As a member of the Citizens Safety board, I can tell you we and the police and the town are well aware of how dangerous that particular corner is. Additionally, I was the safety chairperson for BF for a long time. Roseanne is a dedicated employee and has literally risked her life many times crossing those kids. People drive through there in criminal fashion – speeding and flagrantly ignoring her. Speeding cars cut it so close and fast they have even clipped her STOP sign while it’s in her hand! I’ve stood there in the morning observing and she does not haplessly waddle, nor does the job render her out of breath.
If anything, it is HER corner that is dangerous enough to warrant extra manpower. True accidents do happen, and it’s tragic, but I often wonder about the people who drive that carelessly. I wonder if they think about the fact that their desperate need to pick a few seconds or minutes to get where they are going could result in the the knowledge – for the rest of their lives- that they killed another human being.
file photo by Boyd Loving
APRIL 17, 2017 / RANDALL ELIASON
U.S. Senator Robert Menendez is facing trial this fall on corruption charges. His lawyers will claim the Supreme Court’s recent decision in the Bob McDonnell case means the charges against Menendez cannot stand. But the effect of the McDonnell case on the Bob Menendez trial is likely to be pretty limited.
New Jersey Democrat Menendez and his co-defendant Dr. Salomon Melgen were indicted in April 2015. (You can find my detailed analysis of the indictment here.) The case has been on hold for two years while Menendez pursued claims that his prosecution is barred by the Constitution’s Speech or Debate clause. The trial court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rejected those arguments. The Supreme Court recently declined to hear his appeal, finally clearing the way for the case to go to trial.
But while Menendez was pursing his Speech or Debate appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court decided McDonnell v. United States. The Court reversed the convictions of the former governor of Virginia, holding that McDonnell did not perform “official acts” as defined by federal bribery law.
Nicholas Pugliese , State House Bureau, @nickpugzPublished 5:27 p.m. ET April 19, 2017
Several of New Jersey’s high-ranking elected officials gathered in Newark Penn Station Wednesday to present the federal government with a dire warning: either follow through on a commitment to fund a portion of the $24 billion trans-Hudson rail project known as Gateway or, in the words of U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, prepare for “traffic Armageddon.”
“We are in a state of crisis,” said Booker, a Democrat. “In fact, we are long past a state of crisis and New Jersey residents are feeling it just about every single day.”
Gateway, perceived as one of the most important infrastructure projects in the country, would double rail capacity between Newark and New York City by digging a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River and upgrading aging bridges, among other improvements.
But it’s a race against time. The current two-track tunnel under the Hudson River was badly damaged during Superstorm Sandy and will need to be repaired in the next 20 years, reducing train service by 75 percent.
Ridgewood NJ , the website NICHE issued report cards on places to live in New Jersey. The website says ,the 2017 Best Places to Live ranking provides a comprehensive assessment of the overall livability of an area. This grade takes into account several key factors of a location, including the quality of local schools, crime rates, housing trends, employment statistics, and access to amenities in an attempt to measure the overall quality of an area.
Ridgewood came in 7th with neighbors Glen Rock 11th and Ho Ho Kus came in at number 20.
#7 Works Here: Ridgewood is a great town for young adults to raise their children. Ridgewood is a very tight knit community where everyone helps out and knows one another. The center of town has a good amount of shops and top rated restaurants in the county which attracts a very positive ribe throughout the town. Ridgewood residents are great supporters of the local businesses. Also, young children used the center of town as a safe haven to meet up with friends. They utilize the shops, restaurants, and movie theater; everything is within walking distance! Ridgewood has a fantastic school system that challenges students and allows for high college acceptance rates. The faulty is outstanding and does not leave anyone behind. Ridgewood’s school system also offers a wide variety of afterschool activities for the children, including camps at the town pool! Overall Ridgewood is an outstanding town and a wonderful community for families to grow.
