Ridgewood NJ, The adult male driver of a Ford Escape SUV and his female passenger escaped injury during a crash in which their vehicle careened off of Route 17 southbound in Ridgewood and came to rest in a clump of bushes. The incident occurred at approximately 4 PM on Wednesday, 05/18, just south of the NJDOT Park & Ride Facility.
The driver was reportedly reacting to a delayed command from his GPS system when the SUV crashed. The vehicle was able to be driven away on its own power after flatbed tow truck winched it from the bushes. There were minor rubbernecking delays on Route 17 southbound near the accident scene until the vehicle was removed
This is absolutely ridiculous. Why the heck in this day and age can’t these people manage their email messages. They are paid plenty. If someone sends them an email the bounce-back should be timely. It should not be six months old. Shows a total disregard for the citizens who want to contact them. Maybe a minor issue compared to some, but really if you can’t manage the small stuff then the big stuff is insurmountable.
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Nancy Bigos
Thank you for your most recent email.
Please know that I will be away from my office beginning Friday evening, April 1, and returning Tuesday, April 12th, 2016.
Feel free to contact Administrative Assistant, Marge Anderson, 201.670.5560 ormanderson@ridgewoodnj.net. for assistance with day to day operations or for further information. For urgent matters please use my cell phone 201.407.0076.
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Tim Cronin
I will be out of the office on vacation, returning Monday, November 30th. Should you need immediate assistance, please contact Deputy Director Nancy A. Bigos atnbigos@ridgewoodnj.net or by telephone to the Recreation Office at 201-670-5560.
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Roberta Sonenfeld
Dear Residents, Businesses and Village Staff,
I will be out of the office beginning Tuesday, May 17th, returning Tuesday, May 31st. Rich Calbi (rcalbi@ridgewoodnj.net) will be my deputy.
Beth Spinato (201-670-5500 ext. 203) can also address any issues you may have.
why are you so interested in Valley increasing it’s business? To bring more traffic, more people smoking on our sidewalks, more employees parking on our streets, more of our police and fire department time spent filing reports of theft and unruly behavior? Maybe you are looking forward to talking to the residents of Steilen Ave who have been dealing with noise and light violations from Valley for years or maybe you are just looking forward to driving into Ridgewood and seeing a 1700 car garage at the intersection of Linwood and Van Dien. Won’t that look beautiful! Maybe they can make the lights that will shine from it 24 hrs a day in a residential neighborhood color coordinated for the holidays. Maybe we should turn the houses on either side of you into high density housing in order to fulfill our fair housing. It will only take 8 months of construction for that, not 6 years. What’s the matter? Just because you bought a house in a residential zone that doesn’t allow hdh doesn’t mean things can’t change, right? In just the same way that Valley’s lot cannot be turned into apartments, Schedler cannot be a 7-11, so just stop with that stupid argument. And yes, the car dealerships should be developed, but changing the density in our cbd from 12 units per acre to 36 was unnecessarily excessive. 24 units per acre would have brought the same benefit without as much downside. Unless of course all you’re concerned about is maximizing the profits of developers. Here’s a word for you to ponder…moderation. Is that so hard to achieve? Bigger is not always better.
Do people not understand that this is a green acre and open space funded park. In the green acre rules a FOR PROFIT / PRIVATE business just is not allowed. How on earth did this private business get the lease. And as far as usage, Habernickel fields are used everyday and all summer long by maroons soccer and Ridgewood baseball as they should be. The neighbors are not complaining about the traffic or noise from this usage. They are upset with a business in their neighborhood. People should know the facts before they comment. Also the name should be changed 100 percent. The land was purchased for millions not donated by any Habernickel.
Ridgewood Nj, readers begin to question the political favoritism that seems to flow with Bergen Leads municipal appointments in Ridgewood . ” Does anyone thinks it’s a coincidence the human resource and village manager are both from Bergen leads and this residency requirement is being changed when the hr person isn’t from ridgewood. Old friends from the bergeb county program . Ridgewood owes a debt of gratitude to councilwoman knudsen for standing up for ridgewood residents when aronsohn, pucc and hack don’t care about the people they represent. What’s wrong there’s no one from ridgewood to fill these jobs. Anyone watching the meeting wouldn’t think this article is even about Wednesday meeting.”
“The Village Manager seems to try to help her fellow Bergen Leads graduates. Isn’t her HR hire a Bergen Leads graduate? Preferring local residents for municipal hiring does not make it easy for a VM to favor friends from different parts of the county.”
