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New Fuel Tanks Going In at the Ridgewood Public Works facility on Chestnut Street

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photo courtesy of Village Manager Keith Kazmark

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, according to Village Manager Keith Kazmark ,”fuel tank replacement project at our Public Works facility on Chestnut Street is progressing well. The former tanks lived their useful life of approximately 30 years and the new tanks should be installed in the next few weeks”.

Kazmark also said,  “This will be followed by a similar removal project in the parking lot at the corner of N. Walnut Street and Franklin Avenue (next to Town Garage, which is also being remediated by the prior property owner). These long lingering environmental projects are finally being addressed in the Village.”

Continue reading New Fuel Tanks Going In at the Ridgewood Public Works facility on Chestnut Street

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BREAKING: Ridgewood taxpayers kept in the dark – Officials held info about purchase of Town Garage property secret for months

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Purchase of the former Town Garage property by the Village of Ridgewood was announced publicly for the first time on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 (coincidentally, the same day news of the Village’s December 2022 legal petition to condemn the property was posted on The Ridgewood Blog).

Continue reading BREAKING: Ridgewood taxpayers kept in the dark – Officials held info about purchase of Town Garage property secret for months

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Reader says the Town garage ,Amazing that the town has avoided in dealing with this dangerous junkyard

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Reader says I drive past the Town Garage name is so ironic , has its own weed museum.On the left side of property where the white cinderblock wall already collapsed onto the employee parking spaces i think its referred to as the chestnut parking lot.Amazing that the town has avoided in dealing with this dangerous junkyard.UTILITY and town trucks often stage operations there and that misuse supports the use of that property in its abandoned condition.A joke ? Far from it when seen by a visitors or customers eye.

Ridgewood Town Garage employee parking retaining wall hazard

Town Garage Ridgewood

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Let’s buy the Town Garage for parking in Ridgewood

Town Garage Ridgewood
July 15,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, When will the Council apply Eminent Domain to buy the long-abandoned Town Garage site on Franklin Avenue?

This, in conjunction with other small fixes, such as repaving and reconfiguring the existing Hudson Street parking lot, which was never designed properly, would (at far lower cost than building a parking garage) add plenty of spaces downtown, tucked into small areas here and there. We must not build an $8+-million edifice at Hudson and Broad (and we know how it goes with change orders, etc.) that would require a huge bond and endless expensive maintenance and potentially serve as a hangout for kids at best or a site of drug dealing or other crime at worst while casting a hideous shadow (literal and figurative) over that small, cozy corner. The entire central business district is a historic neighborhood–this would wreck it.

Nothing I have read or could read from any so-called expert will convince me that adding significant numbers of cars to that corner would be anything but a disaster in traffic and injury.

The garage was always a boondoggle to help the developers. Are we going to allow Aronsohn, Pucciarelli, Hauck, and Pfund to continue to manipulate us to this extent?

The referendum to quash the garage was specific to that design–yes, technically and legally. However, many, many people who voted NO were voting NO GARAGE even if that’s not what it said on the ballot.

Council, please buy Town Garage and let’s see how it goes before putting up a monstrosity and white elephant that nobody wants. Please!!

Anybody agree? Tell the council you want Town Garage bought for parking. If the town doesn’t buy it, don’t you think a developer will? Just what we need is more apartments there. We can then change the name of Franklin Avenue to Death Row.

It’s not too late, but it’s getting there. Speak out!

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Rockland lawyer involved with the Town Garage gets prison for lying to investigators

Town Garage Ridgewood

February 18,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Reader pointed out that the owner, Ridgewood 120, LLC , the owner of the “Town Garage ” is either owned or represented by a Burton Dorfman, ESQ. Coincidentally, he was in the new four days ago.

Rockland lawyer Burton Dorfman gets prison for lying to investigators

Steve Lieberman , slieberm@lohud.comPublished 2:58 p.m. ET Feb. 13, 2017 | Updated 5:04 p.m. ET Feb. 13, 2017

Federal judge sentences Rockland attorney Burton Dorfman to six months in prison

A Rockland attorney was sentenced Monday to six months in federal prison for lying to federal Labor Department investigators looking into accusations he stole money from a profit-sharing plan at his former law firm.

