Reader …“Who is so well connected on Sherman place?” Apparently not the residents! They are not in favor of a ban, and did not ask for one. The residents of Pomander had “friends” on the old council, were granted no parking on their street and that traffic is now on Sherman. Instead of recognizing they have created an issue on Sherman, the residents of POMANDER suggested no parking on Sherman either, despite the idea that residents on Sherman actually don’t want the limits there. Unbelievable.
and another reader ….Sherman place residents have long fought with evidence and diligence. Not connection. Someone should Ask about the connection on pomander that landed them in this mess to begin with.
What a joke. That last council bites us in the ass endlessly from beyond the grave.
Sherman place is a nightmare and an accident waiting to happen- even without cars parked there.
Valley hospital used local streets for their employees and visitors ruining the neighborhood. That shouldnt be allowed either.
Ridgewood NJ, someone commented on Facebook , “Yesterday a young man rang my doorbell and said he worked for a company hired by PSEG and asked me to check my bill to see if I was being charged for “dirty energy.” I told him it wasn’t a good time, so he said I should have my bill handy because they would send someone else next week. Has anyone else had this experience? It sounds really fishy to me, and I can’t find anything about it online. I messaged PSEG.”
Alarm bells go off in out head , the comments continued , “Other neighbors saw him walking through the neighborhood earlier. I should have called the police immediately but I was working and I didn’t think too much about it at the time. I just got this from RPD: “Please call the police for a response if this happens again. 201-652-3900,” so sounds like fraud. Blatant, though- it was Saturday, early in the afternoon.”
PSE&G says , if you think you may have been a victim of a scam, file a report with your local police department, and contact us by calling 1-800-436-7734. Also, you can contact the Federal Trade Commission and file a complaint online.
Sales person perhaps, scammer or just casing your house more likely.
With milestone, bridge becomes the Port Authority’s first all-cashless tolling facility
The Bayonne Bridge’s new elevated roadway will open to drivers on Monday at 5 a.m., ushering in a new era for the 85-year-old arch bridge that will now become the Port Authority’s first all-cashless tolling facility.
The new roadway is 215 feet above the Kill van Kull and 64 feet above the original bridge deck. It is part of the Port Authority’s “Raise the Roadway” initiative to provide navigational clearance for the larger container vessels now using the expanded Panama Canal that are expected to arrive at all agency port facilities later this year.
The project represents a unique engineering achievement, during which the new roadway was built while the existing roadway remained in service with limited disruption to traffic.
When the new roadway opens, the existing toll plaza will be taken out of service and replaced with an overhead gantry, mounted with electronic toll collection equipment. Drivers will no longer slow down or stop at a toll booth, and will benefit from being able to continue driving through the crossing at the posted speed limit.
More than 90 percent of Bayonne Bridge drivers already use E-ZPass and they will experience no other changes. However, E-ZPass users must make sure their tag is properly mounted in the vehicle’s windshield, to ensure it will be detected by the electronic toll collecting equipment.
For the less than 10 percent of Bayonne Bridge drivers who do not use E-ZPass, an overhead camera will photograph the vehicle’s license plate and a toll bill will be mailed to the vehicle’s registered owner. These bills must be paid by the due date noted on the bill. Unpaid toll bills will be assessed additional fees and ultimately escalate to violations, with a $50 fee assessed for each violation.
Further information about cashless tolling at the Bayonne Bridge can be found at www.panynj.gov/BayonneToll.
The Port Authority aggressively enforces toll payment through a multi-pronged approach that focuses primarily on persistent toll violators. Unpaid toll violations are sent to a collection agency and may be pursued through litigation. Toll evaders also may face criminal charges and arrest by Port Authority Police. The agency also partners with the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles to seek the suspension of vehicle registrations for persistent violators with New York-registered vehicles.
When the new roadway opens, all traffic crossing Route 440 between Bayonne, N.J. and Staten Island, N.Y. will be directed by signs to the bridge’s new approach roadways and over the elevated span.
“On February 20, we will make history,’’ said Steven Plate, the Port Authority’s chief of major capital projects. “The Bayonne Bridge, a marvel of 20th century engineering, will become a groundbreaking innovation of the 21st century.’’
At first, the new Bayonne Bridge roadway will continue to accommodate one lane of traffic in each direction. The new roadway will reach its full width – four 12-foot lanes plus inner and outer shoulders, a median barrier and a 10-foot shared-use path for cyclists and pedestrians – by 2019.
The Bayonne Bridge “Raise the Roadway” project will enable today’s larger, more efficient and more environmentally beneficial container ships to pass beneath the Bayonne Bridge when traveling to Port Newark/Elizabeth and Howland Hook. The project is under construction by the joint venture of Skanska/Koch/Kiewit Infrastructure Co. (JV).
