Photo credit: Boyd A. Loving No injuries following garbage truck crash in Ridgewood May 07,2014 Boyd A. Loving 1:23 PM
Ridgewiid NJ, A Village of Ridgewood sanitation truck collided with a Toyota Camry at the intersection of Prospect Street and Durar Avenue in Ridgewood at approximately 9:00 AM on Wednesday, May 7. No injuries were reported in the crash, either to the three (3) person Village sanitation crew, or to the Camry’s driver. Although the Toyota sustained heavy passenger side damage, it was able to be driven from the scene. The sanitation vehicle was driven back to the Village’s garage for temporary repairs that enabled it to continue on its route. There is a stop sign present at the intersection, but there was no word from police on the scene as to whether any summonses were issued in connection with the crash.
Reader says I moved here because it’s safe and has a great school system
ridgewood’s median income is roughly 3Xs (that’s 300% again for the mathematically challenged) the national average and we only pay 29% more on services. what’s the original poster’s argument? we should pay less for teachers? i don’t think so…i moved here because it’s safe and has a great school system…so far i have been pleased on both fronts and happy to pay for it (even if i have to pay more)
i live the same distance from the firehouse (in ridgewood) as the people whose house just burned down (in midland park). My son choked on an apple a few years ago, they were there in 2 minutes. The house burns in midland park and that firehouse doesn’t get called for 15 mins because the midland park fire chief wanted his volunteer force to run it…i’ll take our current services, thank you very much
stop complaining about paying more for better service and please keep using inaccurate data to make your argument
Ridgewood NJ, Amelia Ortiz had some extra pep in her step as she boarded her train Wednesday morning. It might have been the coffee.
Flo’s Depot at the Ridgewood train station officially opened for business Tuesday morning, exactly one week after its originally scheduled unveiling. No one, including Ortiz, seemed to mind the seven-day delay – after all, they have been waiting for almost five years for a coffee stand to re-open at the spot.
When New Jersey Transit began a multi-million dollar renovation project and forced the last coffee stand to permanently close its doors in 2009, morning rail riders were compelled to seek their caffeine jolts and breakfasts-on-the-go from other sources. For those residents opting against a travel mug of java from home, the extra stop at a nearby shop or bakery posed a minor inconvenience.
Editors note : History has shown us the problem is the Village simply has “ZERO” credibility in its ability to plan ,manage and implement large projects and too many seem to have their vision clouded by personal gain.
No one wants to see empty lots in the CBD , nor do most want to live in the “next, next ” Hoboken .
Like the Train Station renovation before , there is a way for everyone to get something positive, add housing , improve infrastructure , take into account schools and of coarse parking.
Whats lacking is a vision for the future of the Village. A vision uniquely by Ridewood ,for Ridgewood. Not about people getting elected or speculators getting rich off government connections .
This Vision must include Valley Hospital, CBD housing ,retail and parking , traffic and the Ridgewood School district.
The Village with its excellent schools , parks ,CBD, cultural institutions and easy access to transportation offers a very unique opportunity .
If we chose to destroy the character of the town , the very character that has attracted so many to the Village over the years , we will lose the very thing that makes us who we are….
The people advocating for high density buildings (and for Valley Hospital over expansion for that matter) do not care about our town. They care about making money. Once they make their money, if they don’t like what the town is like they will be able to leave. There is no middle ground we can get to right now because they want maximum $$. They will first try for maximum $$ via high density, and only if we defeat them will they come down a notch and try for slightly less (see Valley Hospital). Maybe after several defeats we might get to a middle ground, but even that will be temporary. People like this do not give up. 10 years after we reach a middle ground solution (if we do) they will be right back at it (or their children will take the helm) seeking to make $$ by ruining our Village…..
I think that is what has to be discussed. But to right away jump to conclusion and think over night or even years Ridgewood would turn into any of your examples is foolish and not forward thinking.
You think modernization and growth and you assume that means higher crime, noise, traffic and every negative thing you can imagine… But it doesn’t have to be that way if you develop a sustainable plan for growth through a thoughtful process.
