The following was submitted as a letter to the editor of the Ridgewood News before the deadline last week, but was not published. It contains important updates.
Sycamore article used old news
To the Editor:
The impending removal of the iconic sycamore tree in Graydon Park deserved its front-page coverage (“Tree’s decades-long watch almost over,” Feb. 16). It also deserved real reporting.
In reproducing my emailed comments, reporters Nicholas Katzban and Linda Voorhis imply that they interviewed me online. No such contact was made. I’d sent the quoted email to the Record’s environmental reporter a full month earlier in hopes of inspiring a story. It worked, if belatedly and indirectly. But a lot has happened since January 18.
The authors quote me as stating that I hoped the tree could be saved. That was no longer true once I’d obtained a copy of a report by an outside expert hired to evaluate the tree.
I am quoted as wishing that seeds from the tree had been saved. This is being done. With the approval of Ridgewood’s Parks and Recreation Department, a local environmentalist will germinate seeds from the sycamore toward creating a new generation. Perhaps one seedling will grow large enough to replace its mother tree.
Other news: uses for the wood are being explored by the mayor’s new Ad Hoc Graydon Sycamore Committee.
The “fans” who saved Graydon from being concretized have a name: The Preserve Graydon Coalition. It was the Coalition, formed in July 2009, that had Graydon placed on Preservation New Jersey’s 2010 list of the 10 most endangered historic sites in the state. Grassroots efforts take a village, and this village really stepped up.
Ridgewood NJ, New Jersey Democrats push “Hail Mary” saying that they will be moving ahead with a legally-dubious plan to let residents make charitable contributions in lieu of property taxes, promising to vote on the bill in the state Senate on Monday and threatening to take the fight to court if necessary.
The bill (S1893) is designed to be a workaround to the new federal tax law that capped the state and local tax deduction at $10,000, a move that Democrats say will harm high-tax states like New Jersey, which has the highest property taxes in the nation. Average property taxes in Bergen County in 2017 were $11,564 . The new Federal rules allow deductions of up to $10,000 . The $10,000 limit on deductions is for state and local taxes and will take effect in 2018. That $10,000 limit combines both local property and income taxes.
The legislation would effectively allow homeowners to keep deducting their property taxes by calling those payments charitable deductions. Under the bill, local governments would be permitted to set up charitable funds for specific public purposes—from police to parks—that residents could pay into and get a credit of up to 90 percent toward their property tax bills. Those contributions could then be written off as charitable deductions on federal tax bills, officials said. It’s unclear whether the plan withstands legal and IRS scrutiny.
Ridgewood NJ, once again we have herd report of wild turkeys going on a rampage in the Village near the Ho Ho Kus Brooke . While the majestic bird can be fun to watch do not under estimate their tenacity if they are provoked . Two years ago four wild turkeys stopped traffic on Passaic Road in Paramus and Paramus Police were forced to respond in force and removed the Turkeys safely . In 2016 a in a well publicized event a Hillsdale mailmen was attacked by rampaging birds and in the same year Teaneck was forced to use air horns to drive turkeys from a local park.
The wild turkey is an upland ground bird native to North America and is the heaviest member of the diverse Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which was originally derived from a southern Mexican subspecies of wild turkey. Although native to North America, the turkey probably got its name from the domesticated variety being imported to Britain in ships coming from the Levant via Spain. The British at the time therefore associated the wild turkey with the country Turkey and the name prevails.
Remember that wild turkeys have a pecking order and that habituated birds may respond to you as they do to another turkey. The best defense against aggressive or persistent turkeys is to prevent the birds from becoming habituated in the first place by being bold to them.
If confronted , keep away they are extremely dangerous .It is best to call the Ridgewood Police or animal control, fear not most Bergen county Police departments are well versed in the safe removal of Turkeys !
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Water comments of water discoloration . Ridgewood Water does not add fluoride to your drinking water. Water hardness in the Ridgewood service area is 14 grains or 250ppm.Ridgewood Water does not make recommendations as to water filters or softeners .
