Tag: Schedler Park

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Ridgewood Schedler neighborhood asks for additional experts

Save Our Schedler Members & Friends at the Schedler House3

file photo by Boyd Loving

Neighbors ask for additional experts

DECEMBER 11, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
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Neighbors request more experts for best possible park

To the Editor:

Your reporter concludes in his article on Dec. 4 (“Officials face open space shortage,” The Ridgewood News, page A1) that one group or another will be unhappy by the council’s ultimate decisions regarding the development of the Schedler property. As a Schedler neighbor, I respectfully disagree with the conclusion.

The Schedler neighborhood is seeking the best possible design and development of the Schedler property for the benefit of all Ridgewood citizens. Specifically, the Schedler neighborhood has asked the council to hire an expert landscape architect to design the best park possible for all citizens. The current design was prepared by our village engineer, who has limited experience designing parks.

The Schedler neighborhood has also requested the hiring of a traffic safety engineer to design a safe park for the benefit of the players, their families and the neighborhood. The Schedler property is next to Route 17, where over half a million cars travel daily. Let’s be safe and hire the proper experts.

Finally, all of those cars are noisy. Players need to communicate with each other, with their coaches and with the officials. Spectators also want to converse in a comfortable environment.

The Schedler neighborhood has asked the village to hire a noise expert in order to recommend appropriate noise abatement strategies. We want to avoid spending several million dollars on a park, only to discover that it’s too noisy and unsafe.

A reputable dentist is perfect for a toothache, but you wouldn’t call him if you were experiencing chest pains. The Schedler neighborhood advocates hiring genuine experts in order to obtain the best possible park for all Ridgewood citizens. That’s a win for the players, a win for their families, a win for the neighborhood, and a win for all citizens of Ridgewood.

David Edelberg

Ridgewood

 

https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/ridgewood-news-letter-neighbors-ask-for-additional-experts-1.1472220

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Friends of Schedler Launches Facebook Group

Save Our Schedler Members & Friends at the Schedler House3
file photo by Boyd Loving
November 30 ,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, It’s taken a little while to get the Friends of Schedler facebook page started but it’s ready.
You are all invited to come take a look, join and better understand where This neighborhood is, what situations the local neighbors are facing and what situations the kids would be facing if a field were built here. Come see the exposure to Rt 17 and the close proximity the children would be playing to that busy highway.
“Our mission: To promote the responsible development of the Schedler parcel, the last open space in Ridgewood, with consideration of the environment, neighborhood, and town.”

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Ridgewood youth baseball playing with shortage of fields

Zabriskie-Schedler_Property_theridgewoodblog

NOVEMBER 24, 2015 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2015, 11:45 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

(This article is the second of an ongoing series examining the Schedler property and the issues surrounding it.)

In the springtime, a common sound heard around the village’s parks is the distinct metallic “ping” of an aluminum bat making solid contact with a baseball.

With a robust baseball program, Ridgewood is home to many ball fields at its numerous parks scattered all around town, but the need for one specific size field has become entangled with one of the village’s most sensitive issues.

The Ridgewood News has already explored the concerns held by residents in the neighborhood that plays home to the historic Zabriskie-Schedler house and property, where a full-size 90-foot baseball field has been proposed.

However, it may be the last place remaining to install such a field, driving the Ridgewood Baseball Softball Association (RBSA) to donate money to the village as part of a matching grant opportunity from Bergen County that would allow the proposed Phase One portion of the project, which consists of a cleanup in the woodlands on West Saddle River Road, to begin.

While there has always been a need for more fields in Ridgewood, the completion of the state-of-the-art track and field complex at Benjamin Franklin Middle School in 2011 put a tremendous strain on the resources available to the RBSA, said President Jim Albano.

Previously, that field was home to one of the village’s two “60-90” fields – a diamond consisting of 90-foot basepaths and a pitcher’s mound that sits 60 feet, 6 inches from home plate. BF was also home to a smaller, multi-purpose field with a dirt infield.

