Ridgewood NJ, A Glen Rock Police Department uniformed patrol officer administered Narcan to the adult male driver of a Toyota Corolla following a head on collision between the Toyota and a Village of Ridgewood sanitation truck in front of 522 Lincoln Avenue, Hawthorne late Friday morning, 04/15. The Toyota driver, who was headed northbound on Lincoln Avenue, reportedly overdosed on an unknown substance just prior to the crash. An adult female driver of a BMW sedan stopped at the scene to assist the victim prior to the arrival of police officers. The occupant(s) of the sanitation truck, which was headed southbound on Lincoln to dump a load in Paterson, were not injured in the crash. The Toyota was removed from the scene by a flatbed tow truck. Damage to the sanitation truck was minimal. The overdose victim, otherwise uninjured, was transported by ambulance to The Valley Hospital. Hawthorne PD is investigating the incident.
Ridgewood NJ, The League of Women Voters will sponsor a Candidates’ Night for those running for Village Council . The Candidates’ Night will take place in the Village Hall Court Room, Wednesday, April 20th from 7:30PM to 9:30PM. All are invited to attend to learn positions on local issues.
Reader says the election is less than a month away and I don’t know where any of the candidates stand on important issues.
Do they have websites? Is there any campaign material? If the Ridgewood News were truely an unbiased local paper they would send questions to the candidates for answers and publish all responses.
I know that the League of Women Voters will have a forum but I expected more. What if the forum does not adress my questions?
What do you think the village should do about parking in the CBD? Do you think that we even have a parking problem?
Do you think that the housing density should be 25 units per acre? Do you think that it should be higher or lower?
How many high density projects can the congested downtown absorb?
Will you challenge the latest Valley Hospital Plan and ask for more concessions?
What can be done to end the cycle of empty-nesters fleeing the town because of high taxes? Do you think that there is a benefit to offer a tax break to stabilize the demographics and prevent an overflow of students in our schools?
Will you ask that all council and committee members disclose all conflicts of interest – perhaps without being asked by an angry and skeptical public?
Ridgewood Nj, Based on the 2016 H zone Master Plan amendment being passed by the planning board – where does this leave Valley in the view of the Village residents? Many view Valley as a very bad neighbor – it pays no property taxes, doesn’t tell us its long term intentions, and filed a lawsuit against the planning boardand town council in order to achieve its expansion aims. Valley certainly has a public relations problem which it needs to address. So what can Valley do to improve its image and commitment to the Village of Ridgewood?
Here are some suggestions:
In a recent conversation I had with Jim Griffith, Village resident, Jim suggested that Valley should start investing more $$$ in the Village. This could be done potentially with the new NJ requirement for Valley to pay property taxes (even though they are a non-profit). However,rather than just giving the Village the tax dollars, Valley should make known to all residents its financial commitment to issues important to the Village such as Parks and Recreation. While Ipartially agree with Jim, I would also content that Valley is a very profitable non-profit hospital (see their December 31, 2014 financials on line; Baker Tilly, auditor’s report). Therefore as a“good neighbor” Valley should pay their fair share of property taxes. This would have amounted to $4.5 million based on their 15.5 acre campus (based on the Village tax assessor estimates). Recent suits in NJ have opened the door for non-profits to pay their fair share of taxes; as perabove. It would also be nice however, if Valley would become more involved in the Village’s interests, above and beyond paying its fair share of taxes.
Valley might consider having a Village resident on its board of Trustees (ideally a voting member), who in turn could report back to the Village on Valley. There are several committed Village residents who would do a really good job at this. This person(s) would serve the interests of the Village and help in building a partnership with Valley.
Valley should have a Village resident intimately involved in the planning and implementation of the hospital expansion/construction. Again there are several people in our Village, living near Valley, who would be great candidates for this.
Valley could develop a series of educational programs such as “good health programs” for the schools and teach them. These might include nutrition, healthy living/lifestyles, exercise programs, etc.
