...Potential for a Major Winter Storm Monday night into
Wednesday...
...WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM LATE MONDAY NIGHT
THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING...
* Locations...Northeastern New Jersey, Orange, Putnam, Rockland,
Northern Westchester, Northern Fairfield, and Northern New
Haven counties.
* Hazard Types...Heavy Snow.
* Snow Accumulations...12 to 18 inches.
* Timing...Late Monday night through Tuesday evening.
* Impacts...Hazardous travel and potential for power outages.
* Winds...Northeast 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph.
* Temperatures...In the mid 20s.
* Visibilities...One quarter mile or less at times.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A Winter Storm Watch means there is a potential for significant
snow...sleet...or ice accumulations that may impact travel.
Continue to monitor the latest forecasts.
Ridgewood NJ, is it time for the Mayor and Village Council to step up and support Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi’s legislation , bill (A4666) which imposes a moratorium on all affordable housing litigation until the end of the year.
Please get your local Mayors and Councils to support these bills and call your legislators to co-sponsor them.
“The problem with this particular issue is that if people wait too long, there’s no way to reverse it,” said Schepisi. “I don’t think people know how critical of a timing issue this is for so many of the residents we represent and the municipalities we represent.”
As towns near the end of their court-granted immunity from builders’ remedy lawsuits, many are beginning to settle their affordable housing obligations.
“Municipalities, their mayors and councils, are feeling tremendous pressure to enter into settlement agreements which may not benefit their communities in any sort of fashion because they literally feel as though they have a gun to their heads,” Schepisi said.
Schepisi proposes putting the brakes on litigation while Legislature addresses affordable housing crisis. https://theridgewoodblog.net/schepisi-proposes-putting-the-brakes-on-litigation-while-legislature-addresses-affordable-housing-crisis/
Trenton, N.J. – New Jersey municipalities could get relief from building more than 200,000 low income housing units and 1,000,000 total new housing units under a bill introduced by Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi on Tuesday. The bill (A4666) imposes a moratorium on all affordable housing litigation until the end of the year.
“If we wait any longer the transformative impact on our communities will not be reversible,” said Schepisi (R-Bergen). “Now is the time for the Legislature to act.”
Municipalities have spent millions of taxpayer dollars over the years fighting affordable housing mandates in court. After a January NJ Supreme Court ruling forced towns to consider past housing needs for the first time, municipalities statewide are struggling to compensate. The far-reaching mandate increases low-income housing need by 142 percent while forcing municipalities to permit building that would accommodate a phantom 30 percent population increase.
“The court’s social engineering will devastate all 23 municipalities I represent and suburban municipalities throughout the entire state,” said Schepisi. “The legislature needs to stop ignoring affordable housing and instead should immediately act to fix this problem in a responsible manner. While we focus our energies to vote on the State bird and State butterfly our communities are being turned into mini Brooklyns. We cannot let the court legislate what is best for individual communities. This isn’t temporary; this is forever. I am circulating a resolution to every Mayor and Council in the State seeking their support for an immediate legislative solution.”
Schepisi also introduced a companion bill (A-4667) creating a short term commission that will study prior court decisions, the effectiveness of past affordable housing practices, and analyze projected population increases and corresponding housing need. The commission will hold public hearings and is required to publish a report of its findings at the end of the year.
The January court mandate would unnecessarily increase housing supply by as much as 30 percent in the next 9 years anticipating a population growth of 2.73 million. If built, the number of new housing units in New Jersey would exceed housing numbers for the entire city of Manhattan. These projections would cost New Jersey taxpayers over $11.75 billion more in education alone. On the flip side, Rutger’s economists project a population increase of only .3 percent, or 219,000 people, per year until 2026.
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood YMCA will host a free presentation by Emma Galland, author of nutritional guide “Feeding Success”, on Wednesday, March 15 at 5:30pm. All are invited to attend.
