Ridgewood NJ, Quick thinking on the part of an observant bank teller and an immediate response by Ridgewood PD Patrol Officer Paul Dinice saved a local resident from becoming a victim of the increasingly pervasive “IRS Scam.” Officer Dinice was dispatched to a local Chase Bank branch (84 East Ridgewood Avenue) following receipt of a 911 telephone call from a bank teller there who reported that a very distraught female patron talking on a cell phone had asked to withdraw a large sum of money.
After arriving at the bank less than 60 seconds from being dispatched, Dinice quickly located and interviewed the intended victim. He determined almost immediately that the “IRS Scam” was in play and convinced the 57-year old resident to hang up the phone. Still distraught, the resident asked to be transported to a local pharmacy, a request Dinice cheerfully honored.
JULY 27, 2015 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, JULY 27, 2015, 10:32 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Ridgewood voters will have a referendum question on their ballots in November.
The Village Council this month authorized the placement of a non-binding referendum related to financing a municipal parking garage.
The referendum question was approved unanimously by the governing body and asks voters whether or not they support a proposal to finance the construction of a parking garage in downtown Ridgewood, which officials anticipate will be paid through parking revenues, by bonding up to $15 million in public funds.
The proposed garage would be built on the parking lot at the corner of Hudson and South Broad streets. The cost of such a structure is not yet known, though village officials have given placeholder estimations of between $10 million and $15 million as the possible tab for a garage.
Attached to the question is an interpretative statement, which says the referendum seeks to gauge public opinion on the development of a multi-story parking garage, which would provide additional parking for commuters and the Ridgewood residents and visitors who are patronizing the shopping and dining establishments as well as other services available in the Central Business District (CBD).
It is anticipated the parking garage would provide a net increase of approximately 300 spaces over what currently exists without negatively impacting local property taxes, the interpretive statement reads.
JULY 26, 2015, 11:33 PM LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, JULY 26, 2015, 11:36 PM
BY JEFF GREEN AND MONSY ALVARADO
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD
They’ll be sleeping on the ground among bugs and birds, near lions and tigers, but the parishioners of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Ridgewood decided they’d do it if that’s what it took to see Pope Francis.
With hotel room prices shooting sky-high as far back as a year ago, Cathy Hunt, the church’s director of religious education, sought out, in Francis fashion, humbler lodging. After a little negotiating with the Philadelphia Zoo, the group cemented plans to roll out sleeping bags inside two buildings that contain the insect and bird exhibits.
More than 60 families of Our Lady of Mount Carmel are signed up for the church’s late-September pilgrimage to the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia — the capstone of Pope Francis’ five-day visit to the U.S., his first as pope.
Parishioners expect to walk several miles back and forth between the zoo and the festival site, but at $120 per person, including transportation, it’s a bargain as reservations get tougher to come by with only two months to go before the festival.
At least two other Bergen County congregations also made plans well ahead of time to travel to Philadelphia, where North Jersey Catholics may have their best opportunity to see the pope and hear him speak. Besides Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., the pope is visiting Manhattan, where he is to say Mass at Madison Square Garden and lead a multi-faith service at Ground Zero. But the Archdiocese of New York announced last week that its limited tickets for those events will be available only to its own parishioners.
Sunday, August 9th @ 10:00am, New York Times Bestselling author and syndicated talk-show host, Mark Levin, will sign his new book: Plunder & Deceit
Books available August 4th
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, Two Bergen County residents Joe Delcalzo and Peter Reuther opened the county’s first Brewery, Brix City Brewing, in Little Ferry last month.Due to the small production size of our Brewery we are only on tap at a few bars and restaurants in the area. Make sure to call ahead, as many restaurants and bars rotate taps the beer is sold at . In Ridgewood the Office Beer Bar & Grill sell the beer.
Nestled in the borough of Little Ferry, Brix City Brewing is one of the newest craft breweries to hit the beer scene in New Jersey. Brix City Brewing is dedicated to bold styled beers that showcase intense flavor profiles and the highest quality ingredients. We make the beer we enjoy drinking, so hopefully you do too.
