Ridgewood NJ, to say last nights meeting was a disappointment is an under statement .
1. During the discussion about Ordinance 3523 to Establish Guidelines for Audio/Video Recording of Public Meetings – which was penned by Albert Pucciarelli – the subject of body cameras came up. Councilwoman Hauck described these cameras as “surreptitious,” which for her information means “kept secret.” Having stated this, she then went on to say that she has seen what a “body camera looks like and it looked like actually a terrorist with an explosive chest.” Ummmm….. Councilwoman Hauck, how can something be at the same time secretive and also look like a bomb strapped on the chest? Her ridiculous characterization elicited laughter from the audience, so much so that Mayor Aronsohn had to reprimand the public to quiet down. Seems that laughter is not considered civil.
2. Real Estate developer John Saraceno who stands to make a major bundle on all the development in the CBD, went to the microphone and stated that he is a father of school children and yadayada and that he is “a resident first and a developer second.” Yep, that rings really true.
3. Rurik Halaby once again went on about how the Village of Ridgewood is in a steady decline, same tired and untrue song. Ummm….Rurik….how can the village be in such a terrible decline if there are supposedly no parking places due to all the consumers who pour into town to shop and dine? Really? We need parking so desperately because there is so much traffic in town, but the town is in decline. Hmmm, doesn’t really add up Mr. H.
4. The impact studies were described with power points and charts. The take away is that none of these developments will have any impact on the schools, the water usage, the sewers, the fire department, the police department, the ambulance corps, etc. Just amazing, isn’t it?! Plop these great big buildings down all over town, fill them with people, and no one will even notice. Wow. What reality is this we are living in?
5. Residents were not allowed to ask any questions of the developers, but reportedly will be able to do so on March 23.
