Tag: Ridgewood schools will be OPEN on Friday

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Red Alert, Ridgewood!

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Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I’m writing out of deep concern regarding this upcoming Village Council election on May 8th and hope that you can share this note with other residents so that they understand what is really happening here.

The level of lies, slander and libelous talk coming from the campaign against Mayor Knudsen and Councilman Sedon has reached a dangerous pitch and we now find ourselves on the precipice of landing right back in the same bad state of government that Ridgewood had fallen into two years ago.

Make no mistake. The former mayor and those behind him are behind these two opposing candidates; and should either one be elected, we are going to be facing yet another four years of fighting tooth and nail to protect our village against further inappropriate high-density developments and other massive projects that will reshape Ridgewood into a place that we will no longer recognize.

Mayor Knudsen and Councilman Sedon have worked tirelessly to fix the damage incurred by the previous village council majority and former village manager. They repealed Ordinance 3066, which had previously permitted inappropriate development, including the Valley Expansion, to gain traction. Mayor Knudsen mitigated the level of high-density that had been approved by her predecessor and both Mayor Knudsen and Councilman Sedon are working hard to create a new Master Plan that will pave the way for more reasonable development while maintaining the feel of the Ridgewood that we all know and love.

So, I am asking for your help in sharing this note. Send it to everyone in town you know. It is imperative that we make sure everyone in Ridgewood understands what is really afoot and act accordingly.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Dana

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HUGE multi-family garage sale on Saturday April 21

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April 18,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, HUGE multi-family garage sale on Saturday April 21 The Kubikowski/Conway Confirmation Group from Our Lady of Mount Carmel is having a sale from 9am-3pm at 533 Wyndemere Ave in Ridgewood. (Rain date is Sunday April 22). All proceeds of the sale benefit Social Service Association of Ridgewood. More than 20 families have gathered items for this sale. There will be something for everyone, from sporting goods, toys, games and baby items, to furniture, household items and clothing, including brand new unused items. Please stop by and help support a good cause! This group has already collected well over 1000 grocery items and stocked the shelves!

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Village Council Special Public Meeting -Re-establish Water Rates and Fees

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Village Council Special Public Meeting
AGENDA
VILLAGE COUNCIL
SPECIAL PUBLIC MEETING
SYDNEY V. STOLDT, JR. COURT ROOM
APRIL 18, 2018
7:00 P.M.
1. Call to Order
Statement of Compliance with the Open Public Meeting ActMAYOR: “Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by a posting on the bulletin board in Village hall, by mail to the Ridgewood News, The Record, and by submission to all persons entitled to same as provided by law of a schedule including the date and time of this meeting.”

Roll Call – Village Clerk

Flag Salute and Moment of Silence5. Mayor’s Comments6. Public Comments (Not to exceed 3 minutes per person, 40 minutes in total)7. ORDINANCES – CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARINGa. Ordinance #3636 – Re-establish Water Rates and Fees – 2010-2017b. Ordinance #3637 – Amend Water Rates and Fees – 20188. Public Comments (Not to exceed 5 minutes per person) 9. Adjournment

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The Ridgewood Police Department is pleased to announce the 5th annual Chief Michael Feeney, Jr. Police Academy

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April 18,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Police Department is pleased to announce the 5th annual Chief Michael Feeney, Jr. Police Academy scheduled from Friday June 22nd through Friday June 29th 2018, at Benjamin Franklin Middle School. The Academy is open to Ridgewood residents entering 5th 6th and 7th grades in the fall of 2018.
Last year’s academy featured demonstrations from The Ridgewood Police Department, Bergen County Sheriff’s Department K-9 and Bomb Squad, Police Motorcycles, Ridgewood Emergency Services, FBI, Ridgewood Fire Department, State Police Helicopter landing, Tactical driving, as well as demonstrations from various other agencies. A field trip to the Bergen County Law and Public Safety Complex in Mahwah is also scheduled.
Applications will be available online in community pass.
For more information contact Lt.Glenn Ender [email protected]

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Reader asks Where do the two candidates that he supports stand? Are Harwin and Willet going to disavow this miscreant?

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The Jurgen letter defies belief. This pathetic peasant has chosen to attack Ridgewood’s Catholic church and a scholarship committee in town with his false allegations of bribery. Where do the two candidates that he supports stand? Are Harwin and Willet going to disavow this miscreant? Or are they content to let his lies stand, so long as those lies arn’t directed to them?
History is full of people who turned the other way and pretended not to notice falsehoods when it suited them at the moment. Falsehoods that then spread and grew like a cancer in the fabric of society. We will just have to see what sort of people Willet and Harwin really are.

