file photo by Boyd Loving
On this Memorial Day the staff of the Ridgewood blog remembers those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Thanks for all your efforts to keep the US safe !
Memorial Day Thank You from the Ridgewood blog
Tag: the Ridgewood blog
The Ridgewood Blog Endorses Jeff Voigt, Bernie Walsh, and Ramon Hache for Village of Ridgewood Council.
May 2,2016
PJ Blogger and the Staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood blog wholeheartedly endorses Jeff Voigt, Bernie Walsh, and Ramon Hache for Village of Ridgewood Council in the May 10th, 2016 elections.
The key word is “Village” in Village of Ridgewood .Technically 25,352 residents makes Ridgewood a bit larger than a Village ,but its the state of mind that is far more important. There is a uniqueness to Ridgewood that all three candidates recognize and the current council majority clearly does not. Ridgewood affords everyone an opportunity to find their own level , to contribute and to excel.
The Village of Ridgewood is chartered under the Faulkner Act offers four basic plans (mayor–council, council–manager, small municipality, and mayor–council–administrator) and two procedures by which the voters of a municipality can adopt one of these plans. The Act provides many choices for communities with a preference for a strong executive and professional management of municipal affairs.
Originally enacted in 1950, the Faulkner Act provided for three forms of government: mayor–council, council–manager, and small municipality. Within each form, letter codes designated predefined aspects of each form and its individual arrangement of options, such as partisan or nonpartisan elections, concurrent or staggered terms, all at large or a combination of ward and at large seats.
Ridgewood until recently has always been nonpartisan town with nonpartisan elections, whatever your ideology it was left at the train station before commuting home each evening.
The town operated basically in a “bubble” with great community spirit , a “can do” attitude and very high standards and expectations for what was required of its citizens . Neighbors were expected and did step up helping out, investing ,donating and doing what was necessary to preserve the special character of the Village . Everyone contributed in their own way and was glad to do it.
Citizen’s Park was bought by neighbors and donated to the Village for neighbors, Some donated property or trusts , like Pease Library or the Lester Stable. While others who were not so blessed financially would give their time coaching teams , hiring teenagers for summer jobs or just doing what ever they could and because so many contributed so much ,it was like a raising tide ,it lifted all boats.
Don’t get me wrong it was far from perfect and while change came slowly ,change occurred positively impacting everyone. We still see this today with so many opportunities for so many ; Ridgewood Sports , the Tree lighting , 4th of July celebrations, Graydon Pool , Vets Field , Super Science Saturday, Ridgewood Schools, Special needs programs, charitable giving , vibrant churches , girl scouts, boy scouts and on and on . Even today residents lead by a special needs adult Doug are raising money to rebuild La Bella Pizza after it was destroyed by a recent electrical fire . Many Village children continue to excel beyond anyone’s wildest dreams like Sammy Cermack, former Ridgewood star, drafted in first-ever professional women’s lacrosse league , long distance swimmer Charlotte Samuels or Broadway Trailblazer Ali Stroker just to name a very few . They are all products of that very unique Village of Ridgewood way of life.
Somehow around the time of the Village Hall renovation fiasco things seem to change. Doubt was cast and the Village began to change for the worse. Formerly great schools where and we quote a BOE member “glad to beat Newark” , mediocrity began to spread . The attitude became more of taking than giving ,of cronies and profiteers, special interests and special issues.The latest council majority is nothing but a product of the lowest base greedy attitudes that so typify the rest of New Jersey and their partisan supporters . It didn’t start with three but they are the product of the precipitous decline in the quality of life in the village.
Any doubt as to the decline of the Village ,take one look at the pledge being asked of the candidates to sign supporting various development in the central business district. Signed by three of the candidates Weitz, Willett and Brooks making them whole unqualified to lead Ridgewood anywhere but down the drain. The same three candidates received dubious endorsements by the Mayor and his flunkies .
Deal making against the better interest of the voters was just not done in Ridgewood , till Mayor Aronsohn and his machine politics moved into town , The fact is most people move to Ridgewood to get away from that type of back door dealing.
And most people in town realize their very large property investment ,their home is now in jeopardy of declining in value along with the rest of the town.
