Tag: Ridgewood Art Institute

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Reader says building two simple parking decks instead of one big garage makes tremendous sense

Employee parking lots near Town Garage

The best thing this Council can do is to fix the parking distribution problem stated and recommended in their own commissioned report (Walker and Maser). Before changing of the guard (May election) build smaller, low-level parking decks, in opposite corners of the Central Business District. D I S T R I B U T I O N !!!!! Clearly, one ginormous garage at Hudson is only to appease personal interests. Follow the professionals recommendations/reports.

The notion of building two simple parking decks instead of one big garage makes tremendous sense. It would offer distributed parking throughout the CBD and it has been suggested before and rejected by previous VC’s. The problem with a “distributed” solution is that the economics do not work. Much of the cost of a garage goes into site development costs for footings, , foundations etc. The first level is the most expensive to build and each successive level is less costly.Thus, maximum economic efficiency is achievedby building a single multi-level structure.

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Reader says residents should NOT be forced to underwrite the cost for a garage and the business community should NOT be forced to help pay for costs relating to schools

Hudson garage

Clearly the garage is primarily for the benefit of the business community. It will help keep retailers and restaurants stay in business however it is equally clear that only those residents who commute to NY stand to benefit from a garage. Since many residents do not want or need the garage perhaps they shoulkd not be forced to help pay for it. On the other hand the business community should not be forced to bear the cost of items or services it does not need or use. Specifically, a SIGNIFICANT portion of the rent paid by tenants to their landlord goes to pay real estate taxes of which a large portion are used to pay for the school system. This begs the question why should the business community pay for sending residents kids to school ? Each should only pay for the services they use or need.
In conclusion, the residents should NOT be forced to underwrite the cost for a garage and the business community should NOT be forced to help pay for costs relating to schools or the Board of Ed.

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Ridgewood Library Celebrates Mardi Gras with local artist Andrea Mistretta

ridgewood library

February 5,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, It’s Mardi Gras time in New Orleans and time to celebrate! – Now that New Orleans is 300 yrs old, local artist Andrea Mistretta is bringing a piece of New Orleans culture back home with a King Cake and Café au Lait party this Tuesday night and she’d love for everyone to enjoy a little taste of New Orleans. For the first time ever all of her New Orleans Mardi Gras posters are exhibited together at the Ridgewood Public Library this February.

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Valley Hospital Receives the 2018 Women’s Choice Award® as one of America’s Best Hospitals for Obstetrics

Baby-3

Among the top 20% of hospitals considered the best for having your baby in 2017

February 5,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ,  The Valley Hospital has received the 2018 Women’s Choice Award® as one of America’s Best Hospitals for Obstetrics for a fourth consecutive year.

According to the Women’s Choice Award®, Valley is one of 400 hospitals that women feel confident in choosing for their maternity needs. This designation identifies the country’s best hospitals for obstetrics based on criteria that considers female satisfaction and clinical excellence.

“We are very pleased to be recognized as a hospital that’s highly regarded by women for providing high-quality and patient-friendly obstetric services,” said Paul Quinn, Director of Inpatient Women’s and Children’s Services at Valley. “Our staff and physicians at The Center For Childbirth deliver personalized and compassionate care to mothers and their babies, which is essential for delivering the best patient outcomes and overall experience.”

“Pregnancy is one of the most special times in a woman’s life,” said Delia Passi founder and CEO of the Women’s Choice Award. “Our award gives a woman the confidence that her choice of a hospital for her delivery will be the best in terms of quality care and patient safety for her and her baby.”

The Center for Childbirth at Valley offers a family-centered approach to the childbirth experiences, recognizing that each family has individual needs and desires concerning childbirth on emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and physical levels. The Center offers a relaxed, flexible and comforting environment, which includes private Labor Delivery Recovery rooms that combine a beautiful homelike environment with sophisticated medical technology, as well as state-of-the-art Cesarean Delivery Rooms and a Level 3-Intensive 15-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The professionals at The Center For Childbirth help to bring more than 3,000 babies into the world each year.

For more information on The Center For Childbirth, please visit www.experiencevalleychildbirth.com.

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Reader points out the garage will not pay for itself and will cost additional taxpayer dollars

parkmobile_meter

In order to build the garage there must be increased meter rates and increased meter times.Even with that, the garage will not pay for itself and will cost additional taxpayer dollars.