“Non-Alumni of Bergen Leads (NABL) hereby object to the fact that the municipal workplace is being invaded by a clique of self-appointed “elites” showing an troubling amount of interest in scratching each others’ backs, and nobody else’s backs but their own!”
But the landslide election loss by the mayor and his cronies may signal the end of Village Managers playing favorites. “Roberta’s days of political favors are coming to an end. It is absolutely no coincidence that a friend of hers got the lease for a business in a residential neighborhood. Antine has absolutely no right to be running her business in a residential neighborhood and Sonenfeld pushing her highly contested lease application through is unethical. And unscrupulous. And right in character for our soon-to-be-ousted VM”.
If there is ever another property like the horse farm or Schedler, the Village should learn its lesson and refuse to buy the land. Let a developer buy it and build whatever they can get zonned. I have had enough of ungrateful neighbors who use my tax dollars to buy millions of dollars of land which is not not taxed and then whine about getting rid of dead trees and having a couple buses drive through their neighborhood. Enough is enough. The experiment has failed. The neighbors beg us to pay millions for the land to avoid it becoming condos, strip malls or whatever and then 5 years later obstruct any attempt to make the land useful. From now on, let the market decide what happens to any future properties. The village has to get out of this businesses.
Ridgewood NJ, On May 17, 2016, voter registration will be conducted in the lobby of the Ridgewood Public Library, 125 North Maple Avenue, from 4:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. This is the final opportunity for voter registration in order to be eligible to vote in the June 7, 2016 Primary Election in June.
All residents of Ridgewood who are at least 17 years of age and citizens of the United States are eligible to vote. Residents who have recently moved to Ridgewood, as well as those who have moved within Ridgewood, must re-register to vote even if they were previously registered at another address.
Ridgewood NJ, Since the Tyler Clementi Foundation began a partnership with AT&T a few months ago, they have been able to expand our reach and work to end bullying. TCF collaborated on an extensive poll of New York-area teens and parents to uncover attitudes and behaviors related to cyberbullying. The results were substantial. Nearly half of all teens say they have been bullied online. 8 in 10 know someone who has been the victim of cyberbullying.Read the full results of our poll here!
On May 14th TCF joined AT&T and the All American High School Film Festival in kicking off an exciting opportunity for 100 New York-area student filmmakers, as they compete at the national Teen Film Festival. The teens created films focused on the personal effects of cyberbullying. We are honored to be a partner for this incredible event. The films produced and the relationships built during this weekend will create more compassion and respect at high schools across the New York area.
The videos are a powerful and emotional lens into the experience of being cyber-bullied, by teens and for teens. Check out one of the submissions below:
photo (Left to right) Carmen Rodriguez-Peralta, Elizabeth Ostling, and John Ferrillo at Boston area performance earlier this season.
Boston Symphony musicians to perform in Ridgewood June 12
May 16,2016
the astaff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Boston Symphony Orchestra Principal Oboe John Ferrillo and Associate Principal Flute Elizabeth Ostling are performing a concert Sunday, June 12, 3 p.m., at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 155 Linwood Avenue, in Ridgewood. Admission is free, with an offering taken to benefit Young Life Bergen County.
Ferrillo lived in Ho-Ho-Kus during 16 years with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Ostling, raised in Ridgewood, is also the Principal Flute of “America’s Orchestra,” the Boston Pops. Joining them will be pianist Carmen Rodriguez-Peralta, who chairs the music department at Middlesex Community College. Ferrillo and Ostling have led their respective orchestral sections under many of this generation’s most renowned conductors, at Symphony Hall in Boston, the Tanglewood summer festival, Carnegie Hall, on national and international tours, and for many recordings and broadcasts.
The program includes three works by J.S. Bach, Igor Stravinsky’s witty “Pulcinella” suite that evokes 18th Century Italian music, an offertory by W.A. Mozart, two brief contrasting pieces by French modernist Olivier Messiaen, Charles-Marie Widor’s Romantic era suite for flute, and Enrique Iturriaga’s “Vendor’s Call and Dance” performed by Rodriguez-Peralta, a specialist in the music of her native Latin America.
Ferrillo has been a member of the San Francisco Symphony and a concerto soloist with the Boston Symphony. He studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with John deLancie and has participated in the Marlboro and other major summer music festivals. He teaches at the New England Conservatory and Boston University, and was formerly on the faculties of the Juilliard School and Mannes School in New York.During her high school years Ostling was the Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra’s piccoloist, principal flute of the All-State Orchestra, first-chair flute of the All-Eastern Band, a concerto competition winner at the Juilliard Pre-College, and then studied at the
Curtis Institute. She won the first prize at the Koussevitzky Competition for Woodwinds, and has premiered two compositions written expressly for her. She has soloed with the Boston Pops and New Jersey Symphony. She teaches at Boston University.