In 2010, co-founder Pete left the Army after serving in the infantry for four years, two of which were spent in Germany where he began to appreciate the many different styles of beer. Upon his honorable discharge, he was unsure of what he was going to do with his life. At the same time, fellow co-founder Joe was attending college as an accounting major while working part time, also unsure about what he would be doing in the future.
The two men had been friends since high school and both shared a passion for beer. They would soon buy a home brew kit, and before you knew it they were knee deep in the craft brewing world, most of their free time from that point on was spent brewing (and drinking for that matter). Before long, the two had the crazy idea that they could make this wonderful hobby a career and they began developing the brewery that would unfold to be Brix City Brewing.
JULY 26, 2015 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, JULY 26, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY ALICE GOMSTYN
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD |
THE RECORD
When Cindy Myer’s husband, Rob, died from a heart attack in 2005, she didn’t just have to worry about taking care of her family — she had a business to run, too.
Myer succeeded her husband as chief executive of Ridgewood Moving Services and turned the struggling company into a profitable venture, which last year had revenue of about $2.3 million.
Myer, who leads some 30 employees, said she’s proud of spearheading that turnaround as well as cementing her company’s strong community ties. She recently took time to reminisce about her journey from amateur business owner to CEO and also explained why her moving company is about more than just moving. (Edited for clarity and length.)
Q. When you and your husband originally bought Ridgewood Moving Services, what was the plan with respect to how the work would be divided between you?
Rob worked for Ridgewood Moving when he had gotten out of the military in the ’80s. We were married in 1985, when I was still in the fashion industry. In 1987, we bought the business. He ran it, and I was a vice president, just by title only.
And then in 1988 when I got pregnant and had my first daughter, I retired to raise a family. He ran the company from 1987 to 2005, when he passed away. He died of a heart attack. He was 47.
“The intent of the ordinance,” Sonenfeld said, was to clean up the language in the code “to reflect what is and has been reality.”
What a load of BS. Clean up the lanugage in the code? Come on, Roberta, do you think that we concerned citizens of this town are stupid? You hired for a position that did not exist. The Council knew you were doing this, and two objected. You did not care, because you had the vote of the threesome in your pocket, so you knew that the hiring would go through. Your “clean up” statement is clearly intended to imply that this was along-standing discrepancy, instead of a very recent discrepancy that you intentionally created in order to hire Ms. Matthews.
Paul – The system is not broken, I agree with you on this.. The system is fine. You and your buddies bent the rules, broke them in half. But the system that is in place is fine. If only you and Albert and Gwenn and Roberta had respect for the law.
JULY 24, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2015, 12:30 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Print
Process for HR position ‘broken’
To the Editor:
At a recent council meeting, Councilman Mike Sedon was chastised for saying that he was misled in the budget process because he had not received any information regarding a part-time HR position becoming a full-time one and that it was not brought to the council level for discussion and/or a vote as required by our own village code. Now we find that the title of this newly instituted position is confidential secretary.
Disregarding the notion that this sounds like a job right out of “Mad Men,” it seems that this title was a way to circumvent the Civil Service guidelines. Confidential secretary is not a competitive position and therefore need not be appropriately advertised, applicants tested and rated accordingly.
Two members of the council have further questioned the process and have publicly said that they had no opportunity to debate or to vote on this hiring. If 40 percent of our council was left out of the loop on purpose or inadvertently, then the process is broken as has been charged. Rather than an acknowledgement of this scenario from the village manager and/or the mayor, Mr. Sedon and Councilwoman Susan Knudsen have been treated with disrespect for voicing their concerns.
It now appears that the entire HR hiring was not in accordance with current village code, hence all the resolutions to change it (notably after the fact).
Some will say, “What’s the big deal, we needed an HR director.” The big deal is that this will be a permanent position with a salary of approximately $100,000. Council members vote on vehicle purchases, upgrades, etc., but not a newly created department head?
Also, we didn’t get an HR director, we got a confidential secretary.
Guidelines are in effect to protect the process and the people involved. They were not followed and now there is doubt about the integrity of our village hiring practices. This did not have to happen.
JULY 23, 2015, 5:58 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015, 6:01 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — The council’s decision to appoint a human resources director was challenged last week by residents who suggested the hiring might have violated village ordinance.
