Tag: Tony Damiano

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The Ridgewood Guild’s Annual International Film Festival , a Celebration of Cinematic Creativity and Storytelling

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photos courtesy of the Ridgewood Guild

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Westwood NJ, Every spring, film enthusiasts State wide eagerly anticipate the arrival of the Ridgewood Guild’s Annual International Film Festival (RIFF), a celebration of cinematic creativity and storytelling. This year, amidst changes brought on by the closure of Warner Theater, RIFF announced its temporary relocation to the charming town of Westwood, where the Westwood Theater at 182 Center Avenue will serve as the venue for the festival.

Continue reading The Ridgewood Guild’s Annual International Film Festival , a Celebration of Cinematic Creativity and Storytelling

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Ridgewood Gets Ready for the Holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year )

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photos courtesy of DD and MT

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood gets ready for the holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year ) . Once again, Village of Ridgewood Councilmember Lorraine Reynolds and her crew of volunteers were out early readying the planters in the Central Business District for holiday decorating by Tony Damiano and his crew.

Continue reading Ridgewood Gets Ready for the Holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year )

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Damiano Email to Ridgewood Guild Members fully Discredited

PSEG

September 20,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, This screen shot above was posted on the FB discussion to discredit this email from Tony. This shows clear contradiction in what he is claiming about Mayor agreeing to include him in the conversation or not. Readers say, “He is a habitual liar.”  Remember HPC letter? — please read this email + the screen shot posted in the original article for full picture:

Thank you Susan,

But I am confused. Your last email on Friday afternoon (sent to me only) said, “Tony, can you join me in meeting with PSEG next week.” I replied,”Absolutely.” You never called me so I called PSEG myself at noon today.

The good thing that came out of this is….,Andrew Wesley now has my cell number, and I have his. He will consult with me personally on any and all PSEG matters regarding our CBD.

Also, you and the bloggers need to stop pointing a finger at Roberta, It is on record that she mentioned this project at 2 August Council Meetings and you did not do anything about it. As u know, I do not attend all meetings. I missed both of these meetings or I would have taken action sooner.

Best………………..Tony Damiano

To make matters worse, Damiano sent the message below to Guild members. Clearly/compared to the official transcript above, he lied to his members and distorted what actually transpired. SHAMEFUL!!

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Readers Not Fond of Ridgewood’s Sore Losers

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September 20,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Reader says , “You know when Keith Killion lost by just 6 votes to that dimwit Gwenn Hauck, he exited with great grace and dignity. These three who were unelectable in any possible was are going out with absolutely no grace and no dignity. They are all so pissed off that their three replacement candidates were trounced and that their garage to save the world was voted into oblivion. Sore losers hardly describes their behavior. They should take a lesson from Keith, and other very fine council people who left office, and be classy about it.”
Definition of sore loser

:  a person who becomes very upset or angry when he or she loses a game, contest, etc.

I don’t remember Tony, Rurik, et al trashing Paul/Al/Gwenn during their tenure. Sore losers just throwing mud. And yes, Tony is petty because no one chose him to be part of ANOTHER team. If I remember correctly, he couldn’t play nice with the COC so he left to start the guild. Never thought that him as president of the guild would be a lifetime gig.

To be fair, PSEG has been a pain in the azz this summer. That said, Rurik is stirring the pot and is coming across as the latest village troll. TD is a triple sore loser with the garage being voted down, the 3 amigos no longer on the council and now, he can’t play “historian”. All very petty.

Fool us once…Let them just go away. They will never return despite them still hanging around? Chamber of Commerce etc. Sore Loserman ran and lost and they eventually went away. So will these 3. The new Council is awesome and out of the ordinary issues will be attributed to those 3….so we will overcome. They are already off to a great start repealing Pfundwood! Can we get rid of that Gyro Wall next? Tell the sidewalk Nazi he may be next after the wall fall…wasn’t he responsible for the $750,000 coin guy? People have to be held responsible. Thank you 1st amendment…

Aronsohn’s recent op ed piece in The Record and Pucciarelli’s letter to the editor in The Ridgewood News suggest that their plan is to lob hand grenades into the Knudsen administration’s agenda with the hopes of inflicting casualties of some sort. SORE LOSERS.

