Tag: Upper Saddle River

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Assemblywomen Schepisi Sets the Record Straight

Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi

October 14,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Rivervale NJ, Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi  moves to set the record straight . “As a result of having no platform or positions of their own, the women running against us rely solely on running a negative campaign against me. Over the next several weeks I will set the record straight on every negative and false claim made by them against me.”

FACT VS FICTION

Today’s attack – Claiming that I wouldn’t vote on legislation to keep guns out of the hands of mentally ill persons, my opponents state “You deserve a representative that shows up to work, makes tough decisions, and keeps you safe.”

My response – Despite New Jersey having some of the strictest gun safety policies in the nation, more than 49 additional bills have been brought to the legislature for a vote during my five years in the Assembly. Several bills have been proposed regarding mental health. I do not know which particular bill my opponents are attacking me on but in 2015 I had to miss several session days during my recovery from brain surgery to repair a brain aneurysm. Two years later, in 2017, I missed a session to attend my five year old son’s kindergarten graduation. I would certainly hope that the women running against me are not saying I should be penalized as a result of being very ill or for being a mom.

I have long been a proponent of sensible gun safety measures to get weapons out of the hands of criminals, terrorists and the mentally ill. Yet, as a victim of two violent crimes in my early twenties I understand the importance of second amendment rights in order to protect oneself.

With respect to my votes over the past five years on gun safety, I believe in sensible gun legislation. I voted in favor of keeping guns out of the hands of carjackers, gang members, and racketeers among other dangerous people. I voted in favor of stronger background checks and increasing penalties for unlawful possession, improper use, and removing a gun’s identification marks. I am the prime sponsor of a bill to ban bump stocks, as I personally believe their only purpose is to circumvent a 30 year old bipartisan ban on automatic weapons.

Almost all of bills I didn’t support don’t do anything to protect anyone because the laws proposed already exist in New Jersey or cannot be enforced due to lack of technology, such as a bill to require not-yet-invented “smart guns.” There is one recent bill pertaining to mental health and guns on which I abstained because mental health professionals, including the Mental Health Association of NJ, the NJ Association of Social Workers and the NJ Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association asked for substantive changes to the bill in order to protect patient confidentiality and to address HIPPA concerns, but they were ignored.

I am more than willing to listen to any thoughts on how to prevent evil acts like what happened in Las Vegas in the future. Both sides of the aisle feel strongly about protecting our families, our neighbors and our constituents. There isn’t disagreement on providing safety, it’s how best to provide it. We must address better mental health initiatives, common sense legislation for gun safety and we need to come together and have an honest dialogue about a critically important issue, not promote fear and slander for political gain.

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Assemblyman Robert Auth never forgets he is a small business owner

Assemblyman Robert Auth

October 13,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Old Tappan NJ, Bob is an old friend of the Ridgewood blog and he is running for Assembly in District 39. Bob never forgets he is a small business owner . Bob is somone who can fight to set the balance right against ANTI-Business , ANTI-jobs Trenton.

District 39 is (Bergen and Passaic Conties)  Bloomingdale, Closter, Demarest, Dumont, Emerson, Harrington Park, Haworth, Hillsdale, Mahwah, Montvale, Norwood, Oakland, Old Tappan, Park Ridge, Ramsey, Ringwood, River Vale, Saddle River, Upper Saddle River, Wanaque, Washington (Bergen), Westwood, Woodcliff

Unlike most modern day politicians Bob entered into politics to help the everyday people of New Jersey, like himself. After graduating from New York University, Bob opened a small insurance company with my wife, Elsa. While it was prosperous at first, the state of New Jersey began to pass heavy regulations that placed a burden on insurance companies like his. After all but six of my competitors went out of business because of these new laws I realized that it was very possible that I might also lose everything I had worked so hard for. It was at that point that I decided to reach out to my friend Senator Cardinale to see if there was any way that he could help me. With a little negotiation Senator Cardinale was able to get Allstate Insurance to work with me which stopped me from having to go out of business. Through this experience, I witnessed firsthand the power of the government to both destroy and to aid.

