Since 1940, the Ward family has operated Ward’s Pumpkin Patch in Ridgewood, New Jersey. We offer the best quality and selection of pumpkins, gourds, and squash in Northern New Jersey.
552 Route 17 North
Ridgewood, New Jersey
(201) 523-0824
(RIDGEWOOD, NJ) — Fall registration is now in progress for ART OF MOTION, a non-profit educational and cultural organization located in the downtown business district of Ridgewood. Classes are offered for Pre-K through the Professional level in Pilates, Yoga, Classical Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, Luigi and Broadway Jazz, Tap, Vocal Music, Choreography and Audition Techniques. https://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?ID=5966
Art of Motion, Inc. is a non-profit educational and cultural organization dedicated to teaching and presenting dance, theatre, vocal music, body conditioning, and literary and visual art projects. AOM welcomes collaborations and site-specific residences featuring professional and community based artists.
AOM serves dancers and artists from the metropolitan region including Bergen, Essex, Passaic, Rockland, and Westchester Counties as well as NYC.
For more information contact AOM Studio Manager, Linda Combs, 201.652.5800 or visit www.artofmotion.org.
Please read this compelling email from CBR Supporter, Lorraine Reynolds, and consider emailing Village Council Members.
Thank you!
Citizens for a Better Ridgewood
citizensforabetterridgewood@aol.com
All,
As you may or may not know, on September 30th the village council will be continuing the 2 night hearing and voting on the 5 ordinances regarding the high density housing. These ordinances would increase the density allowed from 12 units per acre (current) to 35 units per acre (UPA) in our downtown. Here’s a comparison as to what some other towns in our area allow: Fort Lee 50 UPA, Teaneck 28 UPA, Englewood 12 UPA, Hackensack 22 UPA. If passed, Fort Lee would be the only town in our area, similar in population, with a greater density per acre. I do believe the majority of the town is accepting of development, but on a smaller scale. Maybe 25 units per acre? Do we really want to be built up more than Teaneck? I certainly don’t want to be anywhere near Fort Lee’s density.
The planning board spent approximately 3 years in discussions and 1 1/2 years in a public hearing before voting. The village council had a small portion of their Sept 16 meeting devoted to this and now the council will be coming to the sept 30th meeting with their written statements prepared on how they are voting and why. The Ridgewood News had an editorial last week about “what’s the hurry?”. I have to agree with them. While I don’t want this to drag out, I do want the council to do their due diligence and get all of the facts before they vote. During the Valley hearings at the council level, the council brought in the traffic expert, planner, geotechnical engineer, etc and each council member asked questions of these experts and based their vote on what was discussed at council.
It appears that the majority of the council does not want to bring in any experts. They are ready to vote without asking any questions of any experts as to how this will effect Ridgewood. At the planning board level, a concern about the increase this would bring to our taxes was brought up several times by residents. The discussion was always shot down, because “it is not in the purview of the planning board to consider finances.” In fact, the village planner stated, “residential housing almost always increases taxes, we should not be doing this if we think taxes will go down, but there are other benefits to residential housing.” The council has a much broader scope of items they can discuss, finances being one of them. You may remember that Tom Riche voted yes to the Valley amendment at the PB level, but no to it at the council level. That is because the council is able to look at a broader range of issues. Finances should definitely be discussed.
I would like to see the council bring in several experts in addition to a financial expert. Water must be discussed. I know this year is an exception with the lack of rain, but we have mandatory water restrictions every year. Can you imagine an additional few hundred apartments to supply? I can’t.
Schools must be discussed. The planning board did not have a member of the BOE at their public hearings. The council needs to ask Dr Fishbein to appear at the council hearing to answer questions.
The traffic expert, the engineer, the planner, etc should all be questioned. I do hear the planner will be there, but that’s it.
I don’t know how anyone could possible vote on something so monumental without questioning all of these experts to see what the impacts will be for Ridgewood.
I urge you to e-mail our council and ask them to have these experts at the hearing, get the facts first hand, and then vote.
These people are our elected officials, and we have a right to make sure they have done their due diligence before they vote.
Whether you are for or against the increase to 35 units per acre, I think we can all agree that each council member needs to be able to ask questions of the experts to help them in their decision making process.