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/leagues-playing-with-field-shortage-in-ridgewood-1.1461690

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Reader says It’s all about updating the fields for soccer and lacrosse.

Schedler Park ball field

It’s all about updating the fields for soccer and lacrosse. We already have three (3) 60×90 fields.

https://sitebuilder.capturepoint.com/RBSA#/page/486

Take a look at the RBSA website. There are only eight (8) Rec (Bonvarlet Senior and Junior) teams in town. Most of the Senior games this year were forfeited due to not having enough players.

As the demographic changes, the trending for the last 8+ years shows that baseball and softball particpation is way down. This past year there were only 5 travel teams that needed 60×90 fields. They usually play 2x week with one maybe two home games per week.

Those three fields are more than adequate for covering home field assignments.

So we’re left with conclusion. The Rec Comm wants to upgrade their facilities and showcase soccer and lacrosse.

The idea that they lost a field when BF was converted to a track facility is rubbish. They were desperate to get turf at the HS and play on Ridgewood Avenue and in front of the HS building. You can’t have your cake and eat it too…

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Schedler property needs to be preserved

Save Our Schedler Members & Friends at the Schedler House3

file photo by Boyd Loving

Ridgewood parcel needs to be preserved

The town in which I live, Ridgewood, owns a 7.5-acre parcel known as the Schedler property in the northeast corridor directly abutting Route 17.

It represents the last large piece of green acres in Ridgewood. Schedler serves as a buffer for the community, defending us from the noise of the highway and the pollution. The town is determined, with the insistence of the Ridgewood Baseball Association, to build a regulation-sized baseball field there. So what’s wrong with that? The answer is everything.

For one thing, the location. It has been shown that increasing levels of noise are associated with increasing incidence of strokes, especially in the elderly. Playing fields also facilitate flooding whereas woods act as a deterrent.

Second, it is very well documented that exercising along busy highways increases one’s chances of developing respiratory disease, cancer and cardiovascular disorders. This problem is particularly worse in children, who have a more susceptible physiology. Recently, News 12 reported a new medical study that showed increased incidence of leukemia in children under the age of 15 who played in proximity to busy thoroughfares.

Lastly, in a time of constrained fiscal budgets, it would cost a lot less to leave nature alone. A field for our children would be great, but can’t it be built in a place that does not jeopardize their health?

Decisions that affect the health and well-being of our citizens, especially our children, should be guided by the facts. Not every piece of land needs to be developed; on the contrary, nature needs to be preserved.

We should take a page from the book of Theodore Roosevelt, who in his great wisdom, when entrusted with the stewardship of our great beautiful land, decided to conserve portions in their natural state for his time and posterity.

We, the citizens, must demand that our government behave just as responsibly.

Salvatore Infantino

https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/the-record-letters-saturday-nov-14-1.1455383

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Reader asks Why would RBSA want to take on fundraising to develop an entire park instead of a cheaper renovation to an existing and approved space?

Save Our Schedler Members & Friends at the Schedler House3

For those suggesting the town should sell it (Schedler Park), as a neighbor, I wouldn’t be horrified. The neighborhood would have many more legal protections from a private developer that the Village doesn’t need to comply with. Chiefly, ingress/egress from Rt. 17 and noise reduction.

It was bought with open space money from the County, not just the Village, and is supposed to guarantee a balance of active and passive space. Secondary to the pay-to-play development, it looks like only a baseball field will be built, and 74 parking spots. All this for the 2nd 90′ field the mayor says he ‘promised’ RBSA to make up for the field lost at BF. That field was already promised to RBSA at lower Hawes, courtesy of the CMX report which the Village paid 80K dollars for. The mayor knows this because he questioned the involved parties directly when that plan was adopted. The facts are in the minutes and speak for themselves.

Why doesn’t RBSA want that field? Why haven’t they done anything to advance that plan since 2008? Why haven’t they made the already approved improvements to Somerville’s field also approved in 2008? Why wouldn’t the Village encourage them to develop park space adjacent to an elementary school where more of the Village could benefit from it? Why would RBSA want to take on fundraising to develop an entire park instead of a cheaper renovation to an existing and approved space? Upon OPRA request, there is no documentation of any reason why the fields can’t be exactly where they were already ‘promised.’

