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Tag: Ridgewood NJ
>PJ Speaks………NO FUN ALLOWED
>Ok so first it was the smoking ban, now it’s the underage drinking in my own house ban…oh brother! Do you really want to live in a world were everything you do in your life is regulated by the same Village Hall that has a plumbing problem? Folks the more responsibility you are willing to give up the less personal freedom you will have to exercise.
It seems no matter what you do, it is guaranteed to offend somebody. So first its NO smoking, then its NO drinking, NO talking, NO smiling, NO religion, NO Parking, NO fishing, NO Swimming, NO Dancing, NO swearing, No Driving, NO fun yes absolutely NO FUN.
Sorry but I am not going to let this government or any other run my life for me. They have demonstrated by there actions that they are singularly unqualified. I will exercise my personal responsibility and run my own life thank you comrade and be prepared to take the consequences for my actions. I suggest everyone start acting like grown ups ,you might actually like it.
PJ
>Community Task Force – Municipal Alliance
>CHANGE OF MEETING LOCATION – Discussion of a proposed Municipal Ordinance to
Prohibit Underage Drinking on Private Property at 7:30pm in the Ridgewood
Public Library Auditorium.
Experts and School Administrators will discuss the benefits of this proposed
ordinance that has been adopted by 52 out of 73 Bergen County towns.
Information: 201/670-5560
>The Ridgewood Maroons Soccer Club is conducting tryouts
>The Ridgewood Maroons Soccer Club is conducting tryouts for the fall 2007 and spring 2008 seasons on Saturday, June 2, and Saturday, June 9. Children born between 8/1/93 and 7/31/00 are eligible. Any child entering second grade in the fall of 2007 and born after 7/31/00 is also eligible. The Maroons Soccer Club is a member of the highly competitive Northern Counties Soccer Association league as well as the New
Jersey State Youth Soccer Association. Last fall, the Maroons sponsored 32 teams with more than 500 youth players. Please see the website at www.maroonssc.org for more details on tryout locations and times as well as more information on the club.
>RBSA SOFTBALL IN THE SUMMER
>The RBSA is again offering its Summer Recreational Softball program for all girls entering 1st grade through high school. Drills, contests and games will be specialized for all ages, allowing for small-group and individual attention, as well as whole-group activities. The camp runs weekdays at Veterans Field, June 25 to August 3. There are two sessions per day, 10 to 12 noon and 1 to 3 PM. The program will be run by Gary Muzio, long time head coach and program director of the RBSA’s highly successful 14 & under travel program. He will again be assisted by some of his former players, including RHS legendsEllen Seavers, Jackie Tyler and pitching coach Julia Jacobs, all now enjoying college softball careers, and current RHS players. The fee is $70 per week, $325 for five weeks or $360 for all six weeks. Sign-up forms are available at the Stable or at www.rbsa.us. For more information, contact Gary Muzio, at 201-445-2718 or email at [email protected]
Tips To Speed FEMA Assistance
Dear Friends:
Last week, the President declared parts of New Jersey a disaster area, making residents and local businesses eligible for certain forms of federal assistance. Both Bergen and Passaic Counties are part of the declared disaster area. I am still pressing the President to make Sussex and Warren a part of the area eligible for recovery assistance.
FEMA has released the following guidelines to speed up relief. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact my office and my staff and I will work to help you get the answers you need. As additional information becomes available, such as the location of disaster relief centers, I will share that as well.
tips To Speed FEMA AssistancE
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) encourages residents and business owners who sustained losses due to the severe storms and flooding in the New Jersey counties of Bergen, Burlington, Essex, Passaic, Somerset and Union, to follow the tips listed below to speed up the process when applying for disaster assistance.
Register by telephone or online as soon as possible. Homeowners, renters, and business owners who had flood losses should call the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) registration line at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) to apply for assistance. Individuals with hearing or speech impairments should call (TTY) 1-800-462-7585. The lines are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., daily. You can also register online at www.fema.gov.
Have information ready when you apply. When you call FEMA, have the following on hand: your current address; the address of the damaged property; phone information; insurance information; and your social security number.
Register, even if you are insured. Your insurance coverage may not cover everything and some foundation damage may not show up until later. Even if you have insurance, you can register with FEMA and the State for uninsured losses.
Remember, disaster assistance covers a wide range of flood losses. Disaster-related damage or loss of personal property, anything from a wheelchair to a major appliance, may qualify for some form of federal/state assistance.
