Tag: Valley Expansion

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Judge OKs Valley Hospital Massive expansion deal; Ridgewood to hold hearings

Valleywood_theridgewoodblog

BY MARY JO LAYTON
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

The Valley Hospital’s proposed expansion moved closer to reality when a judge signed off on an agreement between the hospital and the Ridgewood Planning Board that eliminates a top floor from plans for the main building, but still permits the hospital to nearly double in size.

The ruling by state Superior Court Judge Lisa Perez Friscia remands the case to the Planning Board to hold hearings on the proposed 2016 master plan amendment beginning March 30 with a vote scheduled by April 7.

It marks the third time the issue, which has dominated village politics for a decade and consumed countless hours of public meetings, will come before the Planning Board.

And again, residents overwhelmingly agree the 451-bed hospital needs to renovate, even expand — the campus is dominated by 1960s-era buildings while competitors have built cancer centers, gleaming outpatient centers and even opened a hospital in Westwood. The sticking point is that the residents remain outraged at the size of the proposed buildings in the middle of a residential neighborhood.

The latest plan calls for eliminating 34,000 square feet from 995,000 square feet of proposed construction to modernize and provide all private rooms.

“It’s a minuscule reduction in square footage,” said Peter McKenna, president of Concerned Residents of Ridgewood. “I don’t know why the Planning Board felt compelled to accept this.”

The agreement was reached after several sessions with mediator Virginia Long, who retired from the New Jersey Supreme Court in 2012. Now that the case goes back to the board, Valley and the board can present witnesses, but it’s unclear how much latitude the board will have in the proceedings.

Board Attorney Gail Price could not be reached for comment Friday. McKenna said he was consulting with members of his organization to determine their strategy.

“It sounds like we’re going through the motions in having hearings,” McKenna said. “It doesn’t sound like there can be any meaningful change to the plan in the process.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/judge-oks-valley-hospital-expansion-deal-ridgewood-to-hold-hearings-1.1530320

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Readers say Our Mayor has moved onto his own agenda exclusively and Ridgewood is on the Chopping block

3 amigos

file photo by Boyd Loving

Our Mayor has moved onto his own agenda..exclusively and Ridgewood is on the chopping block. Sleazy, self-centered government and years of scheming and plotting by some of our fellow residents has led our village down this dark hole. Ridgewood use to be a great town, under great stewardship for most of its history, until Aronsohn plotted and schemed to get the wrong people on the planning board and council. Collectively what is occurring right now will forever change the Village. A few will benefit from these sell outs, particularly Aronsohn in his bid for senator next year. All of this sleazy sellout of our village is what’s going to drive the good people away over the next decade, the decline will occur, and so the very thing you say you love you will have destroyed.

This is a shocking development on a couple of levels. First that Valley can sue us asserting that the needs of the region justify (in their estimation) such a profoundly negative impact on the town. Second, that Ridgewood can allow a Valley insider to negotiate a settlement when she had sworn an oath to represent the Village. It really is time for a citizens’ revolt at Village Hall since the Council majority are clearly using their remaining months in office to put their personal agendas in place. Shameful.

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Reader says Town is moving in the wrong direction

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Valley is a disgrace to Ridgewood with their actions. Why would anyone support Valley in this town anymore? I believe Hackensack is Top 5 in the country. The 10 minute extra drive is now worth it for me. This town has so many issues. A 3-2 Council, we’re the minority on this.

High Density housing, unreasonable size units we’re given. A 15 Million dollar parking garage? Are you insane? How much did the Town Hall cost in the flood zone. How many studies have we paid for? Let’s do another study. Steel beams and concrete..$15 million dollars, only in RichWood. Town is a disgrace and moving in the wrong direction. I just heard, needs to be confirmed, the Engineer is asking taxpayers sidewalks to be repaired? Take a look at the sidewalks in the CDB. Hint, the red bricks meeting concrete. Don’t ask others to do when you don’t! True

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Reader says Valley has become more of a Liability to this town than an asset

Valleywood_theridgewoodblog

I really hope the mediator that has been appointed in the Valley lawsuit concludes that Valley, through their own doing over the years, has become much more of a liability to this town and it’s residents than an asset. Nice to have it, but in no way really needed, especially when you factor in their ridiculous expansion plans, as well as their attitude towards the financial obligations they should have operating in a town that has helped make them extremely profitable. Make a ton of money and don’t pay taxes on a good portion of your assets. What a gig.

