FEBRUARY 12, 2016 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2016, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
RIDGEWOOD – Ridgewood’s Village Council members discussed the proposed addition of HealthBarn USA to the Irene Habernickel Family Park at the Feb. 3 meeting.
“I feel very strongly that it makes sense to have HealthBarn there,” said Mayor Paul Aronsohn. “I’m not just supportive of this program, I’m excited about it.”
The final decision on whether to approve HealthBarn moving onto the property was postponed to a later date during the Feb. 10 meeting, due to some of the council members wanting to see the business’ lease before deciding on anything.
The current plan is to have HealthBarn USA, a company that offers various outdoor activities to children, take up partial residence in the house on the Habernickel property, in exchange for payment to the village.
This does not sit well with local resident Margene Rubin, who said at the Feb. 3 meeting she feels the addition of HealthBarn to the property would make the area a less-enjoyable place to live.
“Everyone in that area that faces that field does not want (HealthBarn),” Rubin said, adding that HealthBarn founder Stacey Antine can “go someplace else” and not disrupt the neighborhood.
“It’s very upsetting,” said Rubin. “I really do encourage you to think about how many people this is upsetting,”
JANUARY 15, 2016 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Urging council to keep trying on garage
To the editor:
I thank the Village Council for the time and effort spent trying to solve the parking issues in Ridgewood, but remain disheartened after the meeting on Jan. 6.
As Councilwoman Knudsen stated, the referendum was a vote for a parking garage on Hudson Street … not IN Hudson Street. Many residents were unaware of the size and scope of what they were being encouraged to vote for in the referendum.
Furthermore, aside from one vague, not widely circulated, and still anonymous flyer, there was very little public opposition. There were no “vote no” flyers all over town or on school property.
Would Mt. Carmel not have fully mobilized before the vote if they had any inkling the impact would be so great? Do you doubt that the 4,000 families of the parish would not have voted down the referendum had they realized there would be a 10-foot narrowing of Hudson and loss of precious on-street parking?
Overwhelmingly the residents who attended the meeting on Jan. 6 agreed to parking — even parking at that imperfect location — but not such a dramatic encroachment into the street, infringement on church life, and congestion to that area of the village in general.
As mentioned numerous times, the town while not legally required to follow its own rules and ordinances, should be expected to do so in all but emergency situations.
The word compromise was often used, but would be more easily achieved if a design was presented that stayed within the footprint of the current Hudson Street lot. Instead all of the options were variations on the same too big for the property design.
Mayor Aronsohn has stressed how important it is to get it right on parking, but isn’t that worth asking the architects to come back with some new ideas that a majority of interested parties can get behind before seeking funding from the county? We have waited decades for a solution and are nearly there, yet suddenly weeks are too long to wait for new drawings?
Lastly, while the financing scheme is not quite buttoned up, there was actually little disagreement around the costs of the garage. How sad then that the majority of council feels the need to seek financing elsewhere and hand the reins over to the county. By doing this, we would incur needless extra financing fees and perhaps ultimately lose some control over the project — design aesthetics, number of spaces dedicated to residents outside of Ridgewood, measures to take if meter revenue is below expectations, etc.
Can this really not be worked out without going that drastic, precedent setting route?
We have agreement on the need for parking, acceptance if not full agreement on location, and agreement on cost. There are a few months left for the council to figure this out together … I urge them to keep trying.
JANUARY 14, 2016 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2016, 3:17 PM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Village Council decided this week to go forward with multifamily housing impact studies on education, municipal planning, fiscal impact and traffic, hiring three firms to complete the work.
Ross Haber Associates (education), RBA Group (traffic) and BFJ Planning/Urbanomics (fiscal and municipal planning) were selected for the studies.
A special public meeting was held in the Benjamin Franklin Middle School auditorium on Tuesday, and featured interviews with five consulting firms.
Presentations
Ross Haber Associates recently conducted a study for the Ridgewood Board of Education on the feasibility of full-day kindergarten.
Haber explained that his studies for the village would be focused on what financial impact the new additions would have on Ridgewood schools.
“Would these new students in any way, shape or form impact the budget?” he asked. “Would it require the hiring of new staff? Might the expansion include construction in the schools if needed? Would you need additional crossing guards?
