Tag: Ridgewood Moms and dads

>The folks who conceived Ridgewood’s latest travesty – a proposed 400 foot long, 50 foot high, brick/concrete/steel structure, possibly with minimal setback from it’s proposed South Broad Street location, containing 30,000 square feet of retail space and 88 housing units – will meet beginning at 7:30 PM on Tuesday, January 6 in the Sydney V. Stoldt, Jr. Courtroom at Village Hall, Floor 4, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood.

Show your support for the South Broad Street area, and for the Orchard School community, by coming down to Village Hall on Tuesday night and saying hello to your neighbors listed below, who conspired as a group in several Executive (closed/private) Sessions to devastate one of Ridgewood’s most historically significant and culturally diverse neighborhoods:

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 – Alternate Member
Thomas Riche – Alternate Member

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January 5, 2009 Contact: John Gorman / (609) 292-5199

Senator Kevin J. O’Toole (R-40) Local Democrats Oppose Unfolding COAH NightmareTrenton

Democrat Leadership Silent as Chorus of Opposition Grows

Senator Kevin O’Toole (R-Bergen) called upon Trenton Democrats to reverse course and abandon their new subsidized housing law as the groups of officials calling for a change in policy has grown to include local Bergen County Democratic officials.

“Republicans have been saying for months that the new Democrat subsidized housing law would wreak economic disaster in our State,” said O’Toole. “Now local Bergen County Democrats are using terms like ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘disaster’ to describe the impact of the COAH housing law that was rushed through the Legislature with little debate or deliberation. If the Trenton Democrats cannot listen to Republicans and work to repair the debacle they have created, maybe they should listen to the members of their own party who are ridiculing this incoherent and unworkable law.”

Media reports have indicated that the elimination of “regional contribution agreements” in the Council on Affordable Housing law has placed a home-improvement program that has helped 98 individuals and families in Garfield since 2004 in jeopardy.

“The Trenton Democrats must finally come to grips with the fact that members of their own party have concluded that the COAH law is now hurting the very middle class communities that it purports to help,” said O’Toole. “When a former member of the Assembly Democratic caucus calls the law a ‘disaster, ‘ you would think that somebody in the present legislative leadership would take notice.”

Under the newly adopted COAH law, municipalities such as Wallington would need to create 147 new affordable housing units, Woodridge 171 and Fort Lee 569.

“To use the words of one of my Democratic colleagues, the COAH law is pushing New Jersey into an ‘economic abyss’ at the worst possible time. Reasonable Democrats must tell their leadership to come to the table and work with Republicans to scrap this disastrous law before even more damage is done.”

Link to Post:

https://www.senatenj.com/index.php/otoole/local-democrats-oppose-unfolding-coah-nightmare/1953

>https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/01/report_nj_may_consider_driving.html

A panel advising Gov. Jon Corzine on immigrant issues is considering recommending the state allow undocumented immigrants “driver privilege cards” and in-state college tuition rates.

Two Hispanic leaders told the Record that the state’s public advocate, Ron Chen, told them the measures would be included in a panel’s report to Corzine.

But a spokeswoman for Chen told the newspaper that it hasn’t been decided what would be included in the report.

The “driver privilege cards” and in-state tuition would need legislative approval before becoming law. Groups that support tighter immigration control have said they’d oppose the measures.

Corzine assembled a panel on immigrant rights with the idea of passing comprehensive immigration reform.

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/01/report_nj_may_consider_driving.html

>Even if the VC was hoping to get “offset” agreements with other towns, they should have had a well thought out “Plan B.”

As for having state politicians mandate that a community make it affordable for a designated, less affluent, socio-economic population to live amongst it, is the height of hubris and offensive.

I want to live in Tuxedo Park. Do you think they’ll be building “affordable” housing for me to live there any time soon? Affordable; being relative to the price of homes in Ridgewood versus Tuxedo Park.

This is another example of liberal social engineering at its worst. Are we to believe that there aren’t enough homes in communities that would be more compatible with the socio-economic circumstances of the people the state proposes to help?

This kind of social engineering defies capitalism and destroys the incentive for people to get ahead. People work hard to save enough money to buy a home in communities like Ridgewood. Often their first homes were in far less affluent communities. Having succeeded in life to the extent that they can now afford to live in Ridgewood, why should they be asked to subsidize others to do the same?

What’s next, shall the government mandate that a certain number of luxury cars be subsidized by those who purchase them at full price for those who couldn’t otherwise afford them?

Heck, I think I’ll just stop working and go live in one of those “affordable” housing units we’re building. Think of the taxes I’ll save while enjoying all the amenities the village has to offer. Maybe by the time these apartments are built they’ll give me a new Cadillac to go along with it.

>Malee Thai Restaurant

Thai Food

2 E Ridgewood Ave
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
(201) 612-7797

We have always liked the place and have noticed many of you share our views:

these are from a site called https://www.yelp.com/biz/malee-thai-restaurant-ridgewood

This is my absolute favorite in Ridgewood. The food is fantastic. This is a family owned and operated restaurant and everyone is so friendly. We have been coming to this restaurant for over 4 years about 3-4 times a month! We know the menu by heart and have never been dissapointed. Start with the delicious Chicken Sate and some Kanom Jeep (dumplings). Then some of my favorites are Pad Thai, Kai Med Ma Moung , all three of the Curry dishes – Massamum, Panang and the Red Curry with Chicken. The Duck dishes are great as well. I highly recommend this restaurant. It is also family friendly. BYO.

and another…….

