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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Bergen County Executive James Tedesco resumed work from his Paramus home Monday after being released from Hackensack University Medical Center, where he underwent back surgery last week. John C. Ensslin, The Record Read more
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.
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.
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.
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.”
file photo by Boyd Loving
Fri 9/4 from 12:01A until 4A – RTE 17 CLOSED – Both Directions: for GS Parkway work. Detours posted.
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority and the New Jersey State Department of Transportation advise that Route 17 at the Garden State Parkway (Paramus) will be closed in both directions on Friday morning, September 4th, from 12:01 a.m. until 4 a.m. due to the ongoing Garden State Parkway Interchange 163 Improvement Project.
The detour will be via Farview Avenue between Century Road and Midland Avenue in both directions.
There will be lane closures starting at 9 p.m. on Thursday, September 3rd, until 6 a.m. Friday morning, September 4th. Also, expect exit ramp closures on the parkway at Exit 163 in both directions during the full closure of Route 17.
Flooding caused when Crash takes out Fire hydrant closing right shoulder of 17 south in Paramus
August 14,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Paramus NJ, Paramus Police Department units on the scene of a motor vehicle collision in which a fire hydrant was struck on Route 17 southbound in Paramus, just south of Ridgewood Avenue, on Friday, 08/14.
The force of the collision’s impact sheared off the hydrant at its base causing a water leak that closed the right shoulder and right & center travel lanes of the highway for approximately two (2) hours beginning at 3:45 PM. Southbound traffic on Route 17 was backed up for miles as a result, and there was heavy rubbernecking northbound. The center travel lane of the highway was opened shortly after 5:30 PM.
No information about the number vehicles involved in the collision, nor the nature of any injuries, was available from police on the scene. A worker from United Water was observed at the scene attending to the leak.
AUGUST 6, 2015, 6:51 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2015, 6:57 PM
BY ALLISON PRIES
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
PARAMUS – An alert resident may have put an end Thursday to a series of overnight break-ins throughout North Jersey that included incidents in Ridgewood and Allendale.
James M. Rainsford, 47, is also being looked at in connection with similar crimes in North Haledon, Little Falls and elsewhere.
A River Edge resident called Paramus police at 8:41 a.m. to say he saw a person who he believed he recognized from media releases that was wanted for burglaries.
Related: Little Falls police seek man accused of burglarizing township houses
Rainsford was arrested a short time later while walking by a wooded area near Howland Avenue and Spring Valley Road in Paramus by Paramus Police Officers Mark Pinajian, Justin Sicari and Jack Cacamis on active burglary warrants from Allendale and Paterson.
Rainsford was found to be carrying a crack pipe and two small flashlights when he was arrested, according to a press release from Paramus Police.
He was interviewed by detectives from several local agencies and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office at Paramus Police Headquarters.
Allendale Police have charged Rainsford for a July 17 incident in which he allegedly was caught on video opening an unlocked door at a Franklin Turnpike home, while residents slept. A home alarm system woke them and they dialed 911. Rainsford allegedly fled when the alarm sounded, Allendale Police Det. Michael Dillon said.
Allendale Police compared notes with Norwood and Closter Police who, Dillon said, were familiar with Rainsford because he used to live in the Northern Valley. And they also got help from police in Little Falls, North Haledon and Ridgewood who are investigating their own incidents that may involve Rainsford, Dillon said.
photo Courtesy of Boyd Loving Facebook page
Paramus Accident Results in Assault on other driver
July 28,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Paramus NJ , Paramus EMS personnel transported one (1) person to The Valley Hospital following a 10:30 PM crash on Route 4 eastbound near Route 17. The male driver of one (1) vehicle involved in the crash assaulted another driver and a construction worker who came to that driver’s aid. Paramus PD officers subdued the assailant and placed him under arrest. He is now in the Bergen County Jail.