“This is not to say that any of these things are going to happen,” Haber said, “this is to say these things could happen.”
DECEMBER 11, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Ridgewood Council on Wednesday unanimously introduced a $12.3 million bond ordinance for the construction of a proposed parking deck at the Hudson Street lot.
A public hearing on the bond ordinance is scheduled for Jan. 6.
Despite the governing body’s full support of the ordinance introduction, two council members expressed their reservations about certain aspects of the parking garage proposal, most notably the lack of a definitive plan.
Councilwoman Susan Knudsen, who was concerned that the public may not know all of the details of the potential parking garage, said that she supported the ordinance introduction “with the understanding that I’m doing a reach out and getting a lot of information and public input as to their understanding of the structure, and making sure the financials are absolutely intact.”
Councilman Michael Sedon also noted his desire for additional information to be distributed among Ridgewood residents and members of the Central Business District (CBD).
“Once a concrete plan is in place with rates and enforcement times, I’d like to go out to send a letter to the business community letting them know exactly what the plan is, so if there are any questions or blowback, we can deal with that beforehand, and not after the fact.”
He further explained his reasons, recalling a Village Council decision several years ago to increase the sewage discharge fees assessed to CBD businesses. According to Sedon, “nobody seemed to know or care about [the fee increase when it was discussed].
“Once the bills hit the mailboxes,” he added, “there were 50 or 60 angry businesses owners here.”
Sedon said he hopes to avoid a repeat occurrence of that.
DECEMBER 4, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Ridgewood Council this week weighed in on a proposed parking garage to be built at the existing Hudson Street lot, and each member offered reasons why they supported one of the three options over the others.
Three members of the council supported option A, a notion that most of the public commenters agreed with, while the other two were in favor of option C.
Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck, who was in favor of the largest-sized and most-expensive option available (option A), explained that her decision was based upon three different factors: finances, aesthetics and intangibles.
“Economically, if you bought into the idea of the garage at all, option A is the one that makes sense; that provides the service that everyone has been clamoring for,” she said, noting that while the first two levels of the garage will cost $10 million to build, the next two will only cost a total of $2 million, allowing the village to save some money while meeting greater demand.
Hauck also explained that current interest rates are favorable, and that taking advantage of a 3 percent rate is the smart thing to do. A bigger garage, she said, means more rentable spots, which will allow the town to pay off the garage faster.
Addressing aesthetics, Hauck said she wanted the garage to be “an experience.”
“I think any substantial detailing that we can have to improve the look and strengthen it, we should have,” she said.
In terms of intangibles, Hauck explained that any large project involves a lot of risk, but that the risk is necessary for the reward.
NOVEMBER 4, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2015, 9:39 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
A resolution endorsing recommendations made in the Open Space Committee’s 2012 Open Space plan as a guide for the course of action to be taken regarding the Schedler property was brought back for discussion last Wednesday after hearing the concerns of neighborhood residents during recent meetings.
Passed by the council in mid-August, the resolution affirms the plan provided by the Open Space Committee, which states the property should be developed for recreational purposes, which includes a 90-foot baseball field and multi-purpose overlay field for soccer and lacrosse.
Councilwoman Susan Knudsen asked for the resolution to be brought back for discussion to remove language specifically regarding the 90-foot field and add that the village recognizes the need for active recreation fields, but will take a different approach to finding a solution.
“We should take this, revisit it and do a redo on it so we give a more balanced approach and help the neighborhood have what they need and figure out how we can also accommodate what the RBSA needs,” said Knudsen, adding such a change could help to rebuild a relationship that is “a little broken” between the council and residents of the neighborhood.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2015, 12:33 PM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
In response to a request by a local grassroots organization, village officials have decided to extend the public hearing on multifamily housing in Ridgewood’s Central Business District (CBD) to a second evening.
A statement submitted to The Ridgewood News on Thursday by Citizens for a Better Ridgewood (CBR) called for the Village Council to reschedule its public hearing on the ordinances that would approve the changes made to the master plan passed by the Planning Board in June.
The public hearing is scheduled for Sept. 16, which is the same night that four village schools – Hawes, Ridge, Somerville and Willard elementary schools – have their annual back-to-school nights scheduled.
On Friday morning, representatives from CBR sent the statement along with another message urging the mayor and council to reschedule or add more opportunities for residents to voice their concerns for the ordinances.
