The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
photo by Boyd Loving
Ridgewood NJ, prior to the Ridgewood Board of Education meeting on Monday Night protesters gathered outside the Ed center on Cottage place. The group of determined parents pushed for the return of in person classes for Ridgewood schools.
Continue reading Demonstration at Ridgewood Board of Education Meeting for all day In-Person school
photos by Boyd Loving
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, there is currently a petition being circulated in Ridgewood to drop the charges made against the young woman arrested for protesting in town during the “Black Lives Matters” protest.
One of the residents promoting the petition said on Facebook, “Regardless of if you agree with the protesters, I think we can all agree that sending this young woman to trial isn’t the best use of the town’s time or money.
I believe that Ridgewood is better than this. Please consider signing the petition so we can continue having constructive conversations about these matters” …oh yes of course you do.
By Toniann Antonelli November 15, 2016 9:23 PM
NEW BRUNSWICK — Hours after students and faculty members circulated a petition to make Rutgers a “sanctuary campus,” President Robert Barchi said the school will protect the privacy of undocumented immigrants attending the university.
Barchi released a statement Tuesday after many students raised concerns about their privacy and safety following the election of Donald Trump. The university president also said he expects those associated with Rutgers to protect the privacy and confidentiality of students and that information will not be provided unless it’s required by law or a court order.
“Rutgers police do not inquire into nor record the immigration status of students or other persons unless a serious crime has been committed,” Barchi said. “Rutgers University does not use E-verify for any purposes other than to comply with longstanding federal law regarding employment eligibility. Immigration status is not a factor in student housing decisions.”
The petition, addressed to Barchi and other administrators, outlined 11 actions students believe Rutgers should take in order to protect the university’s minorities and undocumented students on its campuses.
Read More: Rutgers: We will protect undocumented immigrants on campus | https://nj1015.com/rutgers-we-will-protect-undocumented-immigrants-on-campus/?trackback=tsmclip
“Thank you so much to everybody who supported our petition. Total signatures: 1,227. The BCIA ordinance has been rescinded. It is our understanding that the local bond is now suspended until the council takes further action on our petition. One level down, shovels in the ground. Power to the people!”
Saurabh Dani,Dana Glazer,Ellen Mcnamara,Lorraine Reynolds,Melanie McWilliams
April 1st 2016
Ridgewood NJ, from the Take Back Ridgewood Facebook page , Your Village Manager is questioning spending 40K on an election (are we living in democracy?), while she was busy in spending 122K of OUR money to get construction documents for a design that was yet to be discussed with public?
They asked for change order of $120,000.00 because they had already spent the $295,000.00 on all of the plans for a design that was not finalized!! And we wonder why they won’t budge on the current plan. Do not blame us for wasting the taxpayers dollars!
https://www.tubechop.com/watch/7840960
If you’d rather see:
design D with 3 stories, 4 levels, approx 37ft building height & 52ft towers- approx 260 spaces- then you should sign the petition
If you are happy with the current design D of 4 stories, 5 levels, 46ft 8in building height & 60ft 10in towers- 325 spaces- then you should not sign the petition
You must be a registered voter residing in the Village of Ridgewood to sign the petition.
EMAIL its2BIG@its2BIG.COM CALL or text 201-264-8151 Visit: https://goo.gl/forms/KpPtDY2We9 |
Ridgwood NJ, The Ridgewood Knights of Columbus is the next stop on the signature drive . The Petition seeks to protest and repeal Ordinance 3519,authorizing the execution and granting of a lease purchase agreement until it can be voted on by registered residents of Ridgewood with the Bergen County Improvement Authority (BCIA),as a binding referendum question.
According to No 2 BCIA petition signatures are still being collected They ask you to please reach out to come and sign or visit the website for more locations and information. 201-675-8937.
