Posted on 6 Comments

Reader says If the lease was written in favor of the business without the tax payers rights being considered it is time for Village Manager to make the proper adjustments

Roberta Sonenfeld

file photo by Boyd Loving

Bottom line is if this business was placed in a green acres park by past council and VM without following the proper procedures it is time for present council and VM to make the proper adjustments to the lease
If the lease was written in favor of the business without the tax payers rights being considered it is time for VM to make the proper adjustments
The fact that a business was placed in a residental neighborhood WITHOUT a trial period is absurd!! And the fact that it has been there for 21/2 years and the council and VM get endless complaints about the neighbors quality of life AND these have been ignored needs to be looked into too!

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WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 AM EST SUNDAY IN RIDGEWOOD

RHS_Snow_theridgewoodblog

January 6, 2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, the National Weather Service continues to issue a wind chill advisory for Ridgewood and Bergen County .

* WHAT…Very cold wind chills expected. The cold wind chills
will cause frostbite in as little as 30 minutes to exposed
skin. Expect wind chills to range from 10 below zero to 20
below zero.

* WHERE…Portions of northeast New Jersey, southern Connecticut
and southeast New York.

* WHEN…Until 8 AM EST Sunday.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A Wind Chill Advisory means that cold air and the wind will
combine to create low wind chills. Frost bite and hypothermia can
occur if precautions are not taken. Make sure you wear a hat and
gloves.

Posted on 1 Comment

Shoveling Snow: Winter Chore or Health Hazard?

Snow Blizzard of 2016 Ridgewood CBD

January 6,2017

by George Becker, M.D., Director, Emergency Department, The Valley Hospital

Ridgewood NJ, Believe it or not, winter has officially begun! And, although there has been a lack of significant snowfall and cold temperatures in our area, we should still be prepared for the possibility of more seasonable weather.

Typical winters in the Northeast are beautiful, especially after a fresh snowfall. However, as many of us know, the arrival of snow means that it is time to dust off our shovels and get to digging! We understand that shoveling snow is our winter norm, but did you know that shoveling snow can actually pose a serious cardiac health risk to some of us?

In fact, although most people are not in danger from shoveling, the American Heart Association (AHA) still shares useful tips for anyone shoveling snow in the winter. To begin with, the AHA recommends that those who don’t exercise on a regular basis, those that have a medical condition, or those that are middle age or older consult with a doctor before shoveling.

The AHA also has the following general tips for staying safe while shoveling:
Take frequent rest breaks during shoveling.
Don’t eat a heavy meal prior or soon after shoveling.
Use a small shovel or consider a snow thrower.
Don’t drink alcoholic beverages before or immediately after shoveling.
Be aware of the dangers of hypothermia.
Learn the heart attack warning signs and listen to your body.
Some signs that you might be having a heart attack are pain in the chest, arm(s), back, neck, jaw or stomach. You might also break out in a cold sweat, feel short of breath, nauseated, lightheaded, or uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness in the center of your chest.

If you are concerned that you may be having a heart attack, you should not hesitate about seeking medical treatment—every minute is crucial when experiencing a heart attack. Call 911 immediately or head directly to the closest emergency room.

Our Emergency Department, located at 223 N. Van Dien Avenue in Ridgewood, NJ is open 24/7, 365 days a year and is staffed with physicians who are board certified in emergency medicine.

Posted on January 17, 2017 by George Becker, M.D., Director, Emergency Department, The Valley Hospital :

https://toyourhealth.valleyhealth.com/blogs/valleyblogs/january-2017/shoveling-snow-winter-chore-or-health-hazard

Posted on 5 Comments

Gottheimer and Murphy Throw New Jersey Tax Hail Mary

Josh Gottheimer

January 6,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Fair Lawn NJ , Apparently the “Tax the Rich” philosophy of New Jersey lawmakers only applies to when Trenton taxes the rich and not anyone else . The “Taxing the Rich” mantra has driven the state to fiscal suicide and has become a euphemism for taxing everyone on everything .

Today, in a desperate last ditch attempt to prop up Trenton, Congressman Josh Gottheimer and Governor-elect Phil Murphy have joined together to offer a new Tax Plan for New Jersey. Murphy and Gottheimer’s “Hail Mary” Tax Bill looks to restore State and Local Tax (SALT) Deduction by providing a tax deduction for taxpayers who make charitable contributions to their state or other local governments.

