Ridgewood NJ, RHS delivers results of “social norms” poll with some surprising results .According a letter sent out by Principal Thomas A Gorman out of the 400 students who participated over 90% say they never have used tobacco, 61% have not used alcohol in the last 60 days ,76% do not consume alcohol in an average week, 78% never use marijuana , 90% never use marijuana in the average week .
84% of students say they do not go to parties where alcohol is served and 84% say their parents never let them drink alcohol.
Not sure what to make of this , but apparently the huge house party last week that was broken up by Police from Ridgewood , Fair Lawn and Paramus was a one off unusual circumstance ?
Is de-nile more than a river in Eqypt? Or are our kids just way more responsible than we were ?
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood American Legion Post 53 is conducting a Memorial Day service on Monday, May 29th 3017. It will take place at 11:am in Veterans Memorial Park at Van Neste Square. Everyone is invited to join us to honor all Americans who gave their lives so we can live in a free,secure and safe community.
“…the right of free speech does not guarantee to any person the right to use someone else’s property, even property owned by the government and dedicated to other purposes, as a stage to express ideas. …”
Not that this will carry much weight in progressive Trenton (or progressive Ridgewood), but this is a valid opinion
First has to be the school budget. We are spending millions to make sure that the first grader in Hawes studies the same thing as the first grader at Ridge. This is a huge waste of money. Let the schools run themselves with minimal oversight from BOE. By Jr. High they will have learned enough of the same things. BOE also drives lots of absences by teachers for development days and assessment of students. Cut it. Stop paying subs for those days and let the teachers teach. We also may need to look long and hard at what we are paying in insurance and coaches for certain expensive sports like football and swimming. We may not be able to offer the same sports and clubs we once did.
Second, we have way too much empty commercial space. Currently landlords are happy to leave the buildings empty and collect the rent from the failed business while paying lower taxes on the lower valued building. That has to change. We need to find ways to create incentives to encourage landlord to take new tenants. With more and more people working remotely, it would seem like some office space in town might help. (Im not sure how the shared office place is doing??) A program to reinvigorate the office space that exists above retail in town might help. At minimum, reduced construction permits and fast tracked inspections and approvals would help. Same for the empty space on Dayton. If those spaces are filled, the assessments rise and we would collect more in RE taxes.
Finally, there is the huge nut of police and fire budget. These should be shared services. We do not need 35 cops in town plus parking enforcement. Fire Department is great but when you factor in equipment, insurance and pensions its really expensive. Something’s got to give. There has been talk of including pension obligations when we talk about salaries but that has not happened. It has to. Each cop costs us millions in total obligations.
Ridgewood NJ, Tonights 7:30pm Planning Board meeting at Village Hall is going to be an important one for the fate of Ridgewood and we need you to show up and voice your concerns.
If you are concerned about our current water shortage/restrictions, ask yourself:
How do you think 200-300 added apartments in the proposed high density developments are going to impact this water shortage?
Forget about worrying about your lawn. What about your home? What if there ever was a fire? Should these oversized developments be built and should the current water shortage continue, will there be enough water pressure coming out of your street hydrant to save your house?
The Planning Board is likely to vote for the Ken Smith high density housing site tonight, 7:30pm at the Village Hall courtroom. This water concern is a public safety issue that the Planning Board can vote NO on as the developers have yet to do the proper research to address. Please come out this evening, speak about your concerns at the podium and help protect our village.
The Planning Board can vote NO on the basis that there is a public safety issue with the site plans – which we strongly believe is the case!
Here’s how (courtesy of Dave Slomin) :
WATER: A major safety issue is WATER. When Ridgewood Water testified on housing, they did so before the historic drought of the past two years. If current residents are unable to use water fully on a regular basis, how can we add 200-300 new homes in town? What happens if there is a fire at one of these buildings during peak water usage hours in the summer… that could be a disaster?
TRAFFIC: At the last meeting, there was debate about what level of responsibility falls to the developers to fix new traffic issues they create, all along the Franklin Ave corridor. Right now, they are saying they only have to install lights and signs, right near their building. But even the Planning Board’s own traffic engineer admitted, they don’t know the full impact of this development. But for the CURRENT RESIDENTS… WE NEED TO KNOW!
Until these issues are resolved, the Planning Board must vote NO. Please hold them to that by coming to tomorrow night’s meeting. The future of our downtown depends on it.
Ridgewood Water :
Stage II restrictions (2 days per week irrigation) were imposed in June 2016 and are still in effect in Glen Rock, Midland Park, Ridgewood and Wyckoff. Without these restrictions, the use of drinking water for irrigation will continue increasing toward levels that are unsustainable regardless of drought conditions. To reverse this trend, an ordinance was approved by the Village Council on April 12, 2017 to amend the provisions governing Watering and Water Emergencies in the Village of Ridgewood Code. Changes include:
Making 2 days per week irrigation permanent year round,
Restricting irrigation hours to limit losses to evaporation,
Restricting irrigation using private wells to 2 days a week,
Adding new exemptions, including drip irrigation and smart controllers.
