The nonprofit arts and culture sector is a $519.8 million industry in New Jersey, supporting 14,342 full-time equivalent jobs and yielding $41 million in local and state government revenue, according to a recent study.
Arts & Economic Prosperity 5, the most comprehensive study of its kind ever conducted in the United States, was conducted by Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education.
ArtPride New Jersey, the state’s largest cross-discipline arts service organization, worked with Americans for the Arts and local partners to examine the financial power of the state’s cultural community.
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood Guild has release the schedule for their 7th season of Movies in the Park! This is a free program that takes place in Memorial Park at Van Neste Square every other Wednesday during the months of June, July & August! The movie begins when the sun goes down (approximately 9pm in June & July, and 8:45pm in August). If the weather doesn’t look good, please be sure to check our Facebook page, and come back here to our website to see the scheduled rain date!
Bring a blanket and/or chair, and enjoy a movie under the stars!
Ridgewood NJ, It’s often said that all it takes to change a person’s life – or the life of a business – is one big idea.
While it’s true that many individuals and businesses have gone a long way on the strength of a lone idea, plenty of others prospered even further because they are constantly innovating – coming up with one good idea after another.
“Businesses usually start out with an innovative idea,” says Mayur Ramgir (www.mayurramgir.com), president and CEO of Zonopact, Inc. “But they soon lose that innovative edge as they just try to survive with their day-to-day operations.”
Ramgir has seen the problem often while working with the clients of Zonopact, which provides companies with software products that help them streamline their processes, carving out more time for innovation.
“It’s easy to lose sight of your vision, and the kind of innovative thinking that got you to where you are, when you become bogged down in solving each day’s problems,” he says.
So why it is important that companies keep innovating?
• Other companies can claim your market share. Apple has become a perfect example of what a gap in innovation can leave. There hasn’t been much game-changing innovation from Apple since it released the iPad in 2010, thus giving its competition time to make up the ground that separated them from the tech juggernaut. Whether it was the death of Steve Jobs or another factor, there is no doubt that the technology gap has narrowed.
• Failure to meet consumer demands could put a company out of business. It was the late 1980s; hair was big, neon was cool and there was a Blockbuster Video Store on every corner. Fast forward to 2017, where the hairstyles have flattened out and Blockbuster is nowhere to be found. At least neon has made a nice comeback! Blockbuster failed to meet the changing demands of consumers who were going to their local grocery store or pharmacy to rent a movie out of what looked like a vending machine. As a result, the one-time $5 billion company was liquidated and now lives with the VHS tapes that used to fill its shelves.
• Lack of product-storage innovation hurts supply volume. It seems as though we hear the same story every year around Christmas; there is a hot item that every child has to have. The only problem is that there aren’t enough of the toys to go around, leaving plenty of disappointed faces around the tree on Christmas morning. Companies that do not have an innovative supply plan run the risk of falling short on getting products to their customers. This lack of foresight could give those customers an opportunity to walk away and discover other items.
“My advice to businesses out there is don’t stop,” Ramgir says. “Keep innovating and keep moving forward.”
About Mayur Ramgir
Mayur Ramgir (www.mayurramgir.com) is an International award-winning author, speaker, innovator and entrepreneur. Educated at Georgia Tech, MIT, Oxford and the University of Sussex, he currently serves as the President and CEO of the Boston-based Zonopact, Inc. An advocate of innovation, Ramgir’s book, “Unbarred Innovation: A Pathway to Greatest Discoveries,” was published in 2016. The book takes readers on a journey of self discovery and helps them realize that they are more than the sum of their parts.
Ridgewood NJ, Last night’s Village Council Work Session was great. All of our elected officials are working well together, even when they disagree. No one teams up on anyone else and there is no disrespect on the dais or from the dais to the audience. There is plenty of laughter and camaraderie while work is being accomplished. This is truly good government at work.
Here are some highlights, in no particular order:
1. Tony Damiano got up and thanked Mayor Knudsen for resolving the schedule problems with the PSEG work on Broad St. Yes, he thanked her. Guess he took so much heat on the Blog and on Facebook for claiming full responsibility for this that he decided he looked really small. Well, he did take some credit, but at least he made a stab at thanking the Mayor.
2. And speaking of looking really small, oh my gosh Mr. Rurik Halaby has completely lost his mind. He is the lone soldier left from those few who ever supported the three amigos and Roberta, and he is fighting mightily. His comments are not worth repeating, but he sure looked like a total idiot. And he sounded like a crazy man, spewing invective about rumors he has heard and such. He actually verged on threatening the council including singling out Ramon. Yep, would love to see a showdown between Ramon and Rurik.