After Senator Cardinale had helped him Bob decided to try and return the favor. Little by little, Bob started to do additional work for him until finally he became an unpaid volunteer aide for him in Trenton. After working for Senator Cardinale for 25 years a seat in the Assembly opened up; and while Bob was hesitant at first to run for office, he realized that this was my opportunity to help people, just as Senator Cardinale had helped him.

So in 2014, against all odds and very tough competition, I won a seat in the assembly. Even after all his time in the New Jersey Legislature I have kept one rule; before Bob votes on anything he must ask himself how would I feel as a taxpayer seeing my own vote? Bob is an Assemblyman because he has witnessed firsthand the power of the government to both impede and to aid, and Bob wants to ensure it will not impede again.

https://www.electrobertauth.com/

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Whats an Eruv to do with anything ?

William "Bill" Laforet

Mahwah Mayor William “Bill” Laforet

August 27,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Mahwah NJ, the Bergen Rockland Eruv Association got approval from the local utility company to use its poles for the eruv, Mahwah says the materials violate township’s 20 year old ordinance against posting on utility poles. At a meeting on Aug. 18 the council voted to issue summonses if the eruv was not removed.

The Bergen Rockland Eruv association claims the order violates their constitutional and civil rights. The religious group has threatened to sue Upper Saddle River if the town tries to remove the markers. And a federal lawsuit, has already been filed against Mahwah . Mahwah has brought in Holwell Shuster & Goldberg LLP to represent Mahwah Township in the lawsuit brought upon by the Rockland Bergen Eruv Fund.

Residents and elected officials of both Mahwah and Upper Saddle River have reacted with outrage and concern after seeing the eruv markings given their view that no one asked their permission. Most of Northern Bergen County  has viewed the eruv expansion as a power grab and a threat to their community autonomy .

A group called Mahwah Strong has been establish by local residents who have come together for the purpose of preserving the welcoming, inclusionary lifestyle of Mahwah Township. The group not a fan of the eruv but also distanced it self from recent acts of vandalism , reiterating they do not condone acts of vandalism.

Vandalism of the eruv pushed  Mahwah Police Chief James Batelli to issue a statement saying in the area of East Crescent Avenue  the eruvim was hit with “some type of blunt object” that damaged the piping. The incidents, according to the chief, likely happened on Friday evening. There were no reports of anyone seeing or hearing the vandalism occur.

Chief  Batelli said it “appears that the eruvs were specifically targeted,” and that the department is already investigating similar incidents that happened in July as a hate crime. Mahwah  Mayor Bill Laforet is offering a $1,000 reward for information about the vandalism.

So what is an eruv ,  an eruv, in modern terminology, is a technical boundary that allows Jews to carry in public areas on Shabbat. It is one of those traditions which has blossomed from a basic Torah principle into a highly complicated legal matter.

Under Jewish law on Shabbat, it is forbidden to carry anything–regardless of its weight, size or purpose–from a “private” domain into a “public” one or vice versa, or more than four cubits (approximately 6 feet) within a public domain. Private and public do not refer to ownership, rather to the nature of the area. An enclosed area is considered a private domain, whereas an open area is considered public for the purposes of these laws.

Practically, it is forbidden to carry something, such as a tallit bag or a prayer book from one’s home along the street and to a synagogue or to push a baby carriage from home to a synagogue, or to another home, on Shabbat.

The answer is a technical enclosure which surrounds both private and hitherto public domains and thus creates a large private domain in which carrying is permitted on Shabbat. Colloquially this is known as an eruv. The eruv is usually large enough to include entire neighborhoods with homes, apartments and synagogues, making it possible to carry on Shabbat, since one is never leaving one’s domain.

A wall can be a wall even if it has many doorways creating large open spacesIt is technical, because theoretically the eruv should be a wall. However, a wall can be a wall even if it has many doorways creating large open spaces. This means that a wall does not have to be solid. Therefore, the eruv enclosure may be created by telephone poles, for example, which act as the vertical part of a door post in a wall, with the existing cables strung between the poles acting as the lintel of the doorframe. As such, the entire “wall” is actually a series of “doorways.” Added to that there may be existing natural boundaries and fences.

While there are an increasing number of eruvs being established throughout the world in traditional Jewish communities, support for the practice is not universal.