Below are the e-mails of all the council members. Please send them an e-mail today and forward this to friends. Thanks
paronsohn@ridgewoodnj.net
ghauck@ridgewoodnj.net
sknudsen@ridgewoodnj.net
apucciarelli@ridgewoodnj.net
msedon@ridgewoodnj.net
September 22,2015
Ridgewood NJ, Master Youngmin Kim competed and achieved championship medals at the highest levels in Korea.
He also earned full athletic scholarships from middle school through college.
In addition, he has a masters degree in sports management.
Since 2012, Master Kim has focused on teaching by founding and running Taekwondo All In in Ridgewood, NJ.
The efforts of his teaching and his students’ perseverance have amounted to exceptional results.
33 Chestnut St
Ridgewood, New Jersey
(201) 857-0445
Why does it have to be a complaint if its illegal. Why not have an anonymous “tip” line?
For instance, if a call to the police asking if they still are writing a summons for sprinkling, the response is yes, what’s the address, what’s your name, address and phone number and will you sign a complaint, the only way they’ll issue a summons is when they send someone out, they actually have to see the sprinkler on when they get there.
Not true, he saw the sprinkler on watering, put the spot light on it, walked up to house, flashlight showed sprinkler on, talked to owner at front door, owner claimed they’re “new” didn’t know, police gave warning, didn’t give summons. Another neighbor saw and heard, told police they water all time. The owner knew about restrictions from other neighbors last year and repeatedly knew about it this year, ignored rules, sprinkler on at night whenever he felt like thru stage 1,2 and 4.
so, even when they actually see a sprinkler on, it don’t cut it for writing a summons? What gives?
“from the VOR website – Village Manager Regarding Stage 4 Enforcement”
“The only way a summons can be written is if the person sees the watering – unfortunately wetness around the area and having a green lawn do not cut it for writing a summons….so we have to be there at the right time.”
Become the Driver of Your Destiny at YWCA September Women’s Empowerment Network
YWCA Bergen County is holding its September Women’s Empowerment Network (WEN) event, “Become the Driver of Your Destiny” presented by Lois Kramer-Perez on Wednesday, September 30, 2015 from 8:30 to 10:00 am at 112 Oak Street, Ridgewood.
Are you tired of struggling with relationships? Tired of feeling guilty about being happy? Wondering why you dim your light to let others shine? Learn the simple tools to clear your path, release the guilt, and create a freedom roadmap to your life and the relationships you love. You will learn which relationship in your life has the most influence, the surprising truth about letting go, the #1 way to stop guilt in its tracks forever, 3 crucial key words that will stop sending you into sabotage over and over, and how to discover what YOU truly want for yourself.
Lois Kramer-Perez, CHt puts her 10+ years of energy clearing to work for realtors, divorcees, business owners, and moms, breaking through their lives and putting them in the driver’s seat of their relationships and spaces. Lois is the creator of popular programs such as “Clearing Meditation Circle” and the “Feng Shui Jumpstart.” She is a board member of International Feng Shui Guild, and has been invited to speak for numberous organizations and companies. Lois is a faculty member at Emerson and Ridgewood Community Schools, and is a contributor to Natural Awakenings, Inner Realm and BC the Magazine. She is also Pazoo.com’s Feng Shui Expert.
Get the personal and professional growth you seek with exclusive opportunities for WEN Membership. Annual WEN Memberships are available at $100 for Professionals and $75 for Military or Students (with valid ID). Memberships include one-year basic YWCA membership, members-only discount for all WEN Intensive workshops, and a tax deductible donation ($50/$25) toward vital YWCA programming. WENPlus Memberships are also available at $250 annually and include a one-year basic YWCA membership, exclusive early bird registration and members-only discount for all WEN Intensive workshops, one non-member guest pass for the monthly program series, and discounts for other YWCA programs for women. A $200 tax-deductible donation toward YWCA is also included. Per event rates for monthly WEN programs include $25 for non-members, $10 for WEN members, and no charge for WENPlus members.
To become a WEN member, please visit https://www.ywcabergencounty.org/upcomingevents/womens-empowerment-network/ or for more information, please contact Samantha at 201-345-1895 orsplotino@ywcabergencounty.org. To register for September’s WEN event, please visit https://ywca-sept-wen15.eventbrite.com.
Wednesday, September 30th
8:30 am to 10:00 am
YWCA Bergen County
112 Oak Street, Ridgewood, NJ
The Washington Post recently had an article concerning the desperate need for wildscapes, not parks, wildscapes ,undeveloped land to preserve our ecology and life on earth.