Rodriguez-Peralta is a Temple University graduate and did further study at Catholic University and the Juilliard School. She has offered piano performances, master classes, and lectures throughout the U.S. and internationally, and was an Artists International Young Musicians Audition winner. Of her debut, The New York Times said she is “a thoughtful musician; her playing is full of intelligence and poetry… a pianist well worth hearing.”Young Life Bergen County, the beneficiary of the recital’s offering, is a branch of an interdenominational Christian organization that works with 2 million teens and is currently celebrating its 75th anniversary. The area program, launched by local sponsors in late 2014, features lively high school Club events, “Wyldlife” for middle and junior high students, Campaigners small-group meetings, and week-long summer camps at nearby Lake Champion and other facilities.
Ridgewood NJ, In a closely watched property tax case with significant financial and policy implications for hospitals and possibly the broader non-profit community statewide,and the Village of Ridgewood , a Tax Court of New Jersey judge on June 25, 2015, ruled that Morristown Medical Center is not entitled to tax exemption on nearly all of its property in Morristown.
In Ridgewood ,Valley’s main campus would be rated for tax purposes at over $4 million per year. EVERY district was won by Voight, Walsh and Hache in a total rejection of the mayor and his policies .Given the statement made in Tuesday’s election, there would be popular support behind pursing this revenue using any and all means necessary.
Noteworthy elements of the Morristown decision:
Except for some very narrow exceptions such as its parking garage, auditorium and fitness center, almost all of the hospital’s property was deemed to be taxable for failing the “profit” test (see below) because non-profit and for-profit activities were significantly commingled and conferred substantial benefits on the for-profit entities as a result.
Compensation was a significant factor in the opinion. Although IRS guidelines have for years allowed exempt organizations to establish the reasonableness of compensation under federal law by analyzing compensation levels against those of comparable organizations, the judge dismissed such a standard as insufficient because the hospital failed to also verify that the compensation at the other comparable institutions was itself also reasonable. In essence, this ruling disregards the IRS framework for reasonableness of compensation in use by thousands of charities nationwide.
In his conclusion, the judge stated that if all hospitals in their current form are structured like Morristown then none are justified in receiving property tax exemption, and it’s up to the legislature to enact statutory changes that would change this framework.
On November 11, 2015, a settlement was announced between Atlantic Health System (the parent of Morristown Medical Center) and the Town of Morristown, in which the hospital agreed to pay $15.5 million in back taxes and penalties, plus annual property taxes on 24 percent of the hospital’s property from 2016 to 2 . (https://www.njnonprofits.org/PropertyTax_MorristownMedical.html)
It is hard to argue that these same or similar elements would apply Valley Hospital as Well.
#1 New York Times Bestselling Author, Holly Madison, will sign her new book: The Vegas Diaries.
when : Tuesday, May 17th @ 7:00pm who : #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, Holly Madison, will sign her new book: The Vegas Diaries where : Bookends, 211 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201-445-0726
Ridgewood NJ, Holly Madison was born December 23, 1979,is a New York Times Best-Selling author, model, showgirl, and television personality. She is most widely recognized for her role in the E! hit reality television show, The Girls Next Door and for her own series, Holly’s World. In July 2015, Madison released her first book and memoir, Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny. In May 2016, she will release her second book, The Vegas Diaries: Romance, Rolling the Dice, and the Road to Reinvention detailing her dating life after the mansion.
Appearing authors will only autograph books purchased at Bookends and must have valid Bookends Receipt.
Availability & pricing for all autographed books subject to change.
First In Line Certificate use is the the discretion of Bookends. Blackout dates may apply.
Bookends cannot guarantee that the books that are Autographed will always be First Printings.
Autographed books purchased at Bookends are non-returnable.
While we try to ensure that all customers coming to Bookends’ signings will meet authors and get their books signed, we cannot guarantee that all attendees will meet the author or that all books will be signed. We cannot control inclement weather, author travel schedules or authors who leave prematurely.
Bookends, 211 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201-445-0726
Ridgewood NJ, The Village Council is looking for residents who are interested in volunteering to serve on the following Boards and Committees: Planning Board, Zoning Board of Adjustment, The Ridgewood Community Center Advisory Board, The Financial Advisory Committee, The Ridgewood Arts Council, and the Shade Tree Commission.
If you want to get involved in Village governance volunteering for Village boards or committees is a great place to start.
