Meet the Manager – Thursday, August 13 4:30 – 7:30PM
Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld will hold office hours for Ridgewood residents and business owners on Thursday, August 13 between the hours of 4:30 to 7:30PM. This is an opportunity to share your thoughts and provide input to Roberta. These sessions will be scheduled at 15 minute intervals and will be held in the Court Room – on the Fourth Level of Ridgewood Village Hall. Please contact Beth Spinato at 201-670-5500, ext. 203 to make an appointment. Walk-ins are welcome but should realize that the schedule may already be booked. We will announce the schedule for these meetings on a monthly basis.
JULY 29, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015, 9:11 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Finding a parking spot at the Village Hall lot has been tough sledding lately for some visitors to the municipal complex.
The arrival of summer means that many outdoor events are taking place at Veterans Field. The added hustle and bustle, along with regular events at the Ridgewood Public Library and day-to-day business at Village Hall, often causes the 153-space main lot to be full at various points during both the day and evening.
Earlier this month, discussion began on how the auxiliary lots on Linwood Avenue, one of which is at the other end of Veterans Field, could be better utilized in handling the parking needs of patrons attending overlapping events.
For example, on the evening of Tuesday, July 7, there was a Warren Grim tribute concert at Kasschau Shell, a baseball game, a Planning Board meeting at Village Hall and the library was hosting its knitting group, Mahjongg group and bicycle club.
Councilwoman Susan Knudsen, who was present at the municipal complex that evening as a Planning Board member, characterized the parking situation as “dangerous.” She said some motorists were bottlenecking as they drove around waiting for a spot. Other cars were sitting idle while parallel to parking spaces, blocking in other cars.
Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli noted it was possible for a person to park in those spaces and then go anywhere in town, or perhaps even walk to the train station and travel to New York City. The only parking limits placed on the Village Hall lot is the presence of 36 yellow-striped spaces reserved for village employees, which expires at 4:30 p.m. each day. There are also 17 spaces reserved for staff members of the Ridgewood Library.
Currently, 89 spaces in the main lot and another 17 on North Maple Avenue are available for visitors to Village Hall and the Ridgewood Library.
the staff of the Ridgewood blogRidgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Arts Council (RAC) is placing a final call to all artists with a connection to Ridgewood to consider donating to a permanent art installation which will be housed throughout Ridgewood’s Village Hall. The intent of this installation, entitled Ridgewood Art at Village Hall, is to celebrate the wealth of talent among Ridgewood-related artists, past and present. We encourage contributors, 16 years and older, with a connection to
Ridgewood, to participate. Posthumous contributions from family members welcome. The process starts by artists e-mailing rac@ridgewoodnj.net for a short online submission form. Art can be in any medium and any size–fine art, photography, textile, mobile art and sculpture included. Deadline for submissions has been extended to August 1 so we urge all interested parties to submit ASAP. Once the installation is in place, we will be inviting our entire community to a gala launch event celebrating RAC and this new chapter of honoring the arts in Ridgewood!
JULY 23, 2015, 5:58 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015, 6:01 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — The council’s decision to appoint a human resources director was challenged last week by residents who suggested the hiring might have violated village ordinance.
Ridgewood’s council voted 3-2 on July 15 to update the ordinance that lays out the village’s organizational structure. The move formally establishes a human resources department and creates a director’s position for that department.
Roberta Sonenfeld, the village’s manager, said at last week’s council meeting that the ordinance was being updated to reflect operations in Village Hall.
Sharyn Matthews, director of the village’s new human resources department, was hired in the fall as a senior personnel assistant, earning $92,000. Matthews, whose pay will remain the same, holds degrees in labor relations and human resources from Cornell University and Mercy College and is certified as a senior human resources professional.
The changes approved by the council last week effectively eradicated the Department of Community Services, Sonenfeld said, while moving some of its subdivisions to other departments and adding some new positions.
“The intent of the ordinance,” Sonenfeld said, was to clean up the language in the code “to reflect what is and has been reality.”