There is the concern that if there is an eruv in a community, those who rely on it may very easily forget when they travel to communities without an eruv, and carry on Shabbat.

A second concern is that if the eruv breaks during Shabbat, no one will know. As a result, they will conduct themselves as if there still is a functioning eruv, this breaking the rules of Shabbat.

It is imperative that an expert rabbi oversee the construction of any eruv The final and perhaps the major concern is that because an eruv allows an exception to the prohibition against carrying on Shabbat, it is quite natural for anyone regularly using an eruv to forget that this is an exception; forgetting that there is a prohibition against carrying on Shabbat

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Special Properties Real Estate Services Supports Restoration of Slave Cemetery in Upper Saddle River

Slave Cemetery in Upper Saddle River

Pictured (L-R) are Ferne Lambert, Special Properties Mahwah Office Manager; Daniel Hynes, a senior at Northern Highlands Regional High School; Alexandra Gregorek, Public Relations Manager; William Dator, Broker Associate; and Linda Dator, Realtor Associate.

November 8th 2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Upper Saddle River NJ, On October 30, 2016, team members from Special Properties Real Estate Services, LLC were among a gathering of donors, local leaders and members of the community who gathered at the rededication of the Hopper Slave Cemetery in Upper Saddle River. The restoration of the cemetery, made possible through individual and corporate donors, like Special Properties, was led by the Upper Saddle River Historical Society and Daniel Hynes, a local high school student who made the cemetery restoration his Eagle Scout project.

Special Properties Real Estate Services embraces the history and traditions of its flagship brokerage location in Saddle River, NJ, into an expanded, modern presence in Mahwah and Franklin Lakes, NJ. With a staff of accomplished real estate brokers, its clients across northern New Jersey and southern New York are provided with customized, personalized services, backed by the luxury real estate brand of Christie’s International Real Estate. Special Properties provides local expertise with global connections. For more information, call (201)962-9555.

 

 

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Panel told Bergen towns of flight path changes last year

trumpjet

BY PAUL BERGER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

Some Bergen County politicians reacted with surprise earlier this month when the Federal Aviation Administration announced it was moving a busy flight path to Teterboro Airport, apparently at the last minute.

 

https://www.northjersey.com/news/panel-told-bergen-towns-of-flight-path-changes-last-year-1.1531123

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What’s the most popular book at libraries in the Saddle River Valley?

Bike_Ridgewood_Public_Library_theridgewoodblog

JANUARY 5, 2016    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2016, 11:51 AM
BY KIMBERLY REDMOND
EDITOR |
TOWN JOURNAL

Based upon information provided by libraries in Allendale, Ho-Ho-Kus, Ridgewood and Upper Saddle River, 2015’s most popular books closely reflect the titles that appeared on national bestseller lists over the last year.

The most borrowed book from those four libraries was Paula Hawkins’ “The Girl on the Train,” a thriller that has sold 6.5 million copies since its January 2015 release and is being developed into a feature film starring Emily Blunt. Hawkins’ debut novel also ranked as one of the most checked-item items from the New York Public Library System in 2015.

Molly McKenney, Upper Saddle River’s adult services librarian, said there are generally two reasons as to why a book becomes popular with patrons – either they were written by an already famous author or it gets great word of mouth and “essentially becomes viral like a YouTube video.”

“People start hearing that other people liked it and they want to see what all the fuss is about. ‘The Girl on the Train’ definitely falls into that category. It followed in the footsteps of Gillian Flynn’s extremely popular ‘Gone Girl.’ Both are thrillers which center around female anti-heroes, a sub-genre which has exploded with popularity in recent years,” McKenney said.

At the Ridgewood Library, hold lists “were in the hundreds” despite there being multiple copies of Hawkins’ book, circulation librarian Lorri Steinbacher said.

“The Girl on the Train,” along with Ridgewood’s other top checkouts last year – Anthony Doerr’s “All the Light We Cannot See” and Kristin Hannah’s “The Nightingale” – all “captured the imaginations of book groups and casual readers alike,” Steinbacher said.

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/what-s-the-most-popular-book-at-libraries-in-the-saddle-river-valley-1.1485177