Mark Krulish , Staff Writer, @Mark_Krulish1:56 a.m. ET Jan. 15, 2017
RIDGEWOOD — The site of a former car dealership is once again a hub of commercial activity while an application before the village Planning Board, which would radically alter the property, awaits approval.
It has been nearly 4 1/2 years since Ken Smith Motors shuttered its doors after more than 60 years in business at its prominent location on Franklin Avenue next to the railroad underpass.
January 14,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The Airbnb website currently lists approximately 10 available short term rental properties within the Village. Anyone recognize a familiar house?
https://www.airbnb.com/s/Ridgewood–NJ?page=1&allow_override%5B%5D=&ne_lat=41.001381423543485&ne_lng=-74.09426971669666&sw_lat=40.96728319150772&sw_lng=-74.12602707143299&zoom=14&search_by_map=true&ss_id=51dbgfe0&s_tag=Wlt04oDH
January 14,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Bottom line, there’s now an ordinance that prohibits such short term rentals. Those wishing to snub their noses at it and continue (or start) running such operations risk being fined $1000 per day if found guilty in municipal court.
ORDINANCE NO. 3570 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND CHAPTER 117 OF THE CODE OF THE VILLAGE OF RIDGEWOOD ENTITLED “BUSINESSES AND OCCUPATIONS” AT ARTICLE I, SECTION 1A, AND TO CREATE A NEW ARTICLE IX ENTITLED “SHORT TERM RENTALS”. AMEND: ARTICLE I Section 117-1A ADVERTISE OR ADVERTISING: Any form of solicitation, promotion, and communication for marketing, used to solicit, encourage, persuade, or manipulate viewers, readers, or listeners into contacting for goods and/or services in violation of this Ordinance, as same may be viewed through various media including, but not limited to, newspapers, magazines, flyers, handbills, pamphlets, commercials, radio, direct mail, internet websites, or text or other electronic messages for the purpose of establishing occupancies or uses of rental property, for Consideration, which are prohibited by this Ordinance. HOUSKEEPING UNIT: Constitutes a family-type situation, ,involving one-or-more persons, living together that exhibit the kind of stability, permanency and functional lifestyle equivalent to that of a traditional family unit, as further described in the applicable reported and unreported decisions of the New Jersey Superior Court. OCCUPANT: Any individual inhabiting, using, living, gathering, entertaining, being entertained as a guest, or sleeping in a dwelling or a portion thereof, or having other permission or possessory rights or interest in the dwelling. OWNER: Any person(s) or entity(ies), association, limited liability company, corporation, or partnership, or any combination, who legally use, possess, own, lease, sub-lease or license (including an operator, principal, shareholder, director, agent, or employee, individually or collectively) that has charge, care, control ,or participates in the expenses and/or profit of a Dwelling Unit pursuant to a written or unwritten agreement, rental, lease, license, use, occupancy agreement or any other agreement. NEW ARTICLE ARTICLE IX: SHORT TERM RENTALS SECTION 117-56 – PERMITTED USE The residential occupancy of an otherwise lawful and lawfully occupied dwelling for a period of thirty (30) days or less by a person who is a member of the Housekeeping Unit of the Owner, without Consideration, such as house guests, is permitted. SECTION 117-57 – PROHIBITIONS: No person shall undertake, maintain, authorize, aid, facilitate, solicit and advertise any rental activity that violates any part or provisions of this Article. SECTION 117-57 -SHORT TERM RENTAL PROPERTY: Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Village Code, it shall be unlawful for any person, including but not limited to, and owner, lessor, sub lessor with any possessory interest in any dwelling, to receive compensation of any kind for the use, occupancy, or rental of any dwelling for a period of thirty (30) days or less. SECTION 117-59 – ENFORCEMENT: The provisions of this Article shall be enforced by the Village Zoning Officer, Fire Department, Police Department and any other Village Official or employee so designated by the Village Manager who all shall be authorized to issue summons or other appropriate civil violations or complaints for any violations of the terms and provisions of this Article. SECTION 117-60 – FINES AND PENALITES: Any person who is found or adjudicated to have violated any provisions of this Article shall be liable for a fine not to exceed one thousand ($1000.00) Dollars. Each day of any such violation after receiving written notice of same shall be a new and separate violation. SEVERABILTY: If any portion of this Ordinance is adjudged unconstitutional or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall not affect or invalidate the remainder of this Ordinance but shall be confined in its effect to the provision directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered. Except as hereby amended, all other sections of the Code of the Village of Ridgewood shall remain in full force and effect. This Ordinance shall take effect upon final passage and publication according to law. Ridgewood News-4116350 Fee: $71.30 December 16, 2016
To whomever posted -Anonymous January 12, 2017 at 8:05 pm- that put my AirBNB listing up with my address-which incidentally is kept totally confidential until AFTER the guest passes a 5-point security check. But Thank You for noticing that I am a hard-working professional who is willing to share her beautiful home with others. As an immigrant to this country, I founded a national association to help women. I help them achieve their national credential in order to find jobs, and get better ones, then I help them continue their education with one-on-one mentoring (some of the cars that are “in and out of there all the time”.)…so I guess I just like helping people. My guests park on my property and I have had no complaints from neighbors. AirBnb has helped me pay for taxes, repairs on my home, upgrade plumbing etc., so that the value is maintained. And who are the guests that stay with me? I have three different grandparents that come to visit their grandchildren, nurses that work long shifts at Valley Hospital, a son who lives in California that comes regularly to visit his mother in a nursing home, a self-employed marketing consultant who comes here for business, and then I have had two different couples who have stayed here while they bought a home in the area-they wanted to see what it was like living in Ridgewood–without this experience, they may not have chosen to live here! The sharing economy is an international model that can be found in small cities all over the world that only enhances the diversity and value of the community.
