Marcia Ringel responds to Mayor and Deputy Mayor Personal Attacks on her
Marcia here. Hit a nerve, I believe. Why attack me endlessly instead of addressing the points raised? I have lowered the tenor of colloquy? I don’t think so.
Village attorney ought to sue me for slander, quoth the Deputy Mayor. Nothing I said was slanderous–merely embarrassing.
Mayor himself has gone around town telling people I don’t like the handicapped. THAT’S slander.
Everybody who thinks I ought to be ashamed of myself, as the Deputy Mayor also asserted, please raise your hand. Or maybe some other persons ought to be ashamed.
The Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli called Marcia Ringel’s statement last night at the Village Council meeting a “slanderous personal attack”
The Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli called Marcia Ringel’s statement last night at the Village Council meeting a “slanderous personal attack” on the Village Attorney Mathew Rogers according to videotape of the meeting on the Village website. He added “perhaps he can sue you”.
We know that Mr. Rogers can’t sue Ms. Ringel. A standard defense to defamation is privilege. When the defendant is a certain type of public official or the statement was during certain official proceedings, the
statement was “privileged” and therefore the plaintiff cannot successfully sue for slander.
However, Ms. Ringel may be able to sue Mr. Pucciarelli for slander. Ironically, after Mayor Aronsohn admonished the tone of Ms. Ringel’s statements and asked everyone from now on to “put aside accusations” and also “put aside personal attacks”, Mr. Pucciarelli could not stop himself. He said Ms. Ringel is “a very angry person” and is “loose with the truth”. I think Mr. Pucciarelli himself would agree he committed slander.
I guess it’s up to Ms. Ringel to decide if she wants to sue or just get an apology for this slanderous personal attack by Mr. Pucciarelli. We will see at the next meeting or before. To paraphrase, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the Village Council.”
Watch our elected officials in action here:
https://www.ustream.tv/recorded/49862179
Ringel statement begins shortly after 9 minutes.
Pucciarelli response begins at around 13 minutes. He goes into a spin like John Belushi in one of the characters he used to do during the news segment of SNL where he fell off his chair at the end.
Reader hopes the next 2 years will be an open, honest dialog and a good working relationship on the Village council.
Al Puciarelli has recused himself from these hearings
Morgan Hurley resigned
Cyril Grant resigned
Trisha Connors resigned
The remaining 7 members will be voting on Tuesday, June 17th
Ridgewood council is suppose to have 2 members and therefor 2 votes on the planning board. Al Pucciarelli has correctly recused himself from the Valley hearings as well as the downtown hearings. This has left Ridgewood with only 1 elected representative from council for approximately 90% of the planning board meetings. When the council has it’s reorganization on July 1st, I sincerely hope Al Pucciarelli does the right thing and does not remain on the planning board. The residents of Ridgewood have been denied their representation for far too long. It’s time to have 2 members from council on the planning board that do not need to recuse themselves for the majority of the issues.
I also sincerely hope the remaining council members (Paul Aronsohn, Al Pucciarelli and Gwenn Hauck) will welcome the newly elected members with open arms, fresh minds, and a new beginning, and end the last 2 years of fighting on the council. It has been very disturbing to read and see the way the 5 of them treated each other. The best way to do this is to follow protocol and have the newly elected member with the most votes be sworn in as deputy mayor. This will show everyone their willingness to work with each other. The person with the most votes would be Susan Knudsen. If Ms Knudsen declines, it would then go to Mike Sedon. I hope the Village of Ridgewood can breathe a sigh of relief after the reorganization meeting on July 1st, knowing that the next 2 years will be an open, honest dialog and a good working relationship on the council.
Seemingly, what is good for the goose is NOT good for the gander with regard to Ridgewood Village Council members
During the May 28, 2014 Village Council meeting at which a formal vote was taken on the Village’s 2014 Municipal Budget, Village Clerk Heather Mailander informed those present that Councilman Thomas M, Riche would be marked as “absent” in connection with the vote because he was not physically present at the meeting. Mr. Riche was marked as “absent” despite his issuance of a signed statement, which was read aloud by Ms. Mailander, indicating his objection to the budget. This blogger wonders if Mr. Riche was informed that he could legally cast his vote on the budget via telephone or internet?
Fast forward – Sources within Village Hall are reporting that Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck will not be physically present during the Village Council’s July 1, 2014 Reorganization Meeting. Instead, Ms. Hauck will be vacationing overseas with members of her family. But, she will be permitted to cast several official votes related to Village Council matters that day via Skype. Perfectly legal? Yes. Despicable? Yes. Disgraceful? Yes. Yet another slap in the faces of Ridgewood taxpayers? Yes again. Will the 3 Amigos ever stop? Obviously not. And the band played on . . .
Readers Question the wisdom of reducing traffic lanes at Garber Square
Would be interested in knowing how much additional funds were needed to make Wilsey and Garber Squares into one lanes vs. repaving existing setup. Not completely sure what they are trying to achieve at this location with the narrow roadways — is speeding/pedestrian safety a major issue around that stretch?
