It seems that very few people can even think of a realistic reason to build the garage. Add to Ridgewood taxes so people in other towns can park near the station? Provide extra parking for the builders who refuse to supply what is legally required? (How are they getting by with that, anyway? Did they change the town rules about how much parking is required for any construction? Or do they think their building permits do not require adequate parking? Council, the doctor on Broad Street has plenty of parking and has been struggling for several years to be able to use the 210 building which she owns. Why do outsiders get by with every single thing they want?) This building on Hudson doesn’t do anything for Ridgewood residents, except taking away a large part of the parking for Mt. Carmel’s activities. Two decks might help in separate parts of town but no-one is going to walk from Hudson to Oak, much less further. The only beneficiaries will be the commuters and the apartment dwellers, and for that Ridgewood must have higher and later parking fees as well as an astronomical increase in our taxes? At least the schools benefit OUR children. How will that garage benefit any of the residents?
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood Historical Society is looking for sponsors for its next exhibit . Next week the official poster is off to the printer. There is one more week for businesses to join our sponsors to be listed on this poster and other promotional materials.
Join the Ridgewood Historical Society by supporting this exhibit and our mission to provide a place of historic artifacts, history and education to our local schools and families right here in Ridgewood. To sponsor The Thread of Life exhibit, please call 201-447-3242 .
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood water is looking to purchase a new water smart software ,the idea is to create a customer portal to offer better customer service and on demand access to customer account information . While we applaud Ridgewood water for moving into the 20th century ,maybe even the 21st century, issues were raised as to the cost ,integration and maintenance of the system . The mayor cleared up a few things when she realized there were some errors in the draft documents the Village made available to residents .
Mayor Knudsen ,” VC is providing “sunshine” binders allowing unprecedented access to DRAFT documents in the spirit of transparency. Typically there are errors and omissions in DRAFT documents and those are corrected before the public meeting when adopted by resolution. No different in this instance. I immediately noticed the errors and made notes for the Village Manager and Director Calbi. My meeting notes reflect a considerably lower cost based on a three year contract while the draft resolution shows the one time setup cost lumped with the total for the 3 year contract.At the right price the analytic software will provide valuable information and help with conservation efforts.I’m always happy to answer questions and going forward will have ALL binder documents marked as DRAFT. ”
What concerns us is the data collection bills have been know to be inaccurate . If Ridgewood water collects inaccurate data then the ability of the analytics will be compromised . This goes to the root of the problem . Ridgewood Water once again redirected the conversation toward consumer conservation , yet still no word on where the water is going to come from for all the high density projects going up in town.
yeah it is the natural outcome. We are in a situation now where we can choose the least worst alternative. If this can gets kicked down the road yet again, the next steps would be the BIG main street proposals that are now taking place in towns like Bogota and Closter… that result would be more mixed use, fewer stores, more restaurants, banks, Gyms and apartments, putting more pressure on parking and schools which would require a bigger parking solution. While the choices now are not great, the building of a garage soon makes sense to curtail further expansion of mixed use stock a la other communities..
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood Police report that on February 5th, Ptl. Zachary Knudsen responded to Valley National Bank located on 103 Franklin Avenue on a report of the bank discovering damage to the ATM machine on the premise. Upon arrival a bank ATM technician was on scene and reported the ATM was inspected and determined to have been compromised by an unknown actor altering the internal components of the machine between 2/3/18 and 2/5/18.
The Ridgewood Detective Bureau and Valley National Bank are investigating the incident. Any person who utilized the ATM machine at the above location should contact Valley National Bank and monitor your account and report any fraudulent activity.
The Franklin Street “Village Garage” lot was publicly targeted by the Village Council for condemnation as “blighted” as part of a redevelopment plan. The Village would rely on the decision in Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005), a case decided by the U. S. Supreme Court involving the use of eminent domain to transfer land from one private owner to another private owner to further economic development. Construction of a municipal parking garage would then follow. $15 million in bond money was raised for that purpose, but when Village residents objected to the heavy-handed use of the eminent domain power, the plan was dropped and the money spent on other priorities. The current owners bought the property at that time at a relatively low price expecting to make a tidy profit in the near future. Obviously that didn’t exactly pan out for them.
