Ridgewood NJ, Thinking about Halloween …. Join the Ridgewood Historical Society for a cemetery walk …. See information below …
The Ridgewood Historical Society’s Halloween family event …
Nothing says Halloween like a night time walk in a Cemetery.
Join us for a lantern-lit stroll through Valleau Cemetery where soldiers and civilians come to life and tell their tales.
Back at the museum the party continues with music, Halloween stories, locally produced cider and donuts.
October 20th
6:00, 6:30 and 7:00pm Rain or shine
Call (201) 447-3242 or email [email protected] to reserve your spot
Meet at Ridgewood Historical Society
Schoolhouse Museum
650 E Glen Ave, Ridgewood
This fun-filled evening is best suited for families with children ages 7-13.
With reservations:
$10 per adult/$5 per child or $20 per family.
At the door: $15 per adult/$5 per child or $25 per family.
All children must be accompanied by an adult.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Walks is an initiative that encourages health and safety by promoting walking as a way to connect our residents, businesses and neighbors in Ridgewood NJ. Throughout the year, RW will host events, such as the first annual Walktoberfest this October, which will consist of a series of guided downtown tours to establish relationships with local business owners and community service leaders. By exploring various aspects and benefits of walking (from medical to commercial, from spiritual to environmental), the group will focus on Ridgewood’s past—and its future—as a walkable town. RidgewoodWalks.com .
Walktoberfest is in full swing. Head to www.RidgewoodWalks.com and sign up for one of over 40 guided, themed, walking tours of the village. Get to know friends you haven’t met yet, and learn more about the place we call home. Together we can build a safer, more connected, and vibrant community.
Ridgewood NJ, at last nights Planning Board meeting the Ridgewood Planning board cleared the way Village Council designate the Hudson Street Parking lot an “area in need of redevelopment.” .The vote is a major step toward stream lining the garage development process , lowering costs and giving the council members the ability to negotiate directly with a developer of their choosing, rather than putting a design out to bid.
This vote did not mean that the Ridgewood Planning Board approves a garage at Hudson Street , it merely designated the area a “blighted area” , giving the council the ability to more more effectively for tax payers.
The council has been eyeing a modular design, using precast parts, from Pike, a Rochester, New York, firm. The Pike proposal came in far cheaper , saving tax payer money and with a much shorter disruptive construction period. Pike’s more modest and cost effective proposal is far different than the “Garagezilla ” that the former mayor Paul Aronsohn and his collogues attempted to push through .
While many resident supported a garage , they rejected “Garagezilla” on both the choice of financing schemes , making no financial sense for the Village and because the gigantic garage did not fit the footprint of the current lot .
THE RIDGEWOOD VILLAGE COUNCIL’S
PUBLIC WORKSHOP AGENDA
OCTOBER 4, 2017
7:30 P.M.
7:30 pm – Call to Order – Mayor
Statement of Compliance with Open Public Meeting Act
Mayor: “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/Moment of Silence
Public Comments (Not to Exceed 3 Minutes per Person – 40 Minutes in Total)
Presentation
Ridgewood American Legion Post 53 – “The Spirit of America’s Story – The Wall”
Discussion
Ridgewood Water
Award Contract – Laboratory Analysis
Award Contract – Servicing & Repairing Electric Source
Award Contract – Emergency Generator Installations
Award Contract – Servicing & Repairing Potable Water Pumping Facilities
Award Contract – Furnishing & Delivering Sodium Hypochlorite Solution
Parking
Budget
2016 Annual Audit and Corrective Action Plan
Award Contract – Odor Control System – Water Pollution Control Facility
Award Additional Partial Contract – Road Resurfacing and Repair
Award Contract for Professional Services – Grant Writer
Award Contract – Chestnut Street Dumpster Pad
Policy
Proposed Legislative Changes to Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) and Open Public Records Act (OPRA)
Operations
Authorization of 2018 NJDOT Paving Grant Application
Best Practices Worksheet
Proposed Traffic Ordinance – South Hillside Place
Review of October 11, 2017 Public Meeting Agenda
Manager’s Report
Council Reports
Public Comments (Not to Exceed 5 Minutes per Person)
Resolution to go into Closed Session
Closed Session
Legal – COAH, Valley Hospital, Barrington Road
Contract Negotiations – Potential Purchase of Property
Personnel – Boards & Committees, Management and Non-Union Salaries
Adjournment
NOTICE from the Village of Ridgewood to all the Businesses in the CBD …
October 4,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, On Friday, October 6, 2017, the Village of Ridgewood will be launching a CENTRAL VALET service (“CV”). It will be a three month pilot program through 12/31/17. The CV will operate
Friday and Saturday nights from 6pm-1am. The goal is to bring more people to the CBD.
