Tag: Ridgewood Train Station

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Reader says The Ridgewood Parking Garage is the Trojan Horse

Hudson Street Parking Garage

As I have said here several times: The village, in the voice of the Village Manager, admitted on April 6, 2016 that we do not have a parking crisis, we have a parking surplus, we have more spots than we have demand for: https://youtu.be/iyufI5C3gKU?t=1h14m

So we know from the facts any garage is all about high density housing led by the local developer. Without it, the over development of Ridgewood cannot happen by this developer and his cohorts who own property at key intersections. Without over development the property owners and this local developer, who paid a lot for the land, cannot make money. They need to develop the lots past what parking on the property supports to maximize rental revenue. The former mayor, former village manager and the local developer lie about Brogan and Ken Smith parking spaces needing to be replaced, spots that are not a part of the village’s parking inventory. The former mayor and former village manager let the Hudson Street lot fall into disrepair, then said in a video paid for with tax dollars, that neglect was a main reason to build a $12m garage.

The garage is the Trojan Horse. The village admits, we don’t need more parking, we don’t even utilize what we have. Higher density, higher congestion, higher fees, and easier profits for the local developer paid for with tax dollars.

When the now ex-village manager says in a propaganda video we have a parking crisis, but her own analysis says we have a surplus, we know there is no crisis.

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Many Readers believe developers deliberately exacerbated the parking problem in Ridgewood

parking 2/15/2016

October 1,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood bog

Ridgewood NJ, it seems to meany readers that the previous administration worked long and hard to exacerbate the parking problem in the Central Business District . Claims of missing signs making it difficult for the public to find parking intentionally. Decisions made that always seemed to make things worse not better.

We ALL know that there is ample parking. Even Sonenfeld says so. “The problem is that PROMISES WERE MADE to certain key people that a garage would be built near their properties and businesses in the business district.” What Aronsohn, Saraceno, Pucciarelli, Vaggianos, Sonenfeld, Hauck and company failed to consider is that the town if full of very smart people. And the people rose up and ran a petition drive and stopped the insanity.

While others have claimed the signs went missing and lots hidden from public view on purpose .

Readers continually site , “The developers are deliberately going to exacerbate the parking problem with there one car per unit plans. Why should my taxes go to pay them to put in parking?”

And of coarse ,”it’s interesting that the existing apartments all have a shortage of parking and the developers keep insisting that there will only be one car per household in the proposed developments. how is this possible.”

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NJ TRANSIT Service Plan for Weekend Commute – Saturday, October 1 and Sunday, October 2, 2016

lasttraintoclarksville_theridgewoodblog

October 1,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewod NJ, NJ TRANSIT has announced service plans for the weekend of October 1st and October 2nd, 2016 following the commuter train accident at Hoboken Terminal.  All rail service into and out of Hoboken Terminal remains suspended.  Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service has been restored into and out of Hoboken and will continue to operate.

Cross honoring with PATH, ferries, NJ TRANSIT bus and private carriers will continue throughout the weekend.

Rail

View temporary printable schedules for the Main Line, Montclair-Boonton and Pascack Valley Line HERE.

  • Normal weekend service will operate on the Main Bergen and Pascack Valley Lines with trains not operating into and out of Hoboken Terminal. Trains will originate/terminate in Secaucus.
  • Normal weekend service will operate on the Montclair Boonton Line with trains not operating into and out of Hoboken Terminal. Trains will originate/terminate at Newark Broad Street.
  • Meadowlands Train Service will operate between Secaucus and Meadowlands stations only on both Saturday and Sunday.
  • Customers in New York City who need to access Secaucus are urged to take trains from New York Penn Station or use the Port Authority Bus Terminal for NJ TRANSIT and private carrier busing alternatives.
  • Customers in Hoboken and Jersey City who need to access Secaucus are urged to use Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to Liberty State Park, where shuttle buses will depart approximately every 30 minutes and take them to Secaucus.

Customers may experience overcrowding and possible delays caused by congestion.

Metro North Service for Pascack Valley Line and Port Jervis Customers

For schedule information, click HERE.

Bus

  • Extra service on the 126 line between Hoboken and Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York.
  • Shuttle buses will operate every 30 minutes between Liberty State Park light rail station in Jersey City and Secaucus Junction.

Light Rail

  • All Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service has been restored into and out of Hoboken and will continue to operate on a normal weekend schedule.

