If you were OUTRAGED at the Planning Board meeting last night and are wondering what you can do please consider the following.
Donate to the fighting fund The next phase of this battle needs to go beyond fliers and public meeting attendance. The Concerned Residents of Ridgewood are building a more substantial fighting fund and would like your support. We are looking for donations of $50, $100, $200 or more to Concerned Residents of Ridgewood, P.O. Box 150 Ridgewood, NJ 07450. You will receive a receipt from the CRR Treasurer. Your decision to donate could be time critical.
Register CRR sends out a regular Newsletter to its members. To stay informed please register with CRR at https://www.stopvalley.com/Register.html. Registration is free and your name will NOT be given to any 3rd parties without your express permission. If you are already a member of CRR and are not receiving newsletters, please re-register as your email might be out of date.
First let me start by saying that it rumored that some members of the planning board ,not all conspired with Valley to change the venue in an effort to disenfranchise the opposition and turn public opinion on them by forcing an angry “storm the Bastille” response which in turn let to overwhelming response by local police which led to even more anger . Well played by Valley and its supporters I might add especially with the aid of County Mounties. Interesting how all the Police arrived simultaneously .I must not have noticed the bat signal.
But Valleys old Nemesis Hackensack Medical Center had other ideas and sent interlopers to raise hell in hopes on tarnishing Valley’s already sullen image. Well no doubt that worked .Looks like once again Valley may have won the battle but lost the PR war big time . Now not only does every town in the Pascack Valley hate Valley Hospital but so does almost everyone in Ridgewood ,well ,well best laid plans for mice and men or shall I say unintended consequences.
On other fronts much of the anti-Riche sentiment strikes of the landslide losers Cronk and Dowd looking to settle a score and weaken the Richie position with his followers ,but not so fast;the Planning Board is not the Village Council and has an entirely different charge. Richie did say it was important to protect the neighborhood but he also repeated time and time again that because he was on the planning board and it was an open item on the agenda he couldn’t comment on Valley . This was in fact told to the CRR people who still decided to endorse him . I stll wish he would have just said “NO “,but at the end of the day it would not have mattered.
As for David Pfund folks continue to take bets on weather he will turn up working for the BOE or Valley ,Mayor Pfund’s gaff was to omit the small detail that his father was a Valley Trustee and his law frim represented Valley; though now conveniently erased from the firms website.
As for the BOE its no secret they were all for the Valley renovation despite the fakery to the contrary . Remember the ‘dope “deal over the BF field some years ago? It has been rumored an email went out over a month ago looking forward to cooperating with Valley . While it seems ,”think of the children” is only done when it comes to teacher raises and huge bond referendums but what else is new.
>Proudly they stand! United in voice and determined to the core! Not since I moved to this town prior to getting married in 1997 have I felt so proud to live here. Proud of the fact that the great people of our village came out in force last night to let the Planning Board know that the majority of tax paying residents of this village are against Valley Hospital’s expansion plans. The spirit of the people, fighting for what is right, was evident by the vocal disgust at what Valley Hospital has planned.
But it was all in vain. The planning board had already made its decision and its individual members turned their backs on the people that they supposedly represent in favor of Valley Hospital’s plans to expand. May the planning board members woe the day that they ignored the cries of their neighbors and friends. The tar and feathers await them.
The planning board has now clearly shown evidence that something is corruptly wrong. Against the voices of the residents of our village, the planning board has clearly highlighted their underhandedness in last night’s vote against the desires of the tax-paying residents of Ridgewood. There is no point highlighting the double cross of one individual member of the six who voted in favor of Valley’s plans, together the six quislings who sold out their friends and neighbors in favor of Valley must now face questions as to their reasons for doing so. It is not enough that they answer to the tax paying residents of our village, but they must now answer to state or federal authorities (as I have stated in a previous blog).
Last year, undercover FBI informant Solomon Dwek worked with federal authorities to expose statewide corruption in New Jersey which resulted in the arrest of 46 mayors, deputy majors, council people and others. Does Valley Hospital have its own Solomon Dwek, only he is operating quite successfully in paying off the Planning Board without any fear of retribution from the Feds? What promises and financial enhancements have been offered to the members of the planning board? These are some questions that only a state/federal investigation can answer and I am sure that there are many more.
The good news is that it will take a number of years before ground is broken on the expansion plans at Valley, but the fight must go on as never before. We must rally to the tune of the civil rights marches across the world “we shall over come” and we must protest at Valley itself – they brought their employees (non-residents of Ridgewood) to our town’s planning board – we must bring our fight to their customers – yes, their customers because every patient that passes the gates of Valley Hospital is a customer that makes money for Valley, the numerous insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, medical supply companies, etc. We must start putting a dent in the pockets of these entities to let them know that Valley’s underhanded tactics can backfire.
