January 11,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, at last night meeting resident Rurik Halaby claimed Mayor Knudsen was selling tires form here home and asks if Ridgewood Fire Officials had inspected the sight because it could be a fire hazard as well as an environmental hazard?
While the mayor did her best to hold a straight face and denied it , the peanut gallery was left with ,”where did that come from” moment.
January 11,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, at last nights Village Council meeting during the comment period resident Bill McCandless summed up the economic realities of the Hudson Street Parking garage .
Speaking to the council McCandless said, “The Village taxpayers face a new reality this year one that the fiscal state of the Village has not faced before , the decision and progress around certain issues will need to be reexamined coming into this year and we are going to need to clear the decks on a few things and reexamine how we prioritize things first and foremost are we burdening the taxpayers with new fees and taxes and if we are is the return on that investment greater than those taxes and fees and can we prove it.”
“One place we can not and have not been able to prove this is the proposal for the garage , the case against the garage is strong and is powered by undisputable faces that nee to be considered before plunging the village taxpayers deeper into debt and creating more congestion on are already over crowed and over stressed roads .”
“A recent study done the garage proposal show there is more than enough parking capacity in the CBD and what we have is not utilized , there is no fiscal plan for the garage pays for it self or through increased CBD tax receipts , it is a net loss.”
“Traffic at every intersection in and around the CBD on both sides of the tracks will be worse with the addition.
The intersections in and around the CBD are already over capacity and many are blow standard for the existing traffic .
There is no logical argument for the garage , the only thing the garage will add is tax payer debt and high fees for every shopper dinner and more congestion across an already congested set of intersections .
why add what we don’t need ,cant afford and creates worse conditions on any one who wants to come to Ridgewood.
I’ve listen read and consumed all sides and see no compelling case supported by facts , case studies or logic that benefits the public good.
The coming revolutions of autonomous cars and vehicles this reality is closer than the public realizes , less than 10years away when the need for parking capacity will be hugely impacted .
How does more debt and congestion serve the village , the down side deeply out weighs the limited upside for a few more spots in the most congested part of the Village ?”
Then McCandless proposed the following simple solution :
“lease open new lots were possible
stop the meter feeding by employees
and plan for the driverless future “
photos courtesy of Valley Hospital Facebook Page
January 11,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Valley Hospital employees and volunteers recently came together to fulfill a patient’s wish to marry his partner right here in the Hospital!
Mark DeBenedectis expressed to Cheel 4 Neuro Charge Nurse Michelle Bower, RN, his wish to marry his partner, Greg, before he was scheduled to have major surgery.
With his surgery taking place just two days away, the entire team jumped into action, transforming the Terrace into a beautiful wedding venue the very next day, complete with decorations, flowers, a harpist, a photographer to memorialize the day and a chaplain to officiate the service. The day was complete with family and friends present to witness the joyous occasion.
January 11,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, in the what many residents describe as the ultimate irony Councilmen Jeff Voigt when to the defense of the CRAB or Community Relations Advisory Board in a letter to the editor .In Defending CRAB meetings in Ridgewood ( https://www.northjersey.com/story/opinion/readers/2018/01/09/letter-defending-crab-meetings-ridgewood/1017985001/ ) Councilmen Jeff Voigt attempted to lend his support to an organization and its leader that is not without controversy .
While I am not going to argue the merits of the organization , Voigt went on to complement its leader Jan Phillips , saying “Jan Philips has done over the years in making CRAB inclusive; as a vehicle for educating residents; and in pushing forward issues that make us consider what is right and wrong in how we treat others. We need more “Jans” in Ridgewood “., yea mean like calling residents “grandstanders ” in a Village Council meeting or dismissing Mayor Susan Knudsen by telling people Paul Aronsohn still runs this town? No we defiantly don’t need more “Jans” and of coarse attempting to bully the mayor and the Village council over the “gay pride” flag.
Voigt wasted no time going to the time honored track of attacking “anonymous posters” on the Ridgewood blog . Perhaps if he read posts more carefully and he would see that most of the “nasty” comments are from his and Paul Aronsohn’s supporters, and former members of the FAC . While I am not going to rattle off names at this time , a quick peek at some comments and they read surprisingly similar to things said on several Facebook group pages and of coarse said at Village Council meetings . I also seem to remember several incidents where the councilmen himself used some “nasty comments” , toward several residents ,several council members and the current mayor.
Photos courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook
January 11,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood Police issued at least one (1) summons in connection with a two (2) vehicle crash at the intersection of Ackerman Avenue and Bellair Road, in Ridgewood that occurred on Wednesday afternoon, 01/10. Two (2) ambulances were required to transport individuals injured in the mishap to The Valley Hospital. All injuries were reported to be non life threatening in nature. Both wrecked vehicles were removed from the scene by a tow truck. Ridgewood Fire Department personnel attended to a minor crash related fluid spill. A traffic control device was clobbered by one (1) of the passenger vehicles involved in the collision.