Wait, so the argument now is… because a previous council approved the building of condos, in order to “save” the Village we need to appease the developers and build a garage for them given that they will obviously not have the needed parking spaces for their new tenants….and if we don’t build this thing, this town will become a glorified Rt 17 strip filled with gyms, banks and more condos? Come on people…..let’s all assume they build this thing, how does that change anything in terms of the parking landscape in this town? Yes, commuters will use it, yes shoppers will use it, but lets be realistic, probably only those looking to shop on Broad St or very close to it. We all know that everyone in this town or those that come here want to park right across the street from where they’re going, as stated in many of the posts before, if you look for parking you will find it, but you may have to walk a bit. So the taxpayers of this town should spend millions of dollars to alleviate a problem that may or may not exist for two to three hours on Friday and Saturday nights?? Do the math, it doesn’t add up and with Uber that problem is going away. Let’s spend money on updating the current run down parking lots we have or reconfigure current parking lanes and see how that goes….what’s the downside? We need to stop looking backward and look forward….Uber and Amazon to name a few are changing how we live our lives….less brick and mortar, less cars being driven for nights out….that’s the future, not building a garage that maybe in 1990 there was a solid argument for.
RIDGEWOOD NJ, Special Properties Real Estate Services, LLC, an exclusive affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate, welcomes Miriam Barnard to its Ridgewood, NJ office as a Realtor® Associate. The addition of Barnard is part of the agency’s continued expansion in Ridgewood and throughout the region.
Miriam comes to Special Properties with a number of years of hands-on real estate investment experience. This experience has helped her build a respect and appreciation for the entire real estate process, and gives her the benefit of having a dual understanding of the perspectives of the home buyer/seller and now the perspective that comes from being a full-time realtor. She is enthusiastic about the opportunity to help new buyers, as well as sellers, through her access to the Highly regarded marketing and sales resources offered by both Christie’s and Special Properties.
Miriam has been a resident of Bergen County since 1999, when she moved to Ridgewood from Hoboken with her husband and four children. Now a resident of Ho-Ho-Kus, she continues to be active in her community and in her children’s schools. While in Ridgewood, Miriam was a member and served on the board of the village’s Newcomer’s Club and was actively involved with the Ridgewood Public Schools. Currently, she is active in fundraising for Bergen Catholic High School, where her sons are students. Her noted accomplishment for Bergen Catholic is the establishment of the Senior Class Graduation Sign Fundraiser. She is also an active member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Ridgewood.
In her spare time, Miriam enjoys reading, cooking, and hiking with her family. The family has hiked up and down the east coast and in several locations in Europe. Miriam is a graduate of the College of Saint Elizabeth with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
About Special Properties Real Estate Services
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, Franklin Lakes, and Ridgewood, 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) 962-9552.
A garage is needed. I’m willing to accept that the size of such a facility is up to debate but in my opinion, as unpopular as it may be in this echo chamber, it is needed. It’s presence will not destroy the character of the town but will improve the quality our visits to downtown and the health of our businesses.There are plenty of other wealthier towns that have such a facility and their characters and/or home values have not be eviscerated.
As to the size of the proposed housing developments. I think there is room for good debate there as to whether the scope of the developments is appropriate for the downtown or whether they should have been allowed in the first place. I will say however that the empty lots that exist now are eyesores.
There is great value to preserving the history and character of our village. Does 315 East Glen Avenue qualify? I don’t know, but if the home is from the 1830s then I think it is at least worth considering. There is and always will be tension between those who wish to preserve certain qualities of the village and its structures and those who argue that development needs to naturally proceed and a property owner can do what he wishes, within reason, with his own property.
Certainly we don’t want the village to become a cookie-cutter suburb like much of New Jersey. The area of the lawns is testament to what happens when a developer does as he pleases (nothing against the people there at all). The village should have proper controls in place to determine what is worth saving and what is not. Room for public debate should be included in any discussions.
THE RIDGEWOOD VILLAGE COUNCIL’S PUBLIC WORKSHOP AGENDA
FEBRUARY 7, 2018
7:30 P.M.
7:30 pm – Call to Order – Mayor
Statement of Compliance with Open Public Meeting Act
Mayor: “Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by a posting on the bulletin board in Village Hall, by mail to the Ridgewood News, The Record, and by submission to all persons entitled to same as provided by law of a schedule including the date and time of this meeting.”