If your water is discolored, (gray, brown, yellow, orange) this is most likely due to minerals building up in our water mains. These minerals are harmless, but as more people start watering their lawns and turning on sprinkler systems, these minerals can loosen and end up in the water supply. This discoloration can also occur when Ridgewood Water does routine maintenance on it’s facilities that increases the velocity in the mains. Although it is aesthetically unappealing, it is safe to drink. We recommend avoiding doing laundry until discoloration clears.
If your water has a cloudy or milky appearance this is usually caused by air dissolved in the water. We recommend to take a glass of cold water from the tap and set it on a flat surface. If the water begins to clear from the bottom up within a few minutes, it can be concluded that dissolved air is the cause of the cloudiness. If the water does not clear up or you notice particles settling on the bottom of the glass please contact our treatment facility at 201-670-5526 and notify them of your issue.
If your water has a unusual taste or odor, please contact our treatment facility at 201-670-5526.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood police report that on February 16th, a South Broad Street resident reported criminal trespassing is occurring during the early morning hours of day frequently. The reporting party advised the actor is entering onto the property without permission and if the actor is identified she is willing to sign criminal complaints. The Ridgewood Police Patrol Division was advised and will be conducting extra patrol in the area.
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood Police report that a Meadowbrook Avenue resident responded to Ridgewood Police headquarters on February 19th, to report a fraud and theft by deception in the past. The victim reported a U.P.S. delivery was scheduled however never received by the victim. The victim contacted U.P.S. after receiving a tag requiring signature was left at the door and U.P.S. reported a party did receive the delivery and signed for the item after producing identification. The Ridgewood Detective Bureau is investigating the incident.
USA Today reported in November that , “More than half of Americans say they know someone who’s had a package stolen from outside their home, and 30% say they’ve experienced it themselves, according to a survey by Xfinity Home, Comcast’s home security service. “
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood police report that on February 21, a Hampshire Road resident responded to Ridgewood Police headquarters to report terroristic threats in the past. The victim reported he was contacted by a person who left a threatening message of violence on his phone. The victim provided the phone number and patrol investigated the incident. The accused was contacted and the incident was reported to be a misunderstanding. The reporting party did not wish to pursue criminal charges at this time.
This just in…..”Retail Dying”. The Wall St. Journal reports that even trendy SoHo is seeing a store closings as retail shopping continues to dip.
https://www.wsj.com/…/even-soho-cant-escape-the-retail-property-storm-1519160376
In 10 years people will wonder what possessed a Village to build a hulking garage to support a retail shopping district that went the way of the dinosaur. If we are looking to the future it should be how the CBD will be repurposed once retail shopping has evaporated. Not building a garage decades after it would have made a difference.
I think this result qualifies as at least a little evidence that residents want a garage. After all, a 2:1 vote of residents expressed explicit approval for a parking garage on exactly the site that is being planned. A much smaller group of people used a technicality on the funding of the garage to veto a particular design, but that certainly doesn’t eliminate this overwhelmingly positive result as the foundation for moving forward.
EVERY parking study done over the past 50+ years by objective professional consultants has indicated the need for a parking garage in Ridgewood. It appears the current Village Council is doing something to remedy the longstanding parking deficit. The garage will primarily serve commuters during the day and local businesses afterwards. It will be a boost to all of Ridgewood and despite the naysayers it will not destroy or diminish the character and desirability of the Village. Other higher end towns (particularly Summit and Princeton) have garages and residential property values in these towns have continued to rise. There is not one shred of evidence that the garage will negatively impact residential property values in Ridgewood. To the contrary, it will likely enhance values because prospective homeowners who commute to NY will benefit from the availability of convenient parking. This is a big benefit when you are rushing to catch your regular morning train to the city.
the ridgewood art institute’s first annual plein art show
Sun, February 11, 2018 – Fri, March 02, 2018
Time: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Location: The Ridgewood Art Institute, 12 East Glen Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
The Ridgewood Art Institute’s First Annual Plein Art show
On View: February 11th-March 2nd, 2018 from 10am to 3pm daily
The Ridgewood Art Institute is located at:
12 East Glen Ave
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Please contact 201-652-9615 with questions or visit their website at www.ridgewoodartinstitute.com
Ridgewood NJ, Plein Air painting is about leaving the four walls of your studio behind and experiencing painting and drawing in the landscape. The practice goes back for centuries but was truly made into an art form by the French Impressionists.