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Valley lawsuit is troubling

Valleywood_theridgewoodblog

JULY 31, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Wealth shouldn’t determine future of community

To the Editor:

The litigation with Valley Hospital over its $780 million expansion plan is in the news again. I’m having a lot of trouble trying to reconcile Valley’s position with my understanding of what democracy is all about. I thought the people in the village, through elected officials, determine the nature of the village. We have established a master plan that presumably gives guidelines of a general nature about the village, such as defining ourselves as a residential community as opposed to, say, a home for heavy industry like the oil refineries that we see from the NJ Turnpike. We also have zoning specifying the maximum height of buildings, etc. All these plans and regulations were established by officials elected by the citizens of Ridgewood.

Now along comes Valley who seems to be saying: “Your master plan and zoning regulations are restricting our expansionary vision. Change your regulations!” Valley has been here for a long time, and it certainly knew our regulations when it decided to build and operate in Ridgewood, but now it has decided it wants to change the regulations established by the citizens of Ridgewood. Hmm. I know a number of people who have settled in Ridgewood because they like the community as it is, its ambiance, its schools, its zoning and other regulations. If we now give in to Valley, have we not abandoned an implicit trust?

The Valley litigation says to me democracy is not about the majority of citizens deciding on our regulations. No, instead it says to me it’s about wealth deciding the fate of the community. Valley, with its $780 million allocated for expansion (where did a non-profit, suburban hospital get $780 million anyway?), can out-litigate the Village of Ridgewood simply because the village doesn’t have Valley’s budget of discretionary funds. This is democracy?

Martin Cohen

Ridgewood

https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/letter-to-the-editor-valley-lawsuit-is-troubling-1.1384024

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Hospital should get the message

valley_hospital_theridgewoodblog

Regarding “Ridgewood must face suit filed by hospital” (Page L-1, June 2):

Once again, the Valley Hospital debacle raises its ugly head in Ridgewood. How many times do we residents have to vote down the prospect of this expansion in our village?

All this wasted energy and money. What a shame. Leave the hospital as is and build any needed larger facilities on any of the other lands Valley owns. I don’t think many would mind going to another facility, even out of the village, to have diagnostics or testing done. The village has spoken loud and clear. Valley should give it up.

Thomas Jones

Ridgewood, June 2

https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/the-record-letters-friday-june-5-1.1349841?page=all

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Judge denies Ridgewood request to be dismissed from Valley Hospital suit

valley_hospital_theridgewoodblog

JUNE 1, 2015, 6:02 PM    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, JUNE 1, 2015, 6:16 PM
BY MARY JO LAYTON
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

A Bergen County Superior Court judge has denied Ridgewood’s request to be dismissed from a lawsuit filed by the Valley Hospital after its plan to nearly double in size was rejected.

Judge Lisa Perez Friscia still must rule on whether the Ridgewood Planning Board acted properly in rejecting the hospital’s expansion plan nearly a year ago, the second defeat in four years.

The Ridgewood hospital first proposed a $750 million expansion in 2006 to replace decades-old buildings with modern facilities and all private rooms, an issue that’s divided the village and dominated local politics in several elections since.

Valley’s proposed “Renewal” was turned down twice as concerns grew over the potential impact of construction, increased traffic and the safety of middle school students attending class near the property. The hospital sued in October asking a state judge to end the pricey and protracted stalemate.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/judge-denies-ridgewood-request-to-be-dismissed-from-valley-hospital-suit-1.1346875

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Valley Hospital : What Ever Happened to the “Crown Jewel “of Ridgewood ?

valley_hospital_theridgewoodblog

May 27,2015
readers and the staff of the Ridgewood blog

“James, you have been anti Valley from the get go. Arrogance? What arrogance? The patience and dignity that the Valley has shown in the face of all the petty attacks it has been subjected to by narrow-minded critics is the embodiment of Grace and Dignity. The Ancient Greeks defined beauty as grace ubder presure. By that count Valley is one beautiful organization. And yes, it is the Crown Jewel of Ridgewood.” Rurik Halaby

It’s interesting how the developers, Valley and the unions are all the same in trying to bully Villagers, and foist their unsustainable plans on Village taxpayers. Valley consumes Village services for free and apparently wants ever more, the developers want densities that will burden our schools, water, sewerage and transportation infrastructure, and the unions want us to pay for CBAs that offer excessive wages and benefits to people in their early 50s and 60s even though we’re all living longer. The common denominator here is “screw taxpayers” who are too busy commuting and raising kids to notice. Enough is enough, we’re being taxed to death. No more.