Ridgewood NJ, Some of us are having trouble understanding what appear to be a contradiction in the actions and statements of Mayor Aronsohn, Deputy Mayor Pucciarelli, and Councilwoman Hauck. For the record, I pointed this out twice at public meetings (which did not result in an explanation of the discrepancy), and recently wrote to each of them for clarification (none replied).
In January of 2014, all three of them seemed pretty adamant that they did not want to violate the Village Code by hiring anyone into a position that did not exist (in that case, it was police officer positions in excess of the stated limit). Quotes from the Minutes of the 01/29/2014 meeting include the following:
Mayor Aronsohn pointed out that the most important question to be answered is whether the Village is now in violation of what is permitted by the ordinance as far as police hires are concerned. Mayor Aronsohn commented that the concerns are twofold: one is that the Village would not be in compliance with its own law, leading to the question of how to remedy that situation;
Councilwoman Hauck sees the current problem as an administrative problem and how it would appear if the ordinance were changed to facilitate an administrative error. She suggested that it might be better to wait until the next round of Police Academy candidates graduate, and hire new police officers in July. That would avoid being in violation of Village Code. Councilwoman Hauck said she feels uneasy about amending the current ordinance in order to bring people in prematurely.
Councilman Pucciarelli said that….for him, the issue is law enforcement, and the Village must obey its own laws.
How, then, do these statements fit in with their more recent actions regarding the hiring of a Human Resources Director (or Confidential Secretary, Senior Personnel Assistant, Senior Human Resources Professional or whatever the job title turned out to be) prior to the creation of this position and its official inclusion in the Village Code? It seemed that in January of 2014 they were determined to follow the letter of the law, whereas in the this situation they decided it was acceptable to completely disregard the Village Code, and then re-write it after doing so.
Certainly the creation of an HR position was not an emergency, and due process could have been followed to first create the position and have it officially entered into the Village Code, and then to advertise the job and hire the appropriate person. Our elected officials are put into office with a clear expectation that they will uphold the laws of our Village, in addition to their other duties. It strikes me that in the case of this Human Resources position, they openly disregarded their own law, even when such was being pointed out to them by Councilman Sedon, Councilwoman Knudsen, and various members of the public. No matter how badly they wanted a Human Resources person, the end does not justify the means. We have a set of laws and procedures, and we expect our elected officials to follow them.
Until the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and Councilwoman Hauck clearly state why they acted one way in one instance, and quite the opposite in this instance, we taxpayers will be left feeling very uneasy.
Village of Ridgewood – E-Notice – Thursday, 09 July 2015
Dear E-Notice Residents,
Early this week we had a burglary on the west side of town – last week we had one as well. I wanted to drop everyone a note as a reminder as to how we best protect ourselves; the economic demographics of Ridgewood make this a highly attractive town for burglaries but there are many things that we can do together to deter this.
First and foremost if you see anything or anyone suspicious please call our Police Department. Look out for your neighbors. Also, try to make your home look like it’s occupied – for example, take your newspapers in, try not to leave dry cleaning on your front door, leave a car in the driveway, and put your lights, tv and/or radio on timers so they are on during the proper times. Also, please make sure that your doors are locked. If you have two sets of doors, i.e. a storm/screen door and a regular entry door insure both are locked – locking just the screen door (which tends to be easier to force open) is not sufficient. Close and lock your garage door; one of our burglaries recently was the theft of a bicycle out of a garage. In fact we have had a significant number of bike thefts so putting bicycles away is a good idea as well. When you are leaving your home for an extended period of time, you can call our Police Department and let them know. Also, if you leave your car outside, please make sure that nothing of value is visible within the car and that it is locked – entering a car and stealing is common and can largely be avoided.
I am by no means minimizing the level of burglaries in Ridgewood this year but the metrics indicate that this is similar to last year. We have had 9 residential burglaries and 3 attempts this year versus 10 last year during the same time frame. We remain a very safe community with a top notch law enforcement capability.
In the last two weeks the two west side burglaries were in the Old Country Club area, and last fall we saw a number of burglaries on the east side of our Village. We see this concentration of activity in a particular area for a time and then it seems to shift to another section of town or other municipalities. The Police Department is actively investigating these crimes and they are a priority.