The key for Valley in all of this is to become a better neighbor and; to demonstrate its commitment to the Village by working with its residents.
Sheila Brogan horrified the assembled multitude that night at BF and sure enough, her comments have returned to haunt us many times over. They were quickly turned into PowerPoint slides by Valley’s attorneys. Our elected BOE hires the Superintendent of Schools, not the reverse, and should have stood firm, acting as a staunch defender of students’ and teachers’ health, safety, and ability to learn and teach in peace and health. That defection was one of the harshest blows in this nearly decade-long fight to prevent Ridgewood from becoming Valleywood. Ms. Brogan’s failure to support the children and teachers was a terrible and unexpected blow. She has a great deal to answer for and should stop running for reelection to the BOE.
Ridgewood NJ, This past Tuesday’s vote by the planning board sent a clear message to the Village of Ridgewood residents; that healthcare trumps the health and well-being of a community. Pete McKenna of the Concerned Residents of Ridgewood said it best back in May 2014: The Village will be inextricably burdened in providing a benefit to the region. Is this fair?
The planning board majority (6 in total out of 9; Aronsohn, Nalbantian, Reilly, Joel, Abdalla, Thurston) who voted in favor of the settlement stated that the Village runs the risk of losing a further lawsuit and as well, if the Village loses the lawsuit would keep in effect the 2010 Master plan H zone, a more egregious plan. However, in the settlement that was negotiated between the planning board and Valley, the terms appeared to fall squarely in favor of Valley, with Valley reducing its size (bulk) by only 3% (and gaining most of what it wanted – to the detriment of the health and well-being of the Village). The total floor area is now going from 562,000 sq ft. (of hospital above grade structures) to over 1,024,500 square ft. of above grade structures which includes: 653,500 sq ft. for the hospital; 95,000 sq ft. for enclosed rooftop areas; 245,000 sq ft. for parking decks; and 31,400 sq ft. for atriums and courtyards. I will get back to this.
The term inherently beneficial was used frequently throughout the Whispering Woods hearings (4 in total) and was used as a “stick” by Valley in gaining the expansion approval by the Planning Board. It is unclear to many whether the concept of inherently beneficial applies to zoning or planning (including me). However, it was used generously through-out these hearings. An inherently beneficial use of land serves the public good and promotes the general welfare. As many may know, courts view hospitals under a more favorable light than other types of development (because it is an inherently beneficial use) and due to this, Village concerns about the size of the development may be discounted. However, courts also view schools as an inherently beneficial used of land. This was lost in the sauce but mentioned by Lorraine Reynolds back in May 2014. So a question becomes: Does healthcare trump
education? The negotiating team lead by Charles Nalbantian (Chairman of the Village Planning Board), who developed the terms of this agreement, thought so.
The Village’s Master Plan has suffered significantly in this process and; as well with other issues that have faced the Village including high density housing. The primary objective as stated in Ridgewood’s Master Plan is the preservation of Village residential in residential neighborhoods. Further, as defined in the Master Plan, building should continue to respect the neighborhood character and the rights of adjacent property owners. These rights (while not explicitly stated in the plan) likely include quality of life, safety, security and a sense of belonging to a community. Interestingly, these rights affect one’s health and healthcare. These rights have been violated by developers and by Valley.
John Hersperger, Village resident, at the 4/5 Whispering Woods hearing stated the following: Developers through the use of Ordinance 3066 have ripped the Ridgewood Master Plan to shreds for the purpose of their own self- interests and not the Villages. Developers as a group, petitioned the planning board at the same time and turned what should have been zoning issues into planning issues. I would agree with John. This Ordinance needs to be modified significantly or repealed. The Valley decision by the planning board could not have come at a worse time for Valley and the Village because of this.