The contextual makeup of Ridgewood is not sustainable. Look every town around us…. Minus glen rock… We are a old folks home… And it’s sad because we have an opportunity to be an example of a modern town that still remains true to its roots.
It doesn’t have to be an all or nothing deal. What i am really saying is that we are going to expand… No way around it it will happen eventually, just being honest. I rather the people that do care about this towns and it’s history be the ones making the plans and not the (as number one stated) money Hungary investors that can up and leave if it fails.
What rather you have?…..
We don’t want to follow the path of Hoboken, Paterson, Hackensack or NYC. Is there a suitable model out there?….
Photo credit: Boyd A. Loving “Jaws of Life” needed to free driver in late night Ridgewood crash
March 1,2014
Boyd A. Loving
12:26 AM
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood FD firefighters needed the “Jaws of Life” to free the female driver of an Acura TL after she was pinned in her car following a late night, two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Linwood and Walthery Avenues. After being removed from her vehicle, the driver was transported by ambulance to Hackensack University Medical Center with what were described by police on the scene as non life threatening injuries.
A black Audi involved in the crash sustained very heavy front end damage, but its driver refused medical aid, as did two other vehicle occupants. Both vehicles were removed by flatbed tow truck. Responding were Ridgewood PD, FD, and EMS, Bergen County PD, and a paramedic unit from The Valley Hospital. Ridgewood PD issued four (4) summonses in connection with the crash; details of their nature and to whom the summonses were issued were not made available at the scene.
New coffee stand will brew at Ridgewood train station
Tuesday February 4, 2014, 10:03 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
The Village of Ridgewood is now accepting bids from vendors who are interested in leasing and operating a new coffee stand at the Ridgewood train station, which has been without that particular service since 2009.
The deadline to submit proposals is 11 a.m. Feb. 20, when all public bids will be opened.
Reader says politicians and NJT should try commuting sometime before making infrastructure decisions.
I hope this person will be alright. It looks like the guy was walking home from the train. Last I checked day glow yellow suits are not really appropriate for business, so let’s cut him some slack about attire.
We are on track for a horrific accident at the intersection of Broad and Franklin now that the train station renovation forces commuters to cross at the underpass. There are no crossing signals. Cars coming through the underpass and making a right turn are not expecting people to be stepping off the curb right by the corner. More people are going to get hit. Maybe the politicians and NJT should try commuting sometime before making infrastructure decisions.
I am confident that nobody on the board at NJT eats their own cooking. The conditions at Penn are atrocious. Transferring at SEC is ridiculous in the mornings. And the station rebuild at RGWD is terrible. It is as if no part of that project was designed to improve the quality of commuting for non-ADA impacted people (99.999% of the people who use that station).
And yes, crossing at the corner of Franklin and Broad is about 10 times as dangerous as crossing Broad mid-block. There needs to be a full stop on green for right turns from Franklin to Broad, or at least better lighting on that corner. Good luck getting NJT to address it; they won’t even clear the snow from that corner, and evidently neither will Ridgewood.
Eventually you will see a traffic light on Franklin and Chestnut, too.
NJ Transit has made the commute from Ridgewood a nightmare
NJ Transit has made the commute from Ridgewood a nightmare. Express service pretty much cancelled — after a $40 million renovation just two years ago to build this big station, it is now no longer a key express stop per the schedule. Trains are so constantly overcroweded that there are fights (literally) over space to get on the trains. Emails, letters and calls go unanswered.
Now, we have large Advertisements for Empire Casino “decorating” the “RIDDGEWOOD” signs at this new station. I am all in favor of advertisements to reduce the financial strain on riders — but were these ad placements part of the drawings? I dont recall seeing them. Village officials never should have agreed to such a large expansion of the station and large advertisements for NY casinos without a committment from NJ Transit to maintain certain service levels. (BTW – why would a NJ based organization like NJ Transit agree to place large ads for a NY casino on its property when Atlantic City is suffering???) Hopefully this will serve as a warning to future Village leaders not to trust NJ Transit.