Have a safe, relaxing and wonderful summer, Roberta
JUNE 19, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Ordinances were introduced last week by the Village Council reflecting changes in the organizational structure of Village Hall, a cleanup of salary ranges for village employees and elimination of unused titles.
The new ordinance institutes a Human Resources department and creates a free-standing Department of Health, moving it out from under the umbrella of the Department of Community Services, which was eliminated. The Division of Assessments was moved to the Finance Department and a director title was created in the Building Department to accurately reflect recent hires.
“This is both a cleanup and reflects some strategic moves we’ve made with both the Building Department and with the Department of Human Resources,” said Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld.
Discussion of the ordinances took place at a June 3 meeting, where Sonenfeld explained the Human Resources department would also assume supervisory roles in the Employee Benefits and Payroll Administration functions of the government.
Councilman Michael Sedon, who voted against the introduction of the ordinances, said the first time he heard there would be a full-time Human Resources department was at the first budget hearing in February. Sedon said he did not have an opportunity to give input on such a service, which he believed was already being provided.
file photo by Boyd Loving
June 11th 2015
Boyd A. Loving
Ridgewood NJ, During Wednesday evening’s Village Council meeting (06/10/2015), Mayor Paul Aronsohn boasted that he and other members the current Council were personally responsible for enhancing the public comment segment(s) of Village Council meetings by increasing the amount of speaking time allotted from 3 minutes to 5 minutes per individual speaker.
In reality, the 5 minute time limit per individual speaker was established by Ordinance 2442, which was adopted on January 11, 1994. Neither Mr. Aronsohn, nor any other current Village Council member, served on the Council at that time.
On July 11, 2014, a resident became aware that the then in place 3 minute time limit per individual speaker was not consistent with what was established by Ordinance 2442 (a 5 minute time limit), and made Village Clerk Heather Mailander aware of the discrepancy.
Subsequent to receipt of this resident’s advisory, Ms. Mailander notified Mr. Aronsohn and other Council members of the issue and the time limit was adjusted to be consistent with the aforementioned ordinance.
I do so wish that Mr. Aronsohn would stop stretching the truth to bolster his political career.
Fortunately, some of us have been around long enough to remember things as they actually happened as opposed to the “world according to Paul Aronsohn.”
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Summer Day Camp is best described as days filled with fresh air, sunshine, new friends, fun, games, and special memories. Favorite annual events include a talent show, Graydon Pool splash party, carnival and special theme days. New events will include a visit from EquiShare/PonyShare, complete with pony stations to learn about grooming and feeding, with introduction to instructional riding. U.S. Sports Institute will offer a fun olympic event, Total Golf Adventures will provide golfing instruction, UnderGround Skateshop will provide exciting skateboard demonstrations, and we will offer a Day Camp Movie Night on the Beach at Graydon (free to all campers and their families).
The 2015 summer season will begin on Tuesday, June 30th, and run for six weeks through Friday, August 7th. Village children entering grades 1 through 6 will enjoy arts and crafts, organized games, swimming, special events and optional trips. Camp will be held at The Stable, Graydon Pool, Maple Park, Veteran’s Field, the Community Center at Village Hall and Leuning Park, Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Children are to bring/purchase* a lunch and beverage. Bus transportation from Village locations is available to all. Locate the Parent Manual on our Recreation homepage at www.ridgewoodnj.net/recreation. This important source of information should be reviewed with your child to avoid confusion and concerns children may have.
*New this year, a variety of healthy sack lunches will be available for purchase from the Water’s Edge Café at Graydon Pool with daily delivery to camp. MUST PRE-ORDER. Visit the Recreation homepage referenced above to view details on how to order, as well as the variety of lunches offered.
The registration fee for camp is $525.00, which includes two camp T-shirts and optional bus transportation. Off-site trips are optional with limited space; prices vary and registration will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. All campers must possess a 2015 Graydon Pool membership badge. Visit www.ridgewoodnj.net/graydon to purchase online via Community Pass.
