The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
file photo by Boyd Loving
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Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Fire Chief Van Goor divulged some interesting information to combat the rash of misinformation circulating in the mainstream and over social media about the per diem EMT issue . The Chief in an EMT FAQ rattled off a litany of Firefighter qualifications , who responds to emergency medical calls and yes, the modifications have already been tested in February 2021 when no per diem EMT’s were available .
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Ridgewood NJ, the high density housing continues to effect the Villager of Ridgewood central business district with taxpayers footing the bill. The main objection against the high density housing was all the ancillary coasts like police, fire, EMS, sewage , water, parking , schools and traffic .
Continue reading Former Ridgewood Mayor and Former Village Manager Remain Guilty as Charged
UPDATE: In the matter of Paul Aronsohn and Roberta Sonenfeld vs. State of NJ Local Finance Board
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Ridgewood NJ, members of the State of NJ Local Finance Board met in public via Microsoft Teams on Wednesday, April 14, 2021, and did not accept Administrative Law Judge Jude-Anthony Tiscorina’s recommendation to overturn and dismiss the Notices of Violation and corresponding fines issued to Paul Aronsohn and Roberta Sonenfeld.
Surely you must be joking Mr Halaby!
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Ridgewood NJ, always trying to be relevant, after two failed bids for congress and the worst mayoral administration in the history of the Village of Ridgewood , ex mayor Paul Aronsohn is at it again . Now it appears he is attempting to become “King of the Black People”.
Continue reading Ex- Ridgewood Mayor Vies to become “King of the Black People”
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Upper Saddle River NJ , for over 2 years the Ridgewood blog has tracked the continuing saga of the Toll Brothers Apple Ridge development in Upper Saddle River . We have chronicled the rampant over development being rammed down the throats of taxpayers by the courts under the guise of “Fair Share Housing”, the remediation problems , the run off issues , and the infrastructure ,transportation and educational shortfalls .
“Don’t get me started on them. Aronsohn did so many questionable unethical things. Like trying to derail Mike Sedon’s original run for office by contacting his employer in Staten Island on a fake conflict-of-interest concern. He actually got the Ridgewood News to pull a letter to the editor that a citizen had written because he did not like the letter (yes, he was in the newspaper office constantly monitoring their articles and incoming letters). He tried to get an employer to fire a local citizen who had crossed paths with Aronsohn. He publicly went after Bernie Walsh (along with Gwenn and Albert) attacking her for ‘fixing” a parking ticket which she absolutely did not do. The three of them, led by Aronsohn of course, went after Tom Richie for a conflict with his company doing work for the Village, which was not a secret, nothing under the table, although they tried to imply that it was. They all went after Susan Knudsen for questioning residency requirements for civilian jobs, by bringing a labor attorney to the council meeting to attack her (this was met with a huge groundswell of anger against the three of them). Then of course you had Aronsohn and Hauck, who were both married, having a love affair while they were serving together. And Aronsohn tried to get the civil service list changed so that Keith Killion’s son would be bounced off. The list goes on and on. He is despicable by any standards. And Roberta? Oh my word. Remember when she wrote a letter to the paper attacking a citizen who had spoken up about Schedler??? What the hell kind of rogue Village Manager starts publicly attacking citizens? And she used to interrupt council deliberations incessantly with her opinions, clearly forgetting that she was not an elected official. Every time there was any kind of swearing-in or proclamation, she would come down from the dais with the elected officials and stand there for her photo ops. And no one can forget how she tried to physically block a citizen from getting signatures in Van Neste, the signatures were for the referendum to stop the garage – yes, there are photos of that incident, where she stepped in claiming she was trying to present the facts. When a citizen was assaulted during a council meeting they carried on like nothing had happened and refused to admonish the person who hit the other person. What a crew they were. Just horrible.”
“This house needs to be preserved and turned into a museum. Couple of decades from now when city of RW counts more than 100000 residents and many, many apartment buildings, people will visit this museum and will pay their respect to the father & mistress of the new Ridgewood.”
“So let’s see. He slept with a married woman while married. And the woman was a fellow elected councilman, so pillow talk was taking place about things like high density housing and parking garages. He attempted to kill Mike Sedon’s candidacy by telling Mike’s employer (a Staten Island newspaper) that Mike was running for elected office (which was absolutely not a conflict, different states for God’s sake). He interfered with freedom of the press and speech by STOPPING PUBLICATION of a citizen’s letter to the editor that was critical of him. He lied to Father Ron of Mount Carmel in order to bulldoze his massive garage project ahead. He attempted to get a citizen fired from his job because the citizen was openly critical of him. He bullied Councilwoman Walsh at a public meeting about a parking ticket (teaming up with Pucciarelli on this one). And this, ladies and gentlemen of this fine town, is only the START of the listing of his horrific behavior. Who the hell is the council of churches?????”
photo courtesy of The Rotary Club of Ridgewood A.M.
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Ridgewood NJ, The Rotary Club of Ridgewood A.M. host controversial former Ridgewood Mayor Paul Aronsohn , Critics of the former mayor have long pointed to his high density housing plans that left the village on the hook for massive infrastructure upgrades . Aronsohn was also fond guilty of ethics violations and carried on a very public affair with a fellow council person while both were married.
Continue reading The Rotary Club of Ridgewood A.M. host controversial former Ridgewood Mayor Paul Aronsohn
file photo by Boyd Loving
If the (Ridgewood Water) suit was filed for the rate hikes in 2010 -2012, then I believe Paul Aronsohn was on the Council from 2008 joined by Albert and Gwenn In 2012. The three served til May 2016 and appointed the 6th council member ( actually manager) Roberta Sonenfeld. A lot of the blame for the current issues fall directly on their shoulders. Adios to the Three Amigos who left us in bad shape.