The two will be joined by Congressman Bill Pascrell and the mayors of Fair Lawn, Paramus and Park Ridge who all expressed support for the plan and their eagerness to implement it, with state support, in their communities. The Tax Hike Bill took a two-by-four to the State of New Jersey, gutting the State and Local Deduction (SALT), sharply limiting New Jersey’s property tax deductions, and imposing a massive Tax Hike on Jersey families and businesses. The Tax Hike Bill was largely paid for on the backs of New Jersey taxpayers and, according to experts, will bring property values down by as much as twenty percent and send businesses and jobs to other states.

Plan restores the value of the State and Local Tax (SALT) Deduction by providing a tax deduction for taxpayers who make charitable contributions to their state or other local governments. States and local governments can establish or support funds that pay for local services, including schools, law enforcement, and infrastructure. Taxpayers can make “voluntary contributions” to these funds, for which they will receive an offsetting tax credit. The contributions will be deductible for federal tax purposes under existing law, even for those who pay the alternative minimum tax. This structure effectively restores the benefit of the lost state and local tax deduction to the extent of the contributions for most taxpayers who itemize.

The plan also does not to restore any level of fiscal sanity to the state on New Jersey .

Posted on 15 Comments

Attacks on Mayors Sons Erode Confidence in Ridgewood Police Department

Ridgewood Police Mt Carmel2

file photo by Boyd Loving

January 6, 2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, continued attacks on the mayors sons has begun to erode confidence in the ability of the police department to do its job. It ‘s only a matter of time before attorneys begin to argue that discrepancies in the police hiring process force the hiring of unqualified officers .

The attacks led by Don Delzio , and his cadre of pro garagzilla , pro RBSA turf field at Schedler and pro over-development of Ridgewood on the mayor have had the net effect of degrading the entire Ridgewood police force .

The fact is Ridgewood is a civil service police department like it or not you have to pass a test and a physical test and a psyche exam not matter who mommy or daddy is. If you look back 6 or7 years ago John Ward was the chief in Ridgewood and he couldn’t get his second son on the job. If the boss cant get his own son hired it doesn’t say much for nepotism. There is also the rule of 3 the hiring authority has to pick from the top 3 candidates if you are not there you have to wait.

Mayor Knudsen’s husband is a police officer. It is very common for children in professions of this nature to follow in their parents foot steps. My brother was career army. All his children considered military service. My two nephews are NYC Firemen. Their grandfather was a big wig official in The NYC Fire Department. The tests for Fire and Police are rigorous and we do hire Ridgewood residents first and foremost and as far as police It is a civil service appointment and the guidelines are strictly enforced.

Ridgewood is civil service and village council has no control over hiring. New Jersey Civil Service dictates all hiring procedures. Don and his friends if they are so interested should apply below:

Applications are available for The New Jersey Civil Service Commission Law Enforcement Examination. The Ridgewood Police Department uses the eligibility list provided by the State to hire candidates. The test is given every three years.

1. Applicants must be citizens of the United States as of August 31, 2016.

2. Applicants must meet the residency requirements of the appointing jurisdiction as of August 31, 2016 and may be required to maintain continuous residency in that jurisdiction up to and including the date of appointment.

3. Applicants must be high school or vocational high school graduates, or possess an approved High School Equivalency Certificate by August 31, 2016.

4. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age as of August 31, 2016. Applicants for Municipal Police Officer and its bilingual variant positions cannot be over 35 years of age (one is considered over 35 on the day of his/her 35th birthday) as of August 31, 2016, unless they meet the exceptions in “Maximum hiring age requirement for Municipal Police Officer” as indicated on the Fact Sheet. NOTE: The age 35 maximum hiring requirement applies only to Municipal Police Officer and its bilingual variants.

5. Appointees will be required to possess a driver’s license valid in New Jersey only if the operation of a vehicle, rather than employee mobility, is necessary to perform the essential duties of the position.

6. Appointees may be required to pass thorough medical and drug screening, and psychological/psychiatric examinations. Failure of any of these is cause for removal from that title area.