![Food_For_Life_COVER[1]](https://theridgewoodblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Food_For_Life_COVER1.jpg "The Four Time Undefeated World Champion and Cooking Personality, Laila Ali, Will Appear at Bookends in Ridgewood")
January 10,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Laila Ali will be at Bookends in Ridgewood on Wednesday, January 24th @ 6:00pm. The Four Time Undefeated World Champion and Cooking Personality, Laila Ali, will sign her new book:Food for Life
Laila Amaria Ali (born December 30, 1977) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2007. She is the daughter of legendary boxing champion Muhammad Ali with his third wife, Veronica Porché Ali, and is the eighth of her father’s nine children.[2] During her career, from which she retired undefeated, she held the WBC, WIBA, IWBF and IBA female super middleweight titles, and the IWBF light heavyweight title.
Special Instruction for Our Events :Due to the popularity of our events, many of which sell out, we require that you preorder your books ahead of time by visiting our website at www.mkt.com/bookends or calling the store at (201)445-0726.
As always, Books must be purchased from Bookends Bookstore in order to attend events.
Appearing authors will only autograph books purchased at Bookends and must have valid Bookends Receipt.
Availability & pricing for all autographed books subject to change.
First In Line Certificate use is the discretion of Bookends. Blackout dates may apply.
Bookends cannot guarantee that the books that are Autographed will always be First Printings.
Autographed books purchased at Bookends are non-returnable.
While we try to ensure that all customers coming to Bookends’ signings will meet authors and get their books signed, we cannot guarantee that all attendees will meet the author or that all books will be signed. We cannot control inclement weather, author travel schedules or authors who leave prematurely.
Bookends, 211 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201-445-0726
There was never any college requirement. The same residency rules have been in effect for decades. The ethics board told Delzio his complaints were nonsense. You stupid hashtags won’t make your lies true. Another thread post shows the civil service list predates her council service. So #delzioisaliar #lyibgwontmakeittrue #trustfacts #truthprevails #isupportsusan
file photo by Boyd Loving
I posted on the blog in support of the mayor and the police after reading the attacks on the police department. I’m not a member of the mayors so called crew and find your comment is offensive.
Why on heaven’s earth would the mayor or her supports bring the police into the conversation. The discussion of police stems from a complaint by Dan delzino that was dismissed by an ethics department.
Since the ethics violation was dismissed why did mr. Delzino take to the Ridgewood blog to anonymously attack the woman and the police.
I support mayor knudsen and do so without being part your fantasy crew. More like mr. Delzino has a crew attacking the mayor and police, delzino and his crew should stop.
January 10,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood
Ridgewood NJ, ,according to the Bergen Record ( https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/bergen/ridgewood/2018/01/09/20-m-prepaid-taxes/1007599001/ )the Village of Ridgewood received an astonishing $21.2 million from residents looking to prepay their 2018 property taxes in December of 2017.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act signed by President Donald Trump on Dec. 22 now caps the amount of state and local taxes that can be deducted on federal income tax returns at $10,000. In a state where the average homeowner’s yearly property tax bill surpasses that number by almost $8,000, according to the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, residents headed to their local tax offices to try to pay by year’s end and deduct their 2018 property taxes from 2017’s federal taxes.
Ridgewood was not alone ,the Record reported that Montclair, residents jammed the coffers with $28 million and both Tenafly and Wayne saw more than $16 million each in prepayments.
Ridgewood Chief Financial Officer Robert Rooney told the Record that while Ridgewood’s $21.2 million total includes payments dating back to Dec. 1, $19 million of that was received within the last two weeks of the year, and $15 million in the three days after Christmas alone. Rooney added that the total payments in Ridgewood came from 3,500 separate transactions in a municipality where the average property tax bill is $17,180 per year.
January 10,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, If automated telephone calls have been blowing up your phone, you’re not alone. Recent data released by the United States Federal Trade Commission revealed the robocall business is booming, with complaints skyrocketing in 2017.
Four and a half million people filed complaints with the FTC about robocalls over the course of the year—more than one million more than the 3.4 million people who filed such complaints in 2016.
New data from the Federal Trade Commission show that New Jersey residents on the FTC’s Do Not Call list made more complaints, per capita, than any other state about robocalls last year. All told, state residents filed 321,393 complaints, which works out to about 3,600 people out of every 100,000. The next-highest state, Delaware, had 2,900 complaints per 100,000 residents.
Nationally, complaints rose 32% last year, to 4.5 million, and that followed a 60% increase in 2016 and a 22% increase in 2015.
The FTC cites several factors for the increase. Calls can be made cheaply over the Internet from anywhere in the world, and technology makes it easy for someone who does not want to follow the law against calling someone on the Do Not Call list to “spoof” the source of the call.
The former mayor Paul Arosohn used to drive residents crazy with his over use of robocalls.
For blocking the unwanted robocalls , sign up for a third-party app that can help prevent the calls from coming through. A favorite of consumers—and the FTC—is Nomorobo , an app that won the FTC’s Robocall Challenge.