3. Jeff Voigt in his library report announced that “the library” wants 5 Million Dollars for an interior renovation to make the auditorium into a performing arts center and some other sprucing up. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, $5 million. And they will be looking for money. Maybe Mr. Halaby can write the check?
4. It was explained that we will be entering into a shared services agreement with Washington Township in which we will service up to 30 of their vehicles at our Village Garage. Yes, that garage which Mr. Pucciarelli wanted to eliminate will now be making plenty of money for us. Hear that Albert? Yet another of your idiotic suggestions and schemes is going down the drain. Do you have any comments? Oh, that’s right, no comments from the former Deputy Mayor as he is named in a lawsuit and is scrambling to keep his reputation intact.
5. Parking was a huge topic of discussion. Mike Sedon provided an informative history of parking pricing dating back for the past 10 or 15 years, which was interesting. Jeff Voigt had prepared and distributed copies of parking suggestions that he had gathered from many sources. It was very well put together and very transparent because everyone could hold it in their hands and read it. The discussion was cordial, lively, and very productive. A few highlights include paving and re-lining the Hudson lot and thereby adding up to 40 spaces. This would include closing some of the several curb cut entrances into the lot from Hudson. Imagine that, 40 spaces in the blink of an eye. They are also going to have tiered pricing so that those who are willing to walk from Cottage can pay significantly less. Bernie Walsh and Jeff walked in and out of 17 stores to assess where the employees park. She said it was very friendly and informative and she is hoping all the council members can join in this project. New signage will be going up shortly to direct people to the various lots. The Zabriskie Lot is under consideration.
6. Looks like they will be going back to now allow parking on one side of Pomander Walk. This makes good sense. Why did the Pomander Walk residents ever get such an exclusive deal in the first place?
7. Heather Mailander highlighted two Village employees who have gone above and beyond. This was a nice report and one which she intends to do regularly. She is not singing her own praises, nope, she is singing the praises of others. This is the sign of a great manager, one who does not toot her own horn incessantly.
8. Matt Rogers provided a litigation update, at the request of Mayor Knudsen. This will now be a regular report. Updates on the Water Company, Valley, COAH and the referendum petitioners were included.
So let me get this story straight and see if I have it right. PSEG schedules major work on Broad Street to commence in late September and run through the Christmas season. This is done when Roberta is still employed. The summer comes and goes, and Roberta goes…and goes. Then last week Tony Damiano gets up at a meeting and states that this is the worst possible time for the merchants, as they make most of their money in the 4th quarter. This makes sense, but it is hard to hear the sense in his message since he is all but accusing Mayor Knudsen of doing this on purpose to screw the merchants. As if she would do anything remotely like that, honestly, Damiano is insane. But I digress.
So the meeting ends at midnight or whenever, and Susan goes right to work the next day setting up a meeting with PSEG to see if they will change the time frame away from the Christmas season. In a text exchange with Damiano, she tells him she will be meeting with PSEG and encourages him to give her any input or insights before she meets with them. He does not do so.
On Monday morning at 10:00 she meets with PSEG, along with Rutishauser and (in the absence of Heather who was off) Janet Fricke. Mayor Knudsen manages to accomplish a major victory, because she gets the giant utility company to change their dates. This happens because Susan is very pleasant and diplomatic. We know that the PSEG folks DESPISED Aronsohn because he was such an Atilla the Hun with them, bossing them around through the hurricane aftermath.But now we have a mayor who is pleasant, polite, professional, and easy to get along with.
Mayor Knudsen immediately composes a press release to let everyone know that the dates have been changed, but before she can send it Mr. Damiano in his great arrogance sends out a victory letter taking full credit for accomplishing the date change. Un-effing-believable. He was NOT in the meeting, but he takes full credit for this. He does not acknowledge Mayor Knudsen, he does not thank Mayor Knudsen, and in fact he goes on to write some very snarky and sarcastic comments about her. He accuses the Mayor of trying to stick it to the merchants, instead of thanking her for solving the problem. And then he goes on to posture that he will be doing direct negotiations with PSEG moving forward for any work they want to schedule. What???? Damiano is not an elected official, he is not an employee of the Village. He has ZERO authority to schedule any utility work in this town.
In the end, Mayor Knudsen took the right approach, solved the problem, and took the high road in the face of incredible invective from Tony Damiano as well as Troll Halaby.
We are all so grateful for Mayor Knudsen. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood blog has received the following email from Tony Damiano of the Ridgewood Guild . It’s odd though no one ever made such a big deal over the “traffic easing ” which greatly reduced the inflow of traffic into the Ridgewood’s central business district. No one also ever brought up these objection with the Hudson Parking Garage . Funny how best estimates would put many Ridgewood CBD stores under great duress during the construction period .
Subject: Re: fr: Tony Damiano re: PSEG Update
Ramon,
I understand that. What I was referring to was the the recent dialogue from yesterday.