7. Appointees will be required to successfully complete a training program mandated by the NJ Police Training Commission. This training must be completed prior to enrollment in the Police and Fire Retirement System.

8. After you complete and submit your online application, you will receive a confirmation page which includes a link and access code to the Candidate Preparation Guide. Please print your confirmation page prior to going to the link.

An abbreviated application is used for this title. Information regarding education, experience, licenses/certifications, training or internships is not collected.

The Ridgewood Police Department provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, The Ridgewood Police Department complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment New Jeesey. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

https://rpd.ridgewoodnj.net/index.php/recruitment

Posted on 13 Comments

Reader asks So why doesn’t the council do a true economic evaluation (and read the Green Acres law) and give the residents a true perspective?

Green Acres theridgewoodblog.net

Isn’t it time to say “yes some people LOVE Health Barn” but how much is it costing the Village of Ridgewood? As has been pointed out, their activities spread over much of the property rent free while preventing residents from having access to “Their park”. They take many more than their assigned parking spots, for free. They even serve alcohol on Village property! Has anyone checked into the insurance they need? Or is she “self insured” by Ridgewood? A drinker gets into an accident? Ridgewood has the deep pockets and it is OUR property on which the drinking occurred. I’m willing to bet that she has not told her insurance company that she allows alcohol to be served there. She certainly doesn’t want her basic policy (if she has one) to be raised to cover that. Why should she? So far Ridgewood has provided immediate free response to all her requests. Susan, as much as you love them, you have said their costs to the village should be counted in. So why doesn’t the council do a true economic evaluation (and read the Green Acres law) and give the residents a true perspective? So far the only “Green” in this whole boondoggle seems to be her bank account! Ridgewood, instead, apparently is happy to allow her freedom, at no additional cost, to do anything she wants. That leads to red ink for us. You can’t keep avoiding reality. Villagers will not shut up until some honest answers are presented by the Council. We’ve been asking for several years; how long are you going to continue to not acknowledge we have a problem? And if you claim there is no problem, please give us honest answers that prove it!

Posted on 14 Comments

Reader says Councilmen Voigt Misled Voters to get Elected

Jeff Voigt Ridgewood

Let’s look at what Jeff Voigt run his campaign on. He misled us with all his fancy signs & quotes. What a liar….. people voted for him & what he told us be wanted to do for the Village. Such a big disappointment for the residents & for the residents who thought he shared the same views.

Posted on 4 Comments

Reader feels Healthbarn misrepresented itself back in 2015 about the activities it was actually offering

Habernickel HealthBarn USA protest

Seems this business is ruffling a lot of feathers. Maybe if questions were answered there would not be such negativity.

If the business did not misrepresent itself back in 2015 and was transparent about the activities it was actually offering the village may have all said NOWAY! But because of the BS that was fed to everyone it seems like the ones in the know are wrong

If the business had nothing to hide or worry about it would not need losers like Jeff and Roberta to advocate for it

The whole thing is a sham just like Jeff and his buddies and his lies to friends and neighbors to get office

Posted on 5 Comments

Reader raises more questions on HealthBarn lease

Healthbarn USA ridgewood

file photo by Boyd Loving

What needs to be explored is #1 what does this business do for Ridgewood besides pay a below market rent?

What benefits are there for Ridgewood to place a business in a park? To have changed the use of a home and whole residential area?

Why are certain folk supporting this to the extreme of embarrassing themselves?

And most importantly how much is this business costing the town of Ridgewood to be here?

And lastly if the business was down the street in waldwick would Ridgewood lose out on anything besides the under market rent?

Any class she does for the town or Ridgewood she gets paid,so why do we tax payers have to give up a park and a rental property?

Posted on 1 Comment

Village of Ridgewood Winter Reminders

snow day

January 5,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Village Manager Heather Mailander reminds everyone that , “We experienced a substantial snowfall today, along with windy conditions and extremely cold temperatures.  Our crews have been working since early this morning, clearing the ice and snow.”

Garbage collection today on the west side was extremely difficult, due to the icy conditions.  Because of this continued extreme weather, please place your garbage cans at the end of your driveway for collection, until further notice.  Please follow this practice of placing your garbage cans at the end of your driveway any time there is a snow/ice event.  Remember that after the snow/ice event, until there is a clear path to your rear yard garbage cans which is free of ice and snow, continue placing your garbage cans at the end of your driveway.  Recycling barrels will continue to be picked up at the end of your driveways, as usual. We appreciate your assistance in keeping our Village employees safe.