The 3 dissenting views on the planning board by Susan Knudsen, Wendy Dockray, and Debbie Patire all concluded the same thing – the Valley decision does irreparable harm to our Master Plan; calls into question what really is beneficial and; whether a hospital interests should trump the well-being of a Village.
Wendy also stated that the Planning board on behalf of the Village should stand up and fight for what is right, despite the risks. If we go on to a lawsuit, there likely would be other opportunities to negotiate terms which would benefit both parties.
I was frankly surprised, with having several lawyers on the planning board, that no case law was cited. A recent NJ Supreme Court case in Princeton called into question the concept of an inherently beneficial use of land by a hospital and whether functions in a hospital such as administration, billing, and marketing should be considered inherently beneficial. If these are not inherently beneficial, they could be moved to other locations. If this “concept” were applied to Valley it might lessen the bulk of the Valley expansion in a meaningful way.
Here is what I would do if elected to the council: 1) Propose modification to or repeal of Ordinance 3066; 2) Work with Valley and the CRR (if possible, as there is a 5/9 court date on the second count of the lawsuit – Valley v Village Council and the council may not have any ability to negotiate based on the results of this case) in crafting a fair and equitable resolution to the Valley expansion.
A follow on blog will address the issue of how Valley might improve its image with the Village.
Ridgewood Nj, Council Candidate Bernadette Coghlan-Walsh ,released the following statement to the Ridgewood blog on the Planning Broad Special Public Meetings , “While I applaud all the members of the Planning Board for their dedication and hard work, I feel they fell short of representing the residents last evening. As PB attorney Katie Razin stated in her comments, each member of the Planning Board should be deliberating on the process based on the facts presented and public approval. I interpreted that as examine the evidence and listen to public comment and decide for yourself as to whether or not the public approves of this expansion plan. The residents who showed up this past week and en masse last night, in my opinion from their statements into the record, were not in approval of this mediation agreement. To disregard the resident’s voice, is to disregard the process. “
FAA PROPOSED TETERBORO RUNWAY 19 ROUTE
Here is Hackensack’s webpage which also has a link for complaints. Their page explains it well.
https://www.hackensack.org/Teterboro
On April 4th the visual approach (5 mile visibility, 3000 ceiling) for airplaneslanding at Teterboro will change. If residents want to communicate their concern about this change, they can call the hotline 201/288-8828 to register a complaint or file a complaint online here. All comments will be reviewed by Teterboro Airport Noise Office staff who will follow up with residents. Complaint statistics will be shared with the FAA.
It is important that the public register their complaints about aircraft noise. Complaints are one of the few ways to monitor how the 6 month study will affect local quality of life.
Ridgewood NJ, The men caved and the women behaved like troopers. The men all voted YES for less than gallant reasons: Fear of further litigation and possible results that might be worse than the ” so called compromise.”
The women believed that Ridgewood was worth that risk and felt that the detrimental effects of the Valley Expansion far out weighed any benefits.
The public comments were unbelievable including little kids who spoke eloquently.
Our Board of Education members were missing and should have been there and should have advocated for Benjamin Franklin Middle school . Their primary concern should be the health and safety of the children. I don’t know why they would concede to Valley without a good argument for a better compromise. We elected them to represent us.
Again I don’t know who is looking out for Ridgeood except Susan, Wendy and Debbie, The “Steel Magnolias” of the Planning Board.
Valley Hospital is a tier 2 Hospital resulting in higher co pays
By Susan K. Livio | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on April 04, 2016 at 7:44 PM
TRENTON — Lawmakers took action on a package of bills that would impose tougher state regulations on tiered health plans Monday, sparked by a backlash against Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey’s new OMNIA products that steer cost-conscious patients to select hospitals.
The Assembly Regulatory Oversight Committee approved four bills that would require more disclosure on how hospitals and doctors are chosen to join tiered networks. State regulators would have to insure hospitals that serve low-income people are included in these networks, which offer consumers the choice of paying less if they use hospitals and doctors in the preferred tier.
