>The Fly on the wall regularly notices several RHS students waiting for eastbound public buses at Ridgewood and Van Dien Avenues. Is it possible that these students live outside of Ridgewood and are illegally enrolled in our system? Has the BOE recently performed a residency verification check on 100% of all current RHS students?
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>the Fly on the Wall has learned….Congressmen Scott Garrett was out touring the flooded zones in the district this past weekend. He sent press releases to local papers and asked reporters to tour with the Congressman but the papers just don’t cover us. Scott’s even taken on New York State by sending a personal letter to request the state lower it’s reservoirs to handle their flood water instead of dumping it on us. He was out front and received little credit. Much of the flooding has come from NY State keeping their reservoirs at 100% and then opening the flood gates to protect themselves during high rain. NJ floods, NY is dry. Unfortunately the papers have unlimited bias! They simply refuse to cover Scott even when he’s out doing the same or more than the Democrats are doing. The papers make it look like he hasn’t done anything when in fact he’s done a great deal. Scott’s office was out front, taking care of the towns and people that flooded. The very morning of the flooding, Scott’s legislative office called every town in the district to assess the damage in each town. He met with towns and people personally that flooded. He and his legislative staff worked quietly and efficiently to get the job done. It’s a shame the papers only want to cover dog and pony shows but don’t honor the hard work of Scott and his legislative aides.
>Monday, April 30, 2007 to Sunday, April 1, 2007
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I’m pleased to announce that “And Then Came Love” starring Vanessa Williams, Eartha Kitt, Kevin Daniels, Michael Boatman, Stephen Spinella & Ben Vereen will premiere JUNE 1 at the Ridgewood Warner Quad Theater in downtown Ridgewood.
We Expect To Sell Out Fast
It’s A Great Feel Good Film
See Ridgewood’s own Diane Sims, Rosie McCooe, Trish Manzo, Eileen Scheuch & The Regressions make their big screen debut
The appearance of over 150 local extras
7 local locations – Austin’s in Rochelle Park, The Ridgewood Women’s Club, Eastern Christian Elementary School, Floody’s Office, Dr. Hall’s Office, the VanSaun House & the DiCosta House
Support Independent Filmmaking
TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW
at https://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=o5soz5bab.0.qbaug4bab.ftururbab.53&ts=S0241&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.movietickets.com%2F (search Ridgewood)
or at the boxoffice
Early Bird Premiere – Friday 6/1 4:00pmBe the first to see the film, and get a free cone from Ben & Jerry’sCocktails with the Cast & Crew –
Saturday 6/2 9:00pmJoin the cast, crew and friends of the film @ BLEND on Chestnut Street to celebrate the openingFilmmaker Q&A Panel –
Monday 6/4 7:00pmFollowing the film, meet the filmmakers and learn what it takes to make an independent film. Ladies Nite Out/Date Nite –
Tuesday/Wednesay 6/5 & 6/6 7:00pm Grab your girlfriend, your mom or your honey, and make it a movie night. This smart, chick fick promises to be the “feel good” film of the summer. meet up after at Starbucks for lively discussion with the writer and members of the “Mommy Posse.”Last Chance –
Thursday 6/7 7:00pmSee it before it’s gone. All ticket holders receive a Clearview goody bag.
>Stuart Portney, president of The Metro Company, a real estate, planning, housing, finance, and development consulting group based in Jersey City, presented a draft Central Business District redevelopment plan to Village Council members during last night’s Council Work Session.
The redevelopment plan’s sole purpose is to legalize construction of a 50 foot high, 4-story, 300+ space parking garage on the northwest corner of North Walnut Street and Franklin Avenue. As currently planned, the structure will incorporate retail space on floor one, and parking on floors two through four.
Although a development company and architect have not yet been selected, Jeff Wells, principal owner of Wells Associates, an architectural firm with close ties to the Village, was present in the audience during Mr. Portney’s presentation. It is rumored Mr. Wells is also a member of the real estate investment group that recently purchased 120 Franklin Avenue, the former Town Garage property, which must be acquired by the Village to facilitate construction of the proposed parking structure.
A revised redevelopment plan will be submitted for Council approval within one week. Once Council members approve the plan, it will be forwarded to Planning Board members for review and endorsement.
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>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
>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 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.
>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]
>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.
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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.
>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.
>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.
>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.
