Tag: Ridgewood Water

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Town Garage ,A History of Ownership Transactions

town_garage_theridgewoodblog

February 17,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, reader questions the ownership status of the “Town Garage” , “Last I heard an LLC or such owned it. Did they manage to pass it off to the town w/o cleaning it? The Village would be nuts to have bought it in an “as is” condition. The owner of the Town Garage property was bought out by the LLC (?) with little or no warning. I assume he sold “as is” because he really had not planned on selling it. I hope they didn’t make a tidy profit by selling it “as is” to the town. Or worse, the Village cleaning it up for the present owners with a deal to then buy it at a reasonable price.”

One of the more effective tools on the Ridgewood blog is the “timeline ” it continues to roll and record the ups and downs of the Village of Ridgewood. Will a little search we found comments from March 1st, 2007 discussing the ownership of the Town Garage.

The Town Garage, 120 Franklin Avenue; the eye of the storm . . .

>Town%20Garage
The current hot discussion topic among those who monitor Village Hall happenings is how an out of town firm was able purchase the Town Garage property from right out under the noses of Village Council members. Village ownership of the subject property (see posted photo) is seen as key to the successful construction of a municipal parking garage.

Reportedly, Village officials had offered previous owner Richard Agnello more than the $1.265 million sale price. However, it is being reported that Mr. Agnello refused to sell until the Village found a suitable location nearby for him to relocate his motor vehicle repair facility.

So the fly would like to know: 1) How was the Wells partnership able to buy the property for less than what Village officials had offered Mr. Agnello? 2) Will Mr. Agnello be closing up shop, or has the Wells partnership found a location for him to move his operation to? And, 3) What prompted the Wells partnership to purchase a piece of property destined for involvement in eminent domain proceedings?

https://theridgewoodblog.net/the-town-garage-120-franklin-avenue-the-eye-of-the-storm/

And in May of 2007 we asked if the Town Garage was for sale yet again.

Is the former Town Garage property for sale, again?

Village Council members met behind closed doors on Wednesday evening to
discuss possible options for acquiring 120 Franklin Avenue, formerly home of
the Town Garage. Acquisition of this property is key to the planned
construction of a municipal parking garage at the northwest corner of North
Walnut Street and Franklin Avenue.

It is now rumored that Ridgewood 120 LLC, the site’s current owners, have
offered the property for sale to Village officials at a price much higher
than the $1.265 million paid in November of 2006. Scuttlebutt is that
Ridgewood 120 LLC’s asking price is at least $1.865 million, and possibly as
high as $2.265 million. The current owners have made no improvements to the
property since purchasing it from the Agnello family late last year.

Council members must decide whether to: 1) pay the asking price, or 2) enact
the right of eminent domain, or 3) revise parking garage building plans to
eliminate the need for that parcel. Still unanswered is the question: “How
did Village Council members manage to get themselves in such an expensive
jam? In other words, how was a real estate investment group able to acquire
the Town Garage property from right under the Council’s noses?”

https://theridgewoodblog.net/is-the-former-town-garage-property-for-sale-again/

 

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Perhaps the Same for Village Hall In Ridgewood ?

priests exorcist

Spanish mayor urged to call in exorcist over town hall haunting

The mayor of a small town outside Granada is facing calls to bring in an exorcist after workers became convinced that the council offices were haunted – and the ghost was even caught on camera.

https://www.thelocal.es/20170216/spanish-mayor-urged-to-call-in-exorcist-over-town-hall-haunting

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Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce celebrating its 90th Anniversary

clock ridgewood NJ

February 16,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Chamber is proud to announce its 90th Anniversary.

We are one of the oldest running Chambers in the nation 1927-2017.

We will be celebrating through out 2017.

watch for event on the Chamber website
www.experienceridgewood.com
for details
201-445-2600
[email protected]

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New Jersey Named One of the Worst Places to Own a Home

for sale Ridgewood_Real_Estate_theRodgewopodblog

file photo by Boyd Loving

The Worst and Best States to Be a Homeowner in 2017

February 16,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood

Ridgewoood NJ, for many buying a home is one of the biggest investments of your life, according to  Craig Casazza at the consumer site ValuePenguin it’s ideal to buy within a state where housing is relatively affordable and the value of your home is likely to appreciate strongly over time. It’s also desirable to avoid paying more than you can manage in ongoing costs, from taxes to insurance to damage from major storms. Finally, it’s best, of course, if the state where you’re buying boasts low rates of property crime, good schools, and a healthy proportion of homeowners compared with renters.