Please join us for our first art show to exclusively feature Plein Air sketches by our members. All pieces in this show will have been done while on location, with no further reworking done in studio. The results reflect a freshness and immediacy that can only be achieved by working in this manner.
Classes are offered on an open enrollment basis, and can be joined at anytime.
“I finally googled “handicapped requirements for historic properties”. It clearly states that historic properties are NOT excused from the ADA requirements. It agrees it might take a lot of work and evaluation to modify an historic property to make it accessible to all. It also states that “no building is grandfathered from the handicap regulations no matter how old and historic it actually is.” The council either has not taken this into consideration in the cost of “saving” the Schedler house, or believes that Isabella, being an architect, knew what she was talking about. So why is Ridgewood planning to restore (rebuild) a property that they will be unable to let the public use if everyone cannot enter—and go up and down at each new addition as none of the floors are actually level from room to room.”
Mayor Susan Knudsen responds ….
HI , Historic Architect Margaret Hickey included handicap accessibility in the Schedler house restoration plans. In fact, at a recent meeting there was a great deal of discussion about accessibility features and required modifications. Hope all is well.
Washington DC, according to Attorney General Jeff Sessions , “Each year, an estimated $3 billion are stolen or defrauded from millions of American seniors. Through “grandparent scams,” fake prizes or even threats, criminals prey on some of the most vulnerable Americans to steal their hard-earned savings and their peace of mind.”
Upscale towns like Ridgewood, Glen Rock etc are often the prime targets of these scams . The Ridgewood blog has reported over and over again senior scams , phone scams , internet scams and identity theft .
And this threat is only growing. The Senate Aging Committee’s Fraud Hotline received twice as many reports in 2016 as it received in 2015. The rise of new technologies has made it easier for criminals to coordinate their efforts and perpetrate their crimes.
The Trump Administration is taking action. We will not let this crime continue to rise.
Last month, the Department ordered all 94 of our U.S. Attorneys’ offices to each designate an elder justice coordinator, who will customize our strategy to protect seniors in their district. This will ensure even greater cooperation between the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners.
The Trump administration is forming unprecedented law enforcement partnerships around the country and, indeed, around the world. These partnerships are already bearing fruit.
Today, the Department of Justice is announcing the largest elder fraud enforcement action in American history.
With the help of our partners at all levels of government and in the private sector, we have charged more than 200 defendants for committing elder fraud schemes and brought civil actions against dozens more.
These defendants allegedly robbed more than one million Americans of more than half a billion dollars.
In the past month alone, the Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and our U.S. Attorneys’ Offices have filed cases against more than 40 defendants. These 40 defendants are responsible for a majority of those 1 million victims I mentioned, and they include charges against the transnational criminal organization highlighted on the map we have displayed.
Just yesterday the Postal Inspection Service executed 14 search warrants across America. The Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch and our U.S. Attorneys are working closely with the postal inspectors on these investigations.
And as we speak, our partners with the Vancouver, Canada Police Department are executing dozens of search warrants as part of this enforcement action. These warrants are being carried out against members of transnational criminal organizations that have allegedly defrauded tens of thousands of Americans and people all over the world.
And so I want to thank the Postal Inspection Service, the FTC and its Consumer Sentinel database, the FBI and its Los Angeles field office, the Vancouver Police Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Eastern District of New York and the Southern District of Iowa, our elder justice coordinators, and all of our state, local, and international partners who helped make this historic achievement possible.