Don’t wait as camp is filling quickly. Registration will be accepted from April 1 through June 15, 2015 as space allows. You may register online at www.ridgewoodnj.net/communitypass (payment by Visa/Mastercard). For registration assistance and/or special needs, please visit the Recreation Office at The Stable, 259 North Maple Avenue, or call the office at 201-670-5560.
APRIL 24, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
When a handful of residents resurrected the Ridgewood Arts Council (RAC) last year, there was little doubt cast that the group’s members would struggle to make their mark. Now, they’re preparing to leave a lasting legacy.
Members of the RAC along with their friends and other interested residents, some 20 in total, met Tuesday night to discuss the progress of the organization and its current initiatives while rallying support of the abundance of creativity in the village.
“We all know that Ridgewood has a thriving arts community, whether it’s in painting, singing, dancing, and culinary arts. There’s so much here,” Mayor Paul Aronsohn said during the evening’s welcome. “This is a great organization to bring it all together and make it available for everyone to see.”
In an effort to bring various art forms together, the RAC has launched a campaign to create “Ridgewood Art at Village Hall,” a permanent art display that would adorn the interior walls and halls of the municipal building. This week, the first eight art pieces donated for exhibit consideration were presented for viewing.
Ridgewood NJ, Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco today announced that the Department of Human Services Division on Disability Services will hold an Access for All Community Forum on Saturday, April 25 from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber of Ridgewood Village Hall 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ.
This summit is for municipal Access for All Committees in the County of Bergen to come together and discuss local issues, challenges and new initiatives that other towns can emulate. Public officials, safety personnel & volunteers, as well as concerned residents, are invited to attend. Topics will include programs, resources for municipalities, grant opportunities, housing, emergency services, and problem solving.
Moderators include: Freeholder Chairwoman Dr. Joan M. Voss; Freeholders Tracy Silna Zur and Maura DeNicola; Jim Thebery, M.A., CSW, Director Div. on Disability Services; and Ridgewood Mayor Paul Aronsohn.
Please join us………..this will be a unique opportunity to hear from all the Access for All Committees to share ideas, learn from others and find out new and creative ways to interact and work together on projects. This is a wonderful event, not to be missed.
04/07/157:30PMPlanning Board Public Meeting – Village Hall Court RoomAvailable 04/08/158:00PMVillage Council Public MeetingAvailable 04/14/157:30PMBoard of Adjustment Public Meeting 04/21/157:30PMPlanning Board Public Meeting – Village Hall Court Room 04/22/157:30PMVillage Council Public Work Session 04/28/157:30PMBoard of Adjustment Public Work Session 05/05/157:30PMPlanning Board Public Meeting – Village Hall Court Room 05/06/157:30PMVillage Council Public Work Session 05/12/157:30PMBoard of Adjustment Public Meeting
In a broader sense, this issue is like many others in that we have a Council majority that meets separately from the entire Council and outside the public eye. They come to each Council meeting with their own agenda and publicly humiliate any non-majority Council member that questions or disagrees with their agenda.
Whether these 3 violate the Sunshine laws is a topic for another post. Or maybe a special prosecutor. Regardless, the sad truth is that Ridgewood is being run by 3 individuals that think they know better than the rest of us. They preach transparency while they exclude their constituents and Council mates from the governing process. They preach civility as they engage in petty name calling and public condescension. They insult our intelligence by acting this way and thinking that nobody notices such blatant hypocrisy.
Let’s hope that Ms. Knudsen and Mr. Sedon have the courage to stand up to these 3 every step of the way. At this point, every agenda item that this Council majority brings to the table is worthy of a second look
As a 22 year Ridgewood resident I am disgusted by these three and Roberta. Cleaning the leaves is not a measure of good management. VM stated she doesn’t understand civil service so what are we paying her for? The love fest with these three and Roberta has crossed the line and has got to stop. They are uncivil to councilwoman Knudsen and treat her terribly. I am grateful for her decency and hard work. Knudsen should have the full support of Village residents and the three with Roberta should feel the wrath of the people.
