Planning Board Special Public Meeting Schedule Ammendment Oct 18, 2017
PLANNING BOARD AMENDMENT TO MEETING SCHEDULE
Special Public Meeting: Wednesday, October 18, 2017, 8:00 p.m.
Addition to Meeting Schedule
In accordance with the provisions of the “Open Public Meetings Act,” please be advised that the Planning Board has scheduled a special public meeting and work session for WEDNESDAY, October 18, 2017 at 8:00 p.m. in the Ridgewood Village Courtroom, 161 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450.
The Board may take official/formal action during this Special Public Meeting at which time the Board will convene a public hearing concerning 257 Ridgewood Avenue, LLC, Preliminary and Final Major Site Plan, Block 3703, Lot 4, 6, & 8.01. All meetings of the Ridgewood Planning Board (i.e., official public meetings, work session meetings, pre-meeting assemblies and special meetings) are public meetings which are always open to members of the general public.
Michael Cafarelli
Secretary to the Board
c: P/B Members
Ridgewood News*
The Record*
Village Clerk
Village Manager
Village Bulletin Board
Village Website
Bergen County Clerk
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Karate Academy is hosting a Women’s Self Defense Seminar, taught by Master Steve Smyer (5th Dan Black Belt )on Thursday, October 19th, from 8pm -9pm. This is a FREE event, open to the community in the effort to help keep you safe during this Holiday Season..
Participants will learn functional self defense and survival skills including escapes, striking, and overall safety awareness tips. Register TODAY! Space is limited!
The school is located at:
30 Cottage Place, Ridgewood, NJ , (behind Starbucks)
For details call (201)447-2272 or visit at
Ridgewoodkarate.com
Ridgewood NJ, to discontinue delivery of the supermarket circulars that are delivered to your home and dropped in your driveway by calling 1-800-376-6222 and providing your address.
Ridgewood NJ, Melissa O’ Sullivan, a local Ridgewood, New Jersey mom who started a t-shirt company with her son Jake, who is Autistic.
Their company, Autistic Heroes Teeshirts, came to life after Melissa shared some of her son’s artwork, which she says has helped her connect to his more internalized emotions. The positive reaction from her Facebook friends inspired her to begin printing his masterpieces across T-shirts for the rest of the world to wear and admire. And with that, the Autistic Heroes community was born.
New Jersey mom, M Anne O'Sullivan, is proud of her autistic son's artwork. So proud, she decided to put it on a shirt and give it a name: Autistic Hero Teeshirts. Now other people with autism are showcasing their creativity on clothing, too, after she posted on Facebook.
As you can see in this mini documentary, the duo has continued to grow the Autistic Heroes community through the company’s Facebook Page, where Melissa and Jake connect with other Autistic artists from around the country and provide them the opportunity to showcase their artwork on new t-shirt designs. The secret to the community’s strength and success? As Melissa puts it, “everyone needs to feel a mission in life.”
According to Melissa , my now high school age Autistic son Jake Soper created books filled with childhood comic drawings in 2011-13. He was drawing fan art based on his favorite object competition shows and also piles of original superheroes, side-kicks and villains. Jake is an extremely shy person so we were THRILLED to see such a wonderful imagination percolating under Jake’s calm facade.
Based on the keen interest s…hown in Jake’s sketches, and my recent Parsons degree (2014) in Graphic Design, I decided to make a T-shirt line for babies, toddlers and kids (and adults as it turns out!) called AUTISTIC HERO TEESHIRTS. I curate his images, clean them up, bring them to life with color, and make edits where necessary. I brand, produce, advertise, design/maintain autistichero.com, and market and ship the T-shirts. AHT also travels the NJ (and soon NY) area selling T-shirts. Jake designs specific T-shirts I am looking for now that he is older and helps me with editing during the design process. We will teach him more and more steps to this process.
AHT sells name brand, gift worthy T-shirts. We donate a dollar to Autism per shirt. Jake Soper also makes a dollar per shirt income. We are modeling business skills to our son within the home and the ASD community at large and want to be role models for pro-autism business. AHT has developed strategic partners in the ASD community with whom we support, barter, donate, mentor and trade ideas and advice in addition to our cash donations.
*Recycle AHT is a spin off brand we only sell face to face and is not available at autistichero.com. A brand where we rescue and repurpose viable, unique, gently worn clothing items and put characters or images from AHT on them for sale at a less premium price point than our main line.