Stay in touch and keep appointments after you have registered for disaster assistance. A FEMA inspector will make an appointment to visit your home. A State inspector will also make an appointment to visit the damaged property. Make every effort to be at the damaged property for the visit and call if you need to change the appointment.
Return all forms promptly. After registering, you may receive a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) low-interest loan application package in the mail. Fill out and return these forms promptly or visit a Disaster Assistance Service Center for SBA assistance. Even if you aren’t interested in a loan, complete the loan package and return it; as filling out the SBA application is a necessary step to being considered for other forms of disaster assistance. Flood victims are not obligated to accept an SBA loan.
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FEMA coordinates the federal government’s role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, economic status or retaliation. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, you should call FEMA toll-free at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or contact your State Office of Equal Rights. If suspicious of any abuse of FEMA programs, please contact the Fraud hotline at 1-800-323-8603.
FEMA’s temporary housing assistance and grants for public transportation expenses, medical and dental expenses, and funeral and burial expenses do not require individuals to apply for an SBA loan. However, applicants who receive SBA loan applications must submit them to SBA loan officers to be eligible for assistance that covers personal property, vehicle repair or replacement, and moving and storage expenses.
Sincerely,
Scott Garrett
Member of Congress
>Reduced Window Service Hours at Ridgewood Post Office Remain
>Effective April 2, United States Postal Service (USPS) officials cut window service hours at Ridgewood’s post office by 2 hours each weekday. Attended service now begins at 10:00 AM on weekdays; prior to April 2, these services were available beginning at 8:00 AM. Village Council members voiced their unanimous disapproval of the slashed hours, and directed Village Manager James M. Ten Hoeve to contact Ridgewood’s Postmaster in protest.
>Sunday Afternoon House Fire On Spring Avenue
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Unattended cooking appears to have been the cause of a Sunday afternoon house fire at 478 Spring Avenue. Career and volunteer personnel from the Ridgewood Fire Department quickly extinguished the smoky blaze and held property damage to an absolute minimum. Although volunteers from Ridgewood’s Emergency Services organization were present in force, no injuries were reported. Police personnel were also on the scene providing traffic and crowd control services.
>Crest Road Overlook Mulch/Woodchip Controversy Resurfaces
>During the public comment portion of last night’s Village Council work session, Ms. Elizabeth Quinn of 250 Hillcrest Road claimed that last fall’s placement of mulch and woodchips along the Crest Road overlook directly attributed to the recent flooding of her property, which caused $20K in damages.
Ms. Quinn and several of her neighbors have been regular fixtures at Council meetings since the mulch/woodchips were placed late last year (reportedly at the direction of Deputy Mayor Betty G. Wiest). Although there has been much dialogue between Council members and the lower Hillcrest Road homeowners, the controversy over placement and planned removal of the debris continues.
Village Manager James M. Ten Hoeve directed Ms. Quinn to file a claim for damages with the Village. Mr. Ten Hoeve also advised Ms. Quinn that there were approximately 150 Village home owners who experienced flooding on a first time basis after last week’s storm, so she was not alone in her plight.
>Meeting Highlights – Village Council Special Public Meeting/Work Session, 4/25/2007
>Susan F. Witkowski was sworn in as the new Deputy Village Clerk. Ms. Witkowski previously served as Deputy Borough Clerk of Northvale. She replaces Laura J. Graham, who left Ridgewood to become the Borough Clerk in Oradell
A community task force on underage drinking, chaired by BOE member Shelia Brogan, asked Council members to consider adoption of a municipal ordinance that would prohibit underage drinking on PRIVATE property (existing laws already prohibit such activity on public property). Councilwoman Kim Ringler-Shagin voiced her strong opposition to introduction of such an ordinance. All other Council members seemed to be okay with it.
Plans to construct a permanent concession stand/restroom facility at Vets Field were officially scrubbed. The estimated construction price of $600K was too much for the Council to stomach. Tom Thurston, representing the Jon C. Vandevander Foundation, indicated that he would now be pursuing purchase of a prefabricated concession stand that could be placed on wheels and moved. An alternate restroom facility plan is still under development.
It was revealed that $27K has been spent to date in 2007 for the repair of 2 sanitation truck transmissions.
Fees associated with police related towing will increase significantly. The minimum tow charge will jump from under $50 to $125.