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Reader predicts major backlash from this sickening communique and an even greater landslide for the incumbents

Mayor Susan Knudsen

Predicting major backlash from this sickening communique and an even greater landslide for the incumbents than might otherwise have been the case. Sorry, Mr. Lehmann–with your wild accusations burning holes in our mailboxes you have seriously overestimated this town’s taste for our very own National Inquirer and lost the respect of anyone with half a brain. If the town has any wisdom you will soon be removed from the Zoning Board (did everybody know this guy was the chairman?) and banned from any such group for life. Way to go, accusing the Catholic Church and Jamboree of local corruption! I would not want someone with such an appalling lack of judgment to be ruling on anything related to my own property or anyone else’s. Go home and stew in your own miserable juices with your low-life Aronsohnian pals.

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Kean: While Today is Tax Day, New Jerseyans Won’t Celebrate Tax Freedom Day Until May 3rd

Tom Kean - High Quality

April 17, 2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Tom Kean: While Today is Tax Day, New Jerseyans Won’t Celebrate Tax Freedom Day Until May 3rd .

Warns Murphy’s Billions in New Taxes Will Push Tax Freedom Day for New Jerseyans Even Later .
On Tax Day 2018, Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean warned that New Jersey residents will have to work longer to pay their tax bills if billions in tax increases proposed by Governor Phil Murphy are enacted.

“Although today is Tax Day, the day that income taxes must be filed, New Jerseyans actually will have to work through May 3rd to pay their combined federal, state, and local property tax bills for the year,” said Kean. “If Murphy’s billions in tax increases are enacted, New Jersey workers will have to work even further into the year just to pay their taxes.”

The Tax Foundation measures Tax Freedom Day as the point into the year that taxpayers must work to cover the cost of all of the taxes they pay.

Residents of several states with low tax burdens celebrated Tax Freedom Day in the first week of April, a month before New Jersey residents will get to celebrate, and 30 states have celebrated Tax Freedom Day by today, April 17th.
Only New Yorkers will have to work further into 2018 than New Jerseyans to pay their tax bills for the year.

Kean said the $1.7 billion in tax increases proposed by Governor Murphy would put New Jersey in a race for last place with the Empire State.

“The higher income taxes, increased sales taxes, and new taxes on sharing services like Uber and Lyft that Governor Murphy’s wants to implement would place New Jerseyans at serious risk of having the absolute worst tax burden in the nation,” added Kean. “We’re going to fight these tax increases. Unlike Governor Murphy, we want New Jerseyans to spend less time working to support big government and more time working to the benefit of their own families.

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It’s Really Time for Harwin to Resign from the Council Election

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April 17,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, it seems Ridgewood non Partisan Politics have hit a new all time low this might be the lowest we’ve seen in Ridgewood yet. Ridgewood Votes 2018 sent out what could be considered the most offensive bigoted, disgusting campaign literature we have ever witnessed.

In what can now be only considered pure smear campaign , filled with lies. The letter goes on maligning not only a the mayors character but attacks Catholics from Our Lady of Mount Carmel and our Catholic school and Jamboree as well.

The Harwin campaign with nothing to run on except it lame attempt to slander Mayor Susan Knudsen . This conduct is SO far beyond the pale of good citizenship it bodes like the ruination of our community spirit.

None of the accusations are true. All have already been proven totally 100% false ,for one example, the flyer says that Susan accepted a $25000 prize from an organization with a vested interest in the parking garage. Clearly they were referring to OLMC, yet the raffle was not held by OLMC, but by another church in Glen Rock. Further, at a recent candidate coffee, a Ridgewood resident (who didn’t seem to know Mayor Knudsen) stated that he was the organizer of the raffle and there was no way that it could have been “fixed”.

The letter despicable letter was written by Hans-Jurgen Lehmann, Chairman of the Board of Adjustment and husband of Jan Phillps .

The question arises does Alexandra Harwin have a platform she’s running on or is it solely based on pointing fingers and slander? On the Ridgewood blog they have made attacks claiming ,anti Semitism, sexism, intolerance and nepotism . They have attacked both the Ridgewood Police Department and the Ridgewood Fire department . They have also used children to push they “agenda” at Ridgewood High School.

It’s pathetic and eerily smells like Paul Aronsohn has his hands in this. There is an undeniable connection between Paul Aronsohn, Jan Phillps, Jeff Voigt, Rurik Halaby , Gwenn Hauck ,Al Pucciarelli, Don Delzio, Hans-Jurgen Lehmann and Alexandra Harwin .