Mayor Paul Aronsohn replied that village officials could not have known about the conflict when the hearing was originally scheduled in June and noted residents were encouraged to speak on the topic at any meeting during the two months between introduction of the ordinances and the scheduled hearing.
AUGUST 7, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
A looming grant deadline has stirred the mostly dormant discussion on the future of the Schedler property, specifically the east side estate’s historic, 200-year-old house, and an upcoming vote might determine how the conversation moves forward.
The Ridgewood Council is expected to vote next week on two resolutions directly related to the 7-acre, wooded tract of land and home.
The first resolution calls for the governing body to endorse the Ridgewood Open Space Committee’s 2010 recommendation to consider the property for “passive and active recreational development.” The committee’s recommendation has already been supported by several Ridgewood civic organizations.
A second resolution, as discussed at this week’s council work session, would permit Ridgewood to apply for a Bergen County Historic Trust Fund matching grant. The grant would be used to stabilize the Schedler house, which has fallen into disrepair following years of weathering and neglect.
“The house is in dire need of help. The roof is failing, and mold is present inside the house,” said Isabella Altano, a member of residents’ group Ridgewood Eastside Development (RED). The grassroots organization has been petitioning for the preservation of the historic home for several years.
This week, she appealed to the council for its support of the grant application and detailed the group’s work thus far. According to Altano, the residents have opened an escrow account at a local bank and already secured $45,000 or “50 percent of the $90,000 needed to stabilize the house” under the name “Friends of the Historic Zabriskie-Schedler House.”
The $45,000, she said, has been procured through an anonymous donation.
“Once the application is submitted by the village and approved by the county, [the group] will organize a 501(c)(3) in order to receive tax-deductible donations,” Altano said.
The county has established a Sept. 3 deadline for grant application submission.
JULY 9, 2015 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015, 3:09 PM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The results of a parking study performed by the New York-based firm Walker Parking Consultants are in, and the choice was simple for village officials – a traditional self-park deck is the way to go at Hudson Street.
While an automated garage would have provided more parking spaces, the gain would have been negated by its higher price tag.
The cost of a traditional deck was reported to be approximately $11 million to $12 million, while building an automated garage is estimated at $17 million to $24 million.
These numbers are dependent upon the amount of spaces built, among other factors that are typically handled during the request for proposal (RFP) and subsequent design phase.
Officials also cited some disadvantages that come with the technology used in automated garages, particularly at a site where commuters and rail passengers are often moving in and out of the area and would prefer to get to their cars quickly.
In the report, Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld said a traditional deck could yield a net gain of as much as 318 spaces over what already exists at Hudson Street, while one of the automated garage scenarios would only give the village an additional 322, but would cost several million dollars more.
JULY 3, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Residents looking to weigh in on the issue of multifamily housing should circle September on their calendars.
The Village Council set forth an ideal timeline for consideration of ordinances relating to a master plan amendment approved by the Planning Board last month.
Although the issue can be brought up during comment portions of any council meeting, officials are eyeing the mid-September public meeting as the date for a public hearing. An exact date will not be fixed until the ordinances are formally introduced.
In early June, the Ridgewood Planning Board approved a master plan amendment that would create four new zones in the Central Business District, three of which would allow for multifamily housing projects to be built at a maximum density of 35 units per acre for affordable rental units.
JUNE 12, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Councilman’s question worth considering
to the editor:
During the June 3 Village Council work session, Councilman Michael Sedon asked if the salary of Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld should be reduced in order to offset the “six figure” salary of the newly created position of human resources director. Quite frankly, this question had been on my mind, and Councilman Sedon’s idea was, in my opinion, worth considering.
Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld’s reply included that she is not “outsourcing” any portion of her job, and that she is “still responsible” for human resources. Perhaps, but the fact remains that the overall salary now allocated to manage human resources has abruptly increased by at least $100,000.
Moreover, I was quite surprised to hear Ms. Sonenfeld state that her salary is “already down,” which was followed by a comment from Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck that she thinks Sonenfeld is “already the lowest paid manager in New Jersey,” and by Mayor Paul Aronsohn’s response that he “can’t imagine that [reducing her salary] would be the plan.”