Ordinance 3066 = Pfund’s Folly was just to allow Valley to try and railroad the Village that built Valley in the first place. Audrey and her board are out of touch, and would be well advised to find new people less interested in Hospital system “empire building” and more interested in being a good neighbor and paying a PILOT for all of the Village services they consume; instead they are suing the same Village who without its good graces, Valley wouldn’t exist in the first place. Shameless behavior and this blog has been right to highlight it.

Tell me, do you think that once the “Grace and Dignity” group gets past the lawsuit they filed against the town that has been taking care of them since 1951, they just might consider taking the “Crown Jewel” and moving it to an area that could better house the monstrosity they want to build here ? I mean, let’s face it, if your “world class” in Ridgewood why can’t you be the same in say, Mahwah ?

The truth is the hospital shot it self in the foot with a lot of arrogant very bad decision making , bad management at its finest , The details of which have been spelled out on this blog over and over ad nauseam . Bad plan ,poorly executed ,leads to disastrous results ie , HUMC might make a run at buying Valley.

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Readers suggest that Valley may have been misled into believing that its expansion plans were in the bag

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April 16th 2015

the staff and readers of the Ridgewood blog
Readers says ; Valley Hospital A community hospital that sues the community it is serving
https://theridgewoodblog.net/readers-says-valley-hospital-a-community-hospital-that-sues-the-community-it-is-serving/Ridgewood NJ, One can only  wonder ,how could such a well financed hospital so poorly execute on its expansion plans and fall pry to one PR disaster after another? Did someone whisper in the ear of the trustees to make them think that at the end of the day Valleys political friends would come through . After all since Valley began pursuing its expansion , HUMC has purchased Pascack Valley , expanded dramatically its foot print and made deals with many of Valleys competitors ?

It all started with the so called Pfund’s Folly, i.e. Ordinance 3066 !!! In the very least repeal the Chapter § 190-143 ( here https://ecode360.com/6694062 ) that allow for applications to amend the Master Plan. Application to Village Council or Planning Board.Any interested party may request that an amendment or amendments be made to the Village Master Plan or development regulations. The request(s) shall be made to the Village Council and/or the Village Planning Board.

This ordinance that was adopted by our Village elected officials, Pfund at the helm, was designed exclusively for Valley Hospital to pursue its expansion goals.https://theridgewoodblog.net/the-ordinance-that-was-adopted-by-our-village-elected-officials-pfund-at-the-helm-was-designed-exclusively-for-valley-hospital-to-pursue-its-expansion-goals/

As we now know Mayor Pfund was a personal donor to Valley Hospital until 2006, his law firm (Reiseman, Rosenberg & Pfund, LLP) listed Valley hospital as one of its clients on their website until the listing mysteriously disappeared, Pfund’s father has willed part of his estate to Valley after he dies! Yet Pfund has not rescued himself from the considering the H-Zone issue? Others on the Planning Board have for less association.” https://theridgewoodblog.net/because-this-comes-up-over-and-over/

Whats seems odd to most readers is that after a thorough review and denial the previous council Mayor Aronsohn pledged over and over that he would once again .

Aronsohn played both sides of every issue in the election. He promised CRR he’d stop the Valley expansion so they supported him. Then he “aligned himself” with pro-development, pro Valley hospital expansion candidates. He got votes from both sides of the issue! https://theridgewoodblog.net/aronsohns-election-win-is-looking-more-and-more-disingenuous/

Even the Ridgewood News commented , “Last Tuesday’s non-partisan election that ousted one of two Village Council incumbents has left residents questioning what the new mix of leaders will bring to the table regarding The Valley Hospital’s proposed expansion plan — an issue considered dormant since last year. Mayor Keith Killion, who voted against the $750 million plan to double the size of the hospital, lost his bid on Tuesday for one of three four-year seats up for grabs on the council. The new council could revisit the vote, because a change in the master plan that could permit the expansion still exists.https://www.northjersey.com/topstories/ridgewood/151331565_Election_opens_questions_on_hospital_plan.html

Which led to Valley resubmitting the expansion plan with no changes from the previous submission.

So what is the case have our political leaders willingly mislead Valley in the hopes of reaping benefits from Valley’s support  or has Valley controlled the narrative or as some would say undermined the political process to continue to push its highly unpopular agenda ?