Burton Dorfman, once a prominent development and investment lawyer, also must repay the fund $212.429, pay a $25,000 fine and $100 court fee under the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Cathy Seibel at the White Plains federal courthouse.

https://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2017/02/13/burton-dorfman-lawyer-sentenced/97851046/

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Time to Clean Up the Town Garage in Ridgewood

Town Garage Ridgewood
September 1,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, the residents in Ridgewood reject the idea the town is run by an”anti-development majority opinion”. The objection most have with the proposed development projects is that they do little to help improve the central business district and do almost nothing to address some of the current problems . A typical example is the newly misguided proposal of destroying Van Neste park . The simple fact is that it will like most of the current proposals that will do nothing to fix the town garage property and issues dating back to 2007.

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Readers have previously stated the, “Previous councils also spent over $1.0 million on “environmental studies” with funds raised from the previous Village garage bonding. They were looking to remediate the land on a old gas station site and the site of the old Town Garage. What happened to those studies????”

In 2007 , the Town Garage has a checked past and was featured in a series of articles on the Ridgewood blog ,”The current hot discussion topic among those who monitor Village Hall happenings is how an out of town firm was able purchase the Town Garage property from right out under the noses of Village Council members. Village ownership of the subject property (see posted photo) is seen as key to the successful construction of a municipal parking garage.” https://theridgewoodblog.net/the-town-garage-120-franklin-avenue-the-eye-of-the-storm/

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More Recently the Town Garage was featured prominently in the parking lot discussion for the central business district in Ridgewood .” the Town Garage site and the village owned property in that area.  The DEP declared it a remediation site 10 years ago.  Nothing has been done and their is an underground water stream running through the property that is compromised by seepage from the hydraulic and diesel fuel tanks still buried there,  The village spent 35,000 dollars to identify what needed to be done several years ago and I have not heard a thing until last weeks meeting at the very end where the council discussed briefly the abandoned property ordinance, eminent domain and the fact that there is a toxic flume at the site which is adding to the contamination and needs monitoring so as to minimize the effect on the water and I believe wells were mentioned.  I have more information which I will forward to you.  Saw in old minutes where Keith Killion and Pat Mancuso saw the need to clean the site and put a garage there.  It is so much more centrally located and would be used by employees, shoppers ,diners as well as commuters more readily than HUdson Street.”
https://theridgewoodblog.net/town-garage-site-in-ridgewood-and-the-village-owned-property-in-that-area-still-a-dep-declared-it-a-remediation-site/

The fact remains the Town Garage property must be cleaned up and made safe . It is one of many properties down town that need major rehabilitation . A rehabilitation in keeping with and consistent with the over all small town feel of the Village of Ridgewood .
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Long-vacant “Town Garage” back on in the news again

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As previously reported in reader commentary  : Urbanization of Downtown Ridgewood is coming

Massive development set to take place in the Central Business District

https://theridgewoodblog.net/reader-urbanization-of-downtown-ridgewood-is-coming/

 

Long-vacant “Town Garage” back on in the news again

THURSDAY JULY 26, 2012, 1:49 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Village Council members are expected next month to resurrect a discussion initiated by the Ridgewood Planning Board, which has asked the governing body to review the stipulations and intentions of the North Walnut Street Redevelopment Area and Redevelopment Plan.

The Village Council will reopen discussions next month on what to do with the Town Garage property.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/163887616_Long-vacant_lot_in_Ridgewood_is_back_on_table_for_discussion.html

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The Town Garage, 120 Franklin Avenue; the eye of the storm . . .

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The current hot discussion topic among those who monitor Village Hall happenings is how an out of town firm was able purchase the Town Garage property from right out under the noses of Village Council members. Village ownership of the subject property (see posted photo) is seen as key to the successful construction of a municipal parking garage.

Reportedly, Village officials had offered previous owner Richard Agnello more than the $1.265 million sale price. However, it is being reported that Mr. Agnello refused to sell until the Village found a suitable location nearby for him to relocate his motor vehicle repair facility.

So the fly would like to know: 1) How was the Wells partnership able to buy the property for less than what Village officials had offered Mr. Agnello? 2) Will Mr. Agnello be closing up shop, or has the Wells partnership found a location for him to move his operation to? And, 3) What prompted the Wells partnership to purchase a piece of property destined for involvement in eminent domain proceedings?