I continue to believe that Mayor Knudsen, Deputy Mayor Sedon and Councilman Hache are decent, reasonable people who want to do what is right for the village. Here is my appeal to them.
Please do not assume that the few loudest and most frequent voices you hear from are representative of the entire village, irrespective of what they say.
I, and a lot of people I know, did not vote against the previous council and for the current one because we had much of a view on the Valley expansion, Graydon, Schedler, or the parking garage. Neither did we vote because of those loud voices. What we voted against was the dismissive attitude of those council members against residents.
Now I do not believe that those council members were very being dismissive on purpose. They did very much want to win elections. However, they kept hearing from a specific group that their actions were popular, and that those opposing their proposals were a vocal and disruptive minority.
Unfortunately, I get the sense that the new council has become beholden to a different coterie with its own agenda. That coterie is openly dismissive of regular residents in extremely caustic terms. It is as if we have traded the tzar for the politburo. Questioning actions of the new council is dismissed as the handiwork of the Aronson crew.
I urge you to work for the wider village, and not just those voices and their interests. For example, on this issue it appears that the lack of commuters and abundance of casual diners in the coterie has led to this disastrous decision. I urge you to reverse this decision and in future, think about the outcome for all residents based on wider feedback, and not just based on what you hear from a few.
A decade or so ago, the Ridgewood village tried, via an arguably aggressive application of eminent domain principles, simply to take by forced sale the property upon which the “Ridgewood Garage” building stands. This was hot on the heels of the controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision which, in order to find lawful the use by a Connecticut municipality of eminent domain to boot ordinary fee simple owners of residential properties in an “underperforming” (ahem!) neigborhood to make room for a proposed factory that mysteriously never got built, conveniently expanded the scope of the word “public” in the U.S. Constitution’s term “public use” to include a scheme that, at its heart, was nothing but a naked multistep attempt to eventually boost property tax revenue. The idea at the time was that the new U.S Supreme Court constitutional precedent rendered legitimate any property condemnation scheme that municipal powerbrokers could rig together that gave off the faintest whiff of a public benefit in the distant future, regardless of the immediately applicable common law rights of the owner of the targeted property or properties. One presumes the now battle-hardened owners of the Franklin Avenue parcel under discussion have been waiting to receive, at long last, a decent offer from the Village to purchase the lot that does not involve the coercion inherent in the use of the municipsl eminent domain power. Can it fairly be said that that particular lot, or, more broadly, that the “parking lottish” parts of the larger block defined by Ridgewood Avenue, Oak Street, Franklin Avenue and Walnut Street, is “blighted” to such a degree as to justify municipal action to use the eminent domain power to initiate a process by which it is redeveloped into a modern parking facility? The decision that was eventually taken years ago was that, despite the fact that the Village had already raised some $15 million via a corresponding municipal bond issuance to build a parking garage, the village would nevertheless relent, and not follow through on its threats to use its eminent domain power. We’ve since spent the proceeds of that bond issuance on other priorities. Unfortunately, we are still paying off the debt for a parking garage that, for good or ill, was never built.
Heading to Raymond’s for lunch. That’s Ridgewood all right. The “caring” community.”
Apparently no one gives a flying fuck that Raymond’s cheated their employees, waiters and waitresses, out of wages and tips and was fined hundreds of thousands of dollars.
I remember, because I care about waiters and waitresses trying to make an honest living, and I won’t EAT at Raymond’s. Fuck with the word “dine.”
