Tag: Paramus NJ

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Fairway facing danger of possible bankruptcy

Fairway

By Lisa Fickenscher

February 5, 2016 | 10:43pm

Fairway Market is starved for cash.

The quintessential New York grocery chain said Friday it needs to raise more capital by April to meet its debt obligations with its 15 stores in the metro area experiencing “significant losses.”

The company — whose stock is also in danger of being delisted from the Nasdaq — lost $35.7 million in the quarter ended Dec. 27 after losing more than $300 million over the past five years.

Revenue declined by 7 percent to $191.6 million from a year earlier, a regulatory filing revealed on Friday.

Fairway is counting on new stores to drive its growth, but conceded in the filing that “our current limited cash resources and significant leverage will adversely affect our ability to open new stores.”

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The company went public in 2013 after decades of being owned and managed by the Glickberg family. Former CEO Howard Glickberg remains on the board.

The IPO was meant to jump-start an ambitious expansion plan led by Sterling Investment Partners, which wanted to expand into other regions of the country. Instead, the business, known for its fresh produce and high-quality prepared foods, is facing a possible bankruptcy.

https://nypost.com/2016/02/05/fairway-facing-danger-of-possible-bankruptcy/

 

https://nypost.com/2016/02/05/fairway-facing-danger-of-possible-bankruptcy/

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Ruptured Gas Main Closes Route 4 in both Directions

Route 4 Paramus
photo courtesy of Boyd Loving
Ruptured Gas Main Closes Route 4 in both Directions
January 30,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Paramus NJ, A construction company performing work on Route 4 westbound under Forest Avenue in Paramus accidentally struck and ruptured a 6 inch high pressure natural gas main shortly before 1 AM on Saturday, 01/30 causing the complete closure of Route 4 in both directions near the incident site.
As of 2 AM on Saturday, PSE&G supervisors on the scene anticipated the leak would not be stopped and repaired until at least 5 AM or 6 AM on Saturday. Paramus PD, FD, and Rescue Squad personnel are all on the scene. Traffic control assistance is being provided by numerous Bergen County law enforcement agencies along with NJDOT personnel. No incident related injuries have thus far been reported.
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Cycling Their Way to Better Health and Better Learning

DeskCycles

January 16,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Paramus NJ, The Valley Hospital Department of Community Health and Community Benefit recently donated 10 DeskCycles to Parkway Elementary School as part of its health education partnership with the Borough of Paramus. “This school year, Parkway’s theme was healthy bodies and that works right into our departmental goals so we partnered up to support them,” said Valley health educator Danielle Cinnante.  “Our department has brought in nutrition and health education to the students and parents of Parkway and is so excited to help support the health of our young community!” In addition to supporting fitness, the cycles also help learning by enabling the students to focus on their classroom tasks without fidgeting or becoming restless.

 

Shown here with Parkway students are Parminder Savalia, Health Education Supervisor, The Valley Hospital; Elaine Palombit, school nurse, Parkway Elementary; Jean Mulholland, physical education teacher, Parkway Elementary; and Danielle Cinnante, health educator, The Valley Hospital.

 

DeskCycles to Parkway Elementary School
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Heads Up for Ridgewood Residents Linwood Ave in Paramus to be closed from 1/11-1/14 from 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM for utility work

Linwood Ave Closed
January 10,2016

 

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Paramus NJ, Linwood Ave to be closed from 1/11-1/14 from 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM for utility work. Expect delays; Follow posted detour.

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Linwood Avenue to be closed from 1/11/2016 to 1/14/2016 from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm due to utility work. Traffic will be directed by detour signs. Expect heavy traffic delays during detour

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5-vehicle Crash on Route 17 South Backs Up Rush Hour Traffic in Paramus

5-vehicle Crash on Route 17 South Backs Up Rush Hour Traffic in Paramus
photos courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook

5-vehicle Crash on Route 17 South Backs Up Rush Hour Traffic in Paramus

January 8,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Paramus NJ, A 5-vehicle crash on Route 17 southbound in Paramus on Thursday, 01/07 shortly after 5:30 PM, resulted in multiple injuries and backed up southbound rush hour traffic for miles. The incident occurred just south of Century Road. Only the far left lane and right shoulder of the road were passable as crews worked to evaluate and treat the injured, and clear the scene of damaged vehicles and debris. At least three (3) ambulances were called to the scene along with two (2) tow trucks. Paramus Police are investigating the crash’s cause. Police at the scene said that one (1) victim’s injuries required transport by ambulance to Hackensack University Medical Center.

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Empty Kmart in Paramus to become indoor sports practice facility

indoor training facility

Empty Kmart in Paramus scores a new use

DECEMBER 28, 2015, 6:23 PM    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2015, 6:44 PM
BY JOAN VERDON
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

The vacant, cavernous Kmart store in Paramus has been carpeted with artificial turf and been given a new, if temporary, lease on life as an indoor practice facility for North Jersey sports teams.

On Monday morning, the 91,000-square-foot, hangar-like building, which used to be crowded with store shelves and shoppers, rang with the shouts of two dozen youngsters kicking soccer balls and running drills.