The mission of AUTISTIC HERO TEESHIRTS is supporting creative and entrepreneurial effort in the Autistic community. We are a for-profit clothing brand with a charitable aspect.
The Village’s Leaf Collection Program will begin on October 23rd
All residents have received a yellow postcard with the leaf collection program requirements. The leaf collection areas are based on yardwaste areas (A-D), with certain exceptions listed for Area D, during leaf season only. All areas will have three collection times.
Leaves are to be placed along the curbline, in the street, only during the leaf placement dates listed for your area on the postcard. You may not place leaves into the street after the last leaf placement date for your area, until the next round of leaf placement dates for your area. If you employ a landscaper, please communicate your leaf placement dates to them. Please be aware that leaves placed in the street, after the street is complete, may result in a summons being issued.
No brush will be collected during leaf season. In addition, do not place trash, stones, branches, twigs or other yardwaste into the leaf piles.
To locate your area for yardwaste collection, go to the Village website www.ridgewoodnj.net, click on My Village Services Lookup and enter your address to find your respective area.
If you have any questions regarding the leaf collection program, call the Street Division at 201-670-5585.
PERMANENT, YEAR-ROUND WATER CONSERVATION REGULATIONS
As the weather begins to turn, Ridgewood Water would like to extend its gratitude to residents for their compliance with the water regulations established in Ordinance #3588. Moderate weather and two-day per week irrigation restrictions helped Ridgewood Water to get through the summer with no additional water restrictions.
As a reminder, two-day per week irrigation has been made permanent, year-round, for conservation purposes. Please ensure that all irrigation complies with the following:
Odd numbered addresses on Tuesday & Saturday
Even numbered addresses on Wednesday & Sunday
No irrigation is permitted between the hours of 10:00am and 6:00pm
Automatic system use permitted only between 3:00am and 7:00am
Exemption permits are always available for smart controllers. As of September 20th, exemption permits to water new plantings for 21 consecutive days are also available. In the event that you are unable to finish all of your plantings this fall, exemption permits will also be available in the spring.
Please visit https://water.ridgewoodnj.net for additional information. We appreciate your efforts and thank you for helping to sustain the future of our water.
FINAL DAY FOR VOTER REGISTRATION FOR GENERAL ELECTION – OCTOBER 17th
On October 17, 2017, voter registration will be conducted in the Village Clerk’s Office in Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and in the lobby of the Ridgewood Public Library, 125 North Maple Avenue, from 4:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. This is the final opportunity for voter registration in order to be eligible to vote in the November 7, 2017 General Election.
All residents of Ridgewood who will be at least 18 years of age on November 7, 2017 and are citizens of the United States are eligible to vote. Residents who have recently moved to Ridgewood, as well as those who have moved within Ridgewood, must re-register to vote even if they were previously registered at another address.
Best Regards,
Heather A. Mailander
Village Manager
201/670-5500 x202
Fresh drinking water is not a commodity with unending supplies. Currently Ridgewood primarily draws its water from wells tapping aquifers underground. These aquifers are recharged by surface water that flows down through the ground, hence the modern zoning requirements for retention pits/dry wells when property is developed. Unfortunately other chemicals are also carried down into the aquifers with this water from sources such as old leaking oil/gas tanks, dry cleaner chemicals, lawn fertilizers and pesticides. If it gets poured onto the ground it ends up in our drinking water at some point. In some circumstances if more water is pumped out of aquifers than is coming in (such as in Long Island) ocean water containing salt cam be sucked into the aquifers, degrading the water quality and ultimately making it undrinkable. There can even be settling and cracking of the ground with over pumping ( https://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/changes/anthropogenic/subside/ ). With these conditions in mind, I would suggest the smart way to deal with our water issues is to find ways to conserve water and minimize use as opposed to drilling more wells to increase capacity. This has happened nationally for years with toilets that flush with less water and the newer dual flush models, water faucets and shower heads that limit flow and other efforts that have reduced our water use without changing lifestyles much. In the end from May till September, our high usage months, 2/3 of the water we use is sprinkled on lawns so the question is how much money do we want to spend and what chances with screwing up our water quality do we want to take in order to keep grass green in summer months instead of just letting it go dormant and greening up again when the post summer rains fall?