Village department heads/directors will be getting 4% salary increases this year. Councilman Jacques Harlow suggested that it was time to prevent directors from carry over and unlimited number of sick days, and also appropriate to now start asking the directors to contribute to health care premiums. Further discussion on these topics will be held in closed session.
New signage will be installed along the driveways of Village Hall. Several residents have previously noted that the police department is difficult to find.
No FEMA Money Yet!
>Ridgewood officials are still waiting to hear whether federal funds will be made available for the recovery effort associated with last week’s devastating flooding. If that happens — a declaration by President Bush is expected within days — the Village would be eligible for recovery grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. As of now though, all damages not covered by insurance policies must be paid for with local tax dollars.
The most significant damage reported thus far is a shifted water main along the Saddle River between Linwood and Ridgewood Avenues. The estimated costs to remediate that one condition is $400K.
>Congressman Garrett Tours flood Damage in Bergen County
>Dear Friends:
This weekend, I toured some of the flood damage in Bergen County. Accompanied by local elected officials, police and fire chiefs, and emergency management officers, I visited communities in New Milford, Rochelle Park, and River Edge. And, as the rivers begin to recede to pre-flood levels, there is little doubt that the damage is severe.
I have joined with all of my colleagues in the New Jersey delegation to ask the President to declare parts of New Jersey a federal disaster area. These letters echo the official requests by Acting New Jersey Governor Richard Codey. I have also written to FEMA to encourage them to make assessments and disaster declaration recommendations as swiftly as possible.
FEMA is continuing to work with local emergency management offices to assess the damage from last week’s nor’easter. FEMA had Preliminary Disaster Assessment Teams and resources such as generators pre-positioned in New Jersey before the storm to facilitate quick assessment. I am hopeful that actual aid will be available to residents, municipalities, and businesses soon.
As soon as the preliminary assessments are completed, the President will be able to determine if the threshold for a federal disaster declaration has been met. Once such a declaration is made, FEMA will set up regional disaster recovery centers at which citizens will be able to apply for relief. As soon as more information becomes available, I will be certain to get the word out. In the meantime, if you would like to get an idea of what may be available, you may want to visit https://www.fema.gov/assistance/index.shtm.
Furthermore, you may be interested to know that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) extended the deadline for tax filings for those directly impacted by the storm. The IRS initially extended the deadline by 48 hours, but it then extended the deadline a second time to Thursday, April 26th. For more information on this extension, visit the IRS’ website, https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=169543,00.html.
Sincerely,
Scott Garrett
Member of Congress
>Important Notice to Residents about Flood Water Discharges
>Residents dealing with wet or damp basements must not discharge collected
water into the Village’s sanitary sewer collection system. Individuals
pumping out basements are reminded to direct the discharged water to the
street gutter, not into toilets or slop sinks. Connecting sump pump
discharges directly to sanitary sewer lines is unlawful.
Overwhelming the Village’s sanitary sewer collection system with water from
flooded homes could cause malfunctions at the waste water treatment plant,
or at local pumping stations. This could in turn cause effluent discharges
to the environment.
Unlawful sump pump connections may be reported to 201-670-5500, x209.
>RHS Bleachers Cited as "Unsafe" – BOE Acts Promptly to Seal Off Area
>This morning, Village officials declared RHS’ bleachers adjacent to the
Ho-Ho-Kus Brook as being “unsafe.” It is believed that damage caused by
Sunday’s flooding was the principal reason for this declaration. The
bleachers are now completely cordoned off with caution tape and fencing.
Appropriate signage was crafted and installed as well. No details
concerning a timeline for repairs are available at this time.
Freight Container Remains Lodged In Ho-Ho-Kus Brook – Removal Expenses May Be BOE’s Responsibility
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A freight container weighing in excess of 10,000 pounds remains lodged in the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook near Ridgewood High School after washing away during Sunday’s torrential downpour and striking the Ridgewood Avenue bridge. The bridge sustained minor structural damage, but was deemed safe for continued pedestrian and motor vehicle use by Village Engineer Christopher Rutishauser.
Despite previous posts on this blog suggesting the container may have washed downstream from a point miles above, it is now believed to have been located on the property of Ridgewood High School. The Village’s engineering staff is currently evaluating methods for the container’s safe removal; unconfirmed reports are that it may be resting on top of a water main. If the container is confirmed to be the property of, or leased by, Ridgewood’s Board of Education, all costs associated with its removal will most likely be billed back to the BOE.