Starting Wednesday, May 7th, paving construction work will begin on the West Side at Wilsey and Garber Squares from Godwin Avenue to under the train trestle on Franklin Avenue. Expect traffic congestion in this area for the next 3 months during construction. To avoid delays, we suggest the use of alternate streets to get across the train tracks – Ackerman Avenue or W. Glen Avenue.
Reader says Albano is the Mayors fourth potential sycophant to do his bidding
Regarding Mike Sedon’s longevity as a resident, doesn’t anybody remember that Aronsohn had lived here for maybe a couple of years before running for council? He picked our town as a target, moved to it, and got himself elected by the innocent electorate that had never seen such politicking before. This was to be a steppingstone to higher office, but the big guys don’t seem interested, so he has stayed put.
For his next act he pulled in two bewildered residents who had never considered running for council as long as they would do his bidding. Sure enough, has had his 3-2 vote on countless important issues.
Now he has selected a fourth potential sycophant to do his bidding in a four-year term that would continue for a couple of years beyond the 2016 election, when he might personally be gone. And yes, with any luck at all he and his compadres will quit or be booted off the council two years from now and we can return to sanity in this town if they have not managed to destroy it completely.
Reader says what I really want to hear from the RBSA is how are they going to fix the IRS Issues
The sports groups are out in full force. Just got a “Mid-Season Update from RBSA President Jim Albano” telleing me what’s been going on in RBSA-land but no discussion of their IRS issues which is what I’d really like to know about. I haven’t gotten an RBSA message in years since my kids are already in college.Also got another one from a RBSA trustee urging me to vote for Jim Albano because he is the ONLY candidate concerned about our youths (funny, my kids played ALOT of sports with the Knudsen kids and Susan has been the photog for the RHS football and Mike has young ones who will play sports). I never heard Susan or Mike say that didn’t support the recommendations of the open-space committee and I’ve been listening but I could be wrong.Disingenous, at best.
Federal tax exemption is not the only reason a political message on the RJFA email list is unacceptable.
Federal tax exemption is not the only reason a political message on the RJFA email list is unacceptable. The group also enjoys semi-official status through the council and Board of Ed and uses taxpayer-supported property.https://www.ridgewoodnj.net/pdf/parksandrec/07FPJAN01.pdf
Village of Ridgewood and Ridgewood Board of Education Athletic Fields and Recreational Facilities Use Policy, January 1, 2007
On page 6:
Category II Permit Use
2A. Co-Sponsored Athletic Organizations
The following volunteer non-profit sports organizations are recognized by the Village Council/BOE and are considered to be co-sponsored by the Parks and Recreation Department/Community School, according to the rules noted below:
Ridgewood Baseball & Softball Association
Ridgewood Biddy Basketball
Ridgewood Hoops Club
***Ridgewood Junior Football Association***
Ridgewood Junior Wrestling
Ridgewood Lacrosse Association
Ridgewood Roller Hockey Association
Ridgewood Soccer Association / Maroons Soccer Club
Ridgewood Community School
The Board of Ed, League of Women Voters, and others have been informed of this breach of trust.
Stirring the Pot No , just Business as usual in New Jersey
“james again if you are going to make a comment about motives please tell us the motives so that your readers can be better informed. Just making general comments to “stir the pot ” so to speak doesn’t leave you with any creditability. Thank you again”
Looks like we hit a nerve with our editorial , apparently many Ridgewood residents are naive as to how politics work in New Jersey.
Special interests push for a project ,and politicians who deliver get showered with campaign contributions from lawyers , architects, businesses and developers who benefit from that project
The next trick is to impress the pubic with its benefit there by creating an overwhelming need to get the taxpayer to pony up and pay for it there by socializing the risk ,and keeping all the rewards .for themselves .
With nothing more than a few “spot zoning ” changes or a change to a master plan your favorite local politician is on his way to congress.
Don’t believe me take one look at Xanadu and ask your self what idiot would build a shopping mall in Bergen County when so many already exists ?
The answer is an idiot that takes no financial risk and gets you the tax payer to pay for it .
You see politicians work for lobbyists and special interest who they deal with 365 days a year , while they only have to speak to the voters once every four years . Shocked don’t be by now your should be used to it .. This is how it works , like it or not and everyone knows except for the voters .
The success of the Village of Ridgewood as a community is that in the past
Reader Spells out the Differences in the Village Council Candidates
While the papers have been giving you the impression that all 3 candidates are the same it is an over-simplification. Knudsen and Sedon have been attending VC and PB meetings for years because they are genuinely interested in the municipal issues and feel they can contribute sound, non-partisan perspectives.