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October 4th,the Ridgewood Planning Board will be discussing the Conflict of Interest complaint

CBD high density housing

Like last Sept 30th – Your help is needed

Friends and Neighbors,

I can’t believe it was a year ago today that over 600 of us went to Village Hall to stop the Village Council from moving forward on the High Density Housing issue. It was truly a remarkable night that brought people together and made an incredibly clear statement: We do not want high density housing in our Village!

So, here we are, a year later and we need your help yet again.

As most of you know, last March the previous VC majority passed an ordinance allowing these massive multifamily dwellings to be built – and make no mistake – once the shovels go into the ground, our schools in particular will be impacted.

What many of us didn’t know then is that the Planning Board and then the Village Council process was riddled with possible conflicts of interest. A few weeks ago, several residents and I filed a formal complaint requesting that the current Planning Board cease their high density site plan process immediately and investigate.

On Tuesday, October 4th, at 7:30pm in Village Hall the Planning Board will be discussing this formal complaint. I would urge you, for the sake of our kids, to attend so that the Planning Board is encouraged to make the right choice. If you do plan to come, please email me to help better coordinate the evening.

Please also consider sending the following note to the Planning Board and our Mayor via email:

Dear Mayor Knudsen, Chairman Joel and Planning Board Members,

I am aware that a group of concerned residents delivered a Motion of Complaint to the Ridgewood Planning Board, under By Law Sections 2.13 and 7.21, dated September 16th. Their motion brings to light a series of conflicts of interest and unacceptable mistakes that impacted the high density housing votes. It spotlights the truly defective process by which these highly unpopular ordinances (3489, 3490, 3491 and 3493) were passed. It is not right for Ridgewood residents to have such important decisions made, and the future of our village impacted, by a forum influenced by potential personal conflicts and/or mistakes. Preventing such actions is clearly the intent of the Planning Board’s own By Laws.

Therefore, I fully support the motion made by these residents. I ask that the Board stop all current high density site plan reviews and promptly begin a complete review of the residents’ complaints. Should any conflicts or mistakes be found, the Ordinance votes and Ordinances themselves should be rescinded and reevaluated via a proper and untainted process.

Secretary Cafarelli, please forward/print this email to all Planning Board members.

Thanks for considering this request.

EMAIL TO:
Mayor Susan Knudsen, Mayor ([email protected]) Michael Cafarelli, Planning Board Secretary ([email protected])
My email address: ([email protected])

Thanks for doing your part to protect our Village and hope to see you Tuesday night!

Sincerely,

Dana

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Gov. Christie On Train Crash: Don’t Jump To Conclusions, Let Facts Lead You To The Proper Conclusion

Hoboken Train Station Crash

September 30,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, full transcript of Governor Christie addressing yesterdays train crash in Hoboken.

Governor Christie: “ Good afternoon. I’m pleased to be joined here today by Lieutenant Governor Guadagno, by my partner in New York, Governor Cuomo. Governor Cuomo and I have just taken a tour of the damage inside. Obviously an extraordinary tragedy. We pray for the family of the one fatality that we have confirmed for her and for her family. We now have a revised total of injured. We have 108 injured in this accident and all of those have been evacuated to local hospitals, where they’re receiving the care they need. We pray for their recovery. The engineer who was operating the train was also critically injured. He is at a local hospital and cooperating with law enforcement officials in the investigation. What we know is that this train came in at a high rate of speed into the station and crashed through all of the barriers bringing it right to the interior wall of the Hoboken Terminal. Extraordinary reaction from local law enforcement and EMS along with civilian passengers, who assisted EMS, and local police and State Police in evacuating the trains as quickly as possible and helping with the triage of the passengers who were injured and getting them immediately to local hospitals for them to receive health care. There will be others who will speak today about some of the specifics, Commissioner Hammer, Mr. Prendergast from the MTA, about the specifics of commuting both this afternoon and tomorrow. We won’t address that specifically. Both Governor Cuomo and I come from a law enforcement background, as does the Lieutenant Governor. My admonition when I was U.S. Attorney all the time to my prosecutors and agents was, don’t jump to conclusions, let the facts lead you to the proper conclusions, and so we’re not going to speculate about the cause of the accident. It is that we’re in the midst of an investigation. I was called by the White House today as well. They have not only dispatched the NTSB and the Federal Railway Administration but also have pledged any resources that we need additionally to deal with the victims or to deal with what’s happened here at the Hoboken Terminal. We were pleased to get that call. As I said to a number of you earlier today, from the time that the incident happened this morning, Governor Cuomo and I have been in communication since the train began its journey today in the state of New York and we have a number of New York citizens who were on that train as well coming here to New Jersey, and so we’re going to work together to make sure that the investigation is seamless and coordinated, that we come to a conclusion as quickly as possible and then if there are steps that need to be taken thereafter to provide for even greater assurance of safety for the people of our states, you can be assured that we’ll work together through the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, MTA and New Jersey Transit to make sure that that occurs. And so we again, we pray for the victims and their families. We are on the scene. We’re going to continue to monitor what’s going on. We have engineers that are examining the structural integrity of the building now. We have no estimate as to when the terminal will be able to be reopened, except to say that it appears that the PATH terminal, the structural integrity there is fine and so that PATH trains will be able to use the terminal. As for the New Jersey Transit portion, we don’t have an estimate yet on that and we’re going to need some time to do that, so I want to turn this over to Governor Cuomo. We will also have Commissioner Hammer and MTA director Prendergast to make some comments and then Governor Cuomo, and I will come back to take on-topic questions.”