Schedler should remain undeveloped.
Let it remain undeveloped, please God, a lodestar for other towns about the need for preserving life on earth by being good stewards of the land.
By the way, some blister bellied parent talked about baseball and other sports becoming more competitive and the need for more playing space.
Well, there have been a plethora of articles on kids’ sports in the major newspapers including our one and only NYTimes. They all agree that too much practice leads to permanent bodily injuries in young bodies that are still developing. Yes, coach , let them work hard, but not harder. You coach, don’t give a flying fuck if your young charges collapse in college sports due to their strained bodies or in high school, or even permanently inured in high school. All coaches and gym teachers teaching competitive sports should be required to work for FREE, NO Pay
. work for the good of the young kids playing, not for your reputations acquired by ruining young lives.
On Saturday the high school chorus group was holding a car wash to raise a few dollars for their program. The kids were about an hour into it, 2 hoses with nozzles when the police came by and had them shut down due to a complaint. The officers were apologetic but had to act due to a compliant. I don’t have anyone in the schools, but what an awful example for the village. We ask the kids to work a task to help their program and then send the police to shut it down.
We should all be very concerned that their are people so miserable and angry in town that they complain about a organized event at the school to raise money.
Why is there no pressure on the water company to build a system that can meets the needs? Why is there no consideration of water use in the proposed increased in area housing? Why are we using village police resources to enforce water rules, seems if they had the time to do this perhaps we should review staffing levels when the water “crisis” is over ?
The “Stage 4 In Effect” notice posted on the Village’s website says NOTHING about a ban on washing vehicles. It addresses IRRIGATION ONLY.
When were we told in writing that washing cars is prohibited?
https://www2.ridgewoodnj.net/main_recent.cfm?ArticleID=1779
Schedler Park and House Grant Timeline
Click Here for the Schedler Park and House Grant Timeline – as reported by the Village Manager at the September 16, 2015 Village Council Public Meeting.
Application to Bergen County Open Space Trust Fund – 2015 Municipal Program
At the September 9, 2015 Village Council there was discussion about the grant application submitted to Bergen County Open Space Trust Fund for the Schedler Park Property – Phase 1.
Click Here Application
Schedler Property Resolutions – August 12 Village Council Public Meeting
Wednesday, August 12th the Village Council discussed the use of the Schedler property. They voted on the following resolutions:
Click Here for Schedler Property Resolution including House
Click Here for Resolution to apply fpr Schedler House Grant
Click Here for Conceptual Map of the park project. The existing structure (460 W. Saddle River Road) is identified by standard architecture/engineering markings. The electrical wire to the house is included. The garage is not identified on this drawing.
Annual Ridgewood Street Fair
Noon to 5pm – E. Ridgewood Avenue – No Fee
ANNUAL STREET FAIR, Sunday, September 20th Ridgewood Parks and Recreation will again sponsor this seasonal outdoor market on Sunday, September 20th, 12 noon to 5 pm, on East Ridgewood Avenue (rain or shine). There is no fee to attend. Vendor wares will include arts and crafts, jewelry, holiday ornaments, novelties of many sorts, home goods, and clothing and accessories. Children’s events will include pony rides, sand art, a petting zoo, inflatables and more. The food court offers a wide variety of refreshments.
Stage 4 water restrictions are still in effect.
September 19,2015
Dear Ridgewood Water customers,
Your cooperation with Stage 4 restrictions has started to ease the stress that the water system experienced during this unusually dry summer. Weather forecasts predict that dry conditions will continue, so Stage 4 restrictions will remain in effect until further notice.
No irrigation of any kind is allowed on Mondays, Thursdays, or Fridays.
Irrigation using only a hand-held hose with a spray nozzle is permitted for odd numbered addresses only on Tuesdays and Saturdays and for even numbered addresses only on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Waivers for special circumstances such as irrigating newly planted lawns and shrubs, cleaning cars or houses, and filling swimming pools will be considered on a case-by-case basis. For more information on waivers please call Ridgewood Water at 201-670-5520 or email Customer Service at cswater@ridgewoodnj.net.
You can always find the current status of restrictions at our website,water.ridgewoodnj.net. Your patience is greatly appreciated
SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Children doodle; it’s a known fact.
Some pieces are individual works of art, while others are simply innocent mishmashes of various shapes and lines.
