Will the Zabriskie Schedler House, in Ridgewood become the next turf field
Reader says to save money, quit buying land and taking it off the tax rolls to make soccer fields
If you want to save money, quit buying land and taking it off the tax rolls to make soccer fields. The horse farm, if its worth the $10 million we got hosed for at the time of purchase, equates to about $250,000 per year of taxes no longer coming in.
Citizens park was paid for with donations from long time residents, whose names appear on the placque. It was for a PARK, not a soccer field, with obnoxious loud people blocking up the traffic there, along with the nite lights. Its disgusting how a nice green park became a brown mudfield to accommodate the newbies here.
Postal Service set to cut Saturday delivery
February 6, 2013 7:41 AM
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ– The U.S. Postal Service has announced that it will stop delivering mail on Saturdays but continue to deliver packages six days a week under a plan aimed at saving about $2 billion, the financially struggling agency says. Saturday mail cutback would not begin until August.
The move allows the USPS to focus on package delivery which has increased by 14% since 2010, At the same time technology which aids in package delivery has caught up with the delivery of letters and other mail declining significantly with the ever increasing use of email and other Internet based technologies. .
Under the new plan, mail would still be delivered to post office boxes on Saturdays. and Post offices now open on Saturdays would remain open on Saturdays.
The Postal Service for some time has advocated shifting to a five-day delivery schedule for mail and packages . The US Postal Service is an independent agency that gets no tax dollars for its day-to-day operations but is subject to congressional control.
The agency would need congressional approval to make the change and It was not immediately if that would be forth coming or even necessary.
Patrick R. Donahoe, postmaster general , says Postal Service market research and other research has indicated that nearly 7 in 10 Americans support the switch to five-day delivery as a way for the Postal Service to reduce costs.
Carve that Pumpkin for Halloween
Carve that Pumpkin for Halloween
by William
Village Council commits funds for affordable housing ah sort off
file photo of a golden toilet
Village Council commits funds for affordable housing ah sort off
July 13.2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
On Wednesday evening the Village Council committed $195,000 from its affordable housing trust fund to subsidize future projects by Habitat for Humanity of Bergen County. Village officials are hopeful that the resolution, passed at a special meeting will prevent the state from seizing that money and absorbing it into the New Jersey Housing Trust Fund.
Village Manager Ken Gabbert told the Ridgewood News that .”committing the funds, the village establishes a maximum amount of money to put toward an affordable housing proposal by Habitat for Humanity. The organization will be responsible for raising money and gathering donations in the event its project exceeds the $195,000.
With in such a depressed real estate market we fail to see the wisdom of much of the COAH funding . Politicians would be better off streamlining housing regulations and cutting spending to lower property taxes making housing more affordable in New Jersey . Prime real estate is always going to go for a premium and subsiding home ownership as we all have learned since 2008 has proven a well intentioned folly.
However some people for what ever reason have simply dropped through the cracks making it very hard to reenter society as productive individuals .Housing responsibilities are sensible part of the rehabilitative process. This means a case by case evaluation avoiding all the big government housing project one size fits all of the early 1970’s or the Soviet Union. Local organisations have proven to be far better and more able to identify the issues facing local displaced people.
With that said , Ridgewood is a town that spent over $400,000 on toilets aka “the golden toilet” for Vets field so it does look like Habitat for Humanity has its work cut out for it given $195,000 may barely cover a shower head in Ridgewood.
Paul Aronsohn, Gwenn Hauck and Albert Pucciarelli are officially sworn in to the Village Council
Photos By Boyd Loving
Paul Aronsohn, Gwenn Hauck and Albert Pucciarelli are officially sworn in to the Village Council
July 12012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , Paul Aronsohn, Gwenn Hauck and Albert Pucciarelli were officially sworn in at Sundays Village Council reorganization meeting.
There were no big surprises Paul Aronsohn was appointed Mayor, Albert Pucciarelli appointed Deputy Mayor. Matt Rogers reappointed as Village Attorney, and a litany of appointments to the various Village boards were also made . U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez administered the oaths of office .