As a reminder the Ridgewood blog warned residents as to the dangers of Pucciarelli , Hauck and Aronsohn taking over the council. We warned of over development, Valley’s arrogant expansion plans and turf fields in every corner ,yet 66% of Ridgewood voters put their property values in danger by voting in this disastrous trio.
So here we are another election but this time the whole town is at each other throats ,name calling and threats are at a fever pitch . Three sitting council members are not even running for reelection and the mayor as predicted by this blog is hot footing it out of town.
Folks its time to take out the trash . Vote for Jeff Voigt, Bernie Walsh, and Ramon Hache all three understand the uniqueness the Village of Ridgewood and are honored to be part of it. They understand the complex issues the Village faces , the mess that needs to be cleaned up and the trust that needs to be rebuilt.
While we know Bernie for some time , we had the pleasure of meeting Jeff and Ramon for the first time and were very pleased to see they understood the concept of Village of Ridgewood and were both grateful to have an opportunity to represent the Village and its distinctive way of life .
Understanding the Village was key to our endorsement and in the words of Edward I Koch former mayor of NYC, ”If you agree with me on 9 out of 12 issues, vote for me. If you agree with me on 12 out of 12 issues, see a psychiatrist.” we could not agree more . We were looking for a diversity of opinions that reflected the values of the community at large and in Jeff Voigt, Bernie Walsh, and Ramon Hache we are certainly we found it.
The Ridgewood blog we will be livestreaming the meeting starting at 7:30pm
file photo by Boyd Loving
Dear Friends,
After the September 16th Village Council meeting, everyone I spoke with said, “Well, it’s a done deal with the High Density Housing.” But then September 30th proved us different.
The point is, as Rocky Balboa once said, “It ain’t ’til it’s over.” To add to that: It’s only over if we don’t show up.
Tonight is probably the most important Village Council meeting in the history of Ridgewood. It is the night when it’s decided whether we live in a Village or a City.
No one can foresee the future, but one thing is for sure: coming tonight will send a strong message – not only to this outgoing Village Council majority, but also as a mandate to those who are running for election. Perhaps even more important is that we can say that we showed up when our Village needed us the most and did what we could to stop this madness.
Lastly, if it’s absolutely impossible for you to come, The link to the broadcast can be found here: https://livestream.com/accounts/18208820/events/4985052
(NOTE: this is an unofficial broadcast and can ONLY be viewed at the above link.)
Please share this link and forward this note to as many residents as you can.
Thank you for helping protect our most wonderful village. Hope to see you tonight.
Sincerely,
Dana
First Threats Now Physical Assaults Good Thing the Ridgewood has Far Higher Standards
file photo by Boyd Loving of Council Majority
Readers not happy with council response to unacceptable attacks of residents :
Seriously, someone argues it is ok to knock a camera out of a person’s hands? Yes, no one should shove a camera in someone else’s face. But that is not what happened here. (And if it did, someone should have called the Police earlier.) Condoning and urging violence between Villagers cannot be viewed simply as the ravings of a self-styled curmudgeon. It is what we would expect to hear from a fascist who seeks to undermine democracy. Sadly, the comment personifies the mire into which we have been led by members of our Council.
This just in from Big Al – clearly he is running on defense. We know that Albert hates Dana, we heard him threaten Dana a few weeks ago, then we saw him join in a middle-school-boys’ bashing of Dana in cahoots with Aronsohn and Bob Fuhrman. Albert may claim that he does not want to outlaw taping, but he sure as hell does What he hates more than anything is that all of his nasty, inappropriate outbursts have been caught on tape by the Village cameras (and by other peoples cameras) and replayed over and over and over. It makes it impossible for him to escape the truth about himself, that his temper is unmanageable and flares up often and publicly. So read what Albert is saying here:
·If the reference in this article to an ordinance “introduced” at the January 27 Village Council meeting is referring to a draft ordinance that I circulated for comment, that ordinance does not purport to prohibit or restrict video or audio recording at Council meetings. It would require that participants at meetings that are not otherwise being recorded, such as a meeting of the Arts Council, be informed that the meeting is being recorded.
