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office said it uncovered an organized ring operating from a Georgia prison that swindled money from people across the country. Callers pretended to be law enforcement officers asking for payment of fines for missing jury duty or court appearances. Sheriff’s detectives arrested two people in Georgia, a corrections officer and an inmate, and said the ring involved perhaps hundreds of other inmates.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/phone-scams-getting-more-common-complex-in-north-jersey-1.1082157#sthash.rLisSW7j.dpuf

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Home prices in region rise, but slower than national pace

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Home prices in region rise, but slower than national pace

JULY 29, 2014    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014, 12:06 PM
BY KATHLEEN LYNN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Home prices in the region rose 4.8 percent in May over a year earlier, slower than the 9.3 percent national increase, the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index said Tuesday. Nationally, housing values continue to rebound after the deepest real estate bust in decades, but not as quickly as last year.

“Home prices rose at their slowest pace since February of last year,” says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Housing has been turning in mixed economic numbers in the last few months. Prices and sales of existing homes have shown improvement, while construction and sales of new homes continue to lag.”

Both nationally and in the New York metropolitan area, which includes North Jersey, the housing bust wiped out a decade’s worth of gains; single-family home values are now at the same level they were in summer 2004. Values in the region are about 20 percent below their peaks in mid-2006, while values nationally are about 18 percent below that peak.

In Bergen County, single-family home prices ticked down 0.3 percent in May from a year earlier, to a median $450,000. In Passaic, prices dropped 2.6 percent, to a median $285,000. These numbers are from the New Jersey Association of Realtors and are affected by the mix of properties sold in a given month. Case-Shiller does not break out price data by county but is considered a reliable measure because it measures the value of the same properties over time.

Home values in the region have not rebounded as strongly as national numbers because they didn’t fall as far during the housing bust. In addition, while the worst of the foreclosure crisis has passed in most of the nation, New Jersey is still dealing with distressed properties going through the process. Foreclosed properties tend to sell at a significant discount.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/home-prices-in-region-rise-but-slower-than-national-pace-1.1058756#sthash.55TEZ6GK.dpuf

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West Nile returns to North Jersey, with new concern

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West Nile returns to North Jersey, with new concern

JULY 28, 2014, 7:19 PM    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014, 12:38 AM
BY LINDY WASHBURN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Mosquitoes that carry the West Nile virus have begun breeding in puddles and standing water around North Jersey, but state health officials say they also are concerned about the arrival of another mosquito-borne illness this year from travelers who have visited the Caribbean.

Mosquito pools in Bergen, Passaic, Hudson and eight other counties already have tested positive for West Nile, which last year killed two people and sickened 10 others in New Jersey, according to the state Health Department.

No human cases have been reported in the state yet, said Donna Leusner, a department spokeswoman. But the peak season for West Nile starts Friday and runs through October.
“Residents should be careful to protect themselves,” said Dr. Arturo Brito, a deputy state health commissioner. He advised using insect repellent, wearing long sleeves and long pants when outdoors, repairing holes in screens for windows and doors, and eliminating areas of standing water where mosquitoes can breed.

Now, West Nile has been joined by a second emerging mosquito-borne threat called chikungunya, which first arrived in the Caribbean only last year.

Chikungunya — a word from an African language that refers to the bent-over posture brought on by 
the joint pain it causes — can result in symptoms that last for months.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/west-nile-returns-to-north-jersey-with-new-concern-1.1058652#sthash.sDuLy0Wx.dpuf

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United Water plans big fixes in North Jersey

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United Water plans big fixes in North Jersey

JUNE 3, 2014    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 2014, 8:08 AM
BY SCOTT FALLON
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

United Water will spend $220 million over the next three years to replace leaky water mains, valves and other aging infrastructure to help prevent the annual loss of billions of gallons of drinking water, executives said Monday.

The money, from a special fee imposed on ratepayers, will be used to replace as much as 450 miles of water mains, mostly in Bergen and Hudson counties, where the average underground pipe is 70 years old. That would account for 20 percent of the company’s 2,200 miles of water mains.

“It’s not a situation where you’re just going to go out and say we’re going to replace everything immediately,” said Robert Iacullo, executive vice president of United Water, which serves 800,000 residents in the two counties. “You’re going to prioritize where the frequency of main breaks have been, how critical it is in terms of population being served.”

Iacullo announced the plan at a news conference in Cliffside Park, where U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-Paterson, were drumming up support for a bill that would make it easier for local governments to get money to make repairs to aging water systems. The Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Act of 2014 would remove the federal cap on municipal bonds used to pay for sewerage and water system upgrades.

“The longer you wait to fix them, it only gets worst and more expensive,” Pascrell said as a United Water crew fixed a broken valve behind him.

Like many of New Jersey’s water utilities, United Water loses much more water than the industry standard of 15 percent. About 26 percent, or 10.6 billion gallons, was unaccounted for in 2011, the bulk of that from burst water mains, holes in corroded pipes or leaky joints, experts have said. United Water has averaged more than one water main break per day over the past five years.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/united-water-plans-big-fixes-in-north-jersey-1.1027933#sthash.CnAaotLu.dpuf

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Online poker is North Jersey’s latest tourism draw

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Online poker is North Jersey’s latest tourism draw

On any given Sunday, Mike Azzaro — or mikeycasino, as he’s known online — will travel from his home in Yonkers, N.Y., to a Ramsey hotel room for the night.