Some changes were made to Village Council committees; Gwen Hauck is now liaison to Parks & Rec and Bernie Walsh assumes the Citizens Safety Advisory Committee leadership now that Keith is gone.Both former Mayor Killion and Councilman Stephen Wellinghorst were praised by residents and council alike . Former Mayor Keith Killion received a standing ovation as he left the dais.
Now Mayor Aronsohn made his first public speech as mayor, and vowed to work on the revitalizing the business community, fix the permitting process, fill store vacancies, and take a closer look at pedestrian safety.
In his remarks U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez was very complimentary to Ridgewood’s non partisan form of government.
Both the ceremony and reception were well attended and there was a standing room only crowd .
Photos by Boyd Loving
Ex Chief Bombace looks to resuscitate image after behavior was blasted by judge in Reilly verdict
Ex Chief Bombace looks to resuscitate image after behavior was blasted by judge in Reilly verdict
Kevin Reilly alleged that he reported two incidents in which firefighter safety was compromised because of violations by his superiors.
The recent decision by Judge Menelaos W. Toskos reducing Firefighter Kevin Reilly’s 3.5 million dollar jury award to $500,000.00 told only half of the story.
Firefighter Reilly’s “whistle blower” claim that he and his colleagues were ordered to clean up an unknown chemical spill at The Valley Hospital was proven to be false during the court proceedings. The chemical had been identified by The Bergen County Hazardous Materials Team, which was called to The Valley Hospital at 7:30 PM on Sunday, August 12, 2007, at the request of the Fire Department, for what was then an unknown spill in the area of the Hospital Pharmacy. I was also called to the scene by the on duty Fire Captain.
The members of the Ridgewood Fire Department and Bergen County Hazardous Materials Team contained and then identified the spilled material, which was identified as 1000 cc of Glacial Acetic Acid. Bergen County Hazmat and Fire Department members then used an absorbent to pick up the liquid. Once all of the liquid had been picked up they double bagged the absorbent and the broken bottle for disposal. The bagged material was turned over to a Hospital Representative for disposal in the Hospitals normal hazardous waste flow. This action was documented in a report filed by the Bergen County Hazardous Materials Team (BCDHS Case Number 2007-8-71) see attachment.
The next day, Monday, August 13, 2007, Deputy Chief David Yaden and I returned to Valley Hospital in the morning to speak to the Valley Hospital Safety Officer about incident and to insure that the already contained and bagged material was going to be disposed of properly. When we went to check on the hazardous material it was noticed that the outer bag had been torn at some point. We called for the on duty firefighters to respond to The Valley Hospital and I instructed Firefighter Reilly and the other Firefighters to wear their appropriate respiratory protection with gloves and to place the torn bag into another bag and then place a hazardous materials label on the new bag.
None of the already bagged absorbent material had spilled from either of the inner bags. No spill was cleaned up by Firefighter Reilly or the other Firefighters. At no time were these Firefighters placed in any danger and because there was no spill there was no need to call the Bergen County Hazardous Materials Team for this situation.
James Bombace, Chief (Retired)
Ridgewood Fire Department
Ridgewood its Reorg time
File Photo by Boyd Loving
Ridgewood its Reorg time
May 15,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
The election is over and its time for the reorg, Reorganization as it is called will be held at the council meeting on July 1, the two new council members Albert Pucciarelli, Gwenn Hauck will join Paul Aronsohn , Bernadette Walsh and Tom Riche to select a new mayor for a two year term.
Contrary to popular belief the popular vote during elections makes no difference in picking a mayor. .In 2010 Councilwoman Walsh, took home the most votes and was passed over for a more experience Kieth Killion. It all comes down to a simple process ,after the new members are sworn in, nominations for mayor are submitted. The individual with most total votes among the five is then appointed and sworn in as the new mayor.
The Patch has reported the sources have said Aronsohn has support of running mates Gwenn Hauck and Albert Pucciarelli, and would have enough votes to take over the their words “largely figurehead role”. We have also heard that both Bernadette Walsh and Tom Riche, elected in 2010, have expressed also interest in the position. Riche is currently the deputy mayor and comes to the council with a lot of experience .While many witnessed Paul Aronsohn standup up in front of the whole town and say he couldn’t work with Keith ,Tom,Steve or Bernie, this in our and many peoples eyes rules him out as mayor .