Nomorobo operates by using a feature called “simultaneous ring.” When enabled, simultaneous ring will ring on more than one number at the same time. Nomorobo becomes the first number and uses the simultaneous ring feature to screen the call before it rings on the user’s device.
If the app determines the call is legitimate, it will allow it to move forward. If it’s an illegal robocall, Nomorobo will block it. The user’s phone will still ring once but will stop immediately after, letting them know that Nomorobo stopped the call.
Nomorobo is available for free for personal use on landlines. It is also available for Android and iPhone, though not for free. The mobile version of Nomorobo costs $1.99 per month per device, which may well be worth it if the phone is ringing off the hook with fake calls.
Voight is a disaster and meets with residents privately to bash knudsen, Sedon and Hache. He orchestrates public comment and asked me to come to the microphone and accuse Knudsen of doing something illegal. Not only did I refuse I told Knudsen everything voigt said. He is a nasty liar.
Very true that Jeff meets with tax payers privately. He has tried to have meetings with myself and my husband. We found it odd
Janaury 9,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Parents & guardians, the next Tech Night is this Thursday. Here’s a note from Asst. Superintendent Ms. Stacie Poelstra:
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Happy New Year! We are delighted to be hosting the 4th Tech Night in our five-part series next Thursday, January 11th. This event will be held at 7:00 PM in the Campus Center at Ridgewood High School.
The goal of the next program is to make parents aware of parental controls that various mobile phone carriers provide, so parents/guardians can make informed decisions about their child’s tech use. Several providers including Verizon, Sprint, T Mobile and Apple will be at this event to assist you and answer questions.
Additionally, one of the breakout sessions will be a presentation by Finding Your Individuality on “Talking about Boundaries and Technology with Special Needs Youth.” In this session, Melissa Keyes DiGioia and Tracy Higgins will discuss ways apps, social media, and digital technology may be used for interpersonal communication. They will also explore the importance of boundary setting and decision making regarding content that may be shared with others.
We are pleased to bring you this unique opportunity on January 11 and look forward to seeing you!
Sincerely,
Stacie Poelstra
January 9,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood School System has announced a school Calendar update: Due to the snow day used on January 4, Ridgewood Public Schools will be open on Friday, May 25. Please make a note!
January 9,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Find out what’s happening with the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce. The Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors Meeting on Wednesday, January 10, 2018 at 8pm at 27 Chestnut St., Ridgewood, NJ 07450.
THE RIDGEWOOD VILLAGE COUNCIL’S PUBLIC WORKSHOP AGENDA JANUARY 10, 2018 7:30 P.M.
7:30 pm – Call to Order – Mayor
Statement of Compliance with Open Public Meeting Act
Mayor: “Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by a posting on the bulletin board in Village Hall, by mail to the Ridgewood News, The Record, and by submission to all persons entitled to same as provided by law of a schedule including the date and time of this meeting.”
Roll Call – Village Clerk
Flag Salute/Moment of Silence
Public Comments (Not to Exceed 3 Minutes per Person – 40 Minutes in Total)
Discussion
Ridgewood Water
Bond Ordinance – Carr GAC Treatment System
Award of Professional Services Contract – Public Policy Consultant
Award of Professional Services Contract – Change Order – Booster/Transfer Station Improvements
Award State Contract – Chlorine Analyzers and Supplies
Bid Rejection – Cedar Hill Rehabilitation
Award Contract – Cedar Hill Rehabilitation
Bid Rejection – 2018 Well Improvements
Parking
Discussion of Extension of Deadline for RFPs for Hudson Street Parking Garage
Budget
Award of Second Year of Contract – Maintenance of Irrigation Systems and Water Fountains
Amendment to Contract Previously Awarded– Two Police Vehicles
Bond Ordinance – Paving
Award of Bergen County Cooperative Purchasing Program – Rock Salt
Award of Professional Engineering Services – Phase I Security Improvements at Village Hall
Award Contract – Document Management System
Policy
Approve Mutual Aid Plan and Rapid Deployment Force
Discuss Compliance with Federal Civil Rights Requirements
Discuss Donations to Parks and Recreation Department – Community Center & Landscape Elements
Approve Continued Participation in Childhood Lead Exposure Prevention Project
Encroachment – Enclosure for Restaurant Entrance
Continuation of Suspension of Ordinance for Certain Illuminated Signs
Municipal Charitable Deductions
Operations
Discuss Burbio Calendar App
Major Soil Permit
Report of Independent Arborist – Sycamore Tree at Graydon Pool
Improvements to Kings Pond Park
Review of December 13, 2017 Public Meeting Agenda
Manager’s Report
Council Reports
Public Comments (Not to Exceed 5 Minutes per Person)
Resolution to go into Closed Session
Closed Session
Personnel – Appointments to Boards and Committees; Re-Appointment of Registrar
Contract Negotiations – Elks Club
Adjournment