# 11 Current Resident:GR is a great little town- close to NYC & culture, easy access to mountains & the beach. Pretty streets & houses, nice people, & a cute little downtown. You know everyone & they know you (the +/- of such a small town). A bit insane for sports & academics. Students feel pressured to succeed/excel, but there is lots of support to help you. Kids from GR go to a wide variety of excellent colleges, but not many to the Ivy’s.
#20 Niche User:As a long time NJ resident we looked closely at every town in Northern NJ and HHK had the best of everything we were looking for. The schools were great, lots of well educated families, a town you could walk to, great restaurants, the ability to get really involved in the town or not at all and reasonable taxes compared to the rest of Bergen County. After 6 years of living here my wife and I agree this is the best town to live in and raise a family.
Ridgewood NJ, Several young artist participants speak about the Ridgewood Arts Council’s Emerging Artists Gallery Scavenger Hunt to be held on April 23rd at Van Neste Park from 11am-2pm.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Water’s Journey from Rain to Drain, Daffodil Festival & Earth Day Fair will take place Sunday, April 23 from 11 a.m. to 2:00 p. m in Memorial Park at Van Neste Square. This is a free, fiun event for all ages!
Come join the celebration! There will be a plant sale, environmentally focused vendors and organizations, music and multiple activities for children including nature themed arts and crafts and educational displays.
The Conservancy for Ridgewood Public Lands and the Ridgewood Environmental Advisory Committee (REAC) in partnership with Ridgewood Water is hosting this year’s special event “From Rain to Drain”.
There will be food, educational programs and musical entertainment.
Its most significant intended purpose, and the one motivating past council members, is to compensate legally for building LESS parking at nearby apartment developments. Otherwise why would Aronsohn & Co. have cared so much that they made a video about it (on village tax money)? DO NOT BE FOOLED. Garage is a boondoggle to end them all. We have enough to worry about re: property tax increases without adding this unnecessary, voted-down, impossible-to-maintain monstrosity (at any size). ADD retail space? No, please. Let’s just reconfigure the Hudson St. lot.
Remember that the former Mayor and Mr. Saraceno conducted studies that showed that there would be LESS traffic and only 4 additional children in the schools as a result of this project. No really, they did – and expected us to believe it. The studies assumed that only empty nesters with no cars would be moving in to these apartments. They further assumed that apartment dwellers would simply walk to get everything they needed in Ridgewood and take the train everywhere else. What could possibly go wrong by trusting a real estate developer and a disgraced politician?
Members of the public suggesting that the proposed development project, when built, will produce unavoidable, intractable problems with vehicular and pedestrian traffic at the intersection of Broad Street and Franklin Avenue, reflect common sense and need not be deemed “out of order” by Saraceno’s henchmen. The idea that we need a developer’s attorney to tell us what is and is not a fact, and what to think of a given fact in terms of what it portends for our lives as Village residents, and that we can’t legitimately rely on our own minds and common sense, is insulting, preposterous and condescending. This is too reminiscent of the Valley travails before the planning board and we shouldn’t be so willing to put up with it now that we are familiar with the tactic.
Ridgewood NJ, On April 19, 1775, at 5am, 700 British regulars marched into Lexington, MA and were met by 77 American militiamen. The Americans initially began to disperse, and then from an undetermined gun, “the shot heard round the world” was fired. Ten Americans and 1 British soldier died there. Two hours later the British marched into Concord only to be met by hundreds of American Patriots. The British commander ordered his troops to hastily begin their 16 mile trek to Boston. Throughout the return, the Americans fired upon the troops – Indian style, from behind trees, rocks and bushes. By the time the British reached Boston, nearly 300 British soldiers had been killed, wounded, or were missing in action. The fight for Independence had begun!
With more battles being fought here than anywhere else, New Jersey played a key role in the Revolutionary War, While no major battles were fought in Bergen County there were a number of skirmishes between local Patriots and British troops or sympathizers. The Ridgewood area was constantly visited by Washington and his officers.
The Schoolhouse Museum’s new exhibit “From the Revolutionary War to the 1960’s Revolution”commemorates our war for Independence with actual artifacts, weapons and equipment; as well as examples of flags and uniforms from this period.