Described as the “ultimate guide for busy professionals and business travelers who want to build success on a healthy foundation”, “Feeding Success” is a nutrition and lifestyle guide to help busy professionals and travelers increase their energy and maximize their potential.
The presentation will focus on motivation, inspiration, and answers to audience questions regarding healthy eating.
The Ridgewood YMCA is located at 112 Oak Street in Ridgewood, New Jersey. For further information, please visit www.ridgewoodymca.org or call 201.444.5600 x500.
I love books. I can’t leave a bookstore without at least one. But I also have a tendency to buy books and not actually read them. Somewhere along the way reading fell by the wayside in favor of other forms of entertainment. To get back on track, I made some simple changes that have helped me with my reading habits thus far—no speed reading necessary.
I Made My Environment More Reading Friendly
I Carry My Books With Me Wherever I Go
I Give Up on Books I’m Not Enjoying
I Started Reading Three—and Only Three—Books at a Time
Ridgewood NJ,A reported motor vehicle crash with injuries at the intersection of North Walnut Street and Robinson Lane, Ridgewood resulted in the dispatch of selected Ridgewood PD, FD, and EMS units on Friday morning, 03/10. The female driver of a grey colored 4-door Infiniti sedan complained of chest pain due to air bag deployment, but refused transport to a local hospital. One (1) vehicle was towed from the scene, the other vehicle (a Honda Civic) was driven away on its own power. Ridgewood PD issued one (1) summons in connection with the crash.
Ridgewood NJ, We have been told that Ridgewood Water has the capacity to pump all the water we need but it is the storage of this water that presents the problem. When new tanks were built on the west side this did increase capacity a bit but plans to build larger tank in other towns, which are being severed by Ridgewood Water, were met with resistance .
Ridgewood resident are now facing new water restrictions by the enacting of a new ordinance in next few months. Ridgewood Water has stated that this is a public safety issue but according to the Ridgewood News (3/10/2017) the other towns serve by Ridgewood Water will not have to comply. So it is only a public safety for Ridgewood and not the other towns one of which is one of the biggest users of water last year and fought for tanks not to be built in their town. (see details https://theridgewoodblog.net/ridgewood-deputy-mayor-sedon-advances-new-hudson-street-garage-plan-in-quiet-village-council-meeting/ )
For those that say they do not want to give up the quality of Ridgewood water we would suspect that most of them drink bottled water instead of tap water. They should also know that during peak periods Ridgewood Water buys water From Hawthorne and Suez Water. In the past when restriction have been put in place a price increase follows. The explanation that has been give for this increase is that they didn’t sell enough water.
A reader commented , “I believe in conservation when it is fare and equitable. I believe when a utility cannot meet the demands of it costumers it should expand, if it cannot expand then it is time to sell to another utility that can meet its customers demand.”
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Ave is closed to westbound traffic at Paramus Road. Vehicles entering Ridgewood from Paramus should use Midland Ave or Linwood Ave. Due to a utility emergency the road may be closed up to 48 hours.
Ridgewood NJ, Members of Ridgewood FD Engine Company #35 assisted a Cedar Avenue, Ridgewood resident whose dog accidentally became locked inside of a 4-door Buick sedan on Friday morning, 03/10. The vehicle was undamaged during the rescue process and the dog was happy to see the waiting firefighters.
Statement of Cardinal Tobin on St. Patrick’s Day Dispensation
February 23, 2017
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This year, the celebration of the Feast of St. Patrick — March 17, 2017 — falls on the Friday of the Second Week of Lent.
After due consideration of a number of requests, I dispense the people of the Archdiocese of Newark from the obligation to abstain from meat on Friday, March 17, 2017.
I remind Catholics who avail themselves of this dispensation that the Church highly encourages you to substitute some other act of penance, such as special prayer, acts of piety or works of charity on March 17th.
Please share this information with all in your parish and school communities. I also encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to remind your communities of the Lenten Regulations, a copy of which is attached.