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Save Our Schedler Members & Friends at the Schedler House

Save Our Schedler Members & Friends at the Schedler House

photos by Boyd Loving

November 8,2015

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, News 12 showed up at Schedler but Sadly the News12 report where residents spoke was removed. It was replaced with Mayor’s statement, which happens to be untrue. Property bought with $2million of taxpayers money was promised to a baseball group without public notification. The Historic house is owned by the Village. Mr. Mayor: why does the public have to save a house owned by the Village? Destruction by abandonment? The roof needs repairs, you’ve ignored it 7 years ago. Transparency: Tell the whole story! The facts would tell a very different tale

 

Schedler Site Development Study – 460 W. Saddle River Road

Below are the Site Development Plans prepared by the Ridgewood Engineering Department.

Click Here for Part 1A

Click Here for part 2B

Click Here for Part 3 C, D, E

DSCF4287

Schedler Park
Below are the Site Development Plans prepared by the Ridgewood Engineering Department.

Click Here for Part 1A

Click Here for part 2B

Click Here for Part 3 C, D, E

Maps – Revisions

Schedler Map Rev 8 – October 7, 2015

Info

Click Here for the Schedler Park and House Grant Timeline – as reported by the Village Manager at the September 16, 2015 Village Council Public Meeting.

Wednesday, August 12th the Village Council discussed the use of the Schedler property. They voted on the following resolutions:

Click Here for Schedler Property Resolution including House

Click Here for Resolution to apply for Schedler House Grant

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Ridgewood Council reviews Schedler resolution amid concerns

Schedler Park

NOVEMBER 4, 2015    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2015, 9:39 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

A resolution endorsing recommendations made in the Open Space Committee’s 2012 Open Space plan as a guide for the course of action to be taken regarding the Schedler property was brought back for discussion last Wednesday after hearing the concerns of neighborhood residents during recent meetings.

Passed by the council in mid-August, the resolution affirms the plan provided by the Open Space Committee, which states the property should be developed for recreational purposes, which includes a 90-foot baseball field and multi-purpose overlay field for soccer and lacrosse.

Councilwoman Susan Knudsen asked for the resolution to be brought back for discussion to remove language specifically regarding the 90-foot field and add that the village recognizes the need for active recreation fields, but will take a different approach to finding a solution.

“We should take this, revisit it and do a redo on it so we give a more balanced approach and help the neighborhood have what they need and figure out how we can also accommodate what the RBSA needs,” said Knudsen, adding such a change could help to rebuild a relationship that is “a little broken” between the council and residents of the neighborhood.

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/concerns-prompt-review-of-resolution-1.1448114

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Schedler woods must be preserved for Ridgewood

schedleraerial-072613-rn-tif

OCTOBER 30, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Schedler woods must be preserved

To the Editor:

When it comes to the Schedler property, we mustn’t be naughty and we can’t afford to be nice.

We mustn’t be naughty and remove a majority of the trees for a 90-foot athletic field, but likewise a “nice park” as many residents recommend won’t do either.

Ridgewood, Bergen County, America and the rest of the world is experiencing an environmental crisis of unprecedented proportions due to a dire lack of what we now call wildscapes: undeveloped land where our ecological system can flourish.

Because we have so few remaining acreages of woods and forests, the balance of plants and wildlife required to produce food, the quality of our air and water is seriously threatened.

There has always been a “necessary reason,” as it is phrased, for woods to be replaced by development.

We are told we need another shopping mall, a strip mall, another housing development, another parking lot, another athletic field. You name it and there is an excuse for trees to be chopped down.

But now the time has arrived where it is vital that to preserve every acre of remaining woodland.

Therefore, it would be irresponsible to develop Schedler to any degree whatsoever.

Let our 7 acres of Schedler become a beacon, a lodestar, perhaps even accruing the power of a meme, communicating that we in Ridgewood know that those wild woods left alone are of the utmost value.