By far my most favorite restaurant in Ridgewood. This small quaint place is home for me. Excellent service, excellent Thai food. They prepare the food as hot or not as you desire. Their specials always exceed my expectations. I usually start with the papaya salad that just jumps in your mouth! If you like whole fish, theirs is outstanding in a lime Thai sauce that cannot be beat. And if you are the adventurous type, try their devil meat! It is simply divine! This little place is hopping especially during summer since they have outdoor seating!

https://www.yelp.com/biz/malee-thai-restaurant-ridgewood

let us know if you have another favorite spot…. email : [email protected]

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Laird Hamilton

Wednesday, January 7th – 7:00pm
World renown Surfer, Laird Hamilton will sign his new book: Force Of Nature, Mind, Body, Soul and of course, Surfing! Come meet the man whom Lesley Stahl claimed… “is to his Sport what Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Lance Armstrong are to theirs”!

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Schools Re-open
December Recess is December 24 – January 2. Schools will re-open on Monday, January 5, 2009.

Friends of Music Scholarship Benefit Happens January 9
Friends in the Business is the popular musical review put on each year by John Lange and Ridgewood Friends of Music. This year, nationally-acclaimed musicians from Broadway, jazz and opera will come together on Friday, January 9, at George Washington Middle School at 8 p.m. The artists will donate their talents to raise money for scholarships for Ridgewood music students. Tickets are on sale at Town & Country Apothecary, or by mail at “Friends in the Business” Concert, 197 Lincoln Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450. Prices are $20 for adults, $15 for students and seniors. Make checks payable to “Ridgewood Friends of Music.”

Fourth Annual RHS Alumni Art Show Opens
The Ridgewood High School Department of Art and Design is holding its annual Alumni Art Show in the RHS Carroll Art Gallery, Room 135, through January 9, 2009. A public reception will be held for the artists on Tuesday, January 6, 2009, from 3-5 p.m. The gallery will be open during school hours for the duration of the show.

January Board of Education Meetings
The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold regular public meetings on January 12 and 26, 2009. The Board meets on Floor 3 of the Ed Center, 49 Cottage Place, at 7:30 p.m.

>Obama should look here to see what high taxes do.

https://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB123059756486341161-lMyQjAxMDI5MzAwMjUwOTI3Wj.html

Madison, N.J.

When Barack Obama makes his New Year’s resolutions, at the top of his list ought to be the following: “I will not allow America to become New Jersey.”

Think of it as our gift to the nation. Other states offer promising experiments in areas such as Medicaid, taxes, education and regulatory reform. In contrast, the People’s Republic of New Jersey offers America something truly unique: the perfect bad example.

As harmful as this has been for our own prosperity, our example could be invaluable for President-elect Obama. That’s especially true given that his team appears to be considering some of the same things that have long been popular in Trenton. For years, the solons in our state capital have operated on the assumption that you can have high taxes everywhere — on income, on property, on business — without suffering any consequences.

Well, Gov. Jon Corzine is now dealing with those consequences, and his budgets show it. Earlier this year, he pushed through a budget that was one of the few in New Jersey history to be less than the one that preceded it. With revenues now running $1.2 billion short of what was expected, the next budget will undoubtedly be tougher still.
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Not all of Mr. Corzine’s choices have been good ones. In fairness, however, he is dealing with huge problems that have been years in the making. In some ways, we are a mini-California. That is to say, where New Jersey was once a national leader in terms of economic growth and job creation, more recently we have become a national laggard.

It seems not to have dented the consciousness of our political class that New Jersey’s dismal economic performance might be linked to the state’s tax policy. According to the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, New Jersey is home to the most hostile tax environment for business in the nation. We also bear the nation’s highest burden of state and local taxes. And on the list of the 10 counties with the highest median property tax, we claim seven of them.

During the last recession, we began to feel the full weight of these burdens. Other states responded by cutting back on spending and getting their houses in order. Not New Jersey. Then-Gov. Jim McGreevey added to the burden by borrowing and spending and raising the corporate tax — including the imposition of an alternative minimum tax on business. And we’ve been paying for these bad choices ever since.

Mr. Obama might pay special attention to what these measures have meant for jobs, especially given his expressed concern for the struggling middle class. Though the state did ultimately emerge from recession in 2003, private-sector job creation since then has been a pale shadow of what we enjoyed after the recessions of the 1980s and 1990s.

Of course, there was one area where jobs did grow. From 2000 to 2007, says the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, the government added 54,800 jobs. To put that in proper perspective, that works out to 93% of all jobs created in New Jersey over those seven years.
In Today’s Opinion Journal

So how do we respond to these new hard times? Beginning New Year’s Day, New Jersey workers will see even more money taken from their paychecks. The money will support a new mandate offering six weeks of paid family leave to almost all New Jersey employees — right on down to those working in very small operations. In itself, the family-leave tax will not be the ruin of the state economy. But the imposition of yet another new tax at this moment bespeaks a lack of seriousness about what both New Jersey workers and businesses can afford.

For the moment, Mr. Corzine, like Mr. Obama, is putting his faith in public-works spending. Indeed, he has even called on the president-elect to expand his own plans for an infrastructure stimulus to $1 trillion. And it would be hard to deny that our tired infrastructure could use some attention.

But amid all the debate over jump-starting the economy through public works, we risk losing sight of a larger truth: What governors and citizens alike need most is a growing economy that is creating jobs for the people and sending revenue to the capital. Over the long run, the only way to have a healthy and growing economy is to do exactly what New Jersey has not: Trust the people with their own money, and create an environment where initiative and enterprise are rewarded rather than penalized.

Absent a thorough-going revolution in Trenton, New Jersey may be lost for some time to come. But if Mr. Obama can learn from our bad example and do the opposite, New Jersey’s loss might yet be America’s gain.

Write to [email protected]