Ridgewood NJ, The adult female driver of a white colored 4-door sedan was taken into custody by Ridgewood PD officers when she failed a field sobriety test, which was administered after her vehicle was hit by a freight train shortly before 1:00 AM on Friday, 03/10. The incident occurred near the intersection of Goffle Road and Lake Street. The driver had fled the crash scene on foot and was apprehended a short distance away by Hawthorne PD. There were no other occupants in the vehicle when it was hit and the driver was uninjured. The vehicle was removed from the scene by a hydraulic lift tow truck. The freight train was not damaged.
Ho Ho Ho , don’t worry folks. Yes, taxes will go up up up because of the garage, but if you buy thousands of dollars of items in the central business district , you will get a discount on your taxes. What $10. Remember, Hache said they are working on a plan to offer rewards for shopping in business district ; you get a property tax discount. My foot !
Ridgewood will lose its distinction of being charming and villagey and quaint. And the garage will need a big police presence. Very muggable at night in the dark. Police cost money ; raised taxes, big time.
And it is a horrible location. That intersection now is the pits to drive through.
Yes, how will the garage be paid for? Raised pricing on parking? I won’t pay more to park and spend in the CBD. Even with the promised discount on my taxes.
They will tell us that the garage will pay for itself, with use? I ain’t usin it. Even in the daylight, it is a trap for muggers.
Huge , no matter what size and ugly for charmin historical Ridgewood.
Ridgewood NJ, In the business and office districts, snow shall be removed from the sidewalks concurrently with its fall. To assure compliance with this section, more than one clearing may be required to keep the sidewalks as free of snow as is practical. Snowfalls commencing after 6:00 p.m., will be cleared by no later than 9:00 a.m. the following morning, Sundays and holidays included. For snow occurring Monday through Saturday, during business hours, sidewalks shall be cleared to a five-foot minimum width to provide access from the storefront to the curb, between meters, if meters are installed. After 6:00 p.m. and on Sundays and holidays, sidewalks will be completely cleared into the street.
Also remember to remove all ice and snow from your vehicle before driving, especially from the hood, windows and roof. It’s the law in New Jersey! Motorists who fail to do so face fines of $25 to $75 for each offense, regardless of whether the ice and snow is dislodged from the vehicle. If flying ice or snow causes property damage or injury to others, motorists face fines of $200 to $1,000 for each offense. There are approximately 500 fatalities in the United States per year due to icy road conditions.
If you have a fire hydrant in front of your house, help yourself and help your neighbors by keeping it clear of snow. Ridgewood Police and Fire Departments urge resident to clear a path around the hydrant of 3 feet by 3 feet
...SNOW THROUGH MID AFTERNOON...
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 2 PM EST THIS
AFTERNOON...
* Locations...New York City Metro, Northeast New Jersey, Lower
Hudson Valley, Nassau and Western Suffolk Counties on Long
Island, and Southern Connecticut west of New London County.
* Hazard Types...Snow.
* Accumulations...Snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches.
* Timing...Snow will develop from north to south this morning and
become heaviest during the morning commute. Across Long Island,
the heaviest snow may hold off toward the end of the commute.
* Impacts...Hazardous/slippery travel due to snow accumulations.
* Temperatures...Around freezing.
* Visibilities...One quarter to one half mile at times.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A Winter Weather Advisory means that periods of snow...sleet...or
freezing rain will cause travel difficulties. Be prepared for
slippery roads and limited visibilities...and use caution while
driving.
Ridgewood NJ, NJ TRANSIT operations, customer service and police personnel are taking steps to minimize delays, and ensure service reliability and safety due to the anticipated winter storm. All customers are strongly advised to check njtransit.com before traveling for up-to-the-minute service information before starting their trip.
Snow is expected to arrive in the early morning hours of Friday, March 10, and the status of the system may change as the storm progresses. NJ TRANSIT will continue to monitor the weather conditions and impacts to the morning rush hour will be determined during the next several hours. Customers should continue to check our web site at www.njtransit.com where they can sign up for service alerts as well as monitor social media channels and broadcast, web, and print media for additional updates.