The unusual arrangement meets two separate goals: a Bergen County entrepreneur’s need for a location with enough floor and ceiling space to accommodate several practice fields; and the landlord’s need for a short-term tenant until development plans for the shopping center are finalized.

Scott Vandersnow  of Upper Saddle River this month opened the building as The Arena, an indoor training facility, and has begun renting the space out to youth sports teams. This week, the building is being used for youth soccer and lacrosse camps that Vandersnow is offering for parents who want their kids to stay active during the winter break.

Vandersnow, 41, grew up in Washington Township, has a background in finance and currently works in commercial real estate lending. He is also a soccer dad who has logged many hours watching or running practices for his 10-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son. He said he saw the need for more practice space in Bergen County and was looking for locations when he spotted the Kmart building.

The Kmart, which was built in 1979, closed a year ago after its lease expired. The building is in a strip shopping center owned by the Stop & Shop supermarket chain, and that also houses a Stop & Shop store.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/empty-kmart-in-paramus-scores-a-new-use-1.1481534

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Bergen Town Center mall in Paramus is preparing for a $130 million expansion

The Outlets @ Bergen Town Center

DECEMBER 14, 2015, 11:29 PM    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015, 6:33 AM
BY JOAN VERDON
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

One of North Jersey’s oldest shopping centers, formerly known as Bergen Mall and reborn as The Outlets at Bergen Town Center, is preparing for another major makeover.

The Paramus shopping center’s owner is planning an expansion — reportedly to add a level above the existing center — to meet demand for space at the mall, which has benefited in recent years from the success of its off-price and outlet tenants, the fastest-growing category in apparel retailing.

Urban Edge Properties, the public company that owns the mall, expects to invest as much as $130 million in a 200,000-square-foot addition to The Outlets at Bergen Town Center, according to a recent financial filing by the company. That would make the project similar in size to the last renovation and expansion of the mall in 2006, and would increase its size by about 20 percent.

The proposal is a sign of the strength of the North Jersey retail market, and particularly Paramus. The planned revamp would be the latest example of malls responding to pressure to constantly evolve as they face the challenge of online commerce and changing shopping patterns.

Urban Edge has revealed some details about the project in public financial documents, and in meetings with analysts, but has not yet submitted plans to Paramus. Those familiar with the project said Urban Edge plans to add a third retail level over part of the existing shopping center, the section of the mall that houses the majority of its stores and the parking deck. One source said the expansion could be larger than 200,000 square feet, and possibly as big as 500,000 square feet.

Bergen Town Center is 1.2 million square feet. It is divided into two separate sections — the parcel west of Forest Avenue, which is a traditional enclosed mall with a parking deck and a parking lot bordered by a strip of additional stores, and the area east of Forest Avenue, which includes freestanding stores, including a Lowe’s and an REI store that provides gear for camping and hiking.

The enclosed mall portion was 99.9 percent occupied as of the end of September, according to Urban Edge’s third-quarter earnings report.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen-town-center-mall-in-paramus-is-preparing-for-a-130-million-expansion-1.1473710

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5 Car Pile up in Front of Paramus Catholic Results in Minor Injuries

paramus nj car crash

photo courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook

December 2,2015

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

 

Paramus NJ, A five (5) vehicle crash in front of Paramus Catholic High School, 425 Paramus Road, Paramus, resulted in minor injuries to at least two (2) drivers on Tuesday evening, 12/01. The collision occurred in the northbound lanes of Paramus Road, at the jug handle turn for Paramus Catholic. Two (2) vehicles were heavily damaged and were removed by tow trucks. Paramus EMS responded along with Paramus PD. All of the victims refused medical treatment beyond whatever first aid was provided at the scene. Paramus PD is investigating the incident, which was reported shortly after 7 PM. Heavy rain was falling at the time of the crash.

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Despite other shopping options, Black Friday thrives in North Jersey

PARAMUS-articleLarge

NOVEMBER 27, 2015, 8:30 AM    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2015, 11:33 PM
BY JOAN VERDON, MELANIE ANZIDEI AND KATHLEEN LYNN
STAFF WRITERS |
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Chris Singleton of North Arlington was out shopping with his wife and children on Black Friday because the post-Thanksgiving activity is a holiday tradition.

“It’s not even the deals, it’s just the excitement,” said Singleton, a telecommunications engineer who was shopping at the Toys “R” Us on Route 17 in Paramus. “It gets you into the holiday spirit.”

For thousands of shoppers in North Jersey, the malls and stores still are the place to be on the Friday after Thanksgiving. But the Black Friday shopping frenzy that used to jam the highways near the malls and create long lines at the stores is not that big of a deal anymore.