The details:
1. Valet Parking will be in 2 locations:
– Between Van Neste Park and the NJ Transit Bus Station.
– At the end of E. Ridgewood Ave, in the small parking lot
by Latour restaurant.
– Overflow parking for the CV will be in the North Walnut
Street Parking lot, in the CBD employee parking section.
2. The fee charged to the patron is $5 per vehicle.
3. The parking areas for the CV, Van Neste Square, Latour’s and
North Walnut Street lot, will be barricaded by 4pm on Fri/Sat.
CBD employees who usually park in the CBD spaces in North
Walnut St. lot will park in the Cottage Place CBD spaces
after 4pm.
Merchants can opt-in to pay the $5 fee for their patrons. These businesses will be listed both online and at each location.
For more info email [email protected]. To fill out form
www.ridgewoodnj.net/cv or call 201-60-5500 x 203.
If you did not received a copy of the official letter from the
Village Clerk, call 201-670-5500 x203.
Ridgewood NJ, In response to the events in Las Vegas, NV this week, the community of Ridgewood is holding a vigil at Van Neste Park, downtown Ridgewood, on Thursday, October 5, at 7:00 p.m. led by the Religious Leaders of Ridgewood. This event will allow the community of Ridgewood to come together and respond to sad and disturbing act of violence in Las Vegas. Vigils are seen as a nonviolent way to raise awareness of a cause and to motivate change, as well as uniting and supporting one another. This gathering expresses that the eternal light and our light overcome the darkness of world.
Ridgewood Nj, at Radicchio Pasta and Risotto Co. chef Danny is working his magic everyday . Chef Daniel Montoya has over 18 years of experience and oversees the kitchen in the newest location for Radicchio. He prepares classic home style Italian dishes for your enjoyment .
You can also stop by and meet Chef Danny at this years NYC Wine and Food Festival in NYC . The Food Network & Cooking Channel New York City Wine & Food Festival
is at 9 West 19th St, New York, New York 10011 .
PLANNING BOARD PUBLIC MEETING AGENDA
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Village Hall Court Room – 7:30 P.M.
(all timeframes and the order of agenda items below are approximate and subject to change)
1. 7:30 p.m. – Call to Order, Statement of Compliance, Flag Salute, Roll Call – In accordance with the provisions of Section 10:4-8d of the Open Public Meetings Act, the date, location, and time of the commencement of this meeting is reflected in a meeting notice, a copy of which schedule has been filed with the Village Manager and the Village Clerk, The Ridgewood News and The Record newspapers, and posted on the bulletin board in the entry lobby of the Village municipal offices at 131 North Maple Avenue, and on the Village website, all in accordance with the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act.
Roll call: Knudsen, Voigt, Altano, Joel, Patire, Scheibner, Torielli, McWilliams, Barto, Van Goor
2. 7:35 p.m. – 7:40 p.m. – Public Comments on Topics not Pending Before the Board
3. 7:40 p.m. – 7:45 p.m. – Committee/Commission/Professional Updates for Non Agenda Topics, Correspondence Received by the Board
4. 7:45 p.m. – 8:15 p.m. – Ridgewood/Dayton, Preliminary and Final Major Site Plan, 100-152 South Broad Avenue, Block 3707/3905, Lot 35.01/1.01: Adoption of Memorializing Resolution of Approval
5. 8:15 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. – Hopper Ridge Townhomes, Informal Review, Durar Avenue, Block 4104, Lot 3 – To be carried to December 19, 2017 without further notice and without prejudice to the Board
6. 8:30 p.m. – 8:45 p.m. – Calbi, Minor Subdivision and Permit for not Abutting Street, 315 East Glen Avenue, Block 2106, Lot 20. Public Hearing continued from August 1, 2017 and carried to October 3, 2017 without further notice and without prejudice to the Board – To be carried to December 19, 2017 without further notice and without prejudice to the Board
7. 8:45 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. – Hudson Street Redevelopment Designation
8. 10:00 p.m. – 10:05 p.m. – Adoption of Minutes: January 3, 2017
9. 10:05 p.m. – Executive Session (if necessary)
10. Adjournment
Professional Staff: Christopher Martin, Esq., Board Attorney; Christopher J. Rutishauser, Village Engineer; Brigette Bogart, Planner; Michael Cafarelli, Board Secretary
Members: Susan Knudsen, Jeff Voigt, Joel Torielli, Melanie McWilliams, David Scheibner, Richard Joel, Isabella Altano, Debbie Patire, Frances Barto, James Van Goor
In accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act, all meetings of the Ridgewood Planning Board (i.e., official public meetings, work sessions, pre-meeting assemblies and special meetings) are public meetings, which are always open to members of the general public.