Ridgewood still uses a mayor-council system based on the Faulkner Act. The mayor presides over the council meetings.,but has no veto power over decisions. His or her vote counts just like any other councilperson. However the mayor is the public face of the village, attending Village functions meeting with respective counterparts and of coarse other politicians. The mayor also presides over the council meetings.
This is again where many people have a serious problem with the two new council members for their strings attached affiliation to Valley Hospital and of councilmen Aronsohn for his deep connection to the state Democratic party and partisan out look in a non partisan town.
Turf King endorses Aronsohn, Hauck and Puciarell criticizes police and firemen, attacking salary and benefits
Turf king endorses Aronsohn, Hauck and Puciarell criticizes police and firemen, attacking salary and benefits
Moments ago, after a long day at work I sat down to review my personal emails, check school info and sports emails, kids schedule, etc. In the mix was an email from Brian Abdoo who I know from a number of sports programs my kids are involved in. I began reading the Abdoo’s endorsement of candidates, Aronsohn, Hauck and Puciarelli. The more I read the sicker I became. Abdoo has thoroughly disgusted me with his hypocritical rhetoric.
From 2009-2010 Brian Abdoo repeatedly endorsed the multi-million dollar controversial turf projects at Stadium and Stevens fields. As we all know the turf has been an unmitigated disaster resulting in Ridgewood Taxpayers incurring the burden of costly repairs.
Now, this same Brian Abdoo wants to express concern over taxes? He attempts to peddle Paul Aronsohn’s gimmicky zero based budgeting. Even my 6th grader understands built-in inherent cost increases. Abdoo states he wants more transparency and Village Council should “open the books”. The fact that Brian Abdoo is ignorant should not persuade anyone to his argument. Brian, the books are open. They are a matter of public record and are available for anyone to review. Brian, feel free to visit APP DataUniverse if there is anything you need to know. However, Mr. Abdoo, while doing your research you likely will not find the value of your candidate Aronsohn’s health care costs, at village taxpayer expense, for the past four years. Mr. Abdoo, while Mr. Aronsohn is busy telling you he wants to help Ridgewood Taxpayers, he has been busy helping himself for four years
.
Brian Abdoo proceeds to attack our police and firemen, attacking their salary and benefits. If this is such a concern why on earth would he support Aronsohn who voted for each and every raise, and contract , pertaining to the police & fire department. Maybe he prefers regionalized police and fire departments like Hauck and Puciarelli. Hauck announced the savings for each village taxpayer during the debate: a whopping $ 285 each! For that money I will sleep better at night with Village police and firemen.
Abdoo professes the revitalization of Ridgewood downtown and how committed each of his threesome is to this goal. Mr. Abdoo, Paul Aronsohn is the Council liaison to the Chamber of Commerce. What has he been doing for the past four years? Shopping at the mall? And Hauck and Puciarelli prefer a more urbanized Ridgewood. If they want urbanization let them move to Hoboken.
Best for last, Abdoo states each of these candidates is committed to helping Valley and residents to negotiate a compromise to allow for expansion. For goodness sake, Brian, where has Al Puciarelli been? He has been a member of the planning board forever. Hauck didn’t speak of compromise when she endorsed the massive expansion, as is, over and over again. Valley Hospital is not interested in compromise. The only time that was suggested by Valley was at the last Village Council hearing. Audrey Meyers, seeing the writing on the wall, begged council to hold off their vote so Valley could develop a compromise. Seriously, where was the compromise for six years?
Mr. Abdoo, reconsider and bullet for Killion and Shinizuka before we are in another turf-like drowning mess attributable to the likes of you.
Mr. Bombace has been working directly with Paul Arohnson for the past 3 years to get a super majority of “like-minded” council persons
Mr. Bombace has been working directly with Paul Arohnson for the past 3 years to get a super majority of “like-minded” council persons
Mr. Bombace has been working directly with Paul Arohnson for the past 3 years to get a super majority of “like-minded” council persons elected. At first it was the “Crowd” (Cronk and Dowd); now its Albert Puccarelli and Gwen Haulk.