Locke said tolerance was the chief characteristic of the true Christian.
Jon Miltimore | June 14, 2016
John Locke (1632-1704) was one of the most influential thinkers of the Enlightenment. The English philosopher’s ideas are at the core of the American Founding; in fact, it can be argued that his thoughts shaped the minds of the American Revolution more than any single thinker.
While Locke is best known for his treatises on government, he also wrote on religion.
Locke was a Christian who grew up during the Thirty Years War (1638-1648), one of the most destructive conflicts in Europe’s bloody history. The war was largely a religious conflict, the product of the Protestation Reformation that divided European states into more than a thousand Protestant and Catholic states.
The conflict no doubt shaped Locke’s views and Christian philosophy.
A deeply religious man, Locke made the case for religious tolerance in a famous letter he wrote in 1689 titled “A Letter Concerning Toleration.”
“Since you are pleased to inquire what are my thoughts about the mutual toleration of Christians in their different professions of religion, I must needs answer you freely that I esteem that toleration to be the chief characteristic mark of the true Church.”
Locke said Christian tolerance (“charity, meekness, and good-will in general”) should be extended to all people, not just fellow Christians, and those who fail in this regard fall “short of being a true Christian himself.”
By what authority does he draw on to make this claim? The New Testament.
“If the Gospel and the apostles may be credited, no man can be a Christian without charity and without that faith which works, not by force, but by love.”
Locke closed his essay by stating that Christians seeking to advance the Christian Church through “arms that do not belong to the Christian warfare.”
Ridgewood NJ, Emmanuel invites children of all ages to join in a one hour blanket making session on March 12th at 10:30am-11:30am in Heritage Hall as part of the Sunday School Christian Education program. No sewing is required. Children’s scissors are used in making the blankets. Contact the Church Office at 201-444-7300 or via email at [email protected] to sign up.
Leslie Maltz Taylor, a representative from Project Linus, will lead the one hour blanket making session during Sunday school at Emmanuel. Emmanuel will donate the completed blankets to Project Linus, a non-profit organization that provides homemade blankets to children in need.
Women of Emmanuel are supplying the soft plush material for the blanket making project. Marilyn Clark, head of Women of Emmanuel, stated, “We are excited to bring this blanket making session to Emmanuel. With the use of children’s scissors, it is easy to do. Anyone can do it.”
Emmanuel, founded in 1891, is celebrating its 125th Anniversary Year and maintains a tradition of community outreach. Emmanuel is located at 14 Hope Street, at the corner of Hope Street and East Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ. The building is ADA accessible and all are invited to attend.
Updated February 18, 2017
Posted February 18, 2017
By Susan K. Livio | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
With the Governor and the entire Legislature on the ballot this election year, New Jerseyans will likely hear numerous politicians promise to reduce their especially high property tax bills.
We pay among the highest property taxes in the nation. Last year, the average homeowner paid $8,500 per home, a 2.35 percent increase over 2015, according to the most recent state calculations.
Both the Christie administration and the Legislature agree the annual increases would have been worse had they not passed a 2 percent spending cap on most local expenses.
As unpleasant as it is to admit, there are several facts about the Garden State that make bringing down property taxes very difficult, according to Marc Pfeiffer, assistant director for the Bloustein Local Government Research Center at Rutgers Center. (He previously helped manage six municipalities in central and north Jersey, then more than a quarter-century at the state office overseeing local government spending.)
“New Jersey has had property tax problem for roughly 140 years. We have been talking about this forever,” Pfeiffer said. “If we could have solved it easily, it would have been done.”
In no particular order, here are 7 reasons why they’re so high.
Glen Rock NJ, We are seeking chorus members and principals ages 16+ for our upcoming musical production of the Gilbert & Sullivan classic, Patience! Whether you are professionally trained or plan to study theatre, OR you just enjoy choral singing for fun, we would love to have you join us! We have all types of singers in our casts. The show is in English, and will be performed both as concerts and as a full-scale production.
Thursday, February 23
7:30-9 p.m.*
Glen Rock Community Church
354 Rock Road
Glen Rock, NJ 07452
Stage Director: Milly Gonzalez
Musical Director: Paul Geidel
*Do not arrive later than 9, but we will hear people longer than 9 p.m. depending on turnout.
Drive to the back of the church, enter through the main door, and the audition room is the first door on the right.
Please prepare at least 32 bars of a song (if not the whole song) that shows off your voice. Singing a song from the show is perfectly acceptable, especially if auditioning for a certain role. An accompanist will be provided.