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Ridgewood once again hit by a rash of stolen bicycles

bikeatthePostOffice_theiridgewoodblog
September 30, 2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood once again hit by a rash of stolen bicycles .
The Ridgewood police report :
A Van Buren Street resident responded to police headquarters on September 25, 2016 to report the theft of a bicycle in the past. The resident reported his red colored GT road bike was stolen from Station Plaza on September 21, 2016. The bicycle was reportedly left unlocked and was valued at approximately $200.

On September 25, 2016 a Shelton Road resident reported the theft of a bicycle from Station Plaza in the past. The bicycle was reportedly a Cannondale Hybrid mountain bike grey in color, valued at $800.

On September 25, 2016 a resident from Midland Park, N.J. reported the theft of a bicycle from Station Plaza in the past. The victim reported the Iron Horse mountain bike was grey and black in colored and valued at $400.All actors are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Reader says The only way this Arts Center would be useful is if Rurik performed his monologues on the stage

Rurik Halaby

Great news on Valley. Performing Arts Center is a great idea. It is going to be so appealing for Jay-z, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Justin Bieber to ditch MSG for the beauty and diversity of our village. Whoever came up with this idea should be kicked out of Bergen County altogether. The only way this Arts Center would be useful is if Rurik performed his monologues on the stage. I would pay 50 cents for that.

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NJ TRANSIT SERVICE PLAN FOR MORNING COMMUTE

Ridgewood Train Station

photo by ArtChick

September 30,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

NEWARK, NJ — NJ TRANSIT has announced service plans for the morning of September 30th, 2016 following a commuter train accident at Hoboken Terminal.  All rail service into and out of Hoboken Terminal remains suspended.  Hudson-Bergen Light Rail will resume full service into and out of Hoboken station tomorrow morning.

 Rail

The following service will be in effect:

  • All New York City bound trains (Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast Line, MidTOWN DIRECT), Raritan Valley and Atlantic City lines will operate on normal weekday schedules.
  • Main, Bergen, Pascack Valley and Port Jervis lines will continue to operate on a modified weekend schedule originating/terminating in Secaucus.
  • There will be limited rail shuttle service on the Montclair-Boonton Line west of Montclair State University (MSU) – between MSU and Denville stations.
  • There will be rail shuttle service on the Morris & Essex Lines (M&E) between Hackettstown and Dover.
  • The Gladstone Branch will have its two regularly scheduled MidTOWN DIRECT trains in addition to rail shuttles between Gladstone and Summit.

Customers may experience overcrowding and possible delays caused by congestion.

 Metro-North Service for Pascack Valley Line and Port Jervis Line Customers

For schedule information go to: https://web.mta.info/mnr/html/NJTRANSIT_accident.htm

 

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Appeals Court Agrees to hear Ridgewood against Valley Hospital Expansion Case

valleyEmergency_theridgewoodblog
Ooops we jumped the gun with initial headline Appeals Court Rules in Ridgewood’s Favor against Valley Hospital Expansion
September 29,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Appeals Court Agrees to hear Ridgewood against Valley Hospital Expansion Case.

The Valley Hospital had filed suit against the Ridgewood Planning Board for rejecting its proposal to nearly double in size, arguing the board illegally sided with neighborhood opponents rather than permitting an upgrade for “an inherently beneficial regional hospital.”