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Ridgewood Board of Education Meeting on Monday, February 5, 2018

cottageplaceBOE_theridgewoodblog

February 5,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The next Regular Public Meeting of the Ridgewood Board of Education will be held on Monday, February 5, 2018 at the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place, Floor 3 at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be aired live on television, FiOS channel 33 and Optimum channel 77, and streamed via the “Link in Live” tab on the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us. Meeting webcasts are generally posted to the district website within 48 hours.

At all regular meetings, two opportunities are provided for citizens to make comments. The public comment periods will be scheduled after presentations and approximately 9:00 p.m. or just prior to the end of the meeting, whichever occurs first. The first opportunity may be limited by the presiding officer to conclude at about 8:00 p.m. in order for the Board to continue with its scheduled agenda. The second opportunity will occur at about 9:00 p.m. at the discretion of the presiding officer taking into consideration a break point in the agenda.

At every opportunity for public comment, citizens are invited to comment on subjects on the agenda or general topics.
At the discretion of the presiding officer, public comments may be permitted at other times.

Persons wishing to speak must, upon being recognized, rise, sign in, and state their names and addresses. Each speaker shall be limited to four minutes. The Board Recorder will note the time. A speaker who has not finished in the allotted time will be directed by the presiding officer to summarize quickly and relinquish the floor within 30 seconds.
Comments shall be limited to issues. If personal remarks or discourteous statements are made, the presiding officer shall require the speaker to stop. No person will be recognized for a second time until all others asking to speak have been heard.

https://www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us/UserFiles/Servers/Server_207516/File/Our%20District/Board%20of%20Education/Board%20Business/02-05-18.pdf

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Reader asks Will a portion of this garage be available to the builders so they can supplement their legal lack of parking by having Ridgewood residents pay to help them out?

traffic_2CBD_theridgewoodblog

One thing the Council has never responded to: Will a portion of this garage be available to the builders so they can supplement their legal lack of parking by having Ridgewood residents pay to help them out? It “may’ be used by commuters who can’t find parking on the streets. The stores and restaurants in town will continue to have their employees park directly in front of their businesses. Paul will still have his reserved “no parking” space in front of his wall. Who do you actually expect to use this space? Probably not shoppers or diners. And what about the Sunday/other Mt. Carmel uses of the lot that will be covered by the garage? Are we going to be expected to “pay for parking” that was formally free? And, to add insult to injury, the parking meters’ rates will be increased and the hours extended. Who wants that? Unless you can at least force the town’s various commercial employees to use it, who else will?

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Reader says A very small minority think that only those that own shops or restaurants in this town have the expertise to judge what the actual parking needs are in this village

Hudson garage

how does posting at 7pm on a Saturday negate any of the points made above? Does one have to be in town every night to have an opinion on the parking needs of this town? It’s this type of response that makes the argument for a garage so painful. A very small minority think that only those that own shops or restaurants in this town have the expertise to judge what the actual parking needs are in this village. Transference…now that’s funny. I guess your over active social calendar, which allows you to be in town every night makes you the preeminent authority on the traffic and parking issues that we may or may not face. Given we’re going on the time stamps of posts now, should we assume that you were just back from bellying up to the bar at Park West, monitoring the traffic flow through the window as you lectured the other patrons on how much better this Village would be if we had a parking garage? Maybe ask how many of your drinking buddies would use that garage if they had to walk more then a block to and from, my guess would be that none of them would….

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Reader says The thinking behind building a large garage is “if you build it they will come”

Hudson garage

The thinking behind building a large garage is “if you build it they will come”. That’s the unbiased logic. There’s also the opportunistic logic of those who stand to financially gain from building a garage (e.g. the lawyers and the various parties who will be involved in the construction project). Then there’s the ultimate beneficiaries, the business owners (mostly restaurants) who believe that they will get more revenue as a result of increased customers). Even if there will be increased customers, which I highly doubt, then why should the Ridgewood taxpayers be on the hook for increasing these business owners net worth?
Parking in Ridgewood right now is no problem, other than Friday and Saturday evenings The dinner rush. Even then there’s enough parking. The folks who think there isn’t simply want to park within a block of their restaurant of choice. Do you honestly think that these same people are going to park their cars in a parking garage?
I ask again. Why am I paying tax dollars to improve the net worth of a select crowd of business owners?