When Horizon last fall debuted the two-tiered OMNIA plans and the cost-cutting arrangement it had struck with 36 “tier 1” hospitals, it instantly generated outrage among the hospitals relegated to “tier 2” status. Patients could still use them but would pay higher co-pays and have to meet higher deductibles to do so.
Planning Board Amendent to Meeting Schedule – Special Public Meetings – March 30, 31, and April 4, 5, 7
Please Note – The Board may take formal action when the matter is concluded on any of these dates
For complete details for the meeting schedule – Click Here
Ridgewood NJ, The meeting got off to a poor start as the PB chairman announced to the crowd they would be going into closed session before public comment! Thankfully the people waited to be heard and they were back out in about 50 minutes.The speakers were great. Their statements were diverse, intelligent and heartfelt. It is hard to imagine what the counter argument could be though we know there is one.
There were about 30 speakers at the PB meeting. It was good to see that we are not just a small vocal group. They are allowing more public comments tomorrow. Please come to the next PB meeting and let them know what you think. It’s at 7:30 in the Town Hall
The Valley mediation proceedings resulted in a win for Valley and nothing for Ridgewood except how they will mitigate the damages.
The Valley expansion is too big for the 15 acres it sits on and too big for the neighborhood even if there wasn’t a school adjacent to it.
Ridgewood needs our planning board and council to look out for the village and it’s residents.
Valley will continue to thrive and grow. They have purchased numerous properties for off site facilities and can certainly modernize the Ridgewood location and not destroy the Master Plan in doing so.
Planning Board Amendent to Meeting Schedule – Special Public Meetings – March 30, 31, and April 4, 5, 7 Please Note – The Board may take formal action when the matter is concluded on any of these dates
For complete details for the meeting schedule – Click Here
Ridgewood Nj, Only the terms of the mediated settlement between Valley Hospital and the Planning Board is known at this moment and Ms. Hauck had nothing to do with that negotiation. It was PB Chairman Nalbantian and Vice Chairman Joel.
Ms Hauck and Ms. Knudsen are the two VC members negotiating Valley Hospital’s suit against the Village Council. We understand that a court date is set for early May. At that time we will know more about that case.
In the meantime, CRR has not stopped their efforts and are encouraging people to show up to Monday’s PB meeting. They are also working on educating a whole new group of younger parents that are less familiar with this issue. If you would like to help, contact [email protected] or[email protected]
Ridgewod Nj, Reader says , “My take away from last night is, “who is looking out for Ridgewood?”. The best questions/ concerns came from public comment which was so limited and restrictive. The majority of Valley’s testimony centered around aesthetics: different colors and shadings on the buildings to minimize the visual perception, green coverage to hide the mechanicals, monitoring of all the potential environmental negatives,etc.
Blais was obviously sick last night but his comment about the need to balance the positive and negatives of the expansion and also considering the regional needs was very telling.
Are there any benefits to Ridgewood in this? I only see Valley telling us how they will deal with the negatives. How will exiting more cars onto Linwood ever work and trucks will travel back and forth down Glenn, make a left on Van Dien and then back out the same route? BF just put in a new driveway with an exit onto Glenn.
My feelings are we should not amend the Master Plan and continue operating under the 2010 version. The Valley project is too big for the 15 acre lot. There is no way around this fact. Where is our counter offense? It wasn’t there last night and our only hope is that the council votes against the ordinances needed to push this through. Jeff was really great last night. It is so hard to be heard.
The state takeover of Atlantic City is only an Assembly vote away, with Governor Chris Christie saying that he will veto any version of the bill and its accompanying PILOT agreement for the city’s casinos that differ from the versions passed in the Senate. Assemblyman Ralph Caputo (D-28) has been the most vocal of the PILOT bill’s last-minute Senate amendment allowing casinos to opt out of the PILOT program if casino gaming expands into North Jersey. JT Aregood, PolitickerNJ Read more