Hawin should disavow this mailer and resign from the council election immediately and Hans-Jurgen Lehmann should be terminated as Chairman of the Board of Adjustment .

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Concerned Residents of Ridgewood endorse Mayor Susan Knudsen and Deputy Mayor Michael Sedon for re-election to the Village Council

Ridgewood Village Council

The Valley Hospital Issue Is NOT Finished

The Village Council Election on May 8 Is Critical

CRR Supports Candidates Susan Knudsen and Michael Sedon,

The Concerned Residents of Ridgewood are thrilled to endorse Mayor Susan Knudsen and Deputy Mayor Michael Sedon for re-election to the Village Council.
We endorsed Susan and Mike in 2014 in the hope that they would help prevent the irrational overdevelopment at the Valley Hospital site in Ridgewood, and with their support, we have prevailed. Last year, Valley finally decided to move their main campus to Paramus, and then agreed that the Village Council can rewrite the hospital zone ordinance to prevent further expansion of the Ridgewood campus.

Although the terms of the settlement are 100% to our liking, there is still work to be done. We need the Council to continue to transform the legal settlement into an effective Village Master Plan and Ordinance. If the community lets its guard down–before future plans are codified–we believe our Village is NOT FULLY PROTECTED against future overdevelopment at the Ridgewood site. The incoming Council will appoint new members to the Planning Board, which is rewriting the Master Plan, and it will finalize our settlement by rewriting and adopting the new H-Zone Ordinance governing the Ridgewood Campus.
Susan and Mike Have Protected Our Village
Susan and Mike have been steadfast defenders of rational development throughout the protracted Valley legal process. Under their leadership as mayor and deputy mayor, the Council bravely stood up for the Village in court, and they remained firm in their support of a settlement that was sensible for Ridgewood.

Susan and Mike took other important steps to protect the Village from further irrational development threats. They acted to rescind Ordinance #3066, originally designed and put in place to facilitate Valley’s expansion, but also paving the way for the high-density housing projects now being built in Ridgewood. Susan and Mike both voted against these high-density projects. We feel their votes demonstrate a strong understanding of the appropriate size and scope of development in Ridgewood and reflect what Ridgewood taxpayers want.

Susan and Mike have also shown themselves to be good stewards of our tax dollars. They took office after a massive theft of parking meter revenues was uncovered, and they have worked to put better control processes in place for now as well as for the future. They have worked with Council colleagues and department heads to keep annual budget increases well below the 2% cap mandated by the state.
Important Dates to Remember
Tuesday, April 17: The last chance to register to vote for this election is this Tuesday. Register at the Village Clerk’s office in Village Hall from 8:30am-4:30pm, or at Ridgewood Library from 430-9pm.
Monday, April 30: The League of Women Voters is hosting a candidates’ night at 7:30pm at Village Hall. This is a chance to form your own opinion of the candidates.
Tuesday, May 8: Please VOTE on Election Day; polls are open 6am-8pm.
PLEASE VOTE for SUSAN KNUDSEN and MICHAEL SEDON on Election Day May 8 to ensure a bright future for Ridgewood.

If you have any questions, please email us at [email protected]. Please also forward this message to your friends and neighbors.
Regards,
Pete McKenna
President
Concerned Residents of Ridgewood

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Ridgewood’s Recycle-A-BiCycle Event

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April 17,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ,  the Fourth Annual Recycle-Your-Bicycle Event will be held on May 11th and 12th at George Washington Middle School in Ridgewood. Donate your old bike and take home a different one!

Donate your old bike on Friday, May 11th from 5:00 – 7:00 PM and receive a voucher to return the next day from 9:00 – 11:00 am to buy any bike for $10.00.
If you don’t have one to donate, that’s okay. You can still buy one for $30.00.

All left over bikes and all the money generated will be donated to Charities for Children in Paterson who provide food and services for some of the areas neediest people.
​Everybody wins!

If you have any questions or want to donate a bike or your time, please email us at [email protected].

https://recycle-your-bicycle.weebly.com/how-it-works.html

 

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HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION AMENDMENT TO MEETING SCHEDULE

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Historic Preservation Comission Amendment to Meeting Schedule
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION AMENDMENT TO MEETING SCHEDULE
Special Public Meeting
Thursday, April 26, 2018

In accordance with the provisions of the “Open Public Meetings Act,” please be advised that Village of Ridgewood Historic Preservation Commission will hold a special meeting on Thursday, April 26, 2018. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. The meeting is to be held in the Garden Room on the ground floor in Village Hall. The Village Hall is located at 131 North Maple Avenue in Ridgewood. At this time, the agenda for the meeting is limited to discussion of the application for a subdivision at 401 Mountain Avenue.
All meetings of the Ridgewood Planning Board (i.e., official public meetings, work session meetings, pre-meeting assemblies and special meetings) are public meetings which are open to members of the general public.
Michael Cafarelli
Secretary to the Board

c: HPC Members
Ridgewood News*
Village Clerk
Village Manager
Village Bulletin Board
Village Website
*Note: This is not for publication in the legal ad section. It is a general announcement.