The lawsuit was filed in state Superior Court in Hackensack . It was an attempt by Valley to end a protracted and costly stalemate with the village  and force its expansion plans have been defeated two times .

While Valley wasted its efforts on its “May way or no way” approach its competitors have expanded, renovated and in one case, reopened a hospital in Westwood.
According to Ridgewood resident John Hersperger , “I’m not surprised the Appellate Division agreed to review the lower court’s decision against the Village in the ordinance case.  Valley’s lower court victory was short-lived and (knock wood) should be its last.  Why?  Because the legal grounds for any court to force a municipality to squeeze in a development of this size on such a small parcel simply don’t exist.  Valley needs the Appellate Division to create new legal precedent to support their expansion.  Such a change would have implications statewide, with healthcare businesses imposing development wherever they please.”
Pete Mckenna President of Concerned Residents of Ridgewood concurred , “The appellate division has not made a decision on the merits, but has decided to review the Judge’s decision.  I agree with John’s comments that this Judge’s ruling was without precedent and that the Village’s case to appeal is strong and we are optimistic the Village will prevail in this matter.”
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Village Council : truly good government at work!

New Ridgewood Village Council
September 29,2016

the Staff of the Ridgewood Blog

Ridgewood NJ, Last night’s Village Council Work Session was great.  All of our elected officials are working well together, even when they disagree.  No one teams up on anyone else and there is no disrespect on the dais or from the dais to the audience.  There is plenty of laughter and camaraderie while work is being accomplished.  This is truly good government at work.

Here are some highlights, in no particular order:

1. Tony Damiano got up and thanked Mayor Knudsen for resolving the schedule problems with the PSEG work on Broad St.  Yes, he thanked her.  Guess he took so much heat on the Blog and on Facebook for claiming full responsibility for this that he decided he looked really small.  Well, he did take some credit, but at least he made a stab at thanking the Mayor.

2. And speaking of looking really small, oh my gosh Mr. Rurik Halaby has completely lost his mind.  He is the lone soldier left from those few who ever supported the three amigos and Roberta, and he is fighting mightily.  His comments are not worth repeating, but he sure looked like a total idiot.  And he sounded like a crazy man, spewing invective about rumors he has heard and such.  He actually verged on threatening the council including singling out Ramon.  Yep, would love to see a showdown between Ramon and Rurik.

3. Jeff Voigt in his library report announced that “the library” wants 5 Million Dollars for an interior renovation to make the auditorium into a performing arts center and some other sprucing up.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, $5 million.  And they will be looking for money.  Maybe Mr. Halaby can write the check?

4. It was explained that we will be entering into a shared services agreement with Washington Township in which we will service up to 30 of their vehicles at our Village Garage.  Yes, that garage which Mr. Pucciarelli wanted to eliminate will now be making plenty of  money for us.  Hear that Albert?  Yet another of your idiotic suggestions and schemes is going down the drain.  Do you have any comments?  Oh, that’s right, no comments from the former Deputy Mayor as he is named in a lawsuit and is scrambling to keep his reputation intact.

5. Parking was a huge topic of discussion.  Mike Sedon provided an informative history of parking pricing dating back for the past 10 or 15 years, which was interesting.  Jeff Voigt had prepared and distributed copies of parking suggestions that he had gathered from many sources.  It was very well put together and very transparent because everyone could hold it in their hands and read it.  The discussion was cordial, lively, and very productive.  A few highlights include paving and re-lining the Hudson lot and thereby adding up to 40 spaces.  This would include closing some of the several curb cut entrances into the lot from Hudson.  Imagine that, 40 spaces in the blink of an eye.  They are also going to have tiered pricing so that those who are willing to walk from Cottage can pay significantly less.  Bernie Walsh and Jeff walked in and out of 17 stores to assess where the employees park.  She said it was very friendly and informative and she is hoping all the council members can join in this project.  New signage will be going up shortly to direct people to the various lots.  The Zabriskie Lot is under consideration.

6. Looks like they will be going back to now allow parking on one side of Pomander Walk.  This makes good sense.   Why did the Pomander Walk residents ever get such an exclusive deal in the first place?

7. Heather Mailander highlighted two Village employees who have gone above and beyond.  This was a nice report and one which she intends to do regularly.  She is not singing her own praises, nope, she is singing the praises of others.  This is the sign of a great manager, one who does not toot her own horn incessantly.