To see this display as well as other displays highlighting other significant events during this time, from wars, to the roaring twenties to the rocking 60’s; as well as histories of prominent Ridgewood area residents, visit the Ridgewood Historical Society’s Schoolhouse Museum, at 650 East Glen Avenue. The museum is open Thursdays and Saturday 1-3pm and Sundays 2-4pm. Please visit www.ridgewoodhistoricalsociety.org for more information.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Deputy Mayor Mike Sedon and friends talk about the upcoming Emerging Artists Gallery Scavenger Hunt that’s happening on Sunday, April 23rd from 11-2pm at Van Neste Park!!
Ridgewood NJ, In a long planning board session Tuesday night residents and planning board members expressed concerns over John Saraceno’s 5 story apartment and retail complex coming to Broad and Franklin. Built on the former home of the Ken Smith car dealership, the 60+ unit apartment with thousands of square feet of retail space is allowed under new village laws championed by Ridgewood resident Saraceno and then mayor Paul Aronsohn.
At issue to planning board members, the large increase in traffic at one of the village’s most congested and dangerous intersections of Franklin and Broad. Falling back on the Saraceno/Aronsohn modifications to the village’s master plan, the planner for Saraceno said any traffic impact had been anticipated by the new master plan and was not an issue.
A traffic expert for the village pointed out the negative impact the traffic, expected massive increases in pedestrians and school children crossing Franklin at Broad as a ripple effect that would stretch from Garber Sq to Maple and E. Ridgewood Ave.
Residents who took part questioned Saraceno’s planner under a continuous stream of objections from Saraceno’s attorneys. Residents focused on traffic and assumptions about parking. During residents turn to question planners and experts alike, loud sighs and some negative comments could be clearly heard from the back wall of the courtroom where Saraceno stood alone most of the evening.
The 5 story mix of retail, affordable housing, and market rate apartments would rise stories above the adjacent train station and all nearby buildings. An artist’s rendering took great liberties with the actual look of the Ken Smith area, adding a building where a bank parking lot sits and removing the iconic “ridge” stretching to the north behind the train station.
The hearing continues May 16.
The rendering is looking down Franklin towards the train station on the left and down Chestnut towards another new apartment complex on the right. The building on the left does not exist, it is a bank parking lot.
Ridgewood NJ, lead tests done at both Willard school and George Washington Middle School produced only one non compliant drinking fountain in each school.
Following the NJ DEP instructions the Ridgewood School System tested 25 samples at Willard with only one fountain containing non compliant lead levels and at George Washington Middle School the Ridgewood School System took 27 samples and all but one were compliant.
Readers are already questioning the results . According to the CDC High levels of lead in tap water can cause health effects if the lead in the water enters the bloodstream and causes an elevated blood lead level.
Most studies show that exposure to lead-contaminated water alone would not be likely to elevate blood lead levels in most adults, even exposure to water with a lead content close to the EPA action level for lead of 15 parts per billion (ppb). Risk will vary, however, depending on the individual, the circumstances, and the amount of water consumed. For example, infants who drink formula prepared with lead-contaminated water may be at a higher risk because of the large volume of water they consume relative to their body size.
The pipes at these schools are probably 50+ years old. Questions remain as to weather the school ever tested these faucets before? Are the elevated lead levels only a recent occurrence and if so how long were the students subject to these elevated lead levels ?
The other issues that puzzles parents is how can it be just one faucet? And why was this not tested earlier? Why did the school system have to wait for the state to develop rules to test every faucet if they knew that old plumbing can cause problem and the risks of lead poising are very well known ?
As taxpayers we are often reminded that safety is a top priority for our students but that priority seems to often get pushed to a back burner when it does not involve raising taxes .
The school crossing at Linwood towards BF NEEDS an additional Crossing Guard
during rush hours morning and afternoon.Thats an intersection
that needs a wider right turning lane from BF street up Linwood towards town.Left turns there are also very tight. That corner needs a review.Current crossing Guard does a great job but is outgunned..