Ridgewood Councilman Ramon Hache sees one downside to restaurant valet service as towns across North Jersey try to boost their central business districts.
“Valet parking is great because each car that pulls into a valet lot is a car that’s not driving around the block over and over,” Hache said. “But for other businesses, that customer is not walking past other retailers.”
On Monday, Hache visited businesses along East Ridgewood Avenue to gauge their interest in a municipally run downtown valet service, which will begin a three-month pilot program on Friday, running through the end of December.
With a municipally operated valet service, he said, people dining downtown can enjoy the convenience of valet parking without the downside of door-to-door privatized valets, which can reduce impulse shopping at other businesses. Instead, customers can walk a few blocks back to the village’s valet station, passing other shops and cafes.
Each Friday and Saturday night, the angled parking along the west side of Van Neste Square and the commuter lot on South Broad Street will be closed at 4:30 p.m. Then, from 6 p.m. until 1 a.m. the village will offer valet service to anyone shopping or dining downtown.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Water Reminder: Two-day per week irrigation is permanent year round. Stage II restrictions (2 days per week irrigation) were imposed in June 2016 and are still in effect in Glen Rock, Midland Park, Ridgewood and Wyckoff. Without these restrictions, the use of drinking water for irrigation will continue increasing toward levels that are unsustainable regardless of drought conditions. To reverse this trend, an ordinance was approved by the Village Council on April 12, 2017 to amend the provisions governing Watering and Water Emergencies in the Village of Ridgewood Code. Changes include:
Making 2 days per week irrigation permanent year round,
Restricting irrigation hours to limit losses to evaporation,
Restricting irrigation using private wells to 2 days a week,
Adding new exemptions, including drip irrigation and smart controllers.
Hahahah and his three friends all lie as well. Look at this lying post from Halaby’s group, in which there is NO MENTION that Voigt himself blocked the garage. What a bunch of buffoons.
“YES for Ridgewood Parking ,Ridgewood’s Mayor Knudsen is heavily influenced by a small group of supporters who do not want any changes to occur in the Village of Ridgewood and do not want a parking garage. This minority was responsible for blocking Bergen County funding of a garage and then blocked designs. Until we get a new mayor and new council members, we will continue to go around in circles. The upcoming election is an opportunity to clean house.”
Jeff- Seriously? The Mayor never came out publicly for the garage? She voted YES for funding it, providing a smaller design could be agreed upon. That’s as public as you get..
Design D was no “compromise”- you said it yourself. The first, non-binding referendum was a sham- you said it yourself. You collected signatures. You encouraged people to vote NO, in the BINDING referendum in which people came forward and voted NO overwhelmingly. People were angry at being deceived.
You ran for council with Mayor Knudsen’s support. If you would try to work together WITH fellow council members, and stop playing politics with Paul Aronson and friends, maybe you could make a difference in this village. Put your massive ego aside for one second and do what you were elected to do…WORK WITH YOUR FELLOW COUNCIL MEMBERS, or resign if you are so miserable. We don’t need you.
The following column appeared in The Ridgewood News on September 29, 2017.
Welcome to the new school year! We got off to a great start on September 6, hit our stride early on, and continue to enjoy a positive energy in all our schools.