Albert Pucciarell
Reader says Delzio was standing with his foot inside the legs of Dana’s tripod. He had his face in Dana’s face. He was twisting his neck and putting his face in front of the camera lens. Dana was silently standing there with his camera, as he is entitled to do by law. He did not rise to the provocation of this aggressor at all. The only thing he did was take out his cell phone AFTER Delizio started cell-phone-taping HIM. Delzio was 100% aggressor and Dana was 100% passive, quiet, and orderly. You did not see what happened, and your wife sure as heck did not because her eyes were glued onto Jim Griffiths’ event. So your commentary is less than meaningless. You constantly criticize the blog, but you are posting based on the skewed report that your friend Gwenn gave you – and remember, GWENN STATED THAT SHE DID NOT SEE ANYTHING and that NO ONE SAW ANYTHING. Consider your source. Have some warm milk and go to bed.
UPDATES: the Ridgewood Blog Took Lead in Ted Cruz Eligibility debate
January 14 ,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , the Ridgewood blog once again is two steps ahead of the rest of the media . The Ted Cruz eligibility issue was first discussed in August 2013 on the Ridgewood blog following ,Mark Levin’s visit to Bookends for a book signing .
“Recent events are, however, very gratifying to me, as they tend to support the position I’ve had all along with respect to Cruz‘s foreign birth and resultant POTUS ineligibility. Moreover, Mark Levin’s daily response to all of this on his radio show has been an analytical train wreck, just as had his horribly oversized and nationally broadcast personal reaction to my related question to him at the Bookends booksigning event in August 2013 (which, as you know, I maintain constitutes actionable slander). Do you know?, the intellectual quality of the current analysis onCruz‘s predicament, as reflected in the news stories and opinion pieces about this issue and posted to FreeRepublic.com, and in the comments made on those stories and pieces by FR members who think the way I do, is really, really good! It has enabled me to sharpen my own thinking about the Constitutional term “natural-born citizen” in many important respects. It really is head and shoulders better than anything that was put out there about Obama during our 7-8 year national nightmare. This seems to suggest that the mainstream media embargo on this issue has finally been lifted, together with the widespread social taboo that can almost certainly be attributed to Obama’s skin color and the ridiculously large case of white man’s guilt he so clearly benefited from and continues to cultivate and exploit to this day. This is just one more signal service performed for our benefit by Candidate Trump. Cruz himself also deserves credit for not going ballistic or demagoguing the issue as Obama and his supporters did and have done so consistently (and effectively).”
Radio Talk Show Host Mark Levin Continues to Comment on interaction he had at Bookends over “natural-born Citizen.
FreeRepublic blocks Ted Cruz Eligibility Issue story re-posted from the Ridgewood blog
Mark Levin Addresses Ted Cruz Eligibility Issue posed by Ridgewood Resident at Bookends Book Signing
Mark Levin: Reader says not so fast Mark
https://theridgewoodblog.net/mark-levin-reader-says-not-so-fast-mark/
Mark Levin’s Visit to Bookends Revives old Controversy on eligibility requirements to run for or hold the office of President of the United States
the Ridgewood blog would like to wish you and your family a happy ,healthy and prosperous New Year !
for the PJ blogger and the entire staff of the Ridgewood blog
we would like to wish you and your family a happy ,healthy and prosperous New Year !
The Ridgewood Blog taking time out to say thank you for your Support and we are grateful for all the contributions
December 13,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood blog is the lone independent voice of headline news in North Jersey . While much larger competitors have
come and gone the Ridgewood blog has persevered with your help. The Ridgewood blog is a unique social experiment were readers have the ability to create and determine what news matters most to them. With your support the blog has been mindbogglingly successful and its because of reader participation that has made it so .It is a unique interaction experiment in community dialogue .
We appreciate and are grateful for all the contributions made by readers and from the suggestion of several readers would like to
extend readers an opportunity to become patrons . The patron program is open to all . For as little as $25 you can become a patron .Patrons
will be listed d on the side bar or like always chose to remain anonymous. Contributions of $250 or more receive a special gift ,which
will be sent out in January . Every little bit helps , from contributions to content.
The response to our recent email was very gratifying !
for those that wish to contribute
paypal :
[email protected]
or if you prefer checks can be sent James Foytlin PO Box 227 Ridgewood NJ 07451
The funds will be used to offset IT services which have been a bit
staggering the last couple of years .