Clearly, he is the sorest of the sore losers. The two websites, his and Gwenn’s, are pitiful testaments to their longing for a return to power. Good riddance to bad rubbish, the both of them.

He is just an angry sore loser.He needs a hobby.

Clearly, the sore losers are now out in force trying their best to disrespect (got that Gwenn?) those who were able to successfully bring their 4 year reign of terror to an end.

What a bunch of sore losers. Where were all of you when the dirt bag mayor, nit wit Gwenn, fatso Roberta, and full of himself Albert thought nothing of calling Susan every derogatory name in the book? You’re a bunch of losers who just can’t let it go

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Village of Ridgewood and PSEG work schedules

3 amigos

file photo by Boyd Loving 3 amigos

September 19,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, according to Rurik Halaby, the following is an email sent to Tony Damiano, owner of Mango Jam and President of The Ridgewood Guild in response to a letter written by Tony to the Mayor re the PSE&G project:

Dear Tony,
I can’t express how disappointed I am with your email. First, PSEG work schedules are not controlled by Village Council and I, along with council colleagues, have taken the concerns of the business community very seriously. Personally, I began working on this tirelessly since 7:00am Thursday morning and have not stopped. The (former)Village Manager was involved in, and is responsible for, any decisions made in May or June and up until the date of her resignation. l was not included or apprised of those discussions or decisions. It’s unfortunate any time working on resolving this has been interrupted by this antagonistic and angry email.
Your assertion that I am “micro-managing” anything is shameful and regrettable. Five council members selected the members of the CBDAC. Furthermore, your suggestion that you could have been a “great asset” to the Central Business District Advisory Committee is undermined by the tone and content of your email. I have great confidence in Councilman Hache and this wonderful group of CBDAC committee members.
Council members Hache, Voigt and Walsh along with Deputy Mayor Sedon, myself and Village Staff have worked diligently to support for our business community. Your email is gratuitous and offensive.
I will continue my efforts to resolve the PSEG matter and am in the process of scheduling a meeting with them. I hope we can move on from this and will keep you informed of any progress.
-Susan
Mayor Susan Knudsen
Councilwoman

Rurik Halaby added on Facebook , “I could not believe the insulting, sarcastic, and disdainful tone and nature of this letter. Tony deserves better. He is a passionate man who is totally dedicated to making Ridgewood a better place for all of us, particularly the CBD.

Ms. Knudsen swore to uphold the U.S. Constitution. The first amendment guarantees Tony’s right to express himself. As importantly, it guarantees his right “to petition the Government for redress of grievances.”

If Mayor Aronshohn had written such a letter the Vocalantis would have hung him in effigy.

Ms. Knudsen, you owe Tony an apology!”

Yes Rurik we all know how much Paul Aronsohn loved PSE&G.

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Tony or the Ridgewood Guild didn’t start this mess, it began because our Village Council members were not transparent about their plans with the garage and the developments