For the latest travel information, customers should visit njtransit.com, access NJ TRANSIT’s Twitter feed at @NJTRANSIT or listen to broadcast traffic reports. Additionally, NJ TRANSIT will provide the most current service information via the My Transit alert system (www.njtransit.com/mytransit), which delivers travel advisories for your specific trip to your phone. Service information is also available by calling (973) 275-5555.
Systemwide Cross-Honoring in Effect: To give customers additional travel options during expected winter weather conditions, NJ TRANSIT will offer full systemwide cross-honoring for the entire service day on Friday, March 10, enabling customers to use their ticket or pass on an alternate travel mode—rail, bus or light rail. For example, customers who normally take the bus from Rutherford to the Port Authority Bus Terminal may use their bus pass or ticket on the train from Rutherford to New York Penn Station. Similarly, customers who normally take the bus between Atlantic City and Lindenwold may use the Atlantic City Rail Line instead at no additional charge.
NJ TRANSIT will closely monitor the crowds at New York Penn Station, Hoboken Terminal and the Port Authority Bus Terminal and make adjustments to service as necessary.
The Corporation is preparing to minimize disruptions and delays to the extent possible, particularly in light of the potential snow that may impact portions of the area. Rail and light rail crews and equipment are on standby to quickly respond to downed trees, power outages or other issues that may arise. In addition, NJ TRANSIT will be positioning locomotives at strategic locations across the rail system to rapidly respond in the event of a disabled train.
Customers are advised of the following:
Systemwide: NJ TRANSIT plans to operate a regular weekday schedule on Friday, March 10. Depending on the impact of the storm, it may be necessary for NJ TRANSIT to modify transit service as conditions change.
Bus Service: While every effort will be made to continue operating bus service throughout the state, customers may experience delays or detours on their routes in the event of extreme winter weather conditions. Customers are advised to plan accordingly and anticipate disruptions to bus service.
Travel Advice:
For the latest travel information, visit njtransit.com or access our Twitter feed at @NJTRANSIT prior to starting your trip. In the event of delays or service adjustments, NJ TRANSIT will provide the most current service information via the My Transit alert system, which delivers travel advisories for your specific trip to your cell phone. (If you are not yet a My Transit subscriber, we encourage you to sign up at www.njtransit.com/mytransit) Service information is also available by calling (973) 275-5555 or from broadcast traffic reports.
Listen closely to public address announcements at stations for late-breaking service information.
Build additional travel time into your trip to a station, terminal or bus stop.
Stairs, flooring and platforms can be slippery, so please use caution when walking along wet surfaces or any outdoor surface exposed to the weather. Use extra care when boarding or exiting buses and trains.
Report slippery or unsafe conditions to bus operators, train crews or NJ TRANSIT staff.
If you park, ensure your car is stocked with a snow brush and ice scraper so you can clear your car upon returning to the lot.
NJ TRANSIT is prepared to handle the impending winter weather:
Snow plows and salt spreaders are ready for service and snow-removal contracts are in place with outside vendors.
NJ TRANSIT is well-stocked snow-melting supplies, and hundreds of shovels and snow blowers.
NJ TRANSIT has performed maintenance and testing on its two rail-mounted jet snow blowers in the event they are needed to help clear train tracks of snow and ice, particularly in rail yards.
Rail switches, switch heaters and overhead wires were inspected as part of NJ TRANSIT’s preventative maintenance program.
Onboard heating systems, thermostats, weather stripping and electronic components have been inspected on NJ TRANSIT railcars, light rail cars and locomotives.
Bus maintenance personnel have inspected and performed necessary maintenance on a fleet of more than 2,200 buses – from the heating and airbrake systems, to the engine fluids, tires, windshield wipers and doors.