The No 2BCIA website shows these other contacts :
Lorraine Reynolds house, 550 Wyndemere Ave/come to door off John St.,please call first 201-264-8151
Multiple circulators are ready to come to your place. Please call/text 201-264-8151
Anne Loving, call cell 201-723-8017 to make appt to sign.
Saurabh Dani, call/text cell 973-903-5361 and I will stop by to collect your signature.
Melanie McWilliams – 431 Bogert Ave: call/text to confirm 201-675-8937
This petition is to seek to protest and repeal Ordinance 3519-An Ordinance authorizing the execution and granting of a lease purchase agreement with the Bergen County Improvement Authority relating to issuance of County Guaranteed Lease Revenue Bonds for the Village of Ridgewood parking Deck Project (i.e. Hudson St garage).
You must be a registered voter residing in the Village of Ridgewood to sign the petition.
This has nothing to do with the design or scope of the parking garage-just to stop the funding of it with the BCIA, until Ordinance 3519 can be submitted to the electorate (Village of Ridgewood residents/registered voters) for a vote at next election as a referendum question.
If you have any Questions, please email no2bcia@gmail.com
As of Monday Feb 15, the petitions will be available at following times/locations:
Lorraine Reynolds house, 550 Wyndemere Ave/come to door off John St., Monday, Feb 15th – 1pm-4pm.
Anne Loving, call cell 201-723-8017 to make appt to sign.
Melanie McWilliams – 431 Bogert Ave – Feb 15th-Feb19th (M-F) 9:15-12:15pm, call/text to confirm 201-675-8937
PLEASE CHECK BACK AS TIMES/LOCATIONS WILL BE ADDED.
PLEASE EMAIL no2bcia@gmail.com if you are a registered voter
and can help canvas neighborhoods this week when it’s not so cold out!!!
WE ARE WELL ON OUR WAY RIDGEWOOD!
Please let us know if you want to be part of the petition to say No 2 BCIA,https://goo.gl/forms/KpPtDY2We9
Below are some reasons why people feel we should not have a lease/purchase agreement with the BCIA (Bergen County Improvement Authority):
1. The BCIA will cost us more than what it will cost us to bond through Ridgewood. Yes, the BCIA can get us a better interest rate by 0.03%- to 0.08% compared to what we get from a Ridgewood Issued bond, but that is so small and it eventually costs more to go with BCIA, because of their initiation fees, and annual fees as well as multiple lawyer fees. Here are the final costs -https://mods.ridgewoodnj.net/pdf/manager/hudson/20160129BCIAFin.pdf
2. The BCIA financial comparison from the above link, does not consider the fact that we will now have to charge out-of-town commuters the same price as Ridgewood commuters (a requirement by the BCIA to treat all county residents the same.). Suppose we issue 50 out-of-town commuter passes at $300 less than what we could have charged them, that’s $15,000 more per year for the next 25 years by going through the BCIA. Will non-resident commuters take many of the spaces, leaving few spaces for our own commuters?
3. Once we take money from the BCIA, it will be issued like a loan, not like a Home Equity Line of Credit. We cannot draw the funds when we need them, i.e. as the project goes along. We will have to start paying interest on ALL of the money from day 1, which is May 2016, and the garage will not be complete until Feb 2017. Once the BCIA bond is issued in May 2016, we won’t be able to pre-pay for 10 years. We are locked into the interest for 10 years, even if the design & scope changes to a smaller design and we need less funds.
4. The county will own the garage for next 25 years. They may add more conditions later, for now they have asked us to treat non Ridgewood commuters at the same price.
5.The lease agreement also mentions that the BCIA will build the garage and lease it to us. It’s not clear / not explained to us how much control they will keep during the ‘build’ phase.
6. Overall, all of the benefits explained to us for going through the BCIA route are financial. In the end, with all those benefits, if it still costs more, and if we don’t retain full control of the garage and the process, then why go through the county?
7. We can and should do this with a Ridgewood Issued bond. It is our fiscal and resident responsibility to make sure this bond is issued through Ridgewood and not the County.