Casazza rolled together ten key metrics that quantify those factors, and ranked states on how successfully (or not) they offer the optimal factors for home ownership while skirting the attributes you’d want to avoid.

Here is the list of the 10 worst homeowner states and the homeowner scores assigned to them:

The 10 worst states to be a homeowner have some combination of a weak housing market, a heavy burden of costs to maintain a home, and a propensity for calamity and crime. The three worst states are in the south, and specifically from the Gulf region, where yearly storms batter homes and can cause millions of dollars in property damage:

Louisiana 20.97
Mississippi 29.32
Tennessee 29.59
New Mexico 34.69
Alabama 35.04
Missouri 36.64
Texas 39.21
New Jersey 39.54
California 39.97
Georgia 41.53

The 10 best states to own a home generally are less urban overall, with a higher proportion of homes in rural areas, where costs and crime can be lower. Our highest-ranked state for homeownership is Iowa, where it’s very affordable to own a home. With low insurance rates, low mortgage rates, and few calamities that cause insurance claims, South Dakota is another notably inexpensive state in which to own a home.

Iowa 82.60
South Dakota 81.38
Wyoming 79.49
Nebraska 78.17
Maine 77.44
Minnesota 75.37
West Virginia 76.03
Michigan 75.74
New Hampshire 72.28
Wisconsin 71.25

https://www.valuepenguin.com/best-and-worst-states-be-homeowner

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Ridgewood proposes parking ban on Sherman Place

Sherman Place Ridgewood

Mark Krulish , Staff Writer, @Mark_Krulish6:02 p.m. ET Feb. 15, 2017

There will be a few more places residents on the west side of Ridgewood cannot park if an introduced ordinance is passed next month.

Brought to the table at the Feb. 8 council meeting, the ordinance would prohibit parking at several points along the northern side of Sherman Place – most notably near the corner the curb line of westbound Godwin Avenue, an intersection at which a man and his 10-year-old child were struck last September.

https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/bergen/ridgewood/2017/02/15/ridgewood-proposes-parking-ban-sherman-place/97938334/

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Reader says better to Keep Glenwood two way

Ridgewood's Glenwood Road to become one way street east of Upper Boulevard

file photo by Boyd Loving

Keep it two way. The posts asking for better signage are legit. And while the HS student story is sad, making it one way won’t change the danger of crossing the tracks. This is one more case of the Village Engineer’s idiocy! The average vehicle is 6′ wide. North Monroe (25mph) is approximately 29′ from curb to curb, between Fairmont and Patricia Ct – but No Parking on either side (even though there’s 17′ of clearance). Most cars coming up Glenwood from HoHoKus turn onto Hillcrest.. Whether you turn left or right on Hillcrest, between Hamilton and Fairmont the road average 21′ – 23; But there’s Parking on both sides of the street!!!. So if there’s a truck (which is wider than 6′) is parked on both sides of the street (like landscapers do in the summer) you have less than a foot of clearance – God forbid that a fire truck has to get through! So the same “brain trust” that puts this into place now wants to screw around with Glenwood.

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RHS Band Program Citrus Sale last Day is February 16,2017 !

RHS Band

February 15,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, tomorrow is the last day left to order for the RHS Band Program Citrus Sale. Sale runs through 2/16. Citrus will be delivered straight to your door on 3/4 by one of the awesome band members.

You can still choose from navel oranges, red grapefruits, a medley of apples, pears and navel oranges, or a sampler of navel oranges and red grapefruits.

To order or make a donation, please contact a band member, send in your mail order forms, or go online.

In February, citrus and mixed fruit packages are offered for sale. The sale begins with the students participating in a door-to-door campaign. On the designated blitz day, each four-student team with one parent driver is assigned a specific area of Ridgewood. The team canvases all of the houses in their assigned area and takes orders for the fruit, leaving mail order forms on the doorknob if nobody answers. The sale continues with the processing of mail orders and online orders over the following week. On the designated delivery day, students gather to distribute the fruit to homes where they were purchased.