“Funny – this was suggested by the Aronsohn administration. “If you want to have your opinion heard, run for office”. Suggesting that only those on the dais get to air their point of view. Seems that Mr. Voigt subscribes to this idea as well. I don’t know Mr. Kim and I don’t always agree with him, but his opinions are generally well researched and presented in a civil way. Seems like we need more of that not less.”
file photo by Boyd Loving
” we remember when 100’s of us showed up to a council meeting to speak out against the density changes in the CBD. Almost everyone was in favor of a compromise: an increase from 12 units per acre to 24 not 35 which Albert, Paul and Gwen voted 3 -2 to approve. All the issues mentioned in the blog posts were addressed and one that wasn’t addressed was an increase in sludge output that would tax our crumbling infrastructure. Nothing was going to change the 3 -2 vote. Whatever problems you see today are the result of that vote and the permanent damage done during the reign of terror. “
file photo by Boyd Loving
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, in April Gov. Phil Murphy announced the appointment of former Ridgewood Mayor Paul Aronsohn to head up the newly created Office of the Ombudsman for Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities and Their Families, serving as the administration’s lead advocate and ally for New Jersey residents in need of critical services ranging from early childhood through adulthood.
But according to the ANCOR Foundation,stagnant or declining investments in state programs that help individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities lead more independent and productive lives have resulted in New Jersey dropping from 34th place in 2016 to 38th place this year in state rankings, according to the Case for Inclusion 2019, compiled by the ANCOR Foundation and United Cerebral Palsy (UCP).
The Case for Inclusion 2019 ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia on how well state programs, primarily Medicaid, serve those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). The states are ranked in five key areas critical to the inclusion, support and empowerment of individuals with I/DD and their families: Promoting Independence, Promoting Productivity, Keeping Families Together, Serving Those in Need, and Tracking Health, Safety & Quality of Life.
The biggest factors affecting New Jersey’s poor performance are low marks in the areas of Promoting Independence and Promoting Productivity. New Jersey ranks in the bottom 10 of all states in these areas, at 42nd and 43rd, respectively. Particularly problematic for the Garden State in the area of Promoting Independence is that it fails to meet the coveted “80/80 standard”; although at least 80 percent of the state’s residents with I/DD received Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS), the state failed to spend at least 80 percent of its Medicaid dollars on helping people with I/DD live in the community.
The Case for Inclusion, which has been published regularly since 2006 by UCP, compiles the most recent data available (generally from 2016 for this report) and analyzes 30 outcome measures in the five major categories. The ANCOR Foundation joins UCP this year in publishing the report. Among the other key findings on New Jersey’s performance:
• 5.8 percent of the state’s residents with I/DD—the fifth-highest percentage in the nation—live in one of New Jersey’s five state-run institutions.
• More than 3,100 New Jerseyans with I/DD live in large-scale congregate care settings, defined as group homes or Intermediate Care Facilities with at least seven residents.
• Only 11 percent of working-age individuals with I/DD in New Jersey were working in competitive employment—meaning they work alongside those without disabilities and earn market-driven wages—compared to the national average of 19 percent.
• One relative bright spot was in the area of Serving Those in Need, where New Jersey ranked 22nd, in part because of its relatively low number of individuals on the state’s waiting list for residential services (3,201).
Nationally, the report found that notable advances in the support of individuals with I/DD have stalled. For instance, just 29 states—two more than in the 2016 Case for Inclusion—report that at least 80 percent of these Americans are served in home-like settings, such as a family home, their own home or a small group setting—a number that hasn’t budged from the 2016 Case for Inclusion findings. And decades after states embarked on efforts to close large institutions that warehouse the intellectually and developmentally disabled, just 15 states have eliminated all such facilities, a number that is also unchanged from 2016.
The report documented downward trends in two critical areas: (1) the number of people on waitlists for residential and community services, and (2) the number of individuals with I/DD working in competitive employment. The Case for Inclusion 2019 found the number of people on waiting lists for Home and Community-Based Services was up 75,000 from the 2016 report to almost 424,000. Just seven states, down from 10 in 2016, reported at least 33 percent of working-age individuals with I/DD working in competitive employment.
“Individuals with I/DD, including the young and the aging, want and deserve the same opportunities and quality of life as all Americans. Yet some states do much better than others in demonstrating the needed political will and implementing the sound policies and focused funding necessary to achieve this ideal,” the report states.
“The pervasive theme across states and, specifically in New Jersey, is that the Direct Support Professional (DSP) crisis created by an inability to recruit and retain DSPs contributes to these challenges. I just learned yesterday that an agency has a house ready and waiting to receive three individuals that want to live within the community, however, the agency is struggling to find staff.
With New Jersey failing to meet the 80/80 standard meaning the state failed to spend at least 80 percent of its Medicaid dollars on helping people with IDD live in the community and in the bottom five for the number of institutions remaining, we can and must do more.,” commented NJACP CEO Valerie Sellers.
It is notable that during a period of polarization on many issues, policies that support individuals with I/DD have support from stakeholders across the political spectrum. For example, the 10 highest-ranked states are a political mix, including deep-blue Oregon and California and deep-red Kentucky and South Dakota. Armando Contreras, President & CEO of UCP, notes that “across the country, we see efforts by state policymakers to enhance their approach to Medicaid services and supports and related programs for the I/DD population by making the best use of existing and scarce resources. Of course, additional funding to keep pace with the diverse needs of this population would help, but new ideas and shared best practices from successful states have the potential to drive improvements even absent additional funding.”
The full Case for Inclusion 2019 report, along with scorecards for each state and additional resources, can be downloaded at caseforinclusion.org.