As a reminder, all sidewalks in residential districts must be cleared within 24 hours of the snow falling. Please do not place snow into the street; instead, place it back onto your own property.  In addition, if you have a fire hydrant on your property, please clear it of any snow accumulation.

Posted on 9 Comments

Ridgewood Councilmen Voigt At It Again !

Jeff Voigt Ridgewood Council

January 4,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Resident Jacqueline Hone explains why she thinks Jeff Voigt’ s letter/behavior is “appalling.”

Letter: In support of HealthBarn https://www.northjersey.com/story/opinion/readers/2018/01/02/letter-support-healthbarn/997445001/

A resident, trusting in our local government, came forward to state his concerns and file a complaint about a Village matter. Along with his complaint, he provided pertinent information substantiating his claim (some of which is above).

Councilman Voigt published a statement, in the local newspaper and social media, smearing the resident, attacking his character and the complaint.

It is the Council’s fiduciary obligation to investigate citizen’s complaints, without bias, and provide a determination to the complaining resident. It is not their job to publicly slander residents, spread malicious gossip or tarnish a resident’s reputation in order to endorse one side.

Healthbarn advocate or not, a resident has the right to complain and question the Village on process, without fear of reprisal. Shame on Voigt for this attack and for misleading residents to believe the complaint was against Healthbarn. Residents are questioning the Village not the business. The deflecting has to stop.

Posted on 2 Comments

Delayed Ridgewood School Opening – Friday – January 5, 2018

Snow Blizzard of 2016 Ridgewood CBD

file photo by Boyd Loving

January 5,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Delayed Ridgewood School Opening – Friday – January 5, 2018❄️: Due to the hazardous road conditions expected in the morning, all Ridgewood Schools will operate under the delayed opening schedule. Under the delayed opening schedule, the school day will begin two hours later than usual.

School bus schedules will operate two hours later. Please keep in mind that snow drifts, icy roads and walkways may cause additional delays. For students who are walking to school or to bus stops, please allow extra time and use caution.

Elementary school children who have not ordered lunch must bring a bag lunch to school. There will not be sufficient time for children to go home for lunch when there is a delayed opening.

Thank you and please drive safely.

Posted on 7 Comments

Ridgewood Yardwaste Drop Off

yard_work_theridgewoodblog

January 4,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Yardwaste Drop Off – There will not be a truck available to dispose of yardwaste on Tuesdays and Thursdays ONLY for the month of January at the Recycling Center.  You may dispose of yardwaste on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM.

Posted on 11 Comments

Reader claims Vagianos owns this town !

Itsgreektome_theridgewoodblog

Gosh, it is impossible to criticize this mayor or VC without being called names or even worse being named an Aronsohn supporter. I like Susan, her husband also is a noble man. I want her to succeed for her sake and also for ours so Aronsohn & Co do not come back and that’s why I criticize. It is not too much to ask for better streets, lighting etc. These are items that affect everyone.
One thing I have learned during my life in Ridgewood is that Vagianos owns this town.

Posted on 14 Comments

Reader says don’t forget the hostile tenant is a friend of former manager Roberta and classmate

Habernickel Park Gate House

There is a claus I believe #7 in the lease where the Village can terminate. Why they have not done this is beyond reason. NO answers. The tenant is hostile and has filed reports against neighbors so maybe they are doing their HW before setting her off into a suit against the village as she has threatened!

Rumor of her suing her old tenant is being looked into to.

Great person to rent to!

Aside from that the lease is vague and was written under the supervision of the old council in favor of the tenant not the town!! The 3 amigos and Roberta had an agenda to get this business in this space…don’t forget the hostile tenant is a friend of former manager Roberta and classmate

There is also an appendix to the lease so you really have to dig to get all the facts and “gifts” that were given to this business it was not written with the tax payers or residents of Ridgewood in mind at all!

Again a mis use of tax dollars and should be terminated immediately but has not…I believe because of the threat of a law suit.

Sad situation for those neighbors!!