The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
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Paramus NJ, Paramus Plaza, a 153,494-square-foot retail center located on Route 17 South, has been sold for $36.8 million to DRA Advisors and First Mile, an affiliate of Crown Acquisitions, Cushman & Wakefield announced on Wednesday.
Continue reading Paramus Plaza Sold for $36.8 Million to DRA Advisors and First Mile
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Paramus NJ, Eighty-six percent of U.S. retailers who hire temporary workers for the holiday shopping season are short-staffed in 2021, according to a new survey by ResumeBuilder.com, which asked 1,250 retail store owners and managers how difficult it was to hire temporary staff amid a tight labor market. They also asked what measures they took to incentivize reluctant workers to join their teams temporarily.
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Paramus NJ, Department store chain Lord & Taylor is closing two dozen stores for good including 3 in New Jersey as it continues to search for a buyer to restructure under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and keep its business alive. Deals will be up to 40% off, the company said Thursday morning, as it released a complete list of those shops set to liquidate.
Village of Ridgewood Curbside Ordinance Proposal
Good afternoon,
At last night’s Council meeting, we introduced the basic ordinance for curbside pick-up, Ord. 3805, along with the ordinance that sets the fee at $100 per week, Ord. 3807. I attach them both here together
with the maps that Chief Luthcke and Sgt. Chuck drew up to show where the reserved spots could potentially be. In rough outline, businesses can join together with residents to underwrite a full day spot(s), pay
for 6 days, but the spot(s) would be reserved for 7 days as Grab & Go 15-minute parking that would be free to customers in cars. An occupant would have to remain in the vehicle, and idling would be limited to no
more than 3 minutes. Kathryn Schmidt and Paul Vagianos called in to stress the need for flexibility, to say that the program must be affordable, and that a half-day program would be more workable. Chief
Luthcke commented that requiring people to stay in the car excludes certain people unnecessarily. Mayor Knudsen said the CBD functions all day; therefore, to accommodate residents at risk for COVID-19, the reserved spots should be all day. Councilman Sedon said he would favor 4:00 to 9:00 p.m., but for now we should get this done. I also stated my support for passing these ordinances and amending them later if necessary, noting that 15-minute meters shouldn’t be moved.
Continue reading Village of Ridgewood Curbside Pick Up Ordinance Proposal
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Ridgewood NJ, “Welcome Back to Ridgewood, NJ” event – This event will run through the summer season. – Monday through Friday, all retail businesses are able to place their products on tables outside of their business (once they obtain a permit from the Village). All food places are permitted to have outdoor dining (once they obtain a permit from the Village). Food is also available for pickup at the dining establishments. Beginning at 10:00 a.m. Saturday through 10:00 p.m. on Sunday, the Central Business District from North Walnut Street to Broad Street will be closed to vehicular traffic along East Ridgewood Avenue, including the side streets of Oak Street, Prospect Street, and Chestnut Street, which will create a pedestrian mall.
Continue reading Ridgewood’s Central Business District Hosts “Welcome Back to Ridgewood”
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Trenton NJ, Governor Phil Murphy today signed Executive Order No. 163, which requires individuals to wear face coverings in outdoor public spaces when it is not practicable to socially distance and keep a six-foot distance from others, excluding immediate family members, caretakers, household members, or romantic partners, except where doing so would inhibit that individual’s health, where the individual is under two years of age, or in situations where individuals cannot feasibly wear a face covering, such as when eating or drinking at outdoor dining areas.
photos by Boyd Loving
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Ridgewood NJ, a reader asked , “Do you think that the Village had intelligence that there would be a protest like this and that’s why they cancelled the CBD restaurant mall ?” It does appear to be the case and the Village can be commended for taking action to ensure the safety of residents ,businesses and protesters ,but it does raise some issues as to why the Central Business District continues to get the shaft from the Village. Will Ridgewood CBD continue its comeback attempt to once again be a viable post pandemic downtown or will shoppers and dinners flee and not return do to protests and unrest ?
Continue reading Did Protesters Drive Away Shoppers and Dinners and Will they Return to Ridgewood
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Hackensack NJ, Sears has been in a death spiral for years and that demise has been accelerated by COVID19. Sears has recently initiated “Store Closing Sales” in 20 of its remaining locations and that number continues to grow by the week. and day. Liquidation sales have begun with the 88 year old Hackensack store in line for shut down.