You may be asked to read from the script. There is no dance audition, though the show will be blocked. Bring a headshot and/or resume if you have them.
Rehearsals will mostly be on Mondays and Thursdays from 7:30-10 p.m in Glen Rock and Ridgewood (both down the street from train stations and bus stops for transportation to NYC). Most parts will be double cast due to our long performance season. Please check our website for our performance schedule and email [email protected] or Facebook message us with any questions.
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood Guild will be hosting a fund raiser for it’s Ridgewood Guild International Film Festival Oscar watching event.
Come walk the red carpet – Dress as your favorite movie star or movie character [optional] – DJ – Hollywood Trivia – Oscar Ballots – Prizes – Delicious Appetizers & Drinks! $50 Cash Bar or $65 for Open Bar. Join us at this Ridgewood Guild International Film Festival Fund Raiser!!!!
Join us on Friday, February 24 from 7:30 – 11:30pm at park West Loft (38 Oak St.) for an evening of fun on behalf of the Ridgewood Guild International Film Festival.
Imagine you are attending the Academy Awards – Ladies can wear a gown, men can wear a tuxedo (or a nice dress and suit, black tie NOT required). Or, if you’re feeling festive come dressed as a character from an Oscar-nominated movies from this year, or any past year.
There will be a red carpet with an interviewer and photographers. There will be Oscar trivia and gift certificates awarded for best costume and whoever picks the most winners on the Oscar ballot (The Academy Awards are only 48 hrs later).
Hot and cold appetizers will be served, and there will be a pasta station as well. We will also have dessert, coffee, tea and soft drinks.
There are 2 ticket options, $50 (if you opt for a cash bar) or $65 (premium shelf open bar until 10pm).
Tickets can be purchased by sending a check to The Ridgewood Guild, 41 N. Broad Street, Ridgewood, NJ 07450.
Please, come out and support arts in our community. You will get a lot of bang for your buck, and have a fun and memorable night with your friends and neighbors! We hope to see you there!
Ridgewood NJ, recent letter to the editor of the Ridgewood news causes a furor on social media. Initially, the letter suggested among other things that the former “breath of fresh air ” Village manager was fired when in fact she resigned.
The misinformation in the letter was later edited out by the Ridgewood News but not before the damage was done.
The staff of the Ridgewood blog had noticed the letter but felt it was what we call a “put up job” where a local special interest, usually a supporter of the former mayor and his schemes puts up a relative or friend to promote garagezilla and to attack the current council.
The push for garagezilla now being framed as the end all to be all solution in Ridgewood guaranteed to solve all problems in town.
The killer line in the letter for us was,”there are plenty of empty lots in the central business district perfect for a parking garage “.The key words being “empty lots”.
Jacqueline Hone called out the Ridgewood News on Facebook claiming, “RIDGEWOOD FAKE NEWS OUTLET ⁉️ Why didn’t the Ridgewood News fact check? Why would someone write this, lie and stir up faux outrage? “
Even going as far as to post the resignation letter in the comment section, “Below, in comments, our previous Village Manager’s resignation letter. It’s proof our Mayor DID NOT fire her. This letter, Ridgewood News turning into a PR platform…Sad State of Affairs INDEED.”
Which came as a surprise to us after all, with the election Paul Aronsohn both the Ridgewood News and Bergen Record seemed to amount to nothing more than PR for the former mayor and his grandiose plans for the Village of Ridgewood.
Ridgewood NJ, Reader pointed out that the owner, Ridgewood 120, LLC , the owner of the “Town Garage ” is either owned or represented by a Burton Dorfman, ESQ. Coincidentally, he was in the new four days ago.
Rockland lawyer Burton Dorfman gets prison for lying to investigators
Steve Lieberman , [email protected] 2:58 p.m. ET Feb. 13, 2017 | Updated 5:04 p.m. ET Feb. 13, 2017
Federal judge sentences Rockland attorney Burton Dorfman to six months in prison
A Rockland attorney was sentenced Monday to six months in federal prison for lying to federal Labor Department investigators looking into accusations he stole money from a profit-sharing plan at his former law firm.
Burton Dorfman, once a prominent development and investment lawyer, also must repay the fund $212.429, pay a $25,000 fine and $100 court fee under the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Cathy Seibel at the White Plains federal courthouse.
It sure sounds as though it might pay to rent out that extra bedroom.
Airbnb announced that New Jersey’s 6,100 active hosts earned over $50 million dollars in supplemental income in 2016 by welcoming approximately 257,000 visitors to the Garden State. This figure represents a 100 percent year-over-year increase in inbound guest arrivals, according to the company.