Ms. Sonenfeld’s salary, established by Village Council members, is what she agreed to just over a year ago when she was hired. No one forced her to take the job or the salary. For her to now publicly complain that it is so low, so soon after she came on board, and especially when some of her responsibilities have now been delegated to a new hire, is quite disheartening.
Finally, Ms. Sonenfeld’s tone, when she replied to Councilman Sedon, coupled with the quick dismissal of Sedon’s suggestion by three of his colleagues, illustrates that civility is still not consistently practiced under Mayor Aronsohn’s leadership.
JUNE 5, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — The council is considering adding a non-binding referendum to the November ballot to gauge support for a parking garage downtown.
For more than a year, Ridgewood officials have been working on ways to provide additional parking in the central business district.
At previous meetings on parking, business leaders agreed with the council’s notion that a garage would lure more dollars to the village.
This year, Ridgewood’s council has approved financing for three different studies of the garage’s proposed site along Hudson Street.
The referendum was the brainchild of Mayor Paul Aronsohn, who said adding the issue to this fall’s ballot will cost the village nothing.
Deputy Mayor Al Pucciarelli, Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck, and Councilman Mike Sedon all supported Aronsohn’s suggestion to get feedback from voters.
The referendum’s results would have no bearing on the future of the parking garage project, which Ridgewood officials hope they can break ground on next spring.
Aronsohn’s idea was not well-received by Councilwoman Susan Knudsen, who urged that a “more comprehensive study” be undertaken of the village’s need for a garage as well as its potential impact on downtown businesses.
Parking Meter Scandal : he could not have acted alone
Readers continue to speculate on parking meter security issues and continue to come up with one resounding conclusion ,he could not have acted alone .
Even a $41 million renovation of the Ridgewood Train station did not change the out dated parking meter system .
While ,Village officials said a forensic accounting firm has been retained to examine how a former employee managed to steal $460,000 in quarters from parking meters.
Although I’m not convinced that all meters would need to be replaced in order to implement a closed container/collection system, I’ll give the Village Manager the benefit of the doubt.
But, at a minimum, they should deep six those open white paint buckets/pickle containers and have all collectors use the carts depicted here:
https://www.pom.com/collectionsystems.htm
Continuing to use those buckets is a huge security risk, for the individual collecting monies (holdup/robbery) and for taxpayers (shrinkage).
It is actually very funny that we can’t afford to secure the Villages’s cash. I’m sure there is a solution out there that costs less than $460,000.
They made a deal and I’m hoping the whole story will come out eventually. Who in the police dept. is/are being protected?
Yet again, taxpayers getting screwed to protect some mob/union crony(ies) in Village Hall and/or the PD. Put in smart meters like NYC and let people use credit cards… how are we doing on Tommy Boy’s restitution ? Is he paying us back every week? The guy is obviously a wise guy, and refused to rat out his minders in Village Hall.
Ridgewood council weighs costs of turf versus grass
AUGUST 14, 2014 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014, 3:48 PM BY LAURA HERZOG STAFF WRITER
Artificial turf appears to cost less to maintain than grass, at least on Maple Field.
According to Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld, an estimated $121,500 was spent maintaining the turf on Maple Field during an eight-year period from 2006 to 2014.
Ridgewood council to vote on changes to Garber Square road project
JUNE 5, 2014 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2014, 3:37 PM BY BY DARIUS AMOS STAFF WRITER
Ridgewood Council members this week offered their preliminary support of recommended changes to the controversial Garber Square improvement project, and their decision will be official when they vote on a village resolution June 11.
Resident protest and input over the past three weeks prompted municipal officials to revisit the plans, which call for the installation of a bicycle lane in each direction of Garber Square from the train underpass to West Ridgewood Avenue. To accommodate the bike lanes, a majority of Garber Square was reduced to one motor vehicle lane for each direction of traffic.
Though the village will continue that portion of the project, officials have agreed to reduce the width of the median separating easterly and westerly traffic from 8 feet to 4 feet. A smaller median gives the village “flexibility” in the event engineering officials opt to reinstate the second traffic lane and eliminate the bike path, according to Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld.
“It’s a fallback if congestion that is untreatable does occur,” Sonenfeld said at Wednesday’s council work session. “We’re not trying to cause congestion, but we’re trying to slow down traffic.”
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