But Melissa O’Sullivan saw things unmistakably two years ago when she came across drawings of penciled space men and oddly-shaped beings. In her son’s drawings, the Ridgewood mother of three not only saw pure art, but she also saw signs of enriched expression from a child with an impaired ability to communicate.
“We were just amazed,” O’Sullivan told The Ridgewood News last week, as she shared one of several spiral-bound notebooks full of her son Jake Soper’s sketches and doodles.
Jake, 13, is a freshman enrolled in the Ridgewood Intensive Special Education (RISE) program and has high-functioning autism. Though he has difficulty articulating his thoughts, he speaks clearly and honestly.
He also has mastery over pen and paper, and that’s a skill O’Sullivan and her family have recognized.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/mother-son-emerge-as-autism-heroes-1.1412647
Autistic Hero Teeshirts is a T-shirt brand featuring infant/toddler/youth/adult clothing based on Autistic cartoonist Jake Soper’s drawings.
SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Print
Schedler plan is same as 2008 proposal
To the Editor:
As the community continues to debate the development of the Schedler property, it is important to recall the discussions that led to the village’s acquisition of the property.
In September 2008, former Councilman Pat Mancuso convened an ad hoc “Schedler Committee” of interested citizens, including residents of the adjacent West Saddle River Road neighborhood, which met on a weekly basis to discuss the urgency of preserving the property as open recreational space, potential sources of funding and the conceptual plan for the development of the property.
I was asked to present the Schedler Committee’s recommendations to the Village Council at the Council’s Oct. 22, 2008 meeting. In addition to recommending that the Village purchase the property as promptly as possible, I made the following statement:
“Although the members of the Schedler Committee believe that the primary objective at this time is the preservation of the property as open space, they have also discussed in detail and approved the conceptual plan for the improvement of the property that includes a baseball diamond, an overlay multi-purpose field, an ADA-compliant walking trail, a wooded area and a parking lot, and the potential sources of funding for those improvements. . . . Significantly, the representatives of the West Saddle River Road neighborhood association on the Schedler Committee have assured us that the neighbors support the conceptual plan, including the eventual installation of permanent lighting for the athletic fields, and will not ‘disappear down a manhole cover’ . . . as soon as the property is acquired.”
The conceptual plan discussed and approved by the Schedler Committee was substantially the same plan recently endorsed by the Village Council.
It is also worth noting that the intention at the time was to raze the Schedler house. In fact, as part of its grant application presentation, the village told the advisory committee of the Bergen County Open Space Trust Fund that the village intended to tear the house down, and the committee’s only request was that the house be documented (i.e., photographed) before demolition.
Given this history, complaints of “east side” unfairness seem like a smokescreen to impede progress.
The plan for the development of the Schedler property has remained consistent since 2008. I believe it is in the best interests of the village to realize that plan now.
It is also in the interest of the Schedler neighborhood. In 2008, the neighbors’ primary concern was to save the property from high density residential or commercial development. Instead of that, the neighborhood will have a beautiful park with a playing field surrounded by trees and a walking path.
Ralph Currey
Ridgewood
The writer is the Chair of the Village of Ridgewood’s Open Space Committee.
SEPTEMBER 17, 2015 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2015, 2:11 PM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Village Council is moving ahead with a design for a parking garage at the Hudson Street lot, selecting Desman Design Management as the firm to provide architectural renderings for the governing body and the public to review.
The council voted 3-1 on Wednesday evening to award the contract for professional architectural and engineering services for the design of a multi-level traditional self-parking structure to Desman Design Management in an amount not to exceed $295,350.
A special public meeting was held last Tuesday by the governing body for the purpose of hearing presentations from four different companies as they pitched their ideas on a downtown parking garage.
The next night, during the Village Council’s regular work session, Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld said the steering committee decided to recommend either Desman Design Management or Timothy Haahs & Associates Inc.
During the ensuing discussion, three members of the council gave a similar opinion while two others stated a preference for Desman, with all five members eventually agreeing on Desman as the choice for the garage.
Councilman Michael Sedon noted that Desman had focused on the “bones” of the structure more than other presentations, broaching topics such as firewalls and keeping some space between the garage and surrounding businesses.
“They had one design that was interesting with ramps outside the building and a lot of their designs had space between the shops on Hudson Street in the rear of it,” said Sedon. “They would maintain that easement outside the garage, which was different than all the other presenters.”
https://www.northjersey.com/news/council-picks-firm-to-design-garage-1.1412253