Diane Palacios

Ridgewood

https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/ridgewood-news-letter-schedler-woods-must-be-preserved-1.1444789

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Mayor Aronsohn Calls a concerned resident a liar

Schedler Park

Thank you Marcia. Great letter. Last night our mayor went after Ms. Jacqueline Hone in this matter, deliberately and nastily. She was great, she calmly came right back at him and stated that she has emails from Robert Abbatomarco stating all of this, she held up a notebook with all the information she has carefully collected and collated. Aronsohn said he talked to Robert Abbatomarco and everything Ms. Hone said was completely untrue. He called a concerned resident a liar. REALLY? This is how you conduct business? Instead of meeting with Ms. Hone, as she has requested on numerous occasions, and going over the facts together, he just calmly “says” that her information is wrong.

Ms. Hone was not the only resident they went after last night. Clearly their nerves are frayed.

Keep up the good work everyone.

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Bergen County Open Space official : numerous discrepancies and missing information related to the Schedler grant application

Schedler field (1)

Dear Village Council:

As I stated during the public comment period at the end of the October 14 council meeting, the process for completing grant applications leaves much to be desired. I particularly noted the casual ease with which the checkbox indicating that the Ridgewood population at large desires whatever is being applied for is checked. This happened with the grant for the Graydon wheelchair ramp, which after two full seasons, as I predicted for the three years in which I fought it, has never been used for its intended purpose. It was also done in the grant to level Schedler.

Let’s put it this way. We know what three of you have been doing and it is unlawful and unacceptable.

Today I learned that Bergen County Open Space official Robert Abbatomarco had written to Village employees noting numerous discrepancies and missing information related to the Schedler grant application. The county considers the October 14, 2015, public hearing on the grant application to be the only official meeting of record regarding the development of Schedler. Once again the Council has “put the cart before the horse” and proceeded as a few insistent people wished before inviting public comment in the proper way.

The county now demands a new resolution that incorporates and represents the public comments made on October 14. Reports and public comments from 2012 and earlier shall not apply. We all know what happened on October 14. I got home from that meeting at 2:45 AM. (In the future, for everyone’s sake, it would be most helpful for topics of wide general interest to be given discrete meetings and not be crammed into general meeting agendas. Trying to exhaust people into not speaking obviously does not work.)

An honest summary of the comments made that night would reveal without question that the neighbors of Schedler and many of their fellow Village residents living elsewhere in town are adamantly opposed to a 90-foot field and other issues, such as clear-cutting the trees that are their only defense against the noise, traffic, and pollution of nearby Route 17.
It is clear from the county’s notification that the pending council resolution was passed in violation of Open Space guidelines and must be revoked and revisited. I hope that will happen tonight, to clear your names.
Inexplicably and unforgivably, although the county’s notification was sent to the Village last month, Village staff clearly ignored it and proceeded to present resolutions and schematic drawings in spite of it. The public was shamefully disinformed. All staff members involved should be reprimanded and ideally terminated.

Please revoke Resolution 15-257 this evening and START OVER.

Sincerely,

Marcia Ringel

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Ridgewood to apply for Bergen County grant for Schedler Park

Roberta Sonenfeld

file photo by Boyd Loving

OCTOBER 19, 2015    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2015, 10:08 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

After a lengthy public hearing on Oct. 14, the Village Council decided to move forward with the process of procuring a grant for phase one of the Schedler Park project and accept a monetary gift from the Ridgewood Baseball/Softball Association (RBSA).

The approval of the two resolutions came with the notion of exploring other possible sites for a 90-foot field while scaling down the playing field at Schedler to a 60-foot diamond, which was supported by some residents in attendance.

Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld started the hearing with an update to the grant money available to the village. Sonenfeld reported that Bergen County received a high number of requests and the village lowered its amount to $75,000.