What you are telling me only makes the situation worse. Now I am shocked that the Council knew about this as far back as May and never communicated with The Ridgewood Guild or the business community. At the “wonderful” meeting that took place on Tuesday of this week at the Chamber office, again, nothing was mentioned. The Chamber of Commerce wasn’t even notified. I spoke with Joan Groom yesterday. I thought Council learned about the project a couple of weeks ago. Now you are telling me this was on the table back in May or June and none of us knew???
While I have your ear. I am very disappointed that I cannot be a part of your new Downtown Committee. I know I would have been a great asset, a historian so to speak, on what works and what may not. As I stated at the July meeting and at Wednesday night’s meeting, I need to know who the resident committee members are. It seems Susan is micro-managing the choices. Allegedly, Lorrainne Reynolds and Amy Borque have been selected. I am curious to know who the other 3 are. You need a good mix of people on this committee in order for it to succeed. Committee members who have different points of view, but can work amicably together. These 2 people are huge supporters of Susan’s. Lorraine said she would support the Hudson St. garage if it were taken down a level. Amy formed for Save Ridgewood group and opposed the residential complexes. She is lovely, but I’m afraid to say that this is a conflict of interest. Her family owns a residential complex just on our border. I know Philip Davis is representing the Chamber. He will, no doubt contribute, however he has only been in town for 2 years. Gary Kolsaire is the right choice. His business has been in town a number of years. Also, please do your homework before speaking. At the July meeting you suggested bringing the Christmas tree to the park. You will need to further investigate that one. That created a backlash that business owners and residents are still talking about.
You say you are working to support the business community. Here are 3 examples of how you are not…
1) You have swept the parking deck under the rug, not having it on the past 2 Council Meeting Agendas, even though the past Mayor, past Deputy Mayor, past Councilwoman, Assistant Village Manager, president of The Ridgewood Guild, current president, and 3 past presidents of The Chamber of Commerce, all f which are considered “Community Leaders” were in favor of it. Much time, effort and money was spent listening to professionals and consultants regarding design, financial reports, (which were approved by our Council appointed Financial Committee), and a professional traffic consultant. While I’m on the subject, is it true you have assigned another traffic consultant who is not certified to do, and yet another study?
2) You didn’t inform us of the PSEG work that will greatly effect 4th Quarter.
3) Rumor has it that the Council is looking to raise the parking meters to $.75 an hour.
Best………………..Tony Damiano – President
The first election was presumably simply for a parking garage. Many of us voted “yes” because we do need a garage. When Aronson and crew decided that we voters “really meant” to vote “yes” on that monstrosity that he wanted, a second vote was held. On that we voted “No” because it was supposed to be “Did we want to bond money for ‘A’ garage” but Aronson inserted the amount for the largest garage that he wanted. He also set the vote on the earliest possible date, while he was still in office so he could presumably still break the ground for his dream. And yes, our new Council members did say they wanted a garage but not “that” garage. So, to me, what the voters wanted was still a garage, but not something of that size. And they wanted the new Council to handle the details with input from the residents of Ridgewood.
file photo by Boyd Loving
We voted against the monster garage.People were duped into voting for the monster garage in November. We were reassured that we were voting for A garage, not any specific design.
Then some hard working residents started a petition drive against the monster garage. No one ever said that they were against building a garage. They just want the right size in the right location.
Council members who were elected said that they would look into a redesign/relocation. No one running said that they were against a garage. There will be a garage.
file photo by Boyd Loving
One current council member admitted publicly during the campaign in the spring that he had been among those bamboozled by lies and omissions about the garage (he did not put it quite that way) and voted yes in the November referendum. He was among many. Had a true depiction and description been made available, including the fact that the thing was going to Occupy Hudson Street, and if it had been explained, as was the case, that a “yes” vote was not for a concept, but for the largest drawing–formally “approved,” by mayoral fiat, by the Historic Preservation Commission’s relatively new chair (appointed by the then-mayor), without checking with the members, and by the mayor’s personally created and hand-picked Financial Advisory Committee–how many residents would have agreed to it? Only those with something to gain, those who pay no attention, and those whose finger slipped in the voting booth. I think the “yes” votes would have amounted to about 150, including mistakes.
Below is the schedule of what will be playing. Make sure to check our Facebook page or event page for updates, notifications of weather changes, etc. before coming out to the Park.
June 15 – To Kill a Mockingbird
June 29 – Vertigo
July 13 – Grease **We’ll also feature live 50’s music, a sock hop & more, so come to the park early and enjoy the party!
July 27 – Raiders of the Lost Ark
August 10 – Despicable Me
August 24 – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
All movies are shown on a big screen at Memorial Park in Van Neste Square! Movies begin at sundown (approximately 9pm in June and July and 8:30pm in August).