Thank you to Derek Schmidt, Kansas Attorney General and President of the National Association of Attorneys General for participating in this action and representing our state Attorneys General, who play a vital role in this effort.
And thank you to the Senate Special Committee on Aging, especially to my good friends Senators Grassley and Collins. They have a real passion for this issue and they have helped raise awareness about it.
I also want to thank Deborah Cox-Rausch, director of Senior Corps, a federal agency that coordinates the work of hundreds of thousands of senior citizen volunteers across the country. Senior Corps has helped get the word out about the threat of fraud schemes to our seniors, and I believe that helps prevent crime.
That’s why I hope that no victim of fraud feels ashamed. This can happen to anyone. Several members of my staff have told me about their grandparents being targeted by fraudsters. In fact, just this past week, one of my senior staffers was in a meeting with me when she got a call from her grandmother, who had just received a phone call from a fraudster.
We need to spread the word about this. So, please, if you or someone you know was victimized by an elder fraud scheme, please report it to the FTC. It might just give us the tip we need to put criminals in jail—and to protect other seniors.
We are joined here today by several Americans who have had the courage to step forward and share their stories of being victimized by fraudsters. They’ve come a long way to be here—and I want to thank them for that and for sharing their experiences and insights.
Ridgewood NJ, Super Science Saturday is celebrating its 30th year of challenging students and adult alike to think widely about how science is involved in all parts of our lives.
Join the fun and complete the challenge by submitting how you imagine any aspect of American home life in 2048! From an update to a common appliance, to imagining what robots might do at home, to rethinking how we all travel to and from home – submit to Super Science Saturday any aspect of how you imagine home life of the future!
Eligibility: The contest is open to anyone of all ages.
Judging Age Categories:
Elementary School
Middle School
High School + Adults
Announcing the Winners: One winner will be chosen from each age category and will be revealed at Super Science Saturday! If you can’t make the day, we will announce and share your winning entry and contact you based on the information you submit.
The Challenge Details:
We’re looking for science inspired submissions which shows how you imagine some aspect of the Home of 2048
Please be creative! All entries require a short, written description of what you imagine the future home to be like. Please submit at least a few sentences describing your idea and how it might change the home of the future.
Use the form below to submit any additional materials that show what the future will be like. While there are no requirements for additional materials beyond your written description – we encourage everyone to both upload and present at Super Science Saturday photos, drawings, diagrams, dioramas or other creative ways to bring your future vision to life!
Two Ways to Participate:
Present Your Home of the Future at Super Science Saturday 30!
Click on this option below to enter your submission for judging and reserve your presenting space. Deadline: Thursday, March 1st @ 5pm
Have Your Home of 2048 Displayed at Super Science Saturday 30!
Click on this option below to enter your submission for judging and have your idea displayed at Super Science Saturday without presenting. Deadline: Friday, February 23rd at 5pm https://supersciencesaturday.org/town-challenge.php
During public comments at the end of the meeting, 2 residents reminded VC members that there are already 76 spaces on the ground there. Thus, the construction cost per space is much higher than what was presented by the developers last night. That is, you must subtract the current number of spaces from the total being built to obtain the net increase in spaces, which should then be used to calculate the cost per space.
Also, last night was the first time the public was made aware of the perpetual maintenance costs associated with the operation of precast parking structures. Several of the presenters indicated that unless the structure is properly maintained, its life expectancy decreases dramatically.
It was said that the use of ice/snow melting agents and HARD WATER are particularly problematic. And the only way to clean the ice/snow melting agents away is by using water on a regular basis. And what type of water do we have in Ridgewood? HARD WATER, of course!
This is going to be the biggest financial boondoggle ever. Way beyond the boondoggle of post Tropical Storm Floyd renovation costs at Village Hall. Way beyond. Way, way beyond.
![dr-strangelove1[1]](https://theridgewoodblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/dr-strangelove11.jpg "Ridgewood Water Comments of Water Discoloration")