Founders Day : the History of the Ridgewood blog
the History of the Ridgewood blog
Monday, October 26, 2009
The Ridgewood blog ( https://theridgewoodblog.blogspot.com/ ) was founded in March of 2006 by James J Foytlin aka PJ Blogger .[1] Mr.
Foytlin was born and raised in Ridgewood ,New Jersey and is a graduate of Ridgewood High School .[2] [3]
After many years living in New York City[4] Mr Foytlin returned to Ridgewood after a divorce and the tragic events of 9/11 . Once he
settled in he noticed a lack of sufficient news coverage of local events . One day a friend from Brazil[5] showed him her home town on
the internet and to Mr. Foytlin’s great surprise when he tried to reciprocate he was utterly dismayed at the absolute lack of coverage
of his home town. After all Ridgewood is only 18 miles from midtown Manhattan[6] the media capital of world and there was not a single
picture of Ridgewood to be found . How could this be? Ridgewood is a picturesque upper middle class village of around 25,000 located in
Bergen county in northern New Jersey[7] . Founded by Dutch settlers before it became an English colony[8] . The town or village as its
called is steeped in rich history and tradition .Known for a large amount of Victorian era housing , a quality school system and a family
friendly atmosphere.
Though busy getting reacquainted with his home town the fact that the Village of Ridgewood was so under represented on the internet
continued to disturb Mr. Foytlin. Mr. Foytlin had been writing news letters for his job in financial services since the mid 1990’s . The
popular flip, off beat investment strategy news letters had become email blasts with the advent of readily accessible internet.[9] By
2004 the email blasts were converted into blog format for the One Small Voice blog ( https://onesmallvoice.blogspot.com/ ). [10]
Around that time the Village of Ridgewood had finally completed it’s much anticipated and long delayed renovation of the Village hall which
has been flooded out due to Hurricane Floyd.[11] The renovation was marred by huge cost over runs and lengthy delays. In 2005 it opened
with great fan fare , was once again flooded with the very first rain . Mr. Foytlin was more shocked by the abject lack of responsibilitytaken by elected officials than the fact that the $9 million dollar renovation had to some extent been a failure . That was the breaking
point and Mr. Foytlin had had enough so he decided to give , citizen journalism a go and created the Ridgewood blog in March of 2006. [12]
The birth of PJ Blogger .By this time Blogging its seems had become quite the rage and mainstream news anchors such as Dan Rather had
questioned the validity of information from non professionals sitting around in their Pajama’s blogging.[13] Mr. Foytlin not a fan of Dan
Rather or any of the mainstream media decided to blog under the name PJ Blogger as a play on words and to plant himself firmly in the camp
of the new digital media.
Innovations by the Ridgewood blog to citizen journalism.
“The Fly” is a column on the Ridgewood blog the originates from the expression ,”I’d like to be a fly on the wall “ . The idea is that
every citizen has both a unique perspective and experience and these two factors can be used to gather news and opinions about local
issues. Originally only of handful of people in town participated but with time the Ridgewood blog can now count on 20–40 semi regular
contributors. These post are both anonymous and signed and are largely opinion as well a breaking news.[14]
The Ridgewood blog brings a free market lassie fare point of view to local issues . Mr. Foytlin aka PJ Blogger has stated that for local
issues there are only two kinds of people ;the ones who say spend what every you want because I will not be around to pay the bill and the
second group which are more focused on the ,”be careful this is my money your spending” . The Ridgewood blog is dedicated to the
interplay of there two groups.[15]
[1][12] the Ridgewood blog website https://theridgewoodblog.blogspot.com/
[2] Birth Certificate born in Valley Hospital , Ridgewood 04/09/1962
[3] Ridgewood High School Class 1980
[4] 444 East 86th street ,530 East 72nd
[5] Monica Rocha
[6] Mapquest
[7] United States 2000 Census, the village population was 24,936.
[8] https://www.americantowns.com/nj/ridgewood/organization/village-of-ridgewood
[9] Fahnestock & Co. now Oppenheimer & Co.
[10] https://onesmallvoice.blogspot.com/
[11] https://www.ridgewoodlibrary.org/localhistory/lh_vh_pease.htm
[13] https://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110005611
[14] [15] James J Foytlin