>The Planning Board’s vote was improperly conducted and there should be an investigation, not only of the proceedings, but also of the “incentives” Board members most certainly received from Valley.
In his preamble, Nicholson claimed that all deliberations were based upon “fact” and “exhaustive testimony” from experts.
Here are just some of the “facts” cited by Board members:
“…8 out of 9 Ridgewood residents support the hospital…”
This is simply made up! I’d like to see documentation that proves otherwise.
“…the State mandates single-patient rooms for all NJ hospitals…”
This is a lie.
This horrible vote should be rescinded, and Board members investigated. Obviously they were “greased” three years ago. The meeting was a true farce, and an insult to Ridgewood taxpayers.
>Planning Board alienates entire Village of Ridgewood
from the inside: Valley employees were from all over and very few from Ridgewood. One person from Wood-Ridge and another from Orange County NY. One from Pennsylvania and another from Suffern. This was a disgrace. It was clear the Valley people knew the vote already.
highlights of the vote include anne ward saying the testimony of the nurses, that they could provide better care, was credible because they had no financial gain. HUH? I think anne ward also stated (contrary to counsel stating only testimony could be considered when voting) that she supported the renewal because if she didn’t Valley might become a third-rate institution. HUH?
this was a sham and i have to admit being chastised by Ms. Price was a hoot. “Ridgewood residents, who are so concerned with their kids well being, are certainly setting a very bad example” was most comical. She had no business making that comment! so much for legal counsel! Valley employees got to clap at this but for me i want my kids to know in this country we have free speech and civil discourse. Lest we all roll over for politicians with special interests who trample the voice of the taxpayers and voters!
“I charge any reporter out there to further investigate this. There must be some reason that the board would sell out our village to have it become a city. Someone is getting something out of this and it isn’t the taxpayers. If I wanted a high-rise next to my kids school and in my neighborhood, I would have moved to a city. How come people in the lawns on pleasant can’t even add a porch to their houses but the board will approve a high rise next to a school in a residential area.”
One person arrested already. All Ridgewood on duty police officers deployed at scene. Additional police officers from Midland Park, Glen Rock, Wyckoff, and the County of Bergen are responding at this time.
UPDATE#2 Ridgewood PD has now closed South Monroe Street between Godwin Avenue and Washington Place. Record crowds; no meeting in Ridgewood’s history has ever drawn such a public response.
UPDATE#3 Six Bergen County Police units are now being staged at the intersection of North Monroe Street and West Ridgewood Avenue. Police Patrol Captain Thomas Landers is responding to the scene to assume command and control. The individual arrested was an adult male. Protesters are now reported to be attempting to gain access to the building via fire exits.
UPDATE#4 Just came from the inside….They are not letting anyone else in, although there are seats. Many are standing in the back. So many Stop Valley people on the outside. The parking warning was a joke. The was no event at the church and the parking was not an issue. Unfortunately they are not televising it, so those on the outside will not get to hear or see the Planning Board. I exchanged my children’s seats for 5 on the outside and even had some difficulty with that. It is not a pretty scene.
UPDATE#5 Situation outside of GW Middle School is calming down. Shouts from crowd outside of building have subsided. Officers from Bergen County PD and Bergen County Sheriff’s Department have moved into the perimeter and relieved units from neighboring municipalities.
*the Ridgewood blog would like to thanks all of its corespondents for a job well done
Planning Board Votes In Favor of H-Zone Amendment 6-1 with only Morgan Hurley sides with the overwhelming majority of Ridgewood Taxpayers .
Location: Village hall – 131 N. Maple Ave – Third Level
Hours: 8:30am – 4:30pm Monday through Friday Barbara K. Carlton Phone: (201) 670-5500 x240 Fax: (201) 670-7305
Planning Board Members: David Nicholson – – Chairman Albert Pucciarelli – Vice Chairman David Pfund – Mayor Ann Zusy – Councilwoman Morgan Hurley James Bombace Anne Ward Nick Tsapatsaris Charles Nalbantian Richard Barclay – Alt. 1 Thomas Riche – Alt. 2
Staff: Gail L. Price, Esq., Board Attorney Blais L. Brancheau, PP, Planner Christopher J. Rutishauser, PE, Village Engineer Barbara K. Carlton, Board Secretary
>As if the last-minute change of venue wasn’t bad enough to jerk residents around…now the village says parking will be unavailable. This from the Record:
“Parking will be extremely limited tonight at the middle school where the Ridgewood Planning Board is voting on Valley Hospital’s expansion plans.