Jim Albano has only started to attend these meetings since his candidacy. Why did he suddenly become so interested in our municipality that he wanted to be on the council? How about attending a meeting first? How about reading the paper and submitting a Letter to the Editor? How about standing up at ONE of the 7 years of Valley Hospital meetings to speak out (either for or against)? How about attending a meeting on the downtown development? He has been interviewed by all the grassroots organizations in town and all of them found him to be a pleasant person that loves Ridgewood, but was totally unprepared to have a meaningful conversation on the big issues in town including, but not limited to development, budget, services, parking, shared services, schools,etc.
This is all in addition to the fact that he has only voted twice in a municipal election in over 20 years (doesn’t sound too interested in Ridgewood to me!) and he has failed to submit tax returns on behalf of the RBSA, for which he is President, for at least 6 years and has not informed the RBSA members that their donations have not been tax deductible all that time. You might hear him tell you where he stands on things, but he has no track-record to prove it. That’s why I’m voting Sedon and Knudsen. Hope that helps.
The Ridgewood Blog endorses Susan Knudsen and Michael Sedon for Village Council
This years Village Council Election has three candidates seeking two open Village Council seats. The Candidates are Jim Albano, Susan Knudsen and Michael Sedon .
The election season has been punctuated by the aroma of big city politics . Threats have been made, Anonymous emails have been sent and yard signs taken .
The campaign season has pitted the “we know better crowd ” represented by Jim Albano, and RBSA against two well meaning outsiders Susan Knudsen and Michael Sedon.
The Village is facing some very big decisions about the future direction of the town and many vested interests are pushing hard to have their agenda heard.
It appears that that Jim Albano and his RBSA cohorts have aliened them self with the forces of urbanization and over aggressive development. He would join the Mayor ,deputy Mayor and one council member looking to push their own agenda for selfish gain.
To us the crux of the matter once again is weather the “in-crowd ” will get what they want and the rest of the Village will be forced pay for it .
While Susan Knudsen and Michael Sedon offer a more sensible voice looking to pursue a more moderate course of development in keeping with the Village character and retaining all the great things that make this and out standing community.
The question for voters is what kind of Village do you want to live in , an over developed hospital town , filled with turf fields and massive multi family housing projects ringing the down town or a community more focused on quality of life and education ?
Past experiences with NJT and the historic Village train station renovation prove the the forces of development can be balanced with community needs and in that case both side came away winners . The “we know better” ,all or nothing approach of advocates of urbanization have been discredited both hear in the Village and state wide with scandal after scandal , and failed projects such as Xanadu ,
The “we know better crowd ” has brought us nothing but parking meter thieves ,1/2 a million dollar golden toilets , Village Hall fiascos and too many more to mention .
Its time to recognize the “we know better crowd” does not know better and only acts on their own selfish interests and not in the interest of the Village as a whole.
Therefore the Ridgewood blog unequivocally endorses Susan Knudsen and Michael Sedon.
Polls are open May 13th from 6am to 8pm. For election questions, please call the Village Clerk at 201/670-5500 x 201
Reader says Jim Albano has his hands full , too busy to be informed and should clean up his mess before he runs for Village Council
It has been 6 years since they have filed tax returns! 3 years before it was revoked and 3 years since. Which happens to be the entire tenure of RBSA President Jim Albano. , you hit the nail on the head! If he cannot resolve the RBSA tax issue in 6 years, he is definitely not cut out to be a councilman. There a 6 members of the RBSA Executive Board, 22 RBSA trustees and thousands of parents through the RBSA organization over 6 years. They couldn’t find anyone to do their taxes? Then maybe they should have suspended the program or at least part of the program until someone stepping up to the plate (pun intended!)
One thing for sure, Jim Albano has his hands full and he is too busy to be an informed and active member of our village council. He should clean up his mess and run again in a couple of years when he is ready to be a truly active member in Village issues.
MAY 8, 2014 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, MAY 8, 2014, 2:43 PM
For several weeks this spring, Jim Albano, Susan Knudsen and Michael Sedon worked to meet and greet as many Ridgewood residents as possible during their pushes for political office. On Tuesday, each will learn whether they won over enough voters during their campaigns.
On May 13, the village’s registered voters will be asked to select two of the three candidates to fill vacancies on the five-member Ridgewood Council. Each seat on the governing body carries a four-year term.
Since declaring their intention to seek office, each candidate addressed their opinions on the various issues: The Valley Hospital expansion, downtown multifamily housing, property taxes, improved village services, and the future development of the Schedler property, among other areas (see previous issues of The Ridgewood News for those opinions).
The Ridgewood News asked each candidate to submit a final personal statement for publication, all of which follow here, based on alphabetical order. (Darius Amos)
Reader says Mike Sedon certainly the right choice for Village Council
Mike Sedon is a fine man with the highest of standards. His wife is very, very lucky to have found such a wonderful husband and father for their children. His judgement is outstanding – he is not going to work for an employer who tried to force him to quit a run for Village Council in another state. Mike is now freelancing and no longer commuting to Staten Island, he is around for his children. All the right choices.
And he is certainly the right choice for Village Council. I cannot wait to see him on the dais. Sanity will finally rule.