Newark, NJ—A short video that explains New Jersey’s “last in, first out” (LIFO) teacher layoff law was released on social media today by Partnership for Educational Justice (PEJ), the nonprofit supporting six Newark parents and their pro bono legal team in a legal challenge to the constitutionality of this statute. In the lawsuit filed on November 1, 2016, the parents assert that New Jersey’s LIFO law violates students’ right to an education by unjustly requiring school districts to ignore teacher quality and retain ineffective teachers while laying off effective teachers, despite substantial research establishing that teacher quality is the most important in-school factor affecting student learning.
The video supports the plaintiff parents in their fight to end an illogical law that puts their children at risk of losing the thorough and efficient education guaranteed to them by the state constitution. By explaining the LIFO policy mandated by this law, the video also informs other New Jersey parents about the negative impact of LIFO and encourages them to follow the progress of the lawsuit. The video appears on PEJ’s website and will also be promoted on PEJ’s social media channels – Youtube and Facebook – as well as select local news platforms. The full script of the video is included at the end of this press release.
State funding for local school districts in the 2017-18 school year remains somewhat uncertain after Governor Christie’s budget address last week. But, in the 2017-18 state aid summary budget released by the State Education Department last Thursday, district allocations are projected to be flat with current funding rates. In Newark, this will result in a $60 million deficit for the public schools. Under the LIFO law, this financial situation forces the district to make a difficult decision: either lay off dozens or hundreds of teachers, many of whom are effective; or, retain ineffective teachers and make cuts to other educational expenditures. Newark Public Schools employ more than half of the state’s ineffective teachers, according to the most recent data released by the state education department. Other school districts around New Jersey are also facing significant funding deficits.
“Most parents I know have no idea about this law and how it hurts our kids,” said Wendy Soto, mother of two Newark Public School students and plaintiff in HG v. Harrington, the parent-led lawsuit challenging the state’s teacher layoff statute. “As a mother, I’m outraged that our children will be forced into classrooms with ineffective teachers while effective teachers are let go. I hope parents pay attention and join the fight to keep our best teachers in schools, especially with budget cuts on the horizon.”
“Especially as districts face significant funding deficits, it’s important that public school parents understand how the current teacher layoff law violates students’ right to a quality education,” said Ralia Polechronis, Executive Director of Partnership for Educational Justice. “Research is clear that teachers are the most critical in-school factor affecting student learning. Because of New Jersey’s LIFO law, districts like Newark, with a significant number of ineffective teachers, are forced to retain these ineffective teachers, and either lay off their more qualified colleagues or cut important educational programming. In the current funding climate, it’s more important than ever that New Jersey’s unconstitutional teacher layoff law is repealed.”
The video released by PEJ today highlights academic research showing that students with high-quality, effective teachers are more likely to graduate from high school, attend college, have higher paying jobs, and higher lifetime earnings than their peers who have ineffective teachers, even for just one year.
Newark ranked in the bottom third of twenty-five urban school districts investigated in a report released last year by the Fordham Institute looking into how difficult it is for ineffective veteran teachers to be removed. Newark Public Schools received only three out of a possible ten points awarded for degree of difficulty removing a veteran teacher who has been identified as ineffective, with ten indicating that it is easy to remove an ineffective teacher and zero indicating that it is very difficult.
To better understand the effect that LIFO layoffs would have on Newark’s overall teacher quality, Newark Public Schools ran the numbers in 2014 on a hypothetical teacher layoff scenario. Under the quality-blind LIFO layoff mandate, 85 percent of the teachers laid off would have been rated effective or highly effective, and only 4 percent of the teachers laid off would have been rated ineffective. Under a performance-based system, only 35 percent of teachers laid off would have been rated effective and no teachers rated highly effective would lose their jobs.
Since at least 2012, the Newark Public School district has avoided laying off effective teachers by paying millions of dollars per year to cover the salaries of ineffective – but more senior – teachers even when no school would agree to their placement in the school. This costly work-around, which cost the district $10 million dollars in 2016-17, has diverted valuable resources from educational programming and other expenses that could improve the education of Newark students.