The spending that used to be focused on a single “Super Bowl of Shopping” event now is spread out over multiple days, and divided by new ways to shop, such as online or with a smartphone, that don’t involve driving to the mall.
“Every year the season gets longer,” said Charlie O’Shea, vice president at Moody’s Investors Service, referring to earlier promotions. And this year, many of the top deals were available online, as well as in stores, unlike previous years. As a result, he said, it is more difficult to compare the strength of this Black Friday to previous years.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/black-friday-super-bowl-of-shopping-is-more-like-a-scrimmage-1.1463807

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Paramus and Fair lawn Top Bergen’s Influential Local Races

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10 of the Most Influential Local Races in 2015

With the November 3 election expected to draw low voter turnout, some local races seem to be the best hope for driving people to cast their ballots. Here is a list of ten races that have the potential to influence the election. Alyana Alfaro, PolitickerNJRead more

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Will American Dream overshadow the malls of North Jersey?

xanadu

SEPTEMBER 27, 2015    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015, 1:20 AM
BY JOAN VERDON
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

Will American Dream Meadowlands be a nightmare for North Jersey malls?

With the recent news that the long-delayed shopping and entertainment complex had signed Hermes as a tenant and lured the luxury brand away from The Shops at Riverside in Hackensack, American Dream is looking more like a reality.

But retail experts are betting the existing malls in Bergen and Passaic counties will be able to hold their own against the untested newcomer. While North Jersey shopping centers may have to evolve, they said, there is enough spending power in the region to withstand competition from a new project, even one that claims it will be unlike any other mall.

North Jersey shopping centers — particularly top performers Westfield Garden State Plaza and The Outlets at Bergen Town Center, both in Paramus, and Willowbrook Mall in Wayne — have an advantage as known revenue producers, unlike a project that was stalled for more than a decade.

The developers of American Dream have said since taking over in 2011 that their project — with an indoor water park, amusement rides, ice rink and concert hall — is so different that it won’t compete with, or steal tenants, from traditional North Jersey malls, and that it will draw visitors from all over the world, rather than just New Jersey. However, the news that Hermes is leaving Hackensack for the Meadowlands raises the question of whether the the area’s malls should be concerned.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/dream-rivalry-brewing-1.1419585

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4 Vehicle Crash in Paramus temporarily Closes Lanes on 17 North at Century Road

Paramus Crash
courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook
4 Vehicle Crash in Paramus  temporarily Closes Lanes on 17 North at Century Road
September 19,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Paramus NJ, Four (4) vehicles collided on Route 17 northbound between Century Road and the Garden State Parkway at approximately 7:00 PM on Thursday, 09/17. At least two (2) adult victims were transported by separate ambulances to Hackensack University Medical Center’s (HUMC) main campus.

Two (2) of the four (4) vehicles involved in the crash, a Toyota Prius and a Nissan Altima, were heavily damaged and removed from the scene by a flatbed tow truck. The right travel lane and right shoulder of the roadway were closed while crews worked at the scene removing debris and the vehicles. Paramus PD and EMS responded along with a paramedic unit from HUMC.
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Bergen Freeholders approve $1M contract for parking lot for proposed Paramus outdoor skating rink

Van Saun County Park

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015, 8:04 PM    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015, 8:13 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

The Bergen County Freeholders on Wednesday approved a $1-million contract for an overflow parking lot that would enable the county to build an outdoor skating rink this winter in Van Saun County Park in Paramus.

But hold the Zamboni: There’s a rut in that plan. None of the six firms that had expressed an interest in building and operating the seasonal rink submitted a bid, county officials said.

County Parks Director Jim Koth said that as a result, the county plans to re-advertise the bidding for the rink contract after talking with the various firms to see what was it about the specifications that kept them from making bids.

Koth said he suspects some of it may have to do with the timing and the short duration of the rink-operator contract.

Under the terms of the parking lot contract awarded to Applied Landscape Technologies Inc. of Montville, the firm will have 100 days to build the lot. With a bid of $1,030,000, the firm was the lowest of seven bidders seeking to build the approximately 110-space lot on what is now a dirt lot south of the park’s carousel. The outdoor temporary ice rink would be built within the footprint of the overflow lot, Koth said. The lot also will provide additional parking for the nearby Bergen County Zoo.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen-freeholders-approve-1m-contract-for-parking-lot-for-proposed-paramus-outdoor-skating-rink-1.1406248

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Bergen Regional Medical Center seeks N.J. approval to expand detox unit

Bergen_regional_medical_center_theridgewoodblog

SEPTEMBER 6, 2015    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2015, 1:20 AM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

The operators of Bergen Regional Medical Center have applied for state approval to add 10 beds to its drug- and alcohol-detoxification unit in the face of an epidemic of heroin-related cases in North Jersey.

News of the move came less than two weeks after three freeholders urged Bergen County Executive James Tedesco to “pursue a dialogue” with the private operator of the county-owned hospital in Paramus to expand its 54-bed detox unit.

Bergen Regional CEO Susan Mendelowitz responded in an Aug. 26 letter to Tedesco, noting that the hospital had already applied to add 10 more beds to the unit. She said the additional beds were in response to what she called “the intensity of the drug and alcohol epidemic we face.”

She also noted that the hospital has two other longer-term units, including one for patients who also have mental-health disorders plus an outpatient treatment program for substance abuse.

“I believe we are all on the same page with our commitment to provide appropriate care and treatment options for this ever increasing epidemic,” she wrote.

Tedesco spokeswoman Alicia D’Alessandro called the hospital’s decision “a step in the right direction.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/hospital-seeks-ok-to-expand-detox-unit-1.1404681