This ordinance became effective on May 2, 2017 and applies only to Ridgewood, but it is expected that the Boroughs of Glen Rock and Midland Park, and the Township of Wyckoff will enact similar rules as they have in the past. Below is the approved ordinance. Questions can be directed to Ridgewood Water at 201-670-5521 or cswater@ridgewoodnj.net.
CONTACTS
Pool Manager’s Office – 201-670-5500, ext 7002 (in season)
Badge Office – 201-670-5500, ext 7003 (in season only)
Recreation Office at The Stable- 201-670-5560 recreation@ridgewoodnj.net
GRAYDON POOL/2017 HOURS OF OPERATION
Early Season
June 3 through June 22
Weekdays – 12 noon to 7:30 pm
Weekends – 10 am to 7:30 pm
Regular Season
June 23 through August 13, 2017
Daily 10 am to 7:30 pm
**Holiday**, July 4th, closes 4 pm
Late Season
August 14 through Labor Day, September 4, 2017
Weekdays – 12 noon to 7:30 pm
Weekends/Holiday – 10 am to 7:30 pm
Graydon Pool Rules and Regulations – General Public
Graydon Pool Deep Water Test Requirements
Parks, open space, facilities, year round recreational activities to meet the needs of all residents. All Village parks and recreational facilities are now smoke free.
Print
INFORMATION – GRAYDON
GRAYDON MEMBERSHIP RATES
RESIDENT GRAYDON POOL MEMBERSHIPS
Village priced memberships are available to Ridgewood residents, non-residents who pay local property taxes to the Village of Ridgewood, and employees of the Village of Ridgewood and Board of Education. Proof is required.
ADULT – $120.00
CHILD – (ages 2-15, under 2 free) $110.00
SENIOR – $30.00 (62 and older)
PERMANENT DISABLED – $30.00
LATE SEASON ADULT MEMBERSHIP – $60.00 (available August 1st)
LATE SEASON CHILD MEMBERSHIP – $55.00 (available August 1st)
DAILY PASS – $10.00
BADGE REPLACEMENT – $5.00
NON-RESIDENT GRAYDON POOL MEMBERSHIPS
The Village Council and the Ridgewood Department of Parks and Recreation are pleased to invite all families in the surrounding area to join the Graydon Pool facility for the 2017 summer season.
ADULT (ages 16 and up) – $200.00
CHILD (ages 2-15) – $175.00
GUEST PASSES (must be accompanied by 2017 season member)- $10.00
BADGE REPLACEMENT – $5.00
Ridgewood NJ, The final day for voter registration for the Primary Election is May 16, 2017. You may register to vote in the Village Clerk’s Office, in Village Hall, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and in the lobby of the Ridgewood Public Library, from 4:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on May 16, 2017.
What’s the right amount of pay for New Jersey police officers? That question is now swirling as state Treasury data, analyzed by NJTV News and various media outlets, show the median salary for roughly 19,000 municipal police officers was just over $105,000 in 2016. The highest tend to be in wealthy, suburban towns — mostly in Bergen County where the cost of living is higher. But those directly involved with negotiating municipal salaries say there’s a lot more behind that number.
“First of all, to be a candidate you have to have a four-year degree. As of late we’ve been hiring mostly transfers because there was a period in time where the alternative route had dried up, so there’s a lot of factors that go into the hiring and promotion of officers here in the community,” said Paramus Borough Mayor Richard LaBarbiera.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood American Legion Post 53 will be placing over 900 flags on veterans gravesites on Saturday, May 20th 2017. We will meet at at 9:am at Valleau Cemetery.
Everyone is invited to help us in this endeavor to honor those men and women in time for Memorial Day. Bring your children and friends and neighbors. A brief rite will take place with playing of TAPS .
I can’t keep track of this guy. He started with setting up a table in front of Mount Carmel to collect signatures against the garage. Then he turns around and starts pounding the table to build the garage. He was bashing Paulie A. during the campaign and now he’s doing his bidding . Our Mayor went above and beyond to get Voigt elected. He then turns around and stabs her in the back. He was being helped by a very active and vocal group during the campaign. After he wins, he now calls them “attack dogs” and is critical of their tactics while he himself tells people to go up to the podium with rehearsed questions. The good thing is that every time he sends his buddies up there like Hans, Evan and Rurik, they get embarrassed with real facts. Out of the gate, he wanted to launch investigations against the people he is now siding with. I think I’m dizzy. How can we do a recall?