There is no upper age limit. The only qualifications are to have something in one’s background that suggests a good fit with the desired committee or whatever. There needs to be enough on the application form and accompanying CV or autobiography to encourage the council to invite the person for an interview. Often these positions are in demand and the council has to have some reason to choose people over others. Yes, residency in Ridgewood is a requirement but you don’t have to have lived here for any particular length of time (viz. Evan Weitz’s Financial Advisory Committee chairmanship upon crossing the town line).
The time commitment is often three years (often renewable by mutual agreement between the individual and the current council at that time), although it varies, but people can quit if they are going to move or an emergency such as illness arises. That’s one reason there are alternates on the Planning Board and Zoning Board, so there’s always someone ready to step in quickly on boards that make very important decisions.
Members of any committee etc. are of course expected to attend meetings regularly, so if a certain night of the week, say, would be an automatic deal breaker, look at the back pages of the village calendar for an idea of which nights each group meets: for example, the Zoning Board of Adjustment meets on a couple of Tuesdays a month. Council members Susan Knudsen and Mike Sedon can answer questions:sknudsen@ridgewoodnj.net andmsedon@ridgewoodnj.net. Also Village Clerk Heather Mailander, hmailander@ridgewoodnj.net, or call her at village hall, 201-670-5500, ext. 201.
Ridgewood NJ, A Volkswagen Jetta was just one casualty of a fast moving rain/wind storm that swept through Northwest Bergen County at approximately 7 PM on Sunday, 05/15. Electric service to a home at 428 George Street in Ridgewood was severed when this large tree limb fell. Fallen tree limbs were also reported in neighboring Glen Rock and Hawthorne.
Ridgewood NJ, readers continue to takes issue with Gwenn “drunken tiriad” at village hall after the humiliating defeat of the Aronsohn slate .Many residents can’t get over the fact that Gwenn lost it the night everyone met at the Community Center to hear the election results. She certainly had been drinking but that really is a non issue( Many drunks are nice!) .
Gwenn literally went into the face of a resident screaming and cursing and saying, ” Are you fucking gloating” and other curses. Her extremely rude husband who,is known for his rudeness, grabbed her to take her away all the while smiling and saying, ” we have freedom of speech, she can say anything she wants!” A classy act .
All three of the outgoing council members have demonstrated serious narcissistic rage issues. So many have witnessed these rants or have been the victim of them.
They have held these anti free speech civility meetings for two years basically attacking everything and everyone but themselves.
If the new council is only better in this department, we are most definitely in a better place. The behavior has affected so many areas of village government including not allowing for real conversation about problems in the departments.
Add that to the fact that the village manager acted as a 6th council member and was encouraged to do so made it impossible for Susan and Mike to have the impact they tried so hard for.
Fortunately, for residents a perfect storm developed: so many citizen groups with a variety of issues speaking out at once. There was no way they were going to beat that and that it is why they tried to push everything through in such an aggressive manner so quickly.
Ridgewood NJ, The Valley Hospital has earned the 2016 Women’s Choice Award as one of America’s Best Hospitals for Patient Experience for a fourth consecutive year. This evidence based designation is the only award that identifies the country’s best healthcare institutions based on Medicare data weighed according to the preference of women in a 2016 national survey of 1,000+ female respondents.
The list of award winners, including The Valley Hospital, represents hospitals that create an extraordinary patient experience for women and their families by providing exceptional care.“We are proud to once again be recognized as one of the nation’s Best Hospitals for Patient Experience,” said Audrey Meyers, President and CEO of The Valley Hospital and Valley Health System. “It’s a testament to the priority Valley nurses, physicians and staff place on delivering high-quality, compassionate care to our patients and their families.”
The America’s 100 Best Hospitals scoring process is unique in that it is the only national list that focuses on what matters most to women when choosing a hospital. For 2016, the most important considerations were patient’s willingness to recommend, doctor and nurse communications, staff help, pain management, cleanliness and explanation of medications, in that order. The qualification process begins with scores derived by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for each hospital in the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) database. Our national survey of women determines which questions in the HCAHPS survey, completed by patients after discharge, are most important to them in determining their satisfaction with their hospital stay. The responses to those questions, weighted accordingly, results in a numeric score for each hospital reporting valid HCAHPS data to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“Women are the Chief Medical Officer for the household, making upwards of 90 percent of all healthcare decisions. Considering she bears the responsibility of making these incredibly important decisions, the Women’s Choice Award offers a trusted solution by identifying the hospitals that have proven superior patient experience. Finally, a source that shares her values and priorities is available,” said Delia Passi, CEO and Founder of the Women’s Choice Award.