The Planning Board secretary announced this afternoon that the village just discovered that parking will not be available at the large church lot across from George Washington Middle School.
The school itself has only a small lot and legal parking is scarce on the major streets around the school.
The Planning Board changed the meeting location from Benjamin Franklin Middle School, which has ample parking, late last week.
Board Secretary Barbara Carlton suggests that people carpool to the meeting. “
It’s bad enough the meeting was moved to a smaller venue off site but now parking is suspiciously absent
Pre-empted this week by U.S. Rep. Jon Adler’s (D-Cherry Hill) invocation of “Washington insider” to describe the Republican challenger, Jon Runyan as expected hit back with his first formal general election brand association for Adler: “career politician.” The candidate announced his support for a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, and proposed requiring a two-third supermajority of both the House and Senate to pass any tax increase and “a ‘Red Ink Taskforce’ that would be charged with a thorough review of all federal spending.” (Pizarro, PolitickerNJ)
>Alongside Christie on Monday, Booker set to endorse property tax hard cap concept
Embroiled in a city budget crisis and trying to close a $180 million budget deficit, Newark Mayor Cory Booker is scheduled tomorrow to endorse Gov. Chris Christie’s general concept of a hard cap on property taxes, according to multiple sources. The Christie administration Sunday evening released the governor’s updated schedule, which includes the appearance with Booker in Newark set for 11 a.m. (Pizarro, PolitickerNJ)
>Governor Christie: “Now is the time to not ignore the problems but to confront them.” A lot of the things that these difficult trying times are bringing into focus for all of us as citizens, as elected officials – that accountability is important now more than ever. And your point that when we appoint people, and I appoint lots of people, by the time I get done with four years I’ll probably appoint thousands of people to different things – boards and commissions and authorities around the state, members of my cabinet, judges – a lot of people that I’m going to be responsible for that are going to have my name next to them, for better or for worse for the rest of my life. (Governor Christie, PolitickerNJ)
Beloved Story Time at Graydon is back, thanks to the Coalition! Suzanne is organizing readers and helpers for Thursdays, 2 PM, from July 8 through August 29. No teaching experience necessary.
If you are interested, please write to [email protected] or call 201-632-1436. Audience: ages 4–8.
>Father’s Day celebrates its 100th anniversary today
Council members in Spokane, Wash., created the first Father’s Day in 1910 to honor William Smart, a widowed Civil War veteran who raised six children on a farm. Spokane’s celebration was held June 19, 1910.
In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. President Nixon, in 1972, established a permanent national observance of Father’s Day to be held on the third Sunday of June. So Father’s Day was born as a token of love and gratitude that a daughter cherishes for her beloved father. Roses are the Father’s Day flowers: red to be worn for a living father and white if the father has died.(https://www.theholidayspot.com/fathersday/history.htm)
Former President Lyndon Johnson issued a proclamation in 1966 designating the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Former President Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972.
Fast facts about fathers in the U.S.:
There are an estimated 67.8 million fathers across the nation, census data shows.
There are an estimated 67.8 million fathers across the nation, census data shows.
About 25.8 million fathers were part of married-couple families with children younger than 18, census data from 2009 shows.
Of the 1.7 million single fathers in 2009, 47 percent were divorced, 29 percent never married, 18 percent separated and 5 percent were widowed, data shows.
There were about 158,000 stay-at-home dads in 2009, census data shows. These fathers, married with children younger than 15, have remained out of the work force for at least one year primarily so they can care for the children while their wives work outside the home. The father cared for about 290,000 children.
Custodial fathers received $2.8 billion in child support payments in 2007 of the $4.3 billion they were due. Custodial mothers, by contrast, received $18.6 billion of the $29.8 billion that was due, a report from the census bureau shows.
Seventy-one percent of children younger than 6 years old ate dinner with their father every day in 2006, data shows. About 53 percent ate breakfast together.
Children ages 3 to 5 were read to an average of six times in a week, as of 2006, census data states. (https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/f2be9dab-41b6-517f-88d6-a81f9950d1d2.html)
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY! New Special Cigars In-Stock For Father’s Day
— Fuente Fuente Opus-X — — Davidoff Puro d’ Oro — — A. Fuente Rosado Magnum — — Padron Anniversary 1964 TAA Toro — — Padron Family Reserve No. 44 — — Rocky Patal Decade Edicion Limitada —
The Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood | 10 Chestnut Street | Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450 Phone: 201-447-2204 | Email: [email protected] Hours: Monday – Saturday 10:00AM – 5:30PM and Thursday Night 6:30PM – 8:30PM