Citrus Mail Order Form

Citrus Receipt

Place an order through our online store by clicking here.

Citrus Sale Co-Chairs:  Eileen Karanikolas, Laura Lutz

Saturday, March 4th:          DELIVERY DAY, 9AM – 12 Noon

                                              Pick up fruit at Ben Franklin Middle School

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The Ridgewood Newcomers Club will be hosting their 70th Anniversary Gala !

Ridgewood Newcomers Club celebrates its 70th anniversary

February 15,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Newcomers Club of YWCA Bergen County is gearing up for the biggest fundraising event of this year. This year is a very special year the Ridgewood Newcomers Club celebrates its 70th anniversary! They have been connecting friends and families to our community since 1947!

On March 4th, 2017, The Ridgewood Newcomers Club will be hosting their 70th Anniversary Gala, at Park West Loft
38 Oak St, Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450 with all proceeds benefiting YWCA Bergen County’s healingSPACE – the country’s only designated sexual violence resource center. This program helps survivors of sexual violence and educates the community on prevention. It provides a 24/7 crisis intervention hotline for those in need of professional counseling, medical and legal support.

April is nationally recognized as Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, so we are asking our community to help us raise money and awareness.

Everyone is welcome! Extend the invite to neighbors and friends. This will be an event you don’t want to miss. As this is an open event tickets will sell out. Buy your tickets early as prices increase from February 20th.

To purchase tickets make a payment of $85 per person to @RidgewoodNewcomers via Venmo. Please include the name of each guest attending in the notes.

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Reader says Contamination at the Town Garage was well known to the purchasers who rushed to beat the Village in buying the land–hoping to make a substantial profit

Town Garage Ridgewood

Contamination at the Town Garage was well known to the purchasers who rushed to beat the Village in buying the land–hoping to make a substantial profit when they then sold it to the Village. They own it. It should be their responsibility for cleaning it up before selling it to the Village at a handsome profit. Is the Village going to subtract the cost of cleanup from the eventual purchase price? Or are we paying a premium to purchase the land and then must add cleanup costs to that? The lawyer groups were in such a rush to buy–why aren’t they being forced to do the cleanup? A homeowner with a leaking oil tank can’t just pass that cost on to the buyer, so why are we cleaning up land we don’t own?

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New Jersey Department of Education Reports Increase of substance abuse cases reported at Ridgewood Schools

Ridgewood Police RHS

file photo by Boyd Loving

February 15,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, we read daily that drugs and alcohol have become a pervasive problem in New Jersey’s cities and suburban areas.

In a recently released New Jersey Department of Education list of substance abuse cases reported by each school district every year, the Ridgewood School district came in 137th in 2015-16 with an increase of 6 cases over last period 2014-15.

The state Department of Education cautioned that while districts are required by law to report them these numbers are reported by each district, so each district is responsible for reporting its results fairly and accurately.

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The Garden State Ranks the 8th Worse Place for Retirees in the US

life insurance seniors

February 15,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood Nj, according to Kiplinger’s exclusive 2016 analysis of state taxes 10 states impose the highest taxes on retirees. Three of them treat Social Security benefits just like Uncle Sam does—taxing as much as 85% of your benefits. Exemptions for other types of retirement income are limited or nonexistent. Property taxes are on the high side, too. And if that weren’t bad enough, some of these states are facing significant financial problems that could force them to raise taxes, cut services, or both.

New Jersey placed 8 on the list Tax-UnFriendly States for Retirees 2016

State Income Tax: 1.4% (on as much as $20,000 of taxable income) – 8.97% (on taxable income greater than $500,000)
Average State and Local Sales Tax: 6.97%
Estate Tax/Inheritance Tax: Yes/Yes

The Garden State’s tax policies create a thicket of thorns for some retirees.

Its property taxes are the highest in the U.S. The median property tax on the state’s median home value of $313,200 is $7,452.

While Social Security benefits, military pensions and some retirement income is excluded from state taxes, your other retirement income could be taxed as high as 8.97%. And New Jersey allows localities to impose their own income tax; the average local levy is 0.5%, according to the Tax Foundation.