Ridgewood Guild kids activities

May 4th 2016

Jeanette LaRocco

I have known Tony for many years and am a long time Ridgewood resident, am a member of the Guild from the beginning and I do NOT want Garage D, however, let’s put things into perspective. I believe that Tony was wrong to say it fits on the lot, but as a long time businessman, who by the way, has revitalized this town with the Guild when the Chamber of Commerce refused to do anything to make Ridgewood a destination, and who has done many generous things for the town, including Habitat for Humanity and having many charity events at his store, and has spent countless unpaid hours, to promote events that bring people in and keep businesses open, he has the right to want this garage built. When you think of the fact that he is doing this, NOT for political gain or financial gain like some promoters, except to keep his business going, I’m sorry but I can’t fault him for that. He is also a resident right in town and a parishioner of OLMC, and I just think of all the years he has had a business, he knows that he may not thrive unless we get some kind of parking. I think we must remember that we need to keep unique businesses in Ridgewood, instead of just banks and restaurants and chain stores. When I moved here nearly 28 years ago, there were so many wonderful and unique stores that are now gone and even now, there have been too many stores that open for a short time that can not sustain the rents and keep their businesses going and a big part of that is parking. What we also have to remember is that Tony didn’t start this mess, it was began because our Village Council members were not transparent about their plans with the garage and the developments. If they had been, we would’ve already begun building a garage that the majority of Ridgewood would be thrilled with, instead they made a mess of things, that many people, including myself, are trying to rectify. So let’s put the blame where it belongs. Just remember there are two sides to every story and lets act accordingly before we start throwing out conspiracy theories.

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Conflicts of Interest Need to be disclosed on all Development in Ridgewood

Ridgewood Guild kids activities
May 3 2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Tony Damiano is the owner of Mango Jam ,  When the train station was renovated a lot of parking spots were taken away and because of his business’ location it is difficult to park near his business.Tony Damiano is also the President of the Ridgewood Guild .

 We can understand how someone with a business interest in the central business district would support a garage but we question all the significant conflicts of interests on the HPC ,Historical Preservation Commission.

Tony was recently appointed a member of HPC. There was a vote at HPC for design D. He could not attend and send a letter saying since the new design ‘fits the lot’ he was voting for it. Another member who owns a building right next to the garage voted for this design. When this vote was later questioned, they just said it was a ‘poll’ not a ‘vote’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOCBptQJMcs

Published on Mar 10, 2016 this is all the footage Dana Glazer recorded at the Historical Preservation Meeting in Ridgewood. This is typical of how public meetings are currently in our town. We look forward to a time when ‘civility’ is more than just a political catchphrase and commissions like this do more than just green stamp massively inappropriate changes to our village.

Historic Preservation Commission Members:
Vincent N. Parrillo – Chairman
Joe Suplicki – Vice Chairman
Lynne Brady
Barbara Ferrante
Tess Giuliani
James Schimmel
Tony Damiano
Isabella Altano – Alt

Staff:
Michael Cafarelli – Secretary

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Tony Damiano of the Historical Preservation Committee Calls Posters Cowards

hudson parking garage ridgewood

photo by Saurabh Dani

Dear All,
I never comment on this blog, but I feel the need to clarify a couple of comments being made. I did not approve the plan because it fits on the lot. I approved the plan because this plan works from a design standpoint. To err is human. I was asked to write the letter to the HPC since I could not make the meeting. I made the mistake of saying the 4th plan fit the footprint. More importantly, the sidewalk is 10′ from the building to the curb. The 5-6 parking spaces that will be deleted, are being deleted to accommodate the 5′ extension of the sidewalk.
In defense of Mr. Parrillo, he simply stated that a liaison is not authorized to vote. In recollection, when I was president of the Chamber of Commerce, our liaison also was not permitted to vote. They simply were a conduit to the council.
Thank you…

Tony Damiano
P.S. Notice I signed my name, not like the cowards who make comments, mail distorted post cards, etc

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The Ridgewood Guild FILM FESTIVAL APRIL 19-21

ridgewood guild film festival

2015 Ridgewood Guild Film Festival After Party at Park West Tavern with Lynne Clemments, Tony Damiano, Danny Aielo, Dotti Fucito and RJ Konner.— with Anthony Damiano and Dorothy Purwin Fucito.

The 2016 Film Festival

Join us for the The Ridgewood Guild’s 6th Annual Film Festival: April 19, 20, and 21!

Preliminary Schedule (subject to change)

Stay tuned & save the date for events coming up to our Film Festival including:

 2nd Annual Film Festival Brunch

Sunday March 13 at the Ulrich Showroom, with catering by Chestnut Deli. Includes champagne. Call  201-493-9911 to reserve your spot. $50 per person.

Film Submissions

If you’re interested in submitting a film please submit it on Film Freeway here!