Ridgewood’s council voted 3-2 on July 15 to update the ordinance that lays out the village’s organizational structure. The move formally establishes a human resources department and creates a director’s position for that department.
Roberta Sonenfeld, the village’s manager, said at last week’s council meeting that the ordinance was being updated to reflect operations in Village Hall.
Sharyn Matthews, director of the village’s new human resources department, was hired in the fall as a senior personnel assistant, earning $92,000. Matthews, whose pay will remain the same, holds degrees in labor relations and human resources from Cornell University and Mercy College and is certified as a senior human resources professional.
The changes approved by the council last week effectively eradicated the Department of Community Services, Sonenfeld said, while moving some of its subdivisions to other departments and adding some new positions.
“The intent of the ordinance,” Sonenfeld said, was to clean up the language in the code “to reflect what is and has been reality.”
Ridgewood NJ, Members of a Village of Ridgewood sanitation crew escaped injury on Monday afternoon, 07/20 after the female driver of a white Mercedes SL 450 failed to stop in time and rear ended the truck they were working from. The Mercedes driver was also uninjured in the crash, but her vehicle sustained heavy front end damage and was removed from the scene by a flatbed tow truck. The garbage truck was not damaged. No summonses were issued at the time of the crash, which occurred on Avondale Road near its intersection with Heights Road in Ridgewood.
Ridgewood NJ, U.S. News and World Report sifted through data for nearly 5,000 hospitals and results from surveys of more than 140,000 physicians to rank the best centers in 16 adult specialties from cancer to urology, according to the publication
Death rates, patient safety and hospital reputation were a few of factors considered. Only 137 hospitals were nationally ranked in a specialty.
Here is the list for New Jersey:
1. Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack
Bed Count: 685
Type: General medical and surgical
Doctors: 1,169
Nationally ranked in 5 specialties
2. Morristown Medical Center, Morristown
Bed Count: 656
Type: General medical and surgical
Doctors: 1,009
Nationally ranked hospital n 4 specialties
3. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick
Bed Count: 610
Type: General medical and surgical
Doctors: 1,259
4. AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, Atlantic City
Bed Count: 534
Type: General medical and surgical
Doctors: 508
5. Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune
Bed Count: 546
Type: General medical and surgical
Doctors: 727
6. (Tie) St. Peter’s University Hospital, New Brunswick
Bed Count: 374
Type: General medical and surgical
Doctors: 887
6. (Tie) University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro, Plainsboro
Bed Count: 338
Type: General medical and surgical
Doctors: 23
8. Overlook Medical Center, Summit
Bed Count: 428
Type: General medical and surgical
Doctors: 1,047
9. (Tie) Holy Name Medical Center, Teaneck
Bed Count: 318
Type: General medical and surgical
Doctors: 670
9. (Tie) Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank
Bed Count: 270
Type: General medical and surgical
Doctors: 1,065
9. (Tie) South Jersey Healthcare Regional Medical Center, Vineland
Bed Count: 331
Type: General medical and surgical
12. Valley Hospital, Ridgewood
Bed Count: 446
Type: General medical and surgical
Doctors: 953
13. (Tie) Capital Health Regional Medical Center, Trenton
The Ridgewood 12U Little League baseball team won its district championship with a 2-1 victory over Waldwick. FRONT ROW, from left: Collin Feeney, Donn Patrick Joseph, Ryan Cummings and Ather Williams. MIDDLE ROW, from left: Matthew Byrne, Reed Darienzo, Ed Chanod, Bryan Chan, Joseph Pagano, Donovan Joseph and Chris Fyock. BACK ROW, from left: Coach Andy Meyer, George Hadfield, Jack Meyer, coach Guy Darienzo and coach Mike Feeney.
JULY 17, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY RON FOX
CORRESPONDENT |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Coaches only can hope to get their messages across as well as Guy Darienzo did in 2012. The Ridgewood Little League coach stressed team play, players pulling for each other and staying fiercely determined not to give up under any circumstances.
His Ridgewood Raiders squad won their district championship that first year and have won each of the age-group titles every year since as they’ve moved up, extending that streak this week with a 2-1 win over Waldwick for the District 4 12U title.
“As far as I know, winning four straight district championships is unprecedented in New Jersey,” Darienzo said as his team prepared for Saturday’s opening of sectional play in Kittatinny, where Ridgewood will play against Somerset Hills at 3:30 p.m.