Ridgewood NJ, a science class experiment mistook for a fire led to Ridgewood High School being evacuated . Ridgewood High School was evacuated on Thursday after a passer-by mistook smoke from a science experiment as an actual fire at the School.
A science class at Ridgewood High School was burning ice pop sticks around 10 a.m. when someone walking near the classroom smelled smoke and pulled the fire alarm.
Ridgewood Fire officials said the building was evacuated for about 40 minutes and no one was injured.
Ridgewood NJ, Four-time Ironman Triathlon World Champion, CHRISSIE WELLINGTON, will sign her new book: To the Finish Line ($27.00) October 6th @ 7:00pm.
Chrissie Wellington World’s #1 Female Ironman Athlete & 4 Time Ironman Champion .
Books available: October 3rd.
*Books must be purchased from Bookends Bookstore*
Appearing authors will only autograph books purchased at Bookends and must have valid Bookends Receipt.
Availability & pricing for all autographed books subject to change.
First In Line Certificate use is the the discretion of Bookends. Blackout dates may apply.
Bookends cannot guarantee that the books that are Autographed will always be First Printings.
Autographed books purchased at Bookends are non-returnable.
While we try to ensure that all customers coming to Bookends’ signings will meet authors and get their books signed, we cannot guarantee that all attendees will meet the author or that all books will be signed. We cannot control inclement weather, author travel schedules or authors who leave prematurely.
Bookends, 211 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201-445-0726
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood YMCA is holding an Annual Support Campaign Kick-off event to share all the good things that the Ridgewood YMCA is doing for the members of our community. We will be serving food. It begins at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, October 11 at the Y in Meads Hall. Would you be able to post our event on the Chamber’s event calendar with an RSVP to me Jen Batelli at [email protected] or by calling 201-444-5600 ext. 320 so that caterer provides enough food for everyone.
And, I hope you can join us for a night out at the Ridgewood Y.
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Police Department would like to remind all citizens of the increased amount of scams occurring and specifically the scams involving computer cleaning or any that request payments over the phone with the use of gift cards. Always investigate the communications made through postal mail, telephone, and/or the internet to prevent fraud and deceptive activity. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Ridgewood Police Department to ensure you’re not becoming a victim of these scams.
On September 29, a South Pleasant Avenue resident reported being the victim of a fraud in the past. The victim reported discovering a suspicious email which attempted to confirm a fraudulent credit card purchase. The email hyperlink attempted to obtain her personal information as well as her credit card number. The victim reported she cancelled her credit card after reporting the incident to her credit card company.
A Sterling Place resident responded to Ridgewood Police headquarters on September 27, to report fraud and theft of impersonation in the past. The victim reported an unknown actor did use the victim’s identity to open and access several accounts without authorization. The Ridgewood Detective Bureau is investigating the incidents.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood PD, FD, and EMS units responded the scene of a single vehicle MVA in front of 489 Grove Street, Ridgewood on Thursday evening, 10/05. The adult male driver of a 4-door Chevrolet Impala crashed head on into a utility pole. He was uninjured, but his car was totaled. The wreck was removed from the scene by a flatbed tow truck. PSE&G responded to check the condition of the damaged utility pole. No word as to how many, if any, summonses were issued to the driver.
Ridgewood NJ, On Saturday September 3, 2017 Engine 35, staffed with 3 EMT certified Firefighters, was dispatched to a reported woman in labor. Upon arrival at the home approximately 4 minutes later, we had found that the baby had been delivered by the father prior to the arrival of emergency service personnel and the first arriving police officers and the duty EMT were tending to the mother and a healthy newborn.
The crew of Engine 35 assisted in this care until the arrival of Ridgewood EMS medical director Dr. Lahita, who assumed care and cut the umbilical cord prior to transport to the hospital. As part of our daily assignments and duties, one of our Firefighters rounded out the ambulance crew and continued on to the hospital with the second EMT. Both mother and child were doing well upon arriving at the hospital.
A child birth is a very happy occasion and the crew was very glad to be part of it. Local 47 wishes the family well!
Ridgewood NJ, The pictured signs have just been posted at all parking areas being used on Friday and Saturday nights for the Village’s Central Valet Parking program.