As is the case each year, credit must be given for our strong start and smooth transition to the effort this summer of many administrators, teachers and support staff who worked hard to ensure that our programs and buildings were in top shape when the opening bell rang. From important changes in our curricula and programs to the hiring of several new staff, from facility projects across the district to technology improvements and implementation, we had a very busy and successful summer.
Here is a snapshot from my Opening of School Report, which may be read in its entirety on the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us:
• We welcomed 5766 students on the first day of school.
• New or revised curriculum was written for 74 courses.
• At Ridgewood High School, new courses were added to the Business, Science, Computer Science and Technology departments.
• Newly hired for 2017-2018 are 49 staff members, representing either new positions due to enrollment or initiatives, or replacements for employees that resigned, retired, or are on leave.
• Renovations across the district included floor tile asbestos abatement, new flooring, painting, electrical work, new bathroom partitions and window replacements. Additional facility projects were completed at each school that ranged from boiler replacements through our Energy Savings Improvement Plan (ESIP) and state-of-the-art drinking fountain replacements featuring water filters and filling stations, to remodeling for the implementation of full-day Kindergarten.
• Technology upgrades in classrooms and buildings, and improvements to building security were completed.
As we prepared to open our doors, schools in other parts of our nation were either temporarily shuttered or transformed into emergency shelters in preparation for Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Thankfully the devastation was far from Ridgewood, yet I am very happy to report that our schools still sprang into action to help, so that on opening day coin jars for the American Red Cross hurricane relief efforts were prominently on display and filling rapidly in every building. Also there were Soles 4 Souls collection boxes. What a great reminder that our education program goes beyond academics, that we continually seek out opportunities for humanitarian service so that our students may grow their character as well as their minds, and that we can help them learn the value of global citizenship. These things are a critical part of what we do, too.
Last year at this time your Board of Education turned its attention to the goal of implementing full-day Kindergarten in the district, which was approved by Ridgewood voters last November. This September, after remodeling classrooms, writing curriculum and hiring teachers, we joined the majority of New Jersey’s public districts when we welcomed our first full-day K classes. There are several key factors in favor of full-day K, notably the ability to provide more time in the daily schedule for structured play experiences designed to reinforce learning. It is exciting to see our mission of excellence at work in the classrooms of our youngest students, who are now presented with an even stronger opportunity to effectively learn and thrive than ever before.
Another project from last school year, the May 2017 parent-guardian survey report was presented at the September 25 Board meeting. The fifth district-wide satisfaction survey since 2010, the results this time around are again quite positive in areas ranging from the quality of our educational programs to satisfaction with the school facilities, extracurricular offerings, communications and the Chromebook initiative. Thank you to the nearly 31 percent of our parents and guardians who took the time to complete the survey. Your input supports our ongoing efforts to review and refine our programs and practices. Survey results for all schools and the district are posted on our website.
There’s an upcoming opportunity for residents to meet with the Board and me to informally discuss the survey, full-day K, or any other school-related topic of interest to you. On Wednesday night, October 18, we’ll have the coffee brewing at the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place, from 7-8:30 p.m. for the first of three dates set for Coffee and Conversation this school year. Our work requires the support of our broader community and we are appreciative of your trust, enthusiasm and financial commitment to our mission of excellence. We’d like to know you better, so please drop by on October 18 with your questions, suggestions and concerns.
Thanks to all, we are off to a great start to the 2017-2018 school year. I look forward to updating you throughout the upcoming months on all things Ridgewood Public Schools.
As always, please feel free to contact me with your questions or concerns.
Daniel Fishbein, Ed.D., is Superintendent of the Ridgewood Public Schools. Dr. Fishbein can be reached at 201-670-2700, ext. 10530, or via e-mail at [email protected]
Ridgewood NJ, Yankees fans in Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut, including Ridgewood , rejoice. Optimum customers will be able to watch the AL wild-card game against the Twins on Tuesday, as Altice USA, which owns the cable provider, and Disney have reached a new deal. An agreement was made by the initial deadline of 5 p.m. Sunday.The two companies were renegotiating their contract and deadlocked over how much Altice USA would Optimum pay to re-transmit Walt Disney Company channels.Disney owns ESPN, which will air the Yankees vs. Twins one-game playoff on Tuesday evening, as well as multiple ABC channels.
