>Marginalize local residents as one will, in a community they are what matters. Ridgewood’s residents most fundamentally ARE Ridgewood
Ridgewood NJ- Ridgewood is a community. Valley hospital is a member of that community, in it’s own right. But nonetheless Ridgewood is, first and foremost, a wonderful and well established residential community with associated zoning requirements meant to protect the quality and character of it’s neighborhoods. It is a “village” that is friendly to commerce, but not a commercial or industrial site.
Whoever wrote “soccer moms” was dismissing the value of Ridgewood community residents off-handishly, as members of a category to be treated as irrelevant or silly in some way. Whether this Valley supporter represents Valley or not, his/her attitude lies at the very heart of the issue of what is wrong with the Valley’s behavior.
I see it like this. A business wants to expand in Ridgewood and in a way that many surrounding community members find disagreeable. This business is not interested in that opposition but, rather, sees those community interests as an obstacle to be defeated. It sees that community itself as an obstacle, and is behaving accordingly.
Marginalize local residents as one will, in a community they are what matters. Ridgewood’s residents most fundamentally ARE Ridgewood.