Perhaps an even more spectacular streak is the team’s overall play. The Raiders have never lost a district game in those four magical years. Basically 90 percent of the players on the roster have played together while moving up through the various age groups to dominate and collect four district banners.
“The kids bought into what we were preaching [in 2012] and it’s great to hear them cheering for each other, each at-bat,” said Darienzo, formerly a standout athlete at Bergen Catholic.
Two well-balanced squads faced off for the title this time around. Waldwick, making its debut in the tournament, fought through the losers’ bracket to earn the berth against defending champion Ridgewood, and a pitchers’ duel broke out.
Please visit the Graydon Pool homepage at www.ridgewoodnj.net/graydon to learn about membership rates, program offerings and pool amenities. Be sure to bookmark our Graydon homepage on your computer for future special events and program offerings. Opening day for Graydon Pool was Saturday, June 6th.
2015 season memberships may now be purchased online via Community Pass at www.ridgewoodnj.net/communitypass. Be sure to refer to your online confirmation when purchase is complete for detailed information on how to obtain your photo identification badge.
Aquatic programs, including the Graydon Swim Team and instructional and recreational swim, are also available online at Community Pass, or you may review levels and print program registration forms from our Graydon homepage referenced above. Meet the Aquatic Staff and learn more on the following dates at the pool.
American Red Cross Waterfront Lifeguard Training (recertification/bridging and new) is available through Ridgewood Parks and Recreation. Details/registration are also available on the Graydon Pool homepage.
JULY 17, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Similar stories for two King’s Ponds
To the Editor:
What do the King’s Pond in Ridgewood and the King’s Pond in Franklin Lakes have in common? Both have been allowed to fall into disrepair due to years of inaction by both municipalities. The administrations in both towns have used the “kick the can down the road” approach to the maintenance of these ponds by refusing to plan and budget for the necessary repairs and restorations during their tenure. The result at this point is that both ponds are approaching swamp status.
The Franklin Lakes pond, which has never been dredged, has fallen into serious disrepair with low water levels, decaying vegetation and noticeable smell. Its pond is inaccessible due to overgrowth of foliage on its shoreline.
Similarly, the pond in Ridgewood has fallen in disrepair. It was last dredged in October 1999. Today, the water level in the center of the pond is five inches deep with vegetation protruding its surface. Access to the entire length of the pond existed in 2007. Today, the entire shoreline is overgrown thus denying access for fishing and viewing.
At least Franklin Lakes has finally taken action to resolve years of neglect for its King’s Pond by budgeting to dredge and restore the pond to its intended use.
To date, Ridgewood has done nothing to restore its King’s Pond to be worthy of its Wildscape status. After years of bringing this blight to the attention of past as well as the current administration, no plan or budget has been introduced to resolve this deterioration. Ridgewood’s lack of concern for these natural resources is irresponsible.
Both communities should be ashamed for allowing their inaction to promote this preventable deterioration.
The Obama administration is moving forward with regulations designed to help diversify America’s wealthier neighborhoods, drawing fire from critics who decry the proposal as executive overreach in search of an “unrealistic utopia.”
A final Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rule due out this month is aimed at ending decades of deep-rooted segregation around the country.
The regulations would use grant money as an incentive for communities to build affordable housing in more affluent areas while also taking steps to upgrade poorer areas with better schools, parks, libraries, grocery stores and transportation routes as part of a gentrification of those communities.
“HUD is working with communities across the country to fulfill the promise of equal opportunity for all,” a HUD spokeswoman said. “The proposed policy seeks to break down barriers to access to opportunity in communities supported by HUD funds.”
It’s a tough sell for some conservatives. Among them is Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), who argued that the administration “shouldn’t be holding hostage grant monies aimed at community improvement based on its unrealistic utopian ideas of what every community should resemble.”
“American citizens and communities should be free to choose where they would like to live and not be subject to federal neighborhood engineering at the behest of an overreaching federal government,” said Gosar, who is leading an effort in the House to block the regulations.
Civil rights advocates, meanwhile, are praising the plan, arguing that it is needed to break through decades-old barriers that keep poor and minority families