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Attorneys debate whether Valley Hospital exhausted all remedies

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Attorneys debate whether Valley Hospital exhausted all remedies

MARCH 27, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Oral arguments in the Valley Hospital lawsuit against the Village of Ridgewood and its Planning Board began last Thursday with the village’s motion to dismiss, but attendees were left with a cliffhanger until mid-April when additional issues can be briefed and may be argued.

The lawsuit comes after the Planning Board rejected Valley’s latest expansion proposal, which sought to nearly double the size of the hospital and would require years of construction in an otherwise residential neighborhood.

The June 2014 decision came after Valley successfully applied for a master plan amendment in 2010 at the Planning Board level, only to have the proposal rejected by the Village Council in 2011.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/crime-and-courts/attorneys-debate-whether-remedies-were-exhausted-1.1296814

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Ridgewood asks judge to dismiss Valley Hospital lawsuit

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DECEMBER 6, 2014    LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY MARY JO LAYTON
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

The village of Ridgewood is asking a Bergen County judge to dismiss a lawsuit The Valley Hospital filed after its plan to nearly double in size was rejected, according to court documents filed this week.

The lawsuit, which hospital officials filed in October, targeted the Ridgewood Planning Board and the village, arguing the board illegally sided with neighborhood opponents rather than permitting a change in the hospital zone to upgrade “an inherently beneficial regional hospital.”

Valley’s expansion plans have been defeated twice in recent years and have triggered strong protest from some residents who spent more than $100,000 over several years to block the proposals.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/health-news/ridgewood-tries-to-halt-valley-suit-1.1147585

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Reader says Valley has already lost to HUMC

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Reader says Valley has already lost to HUMC

Valley has already lost to HUMC. They’ve wasted 8 years trying to railroad a plan through that never had a shot at passing. Now at best they’ll get a watered down version of their plan which will be way too little and way too late to compete with Hackensack and Meridian.

If your kid falls off his bike take him to Valley – a boycott won’t accomplish anything. Sure, go ahead and have your babies at Valley too. Valley is a decent neighborhood hospital – run by people whose ambitions greatly exceed their abilities.

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Reader says It does not take much to turn a real estate market and we are likely on the tipping point.

realestate_forsale_theridgewoodblog.net_13

Reader says It does not take much to turn a real estate market and we are likely on the tipping point.

Perhaps the most interesting indication of this is the No Valley and No Apartment signs that appear on the lawns of houses that have recently sold to young families moving into town. They came here for the schools and the neighborhood feel of the town. Then, they learn that what they just bought into is under the threat of the massive hospital and apartment complexes. Having just sunk their young fortunes into new homes, they are justifiably worried.

Think now of what happens if that worry becomes known to those currently looking. Through this blog, for instance, or newspaper coverage of the planning board hearings or letters to the editors. Real estate can very quickly take a nose dive in Ridgewood when towns in close proximity offer almost as much without the looming risk.

If you were 30-35 again, with two young children and enough money to buy a house in Ridgewood, and there was a chance Ridgewood was going to turn into something more along the lines of the hustle and bustle found in a small city sometime in the next 5 to 10 years, would you risk your hard earned down payment money on Ridgewood property? And for those of us in the 45 to 55 range, on the verge of being empty nesters, do we risk riding the property market to the bottom when we can cash out now?

No, make no mistake, Ridgewood is very much on a precipice formed by the intersection of a monolithic hospital concerned about its future revenue stream, developers who want to increase their profits and well meaning Villagers who are buying into false arguments and fears generated by the Hospital and developers.

wine.com

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Readers begin to face prospect of declining Real Estate Values

realestate_forsale_theridgewoodblog.net_13
Readers begin to face prospect of declining Real Estate Values

If your scenario plays out take whatever money you win and put it towards moving costs since it will not be worth staying in a town that gives into a group that lies, manipulates figures, distorts, deceives, etc.

What they are asking to do defies logic, and then another group(PB) agrees that it is o.k. to insult both their intelligence, and the people that they are representing ?


Simply put, the bad press will only get worse if this gets past the PB.

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Reader says Is that the “Village” that we want to live in?

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Reader says Is that the “Village” that we want to live in?

Valley is a nonconforming business that wants an exception so that they can double in size in a residential neighborhood. The downtown developments are looking to build in a commercially zoned area.

I do not like any of the proposed projects and I object to them all because I do not want to live in a city. Imagine Ridgewood with 5 retail/condo developments and a doubled valley hospital.

Is that the “Village” that we want to live in? With no plan anyone can build. When we start having exceptions then the precedent will be set and there will be no stopping developers.

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