“Town Garage” looks to make a comeback
September 5, 2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, With the Village facing a “”Park-pocalypse” next week the Village council looks to continue discussions during the councils next work session on the recently proposed “Chamber of Commerce” parking plan for the Central Business District and a new plane for the you guessed it “Town Garage” property.
As previously reported members of the Ridgewood business community presented an elaborate, through expensive multifaceted plan last month that included not one but two parking structures and a new retail space as well as a strategy to fund the entire venture. This plan has become known as the “Chamber of Commerce” parking plan.
Criticism has centered on whether the plan can come in on budget to meet the very aggressive requirements to fund the parking complexes without risk to tax payers. A rosie scenario was presented but given the Villages past inability to meet construction budgets ie, the $2 million Village Hall that became a $9 million fiasco or the $400,000 ‘Golden Toilet” at Vets field that much chronicled on this blog leaves readers with doubts .
Tonight the “Town Garage” project is expected to be resurrected by the owners .Village Council members are expected discuss the plan at length. Past plans for the property have always been based on the socialized taxpayer financing with profits kept in the hands of the few. Taxpayers in Ridgewood up till now have been in no mood to finance someone else’s profits., but with the new regime the jury is still out.
There is also the issue of old fuel tanks , and soil contamination at the site if needed with no one really sure what the Village is on the hook for.
Long-vacant “Town Garage” back on in the news again
THURSDAY JULY 26, 2012, 1:49 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Village Council members are expected next month to resurrect a discussion initiated by the Ridgewood Planning Board, which has asked the governing body to review the stipulations and intentions of the North Walnut Street Redevelopment Area and Redevelopment Plan.
The Village Council will reopen discussions next month on what to do with the Town Garage property.
Ridgewood NJ, Village officials remain on the fence about several aspects of New Jersey Transit’s (NJT) proposal to sell advertising space at the Ridgewood train station.
New Jersey Transit is proposing the placement of advertisements on platforms and the pedestrian underpass at the Ridgewood train station. Council members and other residents left last week’s work session meeting with a better understanding of NJT’s plan; however, many were not yet convinced that the initial ideas presented by NJT representatives are in the village’s best interest.
In addition, some council members suggested that the transportation corporation, which operates the country’s largest statewide public transit system, must completely fulfill the obligations of the recent $40 million renovation before moving forward with the advertising project.
As of early this week, NJT and its advertising contractor, Titan Outdoor, had hopes of working with the village to sell and install advertising placards at the train station. Transit officials are targeting spots on the platforms and the station building as well as the walls of the pedestrian underpass. The ultimate goal for both NJT and the village is an increase in revenue, transportation officials said.
Ridgewood NJ, A conceptual plan to improve the pedestrian underpass at the Ridgewood train station has piqued interest among several council members, who last Wednesday expressed desire to meet with New Jersey Transit (NJT) officials and discuss the potential ideas.
NJT recently completed a $40 million renovation project at the station to make Ridgewood’s transit hub accessible to disabled passengers and more convenient for all riders. That project, however, did not include improvement work to the underpass.
In its current condition, the underground walkway shows deteriorated walls, exposed rebar and general disrepair. Though it is out of sight to many village residents, the passageway is an eyesore to those who use it.
>Ridgewood’s firefighters agreed to major mid-contract concessions
Editorial: Kudos on concessions
FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2011
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
What an unfamiliar revelation it was when the details of contract concessions between the Ridgewood Fire Department and the Village of Ridgewood were announced last week.
Ridgewood NJ, New Jersey Transit (NJT) is wrapping up the last of its major renovations at the Ridgewood train station and putting the finishing touches on the project in anticipation of its expected fall completion date.
The extensive $41 million construction project, which began in early 2009, was undertaken with the intent of making the station accessible to disabled passengers and more convenient for all commuters. Since then, the station has seen a raised platform replace the previously existing one on the station’s west side, the installation of 350-foot canopies over the tracks, new stairs, parking improvements and renovations to the station’s restrooms and ticket booth.