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SUPER BOWL SUNDAY , MOUNT CARMEL SUNDAY EVENING MASS TIME CHANGE TO 4:30 PM

Our_Lady_of_Mount_Carme_l Church_theridgewoodblog

February 4,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, just a reminder from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, today FEBRUARY 4, 2018 , ie  SUPER BOWL SUNDAY
there is a MASS TIME CHANGE. THE SUNDAY EVENING MASS (usually celebrated at 6:30pm) WILL BE CELEBRATED AT 4:30PM

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Ridgewood Library Presents African American Song from the Colonial Period to the Present

ridgewood library

February 4,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Before Super Bowl kickoff, stop by the Library this Sunday, Feb, 4 at 2pm, for a memorable journey of American history through the perspective of African American music, featuring Mack Brandon, a trio and violin.

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Ridgewood Recreation is offering the following special events during the February school break

ice_skating_4[1]

FEBRUARY WINTER SCHOOL RECESS OFFERINGS

February 4,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Recreation is pleased to offer the following special events during the February school break.

Here are the  details:

SCIENCE TELLERS – Tall Ships and Pirate Tales (geared for elementary students Grades K-5)
Set sail with us on a thrilling adventure about a crew of quirky pirates marooned on a deserted island. They must rescue their salty captain and find a way to construct a ship before all hope is lost. Fun audience participation with incredible science experiments.
Grades K-5, Friday, February 16th, 11:30 am, The Anne Zusy Youth Center, Village Hall, 131 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, $5 admission (adult supervision required)
ScienceTellers Tall Ships and Pirate Tales – details and registration form

WINTERFEST CELEBRATION WITH HEALTHBARN USA
Creative winter crafts, healthy cooking creations, and fun winter activities.
Grade K-5, Friday, February 16th, 9:30 am to 12 noon, at the Gatehouse, Irene Habernickel Family Park, Ridgewood, $30 (non-residents $40)
2018 WinterFest Celebration – details and registration form

PAINT IT! SLIME IT! WITH ABRAKADOODLE – a fun morning of creating messy creations, including SLIME, inspired by American artist Steven Kleindorfer known for using swooping patterns of vibrant colors and shapes.
Grades K-4, Tuesday, February 20th, 10 am to 12:30 pm, at the Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, $55 includes all materials (non-residents $65)
Paint It, Slime It – details and registration form

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Reader says the single defining issue of the election was not the garage – it was to get rid of the toxic trio of Albert-Paul-Gwenn

3 amigos in action Ridgewood NJ

the single defining issue of the election was not the garage – it was to get rid of the toxic trio of Albert-Paul-Gwenn. Even though they weren’t running, they had their minions running. And buckle your seatbelts, because “they” are working hard to get two new people in to do their bidding. Voigt is chomping at the bit to get some Aronsohn cronies on the dais with him. It could happen. They lost before, and they did not like it.

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Reader sugests annual “impact fees” for every unit above the usual permitted density

CBD high density housing

Does The garage allows developers to count the parking spaces there as required parking for the new developments? Since we are screwed by former council approvals the only way to cover the added costs of these new units is to charge ongoing annual “impact fees” for every unit above the usual permitted density. If 50 units are built where 25 is the usual permissible then the additional should bee charged for each bedroom multiplied by the cost of annual student expenditure . So if It costs $20,000 per year per student in the BOE budget,, and a unit has 2 bedrooms,then an annual impact fee of $40,0000 plus assessed real estate taxes. So 25 extra units have 50 extra bedroom require $1,000,0000 annual fees to the village.

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Reader says the retail landscape is forever changed, by building a garage, we are not going to stop or slow the inevitable outcome

Whole Foods installs Amazon E lockers in Ridgewood

How does anyone that has half a brain think that we as Village tax payers should pay for a parking garage in order to prop up the various trinket stores or shops in this town? Online shopping is not going away and will only get bigger. The argument that we need a garage to accommodate shoppers is absolutely incredible. If shop owners in this town think that slumping sales are due to lack of parking near their stores and not due to Amazon and other related online outlets, they are in denial. We all need to come to the realization that the retail landscape is forever changed, by building a garage, we are not going to stop or slow the inevitable outcome. If stores have to close, as unfortunate as that is, it’s reality….hopefully, fixed costs such as rent going down etc will help alleviate the pain of slower sales, but don’t be fooled…there is less foot traffic for retail and it’s only getting worse. I’ve sat here and read all the arguments for a garage, all claiming that no ones coming to Ridgewood to shop because of lack of parking….really? Are we that gullible to believe that? Less people are coming to this village because they can sit at home, go online and get whatever they order in a day or two…FACT.