The problem with allowing Paul Arohnson to control a super majority (who have been telling anyone who will listen; that they intend to elect him as Mayor) is that these three will jam their agenda through over and over again and the Village will be changed forever. It should be no suprise they have been having private (read: secret) meetings with various development partners to construct new retail, garages and apartments in various locations in downtown (this is the kind of stuff that leads to jail time, just look what happened in other urban areas around us these past few years).
The current Council is composed of five individuals, none having a lock on control and all having “independent”, not “like-minded” or “lock-step” thinking.
In this Tuesday’s election there will be three non aligned candidates; they are: Keith Killion, Jane Shinazoka and Russ Forenza. Anyone who knows these three; knows they are very different people with very different ideas, all respectful of eachother and the tax payer.
Please vote for independent condidates this year.
Vincent Loncto is sworn in as Ridgewood schools trustee
Vincent Loncto is sworn in as Ridgewood schools trustee
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2011
BY EVONNE COUTROS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD – A former chief financial officer for major corporations was sworn in Monday night as the school district’s newest trustee.
Vincent Loncto took his seat as a trustee at Monday’s school board meeting at the district’s Education Center on Cottage Place.
The certified public accountant was one of six candidates interviewed for the trustee post after Charles Reilly resigned earlier this year.
“The school budget is in the process of being developed, so I’m coming in at the right time,” said Loncto, who retired earlier this year from a 40-year career in financial management.
“It has to be done collaboratively,” he said. “What we are talking about here is enhancing the quality of the school system under budgetary constraints. It is detail-intensive work.”
https://www.northjersey.com/news/Ridgewood_school_board_to_swear_in_new_member_tonight.html
Letter: Former fire chief James Bombace corrects ‘misleading’ statement
Letter: Former fire chief James Bombace corrects ‘misleading’ statement
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2011
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Former chief: Manager should be in charge
To the editor:
At the last council meeting, Deputy Mayor Tom Riche stated: “When the Emergency Operations Center is activated … all command and control immediately goes to the Emergency Operations Center and the director of Emergency Management. So the village manager theoretically at that point is no longer in charge.”
Nothing, however, could be further from the truth.
Ridgewood school board interviews six candidates for open seat
>Ridgewood school board interviews six candidates for open seat
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2011
BY JOSEPH CRAMER
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Board of Education (BOE) interviewed six candidates this week for the seat left vacant by trustee Charles Reilly’s departure last month.
Six candidates applied and were each questioned by board members on Monday night regarding their professional backgrounds, reasons for applying for the position, and goals as a potential BOE trustee. The decision on Reilly’s replacement will be announced at a public meeting on Nov. 7.
Among the candidates – James Morgan, Gwen Sullivan, B. Vincent Loncto, Janice Willet, Rei Shinozuka and Eric Gross – several themes were consistent across the six interviews. All expressed a desire to contribute to the reputation of the Ridgewood school district, which was a primary reason behind moving to the village for many of the candidates.
Issues of communication, whether relating to complex technical matters such as yearly budgets or simple instances of parent feedback, were also paramount in candidates’ responses.
Carve that Pumpkin for Halloween
>Carve that Pumpkin for Halloween
Interviews will be held on Monday, October 24, 2011 for Vacant Board Seat
>Interviews will be held on Monday, October 24, 2011 for Vacant Board Seat
APPLICATIONS RECEIVED FOR VACANT BOARD MEMBER POSITION
As of Friday, October 21, 2011, 4:00 p.m., the district has received applications for the vacant Board Member position from the following people:
Eric Gross
B. Vincent Loncto
James Morgan
Rei Shinozuka
Gwen Sullivan
Janice Willett
Interviews will be held starting at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, October 24, 2011, at the Regular Public Meeting, in the Board Room on the third floor of the Education Center.
Lets Turf Habernickel
>
Lets Turf Habernickel
Why is Habernickel never an option for a Turf field? With stands and a concession.
At least I see teams using the turf fields on the east side. You see maybe 15 kids a time on the precious Habernickel.
Please lets sell it to a developer to pay for all the services we have lost and get the town in a better finanical position.