What an utter mess our well-meaning and diligent public servants have made, in absolute good faith, with all appropriate due diligence, and deserving of no blame or negative consequences of any kind, with the exception of a nearly unintelligible but unmistakably nasty and inappropriately personal and emotion-laden tongue-lashing of Ms. Knudsen by Ms. Hauck! (/s)
This is a perfect example of how abruptly the rules of civility will be tossed out the window when the righteous scorn is to be delivered by one of the Three Amigos to a non-Amigo.
After you listen to Susan – and to Gwenn’s idiotic response……then slide ahead on the UStream to public comments and listen to Boyd’s comments at 1:24:34. He very emphatically ripped into them. And then our mayor had the audacity to attack Boyd (which he quickly backed off on) and then Paul went on to attack Susan during Boyd’s comments. Wow, Susan really struck paydirt and the dirty secrets are being revealed. THANK YOU SUSAN
I saw it live last night. Hauck sounded like a rude child who got caught doing something they shouldn’t have been doing. He Hauck, did you miss the point of the entire discussion; certainly seems like it. I love it when Susan says “well, just let me address that” repeatedly. And then when Roberta says “well. I hate to do this to you Susan” and then throws out a nothing-burger and Susan shoots her down with a solid response. . PRICELESS.
Susan comes to the meeting well informed and well prepared. I agree she is articulate and assertive in a polite and meaningful fashion.
And Boyd, you keep doing Boyd.
Last week Councilman Pucciarelli told Councilwoman Knudsen that “It’s not always about you” and “Don’t flatter yourself.” I look forward to hearing how this was civility at its best. In fact, that was a rude, condescending, contemptuous way to speak to anyone, much less a fellow council member on the dais during a council meeting. That arrogant, narcissistic misogynist MUST GO if he is so foolish as to run for reelection to the Village Council next spring. His outbursts are pointless, counterproductive, ego driven, and embarrassing both to him personally and to our Village government.
Here is an ironic twist. Aronsohn speaks of TRANSPARENCY and CIVILITY until the words have lost their meaning. And yet we have NONTRANSPARENCY and INCIVILITY under his reign of terror. Knudsen and Sedon are doing their level best to restore transparency and civility – but until we get rid of Aronsohn that won’t happen.
MAYOR’S OFFICE HOURS FOR RESIDENTS -Saturday, April 4 from 9 AM to Noon
Mayor Paul Aronsohn holds office hours for Ridgewood residents the first Saturday of every month. Mayor Aronsohn will meet with residents on Saturday, April 4 from 9AM to Noon in the Council Chambers (Sydney V. Stoldt, Jr. Court Room) on the fourth floor of Ridgewood Village Hall.
For an appointment to meet with the Mayor, please call the Village Clerk’s Office at 201-670-5500 ext. 206. You may come to the Mayor’s office hours without an appointment, but those with appointments will be given priority.
Civility Forum – May 11th at 7:30PM
The next Civility Forum will be held at 7:30pm in the Senior Lounge at Village Hall.
Rev. Jan Phillips will lead the discussion. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Ridgewood Arts Council plans exhibit at Village Hall
February 20, 2015 Last updated: Friday, February 20, 2015, 12:31 AM
By Darius Amos
STAFF WRITER |
The Ridgewood News
Less than a year after the village breathed new life into the Ridgewood Arts Council, RAC members are ready to return the favor.
The municipality’s official organization for the arts has set its sights on an ambitious but achievable goal, one that will end with the installation of a permanent public art display throughout Village Hall.
Titled “Ridgewood Art at Village Hall,” the idea for the permanent art exhibit comes on the heels of the success of Ridgewood High School’s Learning Commons display. Resident Linda Bradley was one of the volunteers who played an instrumental role in the RHS project.
“I was curating art for the Learning Commons. The art I was amassing was from Ridgewood residents,” Bradley said. “I got pulled over to be a part of the [RAC] because there was a lot of interest in the Learning Commons. We wanted to continue that visibility and celebration of the arts.”
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