Also, the residents who complained that commuters should get priority parking in the CBD. Hey, those commuters, they are trying to support their families and spend time with their kids….. trying to find a work/life balance and commute to the Big Apple. The town should bend over backwards for them. They are the best people this country has to offer. And they cried cried cried in front of the council and I don’t think they got the sympathy , compassion and immediate help that they desperately need and deserve.
I am a senior and there is no skin off my nose for my opinion.
But if those commuters arrive late to their jobs they could be fired and end up homeless. Homelessness is a real problem. And no one gives a shit about the homeless. They blame the people who are homeless for not being responsible.
These Ridgewood commuters are the best that America produces …hard working responsible workers and parents. And my heart goes out to them. If I lived near the CBD I would offer my driveway for them. Those workers who live in Ridgewood , if they can’t find a parking space in town for lunch some day, they can brown bag it. Trust me, eating apples, walnuts, egg, and celery for lunch, health care costs would go down. The commuters cannot brown bag their commute.
Guess who I am.
file photos by Boyd Loving
January 12,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the positive highlight for many during last nights council meeting was the State Champion RHS Maroons football team members and Coach Chuck Johnson were presented with certificates of recognition and many well-deserved accolades receiving a huge round of applause to all of them.
more photos on the Ridgewood blog Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/theridgewoodblog/
January 12,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Jeff Voigt missing in action (most likely because he knew room would be filled with commuters who were pissed off at the price increase for commuter parking – a plan developed & supported by the FAC, of which Jeff is the Village Council liaison).
After listening to all the comments, we do believe a 1000 dollar premier parking permit is too much. In two years it has gone from 600 dollars to 750 to the current 1000. Glen Rock was said to be 150 dollars and HoHoKus was around 375. 1000 dollars seems pretty steep
photo by Boyd Loving
January 12,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, wednesday night Village of Ridgewood Council meeting :
1. Councilman Jeff Voigt was noticeably absent. No explanation given.
2. The State Champion RHS Maroons football team members and Coach Chuck Johnson were presented with certificates of recognition and many well-deserved accolades. A huge round of applause to all of them.
3. There was public comment as well as official discussion about the new parking-space allocations. Some commuters complained passionately about increased difficulty finding designated commuter spots unless they get to the lot/s early. As a result, the Village Council on the spot changed the Ordinance to increase the number of spaces for commuters. Just like that, feedback was responded to. It was clear that the VC members had been looking at the lots this week, fielding phone calls and emails, and were very open to making adjustments as needed. They also made it very clear that they will continue to monitor the use of the spaces and make further adjustments as seems appropriate. There are early indications that CBD employees are continuing to feed the meters and take the prime spaces, rather than go to the designated CBD-employee spots. Too bad Mr. Tony Damiano, he of the loud and nasty complaints, was not there to hear how all those spaces he asked for (in his position on the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce) are going unused. Some members of the public complained about the steep increase in the annual parking pass; too bad Councilman Voigt was not there since he was the biggest proponent of sticking it to the well-heeled commuters who ride to NYC every day. Yes, he did say that to some residents…..Councilman Voigt feels that those who make the big bucks will not feel the pinch of $1000 a year. Guess he was wrong. He missed out on their indignant remarks. One resident righteously stated that commuters who go to the city and work all day should get priority over shoppers and diners who are leisurely heading to Raymond’s for lunch. One resident felt she had to put in a plug for a parking garage. Really? There is an abundance of parking, it just has to be spread out more evenly. Several commented that parking for shoppers was very available this week, a pleasant situation. Mayor Knudsen made it very clear that all citizens are created equal, and the Village Council is working hard to strike a fair balance with the parking to ensure that everyone gets to park where they most need to. Kinks are being worked out.
4. Gary Cirrilo, who heads up Project Pride, stated that funding for Project Pride has dropped drastically. He would very much like sufficient money to cover beautification of the downtown, including flowers as well as wreaths to replace the aging kissing balls in December. To this point, Councilman Sedon said that a tree farm is being planned for the Village, and that the tree wells in the CBD are going to be altered and improved so that the trees can thrive (currently they pretty much die).
5. The “Air-BNB” ordinance passed. Short-term rentals cannot be for less than 30 days. This ordinance is meant to prevent a frequent turnover of rental homes by out-of-town visitors who just come in to town for a few days or a couple of weeks. Some residents had observed this going on in their neighborhoods and had expressed concern…..once again the Village Council stepped up and developed a reasonable set of guidelines.