The reason is not glamorous, but it is profitable: Azzaro, 27, is a professional poker player.

Of the online players who have signed up to play in New Jersey at PartyPoker.com, 15 percent don’t live in the state. You must be within New Jersey’s borders to play, but residency isn’t required. That so many out-of-state players are traveling to New Jersey — call it “poker tourism” — is an encouraging sign for the fledgling industry, which so far has been generating less than $2 million per month in tax revenue for the state budget.  (Brennan/The Record)

https://www.northjersey.com/news/online-poker-is-north-jersey-s-latest-tourism-draw-1.999889#sthash.EZqVWS0K.dpuf 

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Balancing act for North Jersey towns, residents as tough times give rise to tax appeals

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Balancing act for North Jersey towns, residents as tough times give rise to tax appeals

MARCH 29, 2014, 11:38 PM    LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 2014, 11:40 PM
BY MARY DIDUCH
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

As a deadline to file tax appeals looms Tuesday, municipalities in North Jersey are facing another wave of property owners asking for a break — and another round of worries about a dwindling tax base.

Tax appeals from residents and business owners remain high for the third straight year, a new normal that indicates the slow economic recovery still has people watching their expenses closely.

Outdated property assessments are partly to blame. But homeowners are also more savvy about the appeals process, experts say. Most have nothing to lose, save the nominal filing fee.

And big businesses are becoming serious about slashing spending by routinely filing annual appeals — even taking towns, like Woodcliff Lake, to court — to pay a smaller share.

All this has led some towns to face budget shortfalls or issue debt as they scramble to dig deep for refunds. For many officials, it’s a balancing act as they struggle to rein in costs and keep property taxes — some of the highest in the nation — down.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/balancing-act-for-north-jersey-towns-residents-as-tough-times-give-rise-to-tax-appeals-1.836403#sthash.YMY4TC6C.dpuf

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Snow-buried hydrants present unusual fire hazards across North Jersey

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Ridgewood Firefighters dig out Hydrant Photo by Boyd Loving

Snow-buried hydrants present unusual fire hazards across North Jersey

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 21, 2014, 11:54 PM
BY  JIM NORMAN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Fire hydrants. They’re not just doggy comfort stations, it turns out.

A Garfield firefighter hooking up a hydrant after clearing snow from it – costing valuable minutes — during a house fire Tuesday. The responsibility for keeping hydrants clear of snow varies from town to town.

But on snowy winter days, as Rodney Dangerfield might have said, fire hydrants get no respect. Not from contractors plowing snow from the streets, and not from homeowners shoveling out their driveways.

It seems nobody even misses those ever-faithful neighborhood sentries, standing at the ready to be pressed into service, even when they are covered in many feet of mounded-up snow. Nobody misses them, at least until a fire breaks out, as one did in Garfield on Tuesday, and firefighters have to spend precious minutes chopping ice and snow before they can hook up hoses.

Of course, that’s not supposed to be how it works. What’s supposed to happen is that someone — exactly who that someone is depends on the ordinances in the municipality — is required to make sure that hydrants are accessible when they are needed.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/Hydrants_buried_by_relentless_snowstorms_present_an_unusual_fire_hazard.html#sthash.E5XWLqUz.dpuf

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Do kids still shovel snow in North Jersey?

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Do kids still shovel snow in North Jersey?

Monday, February 10, 2014

Last updated: Monday February 10, 2014, 6:48 AM

By BILL ERVOLINO COLUMNIS

As the winter of 2014 rages on (and on and on) in North Jersey, the ratio of buried sidewalks to kids with shovels seems to be somewhere in the vicinity of a million to one.

Do kids shovel snow, anymore? Do they even know that kids — USED to shovel snow? Or has this chapter in human history been completely erased? Not exactly.

Last week, Geri Dalton of Englewood did get lucky. “Our doorbell rang several times on Monday — all kids looking to shovel!”

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/community/family/ervolino/244666681_Where_have_all_the_snow-

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Another snowy, frigid day in North Jersey still beckons many outside

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Another snowy, frigid day in North Jersey still beckons many outside
Saturday January 25, 2014, 11:08 PM
BY  RICHARD COWEN
STAFF WRITER
The Record

When winter has you in its grip, there’s a choice: stay inside and escape it, or go outside and embrace it.

With temperatures stuck below freezing for the fourth consecutive day and a mix of snow and sleet coating the ground, the preference of many on Saturday was evidently a trek to the Great Indoors.

But for a hearty handful, there was enough fun to be had on snowpack to forget the bone-chilling temperatures.

“It was all her idea,” said Lucas Kovalcik of Glen Rock, as he hopped aboard a sled with his 5-year-old daughter Ella, at Citizen’s Park in Ridgewood. The little girl had packed the plastic sled with snow — “She likes to lie on top of the snow,” her father said — and they glided down the hill through a gap between two trees to the bottom.

Kovalcik was clearly in touch with his inner child as he trudged back up the hill with his daughter for another go.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/glenrock/SNOWHILL0126.html#sthash.Tb3mSZPp.dpuf