Chapter 265-44 of the Village of Ridgewood Code, cited on each posted sign, reads as follows:
§ 265-44. Posting of signs.
A. Upon the declaration of an emergency, there shall be no parking upon streets or parts of streets where temporary emergency no parking signs are displayed. The Chief of Police, or in his absence the ranking police officer, is authorized to declare an emergency and to direct the posting of said emergency no-parking signs when weather conditions, accidents, fires or public celebrations dictate or require the avoidance of hazards or other conditions which interfere with the free flow of traffic.
B. Notification that the emergency no-parking signs are being or will be posted shall be given to the operator or owner of any vehicle which has been parked prior to the posting of the signs.
What exactly is the emergency (as defined by subsection “A” of 265-44) associated with Valet Parking? And, the North Walnut Street Municipal Parking Lot is not a “street.” So would any summonses issued for 265-44 at that location even hold up in court?
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood blog staff translates Jeff Voigt’s recent pro garage letter to the editor .
One of the initiatives important to Ridgewood council members elected last year is to build a garage on Hudson Street, an area close to the train station. Prime users are rail commuters during the day and restaurant goers at night. NOPE – the taxpayers do not need to spend a fortune just so commuters can park in an ugly garage and restaurants can pad their wallets.
In this three block area, there are 50 restaurants with close to 3,000 seats. Ordinances that deal with such intensity of use issues generally call for one parking space for every two to three restaurant seats or; approximately 1,250 parking spaces needed for the restaurants alone. There is a supply of 655 parking spaces in this area. This is total bullshit. At any given time there are more empty spaces in Ridgewood than you can count. Just walk a block or two before sitting down to your meal. This is some funky math that our elected official is playing with.
Add to this, that on any given night approximately 280 of these spaces are taken up by restaurant employees. In other words, the supply is actually 375 spaces for restaurants goers or; a shortage of 875 spaces. In my conversations with restaurant owners, they’ve told me during the first seating for the Thursday through Saturday high-demand times, their customers are able to find a parking space. However, at the second seating many out-of-towners will drive around for 15-20 minutes in frustration, not find a parking space and then leave. This obviously hurts our village’s businesses. The central valet may solve this. Or they can park on Cottage place and walk two blocks, just like you would do in the city. Come on people…..walk a little, or spend millions and millions of dollars on an ugly garage?
Back in 2015, a non-binding referendum for a garage on Hudson Street was voted 2-1 in favor for building a garage by voters. So why can’t the Village Council move forward on this? Voigt conveniently fails to mention that in 2016 there were TWO referendums that reversed this, one of which was binding. And he conveniently fails to mention that the 2015 referendum was flawed because Aronsohn and company gave false information to the voters who thought they were just voting for “more parking.” Furthermore, Voigt neglects to mention that he signed the two VOTE NO TO THE GARAGE petitions, he collected signatures himself for these, he solicited people to sign, he made a video encouraging people to sign, and his wife and daughter signed.
In early February, a subcommittee was formed to figure out how best to move forward in building the garage. The mayor and one other council member volunteered quickly for the committee, preventing other council members from serving. Due to public meeting laws, no more than two council members can be present at any one time on official business. The Mayor said on October 4 at the Village Counci meeting that no such subcommittee was ever formed, she is therefore obviously not on it, and other members of the council all agreed publicly at the meeting that they are not on it and it does not exist. Voigt was conveniently (and inexplicably) not in attendance at the meeting on October 4. I believe the mayor needs to be taken off the garage subcommittee and replaced by a council member who wants the garage built. Why she is on it, is a mystery to me. She has never come out publicly in support of the Hudson Street garage. The Mayor cannot be taken off a subcommittee that exists only in the fantasy corners of Voigt’s corrupted brain. Furthermore, the Mayor did in fact publicly support the Hudson Street garage, voting in favor of it while stating that it needed to be smaller. Another FACT that Voigt gets wrong.
Information coming out of the garage sub-committee has been virtually non-existent. Even as a council person, I often first hear about the Hudson Street garage at public meetings. There is no garage subcommittee. Got it Jeff? It does not exist.
The public has a right to know about such issues as building a garage. It is their money that will be spent. The public has a right to know that Councilman Voigt spews lies with every breath he exhales.
Jeff Voigt
Ridgewood, Sept. 24
The writer is a soon-to-be-former Ridgewood councilman.