6. Not every vote was unanimous this evening, and there was some disagreement~discussion among elected officials on the dais. But, there was no animosity, no nasty exchanges, no crude language. Civil discourse. And why was this? Hmmmm…..could it be due to Councilman Voigt’s absence?????
file photo by Boyd Loving
RHS Maroon & White is January 12:
January 11,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, On Thursday, January 12, the Ridgewood High School Department of Fine and Applied Arts will present the second Maroon & White Music Recital and Art Exhibit for the 2016-17 school year. The second of five such events for this year, the concert will be held in the newly renovated RHS Learning Commons beginning at 3:45 p.m., followed immediately by a reception and gallery opening in the Carroll Art Gallery. Admission is free and open to the public.
The recital will feature four outstanding musicians, presenting a varied program. Following the concert, the January Maroon & White Art Exhibit will officially open in the Carroll Art Gallery. The exhibit will include original works by highly accomplished students in a variety of media.
The Maroon and White Recital Series began in 1964 as a means of highlighting outstanding Ridgewood High School musicians in a featured solo capacity. Over the past five decades, the series has expanded to include art exhibits as well as a recital featuring only dancers. Musicians and dancers are selected through competitive audition, while artists are chosen after an extensive portfolio revue. Past Maroon & White recitalists include Jonathan Spitz, principal cellist with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Elizabeth Ostling, associate principal flutist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the piano duo of Sarah and Susan Wang, renowned Broadway singer/dancer Ali Stroker, Stephanie Buesser, dancer with Ballet West, New York City choreographer Yael Nachajon, Broadway director Marc Bruni, jazz organist Jared Gold and many others. The list of past artists includes Lauren Roth of Lauren Roth Art, renowned illustrator Kyle McCullough, Giovanni Forlino, whose work can be seen on display at the Getty and Guggenheim museums, plus a host of professional freelance artists who work in a wide variety of visual art related fields.
Upcoming Maroon & White Recital/Exhibits will take place on February 2, March 9, April 6 (Dance) and April 27. All recitals are held in the RHS Learning Commons, with the exception of the dance recital, which takes place in the Little Theater. For more information, please contact the RHS Department of Fine and Applied Arts at 201-670-2800 x. 20542.
Among the top 20% of hospitals considered the best for having your baby in 2017
January 11,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The Valley Hospital has received the 2017 Women’s Choice Award® as an America’s Best Hospitals for Obstetrics for a third consecutive year. This evidence-based designation identifies the country’s best healthcare institutions based on criteria that considers female satisfaction and clinical excellence.
The national list of more than 400 award winners represents hospitals, including The Valley Hospital, which women feel confident in choosing for their maternity needs. By carrying the Women’s Choice Award seal, Valley has joined an elite network of hospitals that are highly regarded by women for providing high-quality and patient-friendly healthcare services.
“We are very pleased to receive this recognition,” said Paul Quinn, Director of Inpatient Women’s and Children’s Services at Valley. “This recognition is a wonderful testament to the personalized and compassionate care our Valley staff and physicians at The Center For Childbirth deliver to mothers and their babies, and as well as their hard work in achieving the best clinical outcomes possible for their patients.”
“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.
SNOW & ICE REMINDERS FOR RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES
Sanitation – Please remember to bring your garbage to the end of your driveway at the curb when snow & ice are forecast for our area.
Sidewalks – Snow must be removed from all residential sidewalks within 24 hours of the snowfall. This is especially important on school walking routes.
Ridgewood Police : Ice & Snow – Remove It Before You Go
Remember to remove all ice and snow from your vehicle before driving, especially from the hood, windows and roof. It’s the law in New Jersey! Motorists who fail to do so face fines of $25 to $75 for each offense, regardless of whether the ice and snow is dislodged from the vehicle. If flying ice or snow causes property damage or injury to others, motorists face fines of $200 to $1,000 for each offense.
Ridgewood Police :Keep fire hydrant clear
If you have a fire hydrant in front of your house, help yourself and help your neighbors by keeping it clear of snow.
Ridgewood Police : Overnight parking is suspended in the Village
Overnight parking is suspended in the Village. Residents are prohibited from parking on village streets overnight. Please reconfirm but residents residing in the Central Business District are permitted to park vehicles in the Cottage Place and Hudson Street lots.
LWV FORUM ON WATER RESOURCES – JANUARY 26, 2017
January 11,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood League of Women Voters, in conjunction with Ridgewood Water, will be hosting a public forum on issues relating to local water resources. Ridgewood Water Business Manager Dave Scheibner and Director Richard Calbi will address how drought affects supply and demand, Ridgewood Water’s contaminant controls, and what customers can do to conserve. Thursday, January 26th, 2017 from 7:30-9:00 p.m. in the Senior Center at Village Hall, 131 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey, on the first floor. A question and answer period will follow. Attendance is free.
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed, active participation in government. We welcome all individuals aged 16 years or older to join. [email protected].