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Paramus NJ, GNC Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: GNC) , a leading global health and wellness brand, today announced that the Company, certain of its North American entities, certain of its secured lenders, and key stakeholders have reached an agreement to pursue a dual-path process that will allow the Company to restructure its balance sheet and accelerate its business strategy through Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
GNC and all of its subsidiaries remain open for business. Consumers will continue to have access to their favorite products, as well as new, innovative brand solutions to meet their wellness goals wherever GNC products are sold. GNC continues to serve consumers through its retail stores in many areas and is offering safe and convenient curbside pick-up at shopping plaza locations.
The Company also continues to provide solutions for its customers anytime at GNC.com.
Continue reading GNC Files for Bankruptcy expects to close 800 to 1,200 stores
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Paramus NJ, Indoor portions of retail shopping malls will be allowed to reopen on June 29th, Governor Phil Murphy announced on Thursday.“Keep your distance, wear a face covering, and follow pedestrian directions,” Murphy urged. “Let’s keep this restart going, and going safely.”
Face masks, in fact, will be required as part of the order. Businesses within the mall will be limited to 50% capacity. Employees will be required to wear masks.
Common areas like food courts and mall movie theaters will remain closed.
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Ridgewood NJ, Assemblyman Brian Bergen is calling on Gov. Phil Murphy to begin the first phase of reopening the economy by allowing non-essential businesses to get back to work with curbside pickup.
“There is no reason to delay the opening of retail business to do curbside pickup,” said Bergen (R-Morris). “They should be allowed to do that today. We are in a state of paralysis through analysis.”
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Hackensack NJ, Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco today rescinded his Executive Order declaring a State of Emergency in the County at the request of the Governor. The County Executive will hold a news conference today – March 19 – at 5:30 p.m. at Two Bergen County Plaza to discuss these recent developments and the next steps he will be taking to protect the residents, visitors and workers of Bergen County.
Tedesco said on Wednesday that he submitted the revised executive order to the Governor for review. During his daily briefing on Tuesday, Murphy appealed to county and local governments to coordinate with the state. “We will override local and county actions to make sure we are consistent in our approach,” Murphy said.
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TRENTON NJ, Gov. Phil Murphy said his administration is working to set up a state business-incentive program to help employers during the coronavirus pandemic. Assemblyman Brian Bergen commended Murphy for understanding that without businesses there aren’t jobs, and would like to work with him on providing broad-based relief.
Continue reading Assemblyman Brian Bergen Continues to Push Governor Murphy for a Sales Tax Holiday
“When i go for my daily walks with the dog on recycling days, the majority of the houses of piles of ‘amazon’ boxes at the curb which is a clear indicator of where the residents have been shopping. I haven’t bought anything in the CBD for years except to get my watch battery replaced at town/country or an evening meal/drinks. Retail is dead and dying and the pay-to-park just gives it another kick in the ass. The only need for parking is 3 or 4 hours on Friday/saturday nights unless you’re willing to walk 4 blocks, in which case there is always parking. This was nothing but ‘plum’ given to the developers in town so they have parking for their massive apartment buildings, and parking for the patron’s of their tenants restaurants. There should be ‘impact fees’ on these apartments in addition to real estate taxes since they are the prime beneficiary of the garage. We should have let NJ Transit build a garage at their expenses on the Ken Smith property. too late now. RIP good old Ridgewood. Hello ‘Montclair East’. SAD”
“We believe this is not a good thing for the village. Down the road in a few years what’s going to happen if the economy sinks for a bit like in the past .and no one is shopping and we are back to having 50 or more stores boarded up .the town will look like a ghost town. It was very depressing looking Back then when that happened.who will be responsible from the top. Or will they all be replaced ,and again they will go after the little small time worker and lay them off because of financial crisis. Pretty much all village departments are short on staffing as it is. And now with recycling Revenues toppling down it’s actually costing the village to do recycling versus making money like in the past. Recycling department is a losing proposition. Yes it’s a law but at who’s cost the taxpayer again. Just like the parking garage unnecessary.Wake up fellow village taxpayers. This parking garage is not for the taxpayers it’s for out-of-towners pretty much that are coming here to park close to the restaurants . End of the story. Every Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday there are plenty of parking at the lower level of the CBD meaning By Ridgewood Ave., Maple Village Hall parking lot ,give me a break. If you went to New York City you would walk a few blocks , This is about lazy people. You take your family into New York City and you park in a parking garage , and how many blocks do you usually walk to the place you’re going. Right. This is a poor investment. This is not going to be a money maker .about time this thing is paid off it will probably will need to be Heavily repaired. Unless they keep on top of it every single year which that’s not gonna happen.”