The company says a typical host in New Jersey earns $6,200 annually. The typical listing is occupied 44 nights per year and the average length of stay is 4.2 nights.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood PD personnel quickly apprehended an adult male resident of Waldwick who allegedly shoplifted several items from the Stop & Shop Supermarket located at 175 Franklin Avenue, Ridgewood on Friday afternoon, 02/17. The suspect was captured in the rear of 30 Cottage Place, Ridgewood following a short foot chase that began at the Stop & Shop. He was handcuffed and transported to Ridgewood PD headquarters for processing. All items reportedly taken from the store were recovered.
27 February 2017 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
WHERE:
Ridgewood Public Library
125 N Maple Ave
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
USA
COST:
Free
CONTACT:
201-670-5600
GSBC MEETINGS
Ridgwood NJ, The Genealogical Society of Bergen County (GSBC) will welcome CNBC host, Bill Griffeth, who will speak on his latest book The Stranger in My Genes.
With almost 30 years experience in business television, Bill Griffeth is one of the most respected financial journalists in the country. Best known for his quick wit and his ability to think on his feet, he brings an extensive knowledge of the markets and market history to CNBC’s programming.
Griffeth has written four books, “The Stranger in My Genes,” in 2016; “By Faith Alone: One Family’s Epic Journey Through 400 Years of American Protestantism,” in 2007; “Bill Griffeth’s Ten Steps to Financial Prosperity,” published in 1994; and “The Mutual Fund Masters,” in 1995
In the summer of 2012, Griffeth, longtime genealogy buff, took a DNA test that had an unexpected outcome: “If the results were correct, it meant that the family I had spent years documenting was not my own.”
In this book, Bill undertakes a quest to solve the mystery of his origins—a quest which will shake his sense of identity. As he takes us on his journey, we learn about choices made by his ancestors, parents, and others–and we see Bill measure and weigh his own difficult choices as he confronts the past.
Ridgewood NJ, reader questions the ownership status of the “Town Garage” , “Last I heard an LLC or such owned it. Did they manage to pass it off to the town w/o cleaning it? The Village would be nuts to have bought it in an “as is” condition. The owner of the Town Garage property was bought out by the LLC (?) with little or no warning. I assume he sold “as is” because he really had not planned on selling it. I hope they didn’t make a tidy profit by selling it “as is” to the town. Or worse, the Village cleaning it up for the present owners with a deal to then buy it at a reasonable price.”
One of the more effective tools on the Ridgewood blog is the “timeline ” it continues to roll and record the ups and downs of the Village of Ridgewood. Will a little search we found comments from March 1st, 2007 discussing the ownership of the Town Garage.
The Town Garage, 120 Franklin Avenue; the eye of the storm . . .
>
The current hot discussion topic among those who monitor Village Hall happenings is how an out of town firm was able purchase the Town Garage property from right out under the noses of Village Council members. Village ownership of the subject property (see posted photo) is seen as key to the successful construction of a municipal parking garage.
Reportedly, Village officials had offered previous owner Richard Agnello more than the $1.265 million sale price. However, it is being reported that Mr. Agnello refused to sell until the Village found a suitable location nearby for him to relocate his motor vehicle repair facility.
So the fly would like to know: 1) How was the Wells partnership able to buy the property for less than what Village officials had offered Mr. Agnello? 2) Will Mr. Agnello be closing up shop, or has the Wells partnership found a location for him to move his operation to? And, 3) What prompted the Wells partnership to purchase a piece of property destined for involvement in eminent domain proceedings?
And in May of 2007 we asked if the Town Garage was for sale yet again.
Is the former Town Garage property for sale, again?
Village Council members met behind closed doors on Wednesday evening to
discuss possible options for acquiring 120 Franklin Avenue, formerly home of
the Town Garage. Acquisition of this property is key to the planned
construction of a municipal parking garage at the northwest corner of North
Walnut Street and Franklin Avenue.
It is now rumored that Ridgewood 120 LLC, the site’s current owners, have
offered the property for sale to Village officials at a price much higher
than the $1.265 million paid in November of 2006. Scuttlebutt is that
Ridgewood 120 LLC’s asking price is at least $1.865 million, and possibly as
high as $2.265 million. The current owners have made no improvements to the
property since purchasing it from the Agnello family late last year.
Council members must decide whether to: 1) pay the asking price, or 2) enact
the right of eminent domain, or 3) revise parking garage building plans to
eliminate the need for that parcel. Still unanswered is the question: “How
did Village Council members manage to get themselves in such an expensive
jam? In other words, how was a real estate investment group able to acquire
the Town Garage property from right under the Council’s noses?”