8. Matt Rogers provided a litigation update, at the request of Mayor Knudsen.  This will now be a regular report.  Updates on the Water Company, Valley, COAH and the referendum petitioners were included.
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Reader says Vote NO to the enhanced babysitting tax!

homealone1990-1

We all know full day K is extended day-care for moms who work (except in Ridgewood where if fills the need of moms who go to the spa or lunch or tennis). But that is OK, we’ll just pay for it and move on.
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To say that it has and significant educational value and kids who don’t attend full day K will be at a (long term) disadvantage is disingenuous at best.
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The only place where full day K might make sense would be for those children diagnosed with significant (medical) developmental disabilities
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But again, these facts don’t matter – give the moms what they want, pay for it and move on.
Why start applying logic to the Ridgewood school budget now…

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Resident Suggests Former Village Manager’s Staff should be Investigated

Village_Manager_Roberta_Sonenfeld_theridgewoodblog

file photo by Boyd Loving

September 29,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ,  Ridgewood resident Jacqueline Hone spoke during both public comment segments. She explained why Roberta’s departure is just the tip of the iceberg and suggested her staff also needs to  be investigated.

see the video : https://www.tubechop.com/watch/8400128

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BREAKING FURTHER UPDATE : MAJOR TRAIN ACCIDENT CLOSES HOBOKEN TRAIN STATION

Hoboken Train Station Crash

September 29,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, A New Jersey Transit train crashed into the terminal in Hoboken. The incident happened at around 9am on Thursday. It’s been confirmed  Pascack Valley Train #1614, departs Spring Valley 7:23 am(?) due to arrive at 8:30 am. Train came in on Track 4 .

Initial report is over 100 injuries .

Massive Emergency services response.

Hoboken is shut down to non emergency services.

Correction 1 confirmed dead by Governors Christie and Como  , not passenger someone standing on the platform .

PATH service to HOB will be operating full rush hour service .

Shuttle buses from HOB to SEC running.

Cause of accident is still unclear .

It is being reported that major damage has been done to the train  station including a partial roof collapse. Reports from riders say no indication that anything was wrong.

Rail service is suspended in and out of Hoboken due to a train accident at Hoboken station. NJT bus and private carriers are honoring NJT rail tickets and passes. PATH & HBLR is suspended in/out Hoboken. NY Waterway accepting rail tickets/passes. 
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AeroScout RTLS Helps The Valley Hospital’s Staff Feel Safer

valley_hospital_theridgewoodblog

The Stanley Healthcare solution includes Wi-Fi RFID badges that nurses, physicians and other personnel can use to identify their locations and call for assistance.
By Claire Swedberg

Sep 27, 2016—

The Valley Hospital, in Ridgewood, N.J., has been using a real-time location system (RTLS) to monitor the locations and identities of staff members who press their emergency badge. Before the hospital deployed the system, only 50 percent of personnel reported a sense of workplace safety. Once those workers began utilizing the RTLS, provided byStanley Healthcare, that figure rose to 85 percent.

The Valley Hospital rarely experiences violence in its ER, but there have been incidents in which employees have indicated feeling uncomfortable, the hospital reports. After members of a patient’s family prevented a nurse from leaving that patient’s room, that nurse asked the hospital to institute a better means of protecting personnel. The facility, which treats 74,000 patients in its emergency department each year, already offered wired emergency alarms in each room, but it decided that a wireless system would provide greater support to employees wherever they were in that department. The solution consists of Stanley Healthcare Wi-Fi-enabled call badges and software that helps security personnel identify who has placed a distress call, as well as where that person is located and what he or she looks like.

https://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?15022

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Home price growth in NYC, North Jersey lags rest of U.S.

for sale Ridgewood_Real_Estate_theRodgewopodblog

file photo by Boyd Loving

By Erin O’Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on September 27, 2016 at 5:35 PM, updated September 27, 2016 at 6:03 PM

Home prices in the New York area ticked up slightly over the last year but increased at a slower rate than 19 other major metropolitan markets in the country, according to a new report released on Tuesday.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-City Composite index notched a 5 percent year-over-year increase in July led by big gains in real estate values in the Pacific Northwest, specifically Portland and Seattle. The New York region, including northern New Jersey, saw home prices rise just 1.7 percent over that same time frame, the weakest growth among all of the cities included in that index.

The Washington, D.C., area’s rise in home prices was the second-worst at 2 percent year-over-year.

https://realestate.nj.com/realestate-news/2016/09/homes_prices_case_shiller_new.html