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Police, Ridgewood EMS, and Fire Department responded to a pedestrian vs. motor vehicle collision at the intersection of Fairway Road and Northern Parkway shortly after 3 PM on Monday, 05/15. The victim, a 10 year old female, sustained non life threatening injuries to her face and knee and was transported by ambulance to The Valley Hospital. The driver of the vehicle involved remained at the scene and was cooperating with police officers assigned to investigate the incident.
No doubt online shopping has had a huge negative effect on retailers and the problem is not going away any time soon. The question for towns like Ridgewood is what to do with downtowns that were conceived and build decades ago and are now becoming functionally irrelevant. We certainly do not want or need more restaurants, nail salons or banks. So should we simply turn our backs and let the CBD continue to spiral downward ? Many residents do not seem to care one way or the other. Of course, these same folks will be the first to squeal when their RE taxes start to rise dramatically to offset the revenue decline stemming from rapidly declining commercial property values. If you think for a moment the VOR will trim it’s budget to offset declining tax revenue you are either dreaming or smoking something illegal. The question then becomes what to do to help insure the continuance of a healthy revenue stream from the commercial sector. The proposed luxury apartments will certainly help stabilize Village coffers but many residents strongly object to such development. The purpose of this post is to create an open forum on what can or should the Village do to insure the continuance of a sufficient long term revenue stream so that taxes paid by residents does not spiral out of control. Suggestions and comments please..
Ridgewood NJ, Tuesday, May 16th is residents’ last chance to address the planning board about the massive new 66 unit, multi-retail store complex coming to Franklin and Broad from local developer John Saraceno. This high-density housing project sets off a chain reaction of public safety problems in Ridgewood. The hearing and vote is set for 8pm at village hall on Tuesday night. Between Saraceno’s 60+ families plus new stores on Franklin and the 40+ families moving in yards away at the new Chestnut street high-density development, the Franklin Ave corridor will likely be overwhelmed with hundreds upon hundreds of more cars and pedestrians creating an even bigger threat to public safety on an already dangerous road. The Franklin ave corridor has a long history of accidents and pedestrians struck by cars and busses.
High-density development downtown is allowed thanks to controversial laws championed by Ridgewood resident Saraceno and then-mayor Paul Aronsohn.
In the zoomed in version of developer Saraceno’s “rendering” above we see the already congested and dangerous Franklin & Broad intersection which will be drastically impacted by the new 5 story building and the nearby 4 story Chestnut apartments. The archway on the right is one of two entry/exit for the 150 new parking spots on Franklin. The current lot is private and not open to the public. There will be a great deal of new traffic at one of the most important, dangerous, and crowded intersections in the village.
The new light at this intersection will cost $300k, Saraceno has offered to pay 25% [which is more than the law requires]. The bigger problem is how other, non-upgraded intersections will handle the traffic flow. By law, developers of Ridgewood’s 4 new high-density buildings have only to pay a small fraction of any needed new lights.
The planning board meets Tuesday the 16th at 7:30pm in Village Hall. The public is encouraged to attend.
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Donald J. Trump announced the issuance of an executive order forming the bipartisan Presidential Commission on Election Integrity. The President also named Vice President Mike Pence as Chairman and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach as Vice-Chair of the Commission.
Five additional members were named to the bipartisan commission today:
Connie Lawson, Secretary of State of Indiana
Bill Gardner, Secretary of State of New Hampshire
Matthew Dunlap, Secretary of State of Maine
Ken Blackwell, Former Secretary of State of Ohio
Christy McCormick, Commissioner, Election Assistance Commission
“This action by President Trump fulfills another promise made to the American people,” said Vice President Pence. “We can’t take for granted the integrity of the vote. This bipartisan commission will review ways to strengthen the integrity of elections in order to protect and preserve the principle of one person, one vote because the integrity of the vote is the foundation of our democracy.”
The Commission on Election Integrity will study vulnerabilities in voting systems used for federal elections that could lead to improper voter registrations, improper voting, fraudulent voter registrations, and fraudulent voting. The Commission will also study concerns about voter suppression, as well as other voting irregularities. The Commission will utilize all available data, including state and federal databases.
Secretary Kobach, Vice-Chair of the Commission added: “As the chief election officer of a state, ensuring the integrity of elections is my number one responsibility. The work of this commission will assist all state elections officials in the country in understanding, and addressing, the problem of voter fraud.”
Additional Commission members will be named at a later time. It is expected the Commission will spend the next year completing its work and issue a report in 2018.
American retail culture may well have reached a tipping point.
Major department stores are floundering about like fish in a rapidly draining pond after reporting dreadful earnings last week.
The time-honored multigenerational giants like Macy’s, Sears and JCPenney are all looking at a dramatically different future.
Macy’s stock collapsed 17 percent after Thursday’s first-quarter report. And high-end retail behemoths like Nordstrom are getting clobbered, too. Shares of that politically petulant retailer fell 11 percent Thursday on news of its first-quarter results.
Better take a good look, because this may be last call for the mall.