Ridgewood Nj, Come join us for the 2016 Ridgewood Guild Film Festival’s International Night at the Ridgewood Library on Tuesday, April 19 at 7:00pm! We’ll start with 3 shorts at 7pm, followed by the feature film, Timbuktu, at 7:30pm. We hope to see you there!
On Saturday, November 28, 2015 The Ridgewood Guild will sponsor its fifth annual Winterfest, to coincide with Small Business Saturday!
Memorial Park at Van Neste Square will set the stage with special holiday performances by The Orpheus Club Men’s Chorus and Declan Power!
The park will be decorated, there will be ice sculptures, horse drawn hayrides around town, cookies, candy canes, complimentary hot chocolate a trackless train ride and more!
So, come downtown to enjoy the festivities, welcome in the holiday season and support your local businesses! Learn more about what Ridgewood Businesses are doing for Small Business Saturday!
Join us for Small Business Saturday!
Shop Small Ridgewood!
November 28, 2015
Win 1 of 5 Ridgewood Guild $100 Gift Certificates to use at any participating business (listed below)
All you need to do is:
1. Follow @ridgewoodguildnj on Instagram
2. Like the Ridgewood Guild on Facebook
3. Post a selfie tagging @ridgewoodguildnj and #shopsmallridgewood
You will automatically be entered into the random drawing! Have fun shopping small (and local) this year!
Participating Ridgewood Businesses:
Mango Jam
Chestnut Deli and Catering
Markosian Fine Art Jewelry
Wostbrock Home and Floors
Backyard Living
Kate Spade
Gardiner and Co.
Jekyll and Hide
Coco Curtain Studio
Suite 201
Social by Suite 201
Vintage 61
Pangea Coins and Jewelry
Rossi’s of Ridgewood
Ridgewood Cycle
Goffle Brook Farms and Garden Center
Savvy Chic Consignment Boutique
Village Eyewear
Red Velvet Luxe
Beer’s Flower Shop
The Quilt Spot
Kilwin’s
Park West Tavern
Ben & Jerry’s
The Green Olive Branch
Bazaar Star Beadery
Pinot’s Palette
Greenwich Nails
Karma Organic Spa
Araya Rebirth
Carlo’s Bakery
La Tour
Due
Ridgewood Culinary Studio
Super Juice Nation
A Mano
Italia di Gusto
Best of Everything
Fish Urban Dining
Greenbaum Interiors
Memoire
The Daily Treat
Cupcakes by Carousel
Flackman, Goodman, and Potter
Raymond’s
Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt
Natalie’s
Tonight’s Ridgewood Guild’s Music in the Night Schedule:
Bobby Degs – Daily Treat Joseph Morris – It’s Greek to Me Emily Ertle – Ridgewood Coffee Deirdre Morgan – Kilwin’s Jake Thistle – Due/Malee/La Tour Banished to the Basement – MacMurphy’s Take 4 – Ben & Jerry’s
The 2015 Ridgewood Guild’s “Music in the Night” Program
The Ridgewood Guild “Music in the Night” evening performance series is now entering its 5th Season. Every Friday night from 7:00 – 9:00pm, Memorial Day to Labor Day, musicians will be performing in several locations throughout downtown Ridgewood. These talented performers have created quite a buzz, so come join the fun, and enjoy some great music!
If you can strum a guitar, blow a horn or croon a tune, we’d love to hear you. Please fill out this form and email:[email protected] and we’ll get back to you to schedule an audition.
AUGUST 14, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Ridgewood Guild is giving residents an opportunity to take in cultural programs, free of charge, on several evenings throughout the summer.
One such program is Music in the Night, a live music performance hosted by the Guild each Friday.
The event, which takes place primarily outside Guild businesses, features musicians of all sorts, “from soloists to five-piece groups and in between,” according to the organization’s president, Tony Damiano.
The performers also range in age, with 11-year-old Jake Thistle being the youngest thus far, Damiano said. Many students from Ridgewood High School also grace the stage.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off A high school wise guy is determined to have a day off from school, despite what the principal thinks of that
“classic teen coming of age movie ”
Join us in Memorial Park at Van Neste Square for family fun and entertainment. We show films great for the whole family on a 25 foot screen and professional sound system. Bring snacks, a picnic blanket, and get ready for a great evening with your community.
0n several Wednesday nights from June to August – The Ridgewood Guild will feature a complimentary movie for your enjoyment! Pack a picnic basket, bring your family and pull up some turf in Van Neste Park. Movies start when the sun goes down…about 9pm (8pm in August). July 8 – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off July 22 – Momma Mia!!! (Special Event) August 5 – Murder on the Orient Express August 19th – Harry Potter (Special Event)