Roll Call – Village Clerk
Flag Salute/Moment of Silence
Public Comments (Not to Exceed 3 Minutes per Person – 40 Minutes in Total)
Announcement – Launch of Burbio App
Presentation
New CBD Website
Explanation of Complete Streets Program
Explanation of Purchasing Process
Discussion
Ridgewood Water
Award Contract – Pipes, Appurtenances and Service Materials
Award Contract – Customer Portal, Communications and Consumption Analytics Software
Award Contract – Tree Maintenance Services
Property Easement Agreements
Parking
Coinless Parking
Budget
Declare 2006 Ford Focus Surplus – Building Dept.
Increasing Amount of Petty Cash for Fleet Service Dept.
Turf Replacement at Maple Park Field
Wi-Fi in Memorial Park in Van Neste Square and Graydon Pool
Release of Bid Bond for Public Valet Parking
Policy
Discuss Donations to Parks and Recreation Department – Screens for Somerville Tennis Court “No Knock” Solicitation Ordinance Sale of Fireworks Property Tax Refund
Operations
Liquor License Transfer – FISH Ridgewood to Oak Street Liquors
Explanation of Bergen County Police Services
Review of February 14, 2017 Public Meeting Agenda
Manager’s Report
Council Reports
Public Comments (Not to Exceed 5 Minutes per Person)
Resolution to go into Closed Session
Closed Session
Ridgewood NJ, from the National Weather Service ..WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM EST THIS
AFTERNOON…
* WHAT…Mixed precipitation expected. Total snow accumulations of up to 2 inches, with localized amounts up to 5 inches across the
extreme northern portions of Fairfield and New Haven counties. Ice accumulations of up to one tenth of an inch are expected.
* WHERE…Portions of northeast New Jersey, southern Connecticut and southeast New York.
* WHEN…Until 5 PM EST this afternoon.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…The snow and ice will result in difficult travel conditions. Be prepared for reduced visibilities at
times.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A Winter Weather Advisory means that periods of snow, sleet or freezing rain will cause travel difficulties. Be prepared for
slippery roads and limited visibilities, and use caution while driving. Check local Department of Transportation information
services for the latest road conditions.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood resident Saurabh Dani has discovered that anyone can pull anyone’s water bill on the Ridgewood Water website. Mr. Dani brought it to Mayor Knudsen’s attention buy sending her a copy of her Ridgewood Water bill further driving home the point.
1. go to – https://water.ridgewoodnj.net/
Official Site – Ridgewood Water – Ridgewood Water
water.ridgewoodnj.net
Updated- 11/13/17-Water Main Replacements at Various Stream Crossings. Water Quality Information. Water Conservation Ordinance Information, FAQ’s & More- Click HERE
2. Click on “pay bills”
3. Click on “HERE” in the text which says ‘click here to pay bills”.
4. It will take you to the site – that will look like this – https://www1.mcc.net/tvhactive/BillPayerLogin.aspx?TID=LvQL2uPQJNQ8LLsUecwtmcb40pIW9MOwWDH13A4vdTubywfTfyR%20Xg==
5. Then create an account- you just need user name password.
6. then sign in to that account.
7. Now click on “search” then select “bill category” as “water” – then “search by” – Location — there type an address – for example “390 bedford rd” is my address. then click on search.
Ridgewood NJ, The annual NJ School Performance Reports are out. Each year, the New Jersey Department of Education releases school performance reports on every public school in New Jersey. The Ridgewood district’s 2016-17 performance reports can now be found on the individual school web pages. Please contact your school with any questions. Click here to access the links to the Ridgewood Public Schools’ individual school reports : https://www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us/cms/one.aspx?portalid=207600&pageid=4184469
1)Ridgewood needs high-end apartments
2)Ridgewood needs a performing arts center
3)Ridgewood needs parking decks/garages
4)Ridgewood needs to be more business-friendly
Many view this “Vision” as a vision to destroy the Village of Ridgewood and turn into just another New Jersey overbuilt dumpy town .So now for ever more the Current Village Council and Village residents are stuck with the mess they created .
Unfortunately the high density housing was approved with the idea that a garage would pick up the slack with parking and allow the developers to offer less parking spaces . The fact that the developments will create a need for more schools, more water, more parking and generate more congestion in an overly congested central business district is left for the Ridgewood taxpayer to pick up the tab.
One wonders if some those who suggested there was enough water and that parking and congestion were not issues could and should be prosecuted ?