The RBSA also decided to increase the amount offered in its gift to the village to $150,000, Sonenfeld said.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-will-apply-for-county-grant-for-schedler-park-1.1435952

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Ridgewood mulls over new design options for Schedler Park

Schedler Park

file photo by Boyd Loving

OCTOBER 19, 2015    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2015, 10:45 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

The latest drawings for the proposed Schedler Park, which includes a large multi-purpose field, were unveiled last week during a presentation made by village officials.

The Schedler property and the historic Zabriskie-Schedler house have come back to the forefront in recent weeks with a resolution passed by the council to endorse recommendations made for the site in the 2012 Open Space report and the submission of an application for a matching grant that would fund preliminary cleanup work in the area.

Some of the features of the potential park include an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible walking path, restrooms and playground, a woodland and nature area, and the most-discussed feature, a 90-foot baseball field with multi-purpose field overlay for soccer, lacrosse and football. A parking lot at the southern end of the triangular shaped parcel contains 74 spaces and a drop-off lane.

Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld emphasized this was “the beginning stages of a public discussion on the actual design of the park.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/new-designs-for-ridgewood-s-schedler-park-unveiled-1.1435966

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Ridgewood News Issues Correction on claims against Councilwoman Susan Knudsen

Councilwoman Knudsen

file photo by Boyd Loving

Delzio letter to the editor published on 10/2 by The Ridgewood News

Councilwoman has clear conflict

TO THE EDITOR:

Councilwoman Susan Knudsen acknowledged two weeks ago that she had recused herself from further council votes on Schedler Park. She did so through an opaque and nuanced explanation for the recusal and after she voted against the Schedler Park proposal at the Village Council meeting on Aug. 12. That’s a fact.
Councilwoman Knudsen’s conflict is simple; she failed to disclose a personal interest in property adjacent to Schedler Park. In her role as a council member, we expect Councilwoman Knudsen to be truthful and transparent, and not play games on issues that affect the future of our village.
Now that Councilwoman Knudsen has recused herself from any further Schedler discussion at the municipal level, she would better serve all citizens of the village by 1) dropping the deception and 2) assisting the Ridgewood Eastside Development group (RED) in its quest to preserve the Schedler house, which is part of the current Schedler Park development plan.

Finally, Councilwoman Knudsen’s father, Jack Traina, needlessly insulted the other members of the Village Council, see The Record, Aug. 24, at noon, amended at8:20 a.m., same day.
An apology by Susan to all involved is appropriate and warranted.
Don Delzio

COR­REC­TION

The Ridgewood News
October 9, 2015
In a letter to the editor written by Ridgewood resident Don Delzio and published in last week’s edition, Mr. Delzio wrote that Councilwoman Susan Knudsen stated during a public meeting that she would recuse herself from “further council votes” and “further Schedler discussion at the municipal level.”

Councilwoman Knudsen made no such statement. She stated that when the village attorney suggested that there might be a conflict that she heeded his advice until such time that the Local Finance Board responds to her inquiry.
The letter also stated that the councilwoman failed to disclose a personal interest in property adjacent to Schedler Park. Councilwoman Knudsen does not own any property adjacent to or near Schedler Park. The councilwoman stated at the meeting that her family member who lives in the vicinity of Schedler does not live in her household. Tax records reveal that her parents own property near Schedler.

The Ridgewood News regrets the errors and any embarrassment or distress it may have caused Councilwoman Knudsen.

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Ridgewood ‘s Schedler Park , Maps and Information

Schedler Park ball field

file photo by Boyd Loving

Schedler Park

Maps – Revisions

Schedler Map Rev 8 – October 7, 2015

Info

Click Here for the Schedler Park and House Grant Timeline – as reported by the Village Manager at the September 16, 2015 Village Council Public Meeting.

Wednesday, August 12th the Village Council discussed the use of the Schedler property. They voted on the following resolutions:

Click Here for Schedler Property Resolution including House

Click Here for Resolution to apply fpr Schedler House Grant

Click Here for Conceptual Map of the park project. The existing structure (460 W. Saddle River Road) is identified by standard architecture/engineering markings. The electrical wire to the house is included. The garage is not identified on this drawing.