Residents 62 or older may exclude as much as $15,000 ($20,000 if married filing jointly) of retirement income, including pensions, annuities and IRA withdrawals, if their gross income is $100,000 or less. Those amounts will gradually rise so that by 2020 joint filers can exclude up to $100,000; single filers, up to $75,000; and married filing separately, up to $50,000.

New Jersey is one of only a couple of states that impose an inheritance and an estate tax. (An estate tax is levied before the estate is distributed; an inheritance tax is paid by the beneficiaries.) In general, close relatives are excluded from the inheritance tax; others face tax rates ranging from 11% to 16% on inheritances of $500 or more. Estates valued at more than $675,000 are subject to estate taxes of up to 16%. Assets that go to a spouse or civil union partner are exempt. The threshold will rise to $2 million on Jan. 1, 2017 and the estate tax will disappear completely in 2018.

To make matters worse George Mason University’s Mercatus Center ranks New Jersey 48th in its analysis of states’ fiscal health.

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Ridgewood Residents of the East Side are required to bring their sanitation to the end of their driveways for collection due to the snow and ice conditions

snow day
February 15,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15TH – EAST SIDE SANITATION COLLECTION

Ridgewood NJ, Wednesday, February 15th  – Residents of the East Side are required to bring their sanitation to the end of their driveways (near the curb but not in the street) for collection due to the snow and ice conditions.  This is for the safety of our sanitation workers.  If you are a senior citizen or  need assistance, please call the Sanitation Office at 201/670-5585 and they will respond.

Recycling  Collection will be Area 6 – as is printed in the calendar.

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Six BF string players have won placement into the prestigious Region I Intermediate Orchestra for 2017

christmas-music-notes-border-singing_8355-1

February 14,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, BFMS Orchestra Director Ms. Carol Sharar reports that six BF string players have won placement into the prestigious Region I Intermediate Orchestra for 2017. They are: Catherine Park (8th grade Violin) ; William Stewart (8th grade Bass); Ashley Kim (7th grade Violin); Isabella Harelick (7th grade Violin); Ludia Kim (7th grade Viola) and Karis Han (7th grade Viola).

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Bullying down, violence up in N.J. schools, in latest state report

RHS

file photo by Boyd Loving

By Adam Clark and Erin Petenko | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on February 13, 2017 at 5:26 PM, updated February 13, 2017 at 11:18 PM

TRENTON — New Jersey schools reported fewer bullying incidents for the fourth straight year in 2015-16, but violence in schools climbed to a five-year high, according to new state data.

The state Department of Education on Monday released its annual look at incidents in schools involving bullying, violence, vandalism, weapons and substances, which includes drugs and alcohol, a comprehensive report based on data submitted by school districts.

Confirmed incidents of harassment, intimidation and bullying dropped to 5,995 in 2015-16, down from 6,214 in 2014-15, continuing a decline that’s happened every year since New Jersey implemented a strict new anti-bullying law in 2011.

https://www.nj.com/education/2017/02/bullying_down_violence_up_in_nj_schools_state_says.html#incart_river_index

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Putting PARCC in reverse, NJ lawmakers look to block graduation requirement

Graduation 13

By Michael Symons February 14, 2017 3:45 AM

New Jersey lawmakers took a first step toward blocking the state Department of Education from requiring high-school students to pass the PARCC test in order to earn a diploma.

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers is currently among an array of graduation requirements, but qualifying scores on alternative exams such as the SAT or ACT are being phased out. Starting with the Class of 2021 — currently in the eighth grade — students will have to pass the PARCC’s Algebra 1 and 10th-grade English tests.

Only about half of students are doing that so far in the PARCC’s first two years of use.

“I do not believe it was ever the intent of this Legislature to make PARCC a graduation requirement,” said Assemblywoman Mila Jasey, D-Essex.

“Most states have stopped using it altogether. The decision of state Board of Ed to make PARCC a graduation requirement was, in my view, designed to thwart the opt-out movement,” Jasey said.

Read More: Putting PARCC in reverse, NJ lawmakers look to block graduation requirement | https://nj1015.com/putting-parcc-in-reverse-nj-lawmakers-look-to-block-graduation-requirement/?trackback=tsmclip

Read More: Putting PARCC in reverse, NJ lawmakers look to block graduation requirement | https://nj1015.com/putting-parcc-in-reverse-nj-lawmakers-look-to-block-graduation-requirement/?trackback=tsmclip

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