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There was absolutely no mention of Aronsohn at the ones I attended. Mayor Knudsen and Deputy Mayor Sedon had so much information to impart and did such a great job answering everyone’s questions, there was no time to talk about that loser has-been wannabe liar.

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which Knudsen/Sedon coffee did you attend? There was absolutely no mention of Aronsohn at the ones I attended. Mayor Knudsen and Deputy Mayor Sedon had so much information to impart and did such a great job answering everyone’s questions, there was no time to talk about that loser has-been wannabe liar.
In contrast, at Ms. Harwin’s coffee, we got 20 minutes of Ms. Harwin talking about her career as an attorney, ten minutes of Knudsen/Sedon bashing, and maybe another five or so about how she’s going to make the police do better background checks and spend Ridgewood Water revenue on municipal expenses (wait…isn’t that …well…illegal?). She didn’t talk about Aronsohn either, but he was right there, smiling or grimacing at all the right moments.

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Reader says we voted away our right to vote on the BOE budget

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Last year our municipal tax increase was well below the cap at under 1%. This year, the BOE is proposing an end run around the 2% cap, asking for a 3.62% increase. That’s 2/3 thirds of our property tax bills right there. So if you’re worried about taxes, you need to attend more BOE meetings and make your complaints there. The Village Council has no jurisdiction over the BOE budget unless it gets voted down. And since we voted away our right to vote on the BOE budget, that cannot happen. How much do you want to bet you don’t remember that vote? But you do know how to complain.

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Knudsen-Sedon stooge speaks

Mayor Susan Knudsen

“Mrs. Valdes,” thank you so much for inviting me into the conversation. I am one of what you called “the 2 Knudsen-Sedon stooges.”.
I was invited to a coffee at a neighbor’s home for Ms. Harwin by a friend who received an invitation via email. Thank you for documenting the discomfort I experienced when one particular individual there accused me of recording Ms. Harwin’s remarks. It was certainly an odd accusation at a candidate’s coffee and your calling me a “stooge” now certainly punctuates how unwelcome certain people sought to make my friend and I feel there.
I did not record anything. And I didn’t realize that Ms. Harwin’s remarks were a secret, nor did I realize that attendance at her coffees was restricted. Really, her remarks were brief and contentless enough to remember, as she left rather abruptly, well before any of the residents who came to hear her and speak with her.
As a longtime member of the temple where Ms. Harwin’s husband is currently the rabbi, I looked forward to hearing firsthand what she had to say, and perhaps introduce myself and have the opportunity to speak one on one with her about some of the items from her website. My host and hostess for the evening were very welcoming. In fact, my friend (the other “stooge”) and I stayed there chatting with them and others for over an hour after Ms. Harwin left. I made a few new friends there, including my hostess and host, and am looking forward to seeing them at Mayor Knudsen and Deputy Mayor Sedon’s future coffees. These are supposed to be opportunities to meet candidates, hear what they have to say, and ask questions, not secret campaign strategy sessions.
I tried to speak with Ms. Harwin before she left, but she seemed to be avoiding me. I stood there patiently while she kept turning or walking away. Finally, when I asked if there was some other time we could speak, she suggested I contact her husband through the temple. While I have no problem doing that, I came there to speak with a Village Council candidate who apparently does not want to speak with me.
I attended a coffee for Mayor Knudsen and Deputy Mayor Sedon yesterday. What a contrast. A wealth of information and every single question raised was answered. I was one of the last to leave and the candidates were still there. You should go to one. I’m sure you will be made to feel welcome. And there is so much to be learned there about what is going on in the Village, the challenges we face, and how our municipal government is addressing those challenges.

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Two Pedistrians Struck in Ridgewood on Monday Night

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photos courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook page

April 17,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood bog

Ridgewood NJ, Two (2) pedestrians were struck by a vehicle and injured at the intersection of North Monroe Street and West Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood late Monday evening, 04/16. Ridgewood PD, FD, and EMS responded to aid the victims, who appeared to have sustained non life threatening injuries. Both were transported by ambulance to The Valley Hospital. The driver involved in the incident remained at the scene and was cooperating with Ridgewood PD officers.