Tag: Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld

Posted on

Former Ridgewood Council Attempts to Advance Failed Agenda

Ridgewood 3 amigos

August 12,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Why would the former council members, who were defeated resoundingly, come to the meetings to attempt to advance their failed agendas? Are they just spiteful? Do they need to grow up?

Clearly, this was an attempt on Ms. Winograd’s part to generate a newspaper headline that the current Council was seeking to limit public comment.

According to the Ridgewood News which slept through the entire election Winograd was “compelled” to speak looking “to relieve the contentious energy that has been brewing for months”. The “contentious” energy was voted out of office and their agenda was resoundingly rejected . Perhaps if the Ridgewood News would have posted a few per election letters to the editor they would know that.

Once again Paul Aronsohn and the “3 amigos” show a limited understanding of Ridgewood and how things work. Hint : its considered very low class and disrespectful for failed council members to attempt to undermine the new far better ,more open , independent thinking council.
Posted on

Reader says Never Again Will Ridgewood Officials Act Like “Dirtbags”

3 amigos in action Ridgewood NJ

file photo by Boyd Loving

Aronsohn, Pucciarelli, and Hauck went after Tom Riche publicly and aggressively and in the most disgusting meeting I have ever seen. Matt Rogers told them to manage this in closed session but they wanted to have a public flogging so they went against the recommendations of our village attorney and they were like the bullies in Lord of the Flies that night. Riche did NOTHING underhanded. Everything he did for the Village was above board and with the full knowledge of the Village Officials. They treated Riche like a criminal and it was just a taste of the things to come from the three dirtbags. They went on to do the same to Bernadette Walsh, John Ward, Heather Mailander, and others. They should have been taken out in handcuffs the three of them. Their names and their faces should never hang in village hall. They were a plague, the three of them, and their toxic germs are still scattered around town. Never mind sweeping them out the door….we need to completely sanitize everything and everyone that ever had contact with them.

Remember, these are the same 3 dirtbags who accused former Police Chief John Ward of violating a local ordinance (the BC Prosecutor’s Office cleared the Chief of any wrong doing), allowed the Village’s former labor attorney to defile the reputation of Susan Knudsen during an open public meeting, claimed that Bernie Walsh tried to fix a parking ticket (all she did was to have a conversation with the then Chief of Police about the supervision of parking enforcement agents), and called Bernie Walsh a liar in public after Ms. Walsh stated that she’d observed Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld and former Mayor Paul Aronsohn shouting at then Councilwoman Susan Knudsen in a hallway at Village Hall (which did happen).

As I stated previously, every single bit of trash they talked was bullshit. The biggest bunch of dirtbags ever.

Posted on

Readers Point to the”Green Bike Lane” as a Major Safety Issue for Ridgewood Motorist

bike path way ridgewood train station
Yes, get rid of the green bike lanes and restore the crucial car lanes we lost between the Franklin Avenue underpass and West Ridgewood Avenue. Ridgewood went soft-headed in the recent past, which included getting caught up in the so-called “traffic calming” trend. What was this, an effort to reduce traffic “incivility?” We need to sharpen our thinking again and start doing what’s right for Ridgewood residents.

If the traffic is backed up all the way to Lincoln, adding another lane for three hundred feet isn’t going to solve the problem.

One of the things I like about Ridgewood is that there are no street level railroad crossings like Glen Rick has. The trains have no impact on traffic. As a trade off, there are only three crossings: Ackerman, Franklin and Glen. When one is closed off, it is a major inconvenience. Unfortunately, we’ll have to deal with it.

That underpass needs to be re-opened, the safety committee wiped clean, and we need a real safety/speed czar.

The worst “traffic calming” device of all has been to close major arteries and create gridlock at many intersections in town. That only leads “road rage”: more speeders, this time on cut through/side streets and more dangerous road conditions. There are simultaneous posts on Facebook right now about speeders on side streets and gridlock in town…this is not a coincidence people!

Lastly, look at towns suck as Westwood, Waldwick and kenilworth nj. The police presence is so great, and ticket writing so frequent that drivers brake as they enter town. Our PD, or citizens if need be, should study and employ their practices here because road safety is a major issue for everybody.

If the traffic is backed up all the way to Lincoln, adding another lane for three hundred feet isn’t going to solve the problem.

Posted on

MEET THE VILLAGE OF RIDGEWOOD MANAGER – SATURDAY, JUNE 11

garber square LED sign

file photo Boyd Loving

MEET THE MANAGER – SATURDAY, JUNE 11

Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld will be available to meet with residents this Saturday, June 11 from 9AM to Noon in the Village Hall Court Room.  While it is not required, appointments are helpful.  Please contact Beth Spinato @ 201/670-5500 x203 or bspinato@ridgewoodnj.net to schedule an appointment.

Posted on

A fact based rebuttal to the Ridgewood Mayor’s smear campaign against the garage petitioners

BCIA petition OLMC
May 6,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The Mayor and the Village Manager have persistently and knowingly mischaracterized the Village Council’s decision to call a $ 40-45k special election as being required by the terms of the petition.
The special election is NOT required and the Mayor, the Village Manager, The Village Council and now the taxpayers know it.
The clear and compelling evidence of this is that the language of the special election Resolution #16-110 which was passed by the Village Council on April 27 th incorporates the very statute (NJSA 40-49- 27 otherwise known as the Home Rule Act) that specifically provides the option of waiting until the next General Election in November,or if the municipality desires it may call a special election.
This statute was included in the Resolution, according to Matt Jessup, bond attorney for the council since Matt Rogers recused himself (little known fact), “to protect the Council from any litigation.” That says it all right there. Matt Rogers recused himself because he had done some pro bono work for the church, & felt that if he counseled on the petition, it could be perceived as a conflict of interest.
The Mayor, the Village Manager and the rest of the Mayor’s customary voting bloc desire a special election because:
1) It creates a diversion from the fact that to date they have wasted $ 415,000 on the design process. They were so arrogantly confident that they could shove the original Plan A and its looming 12 Foot encroachment into Hudson Street through the Council, that they ordered $295,000.00 worth of construction documents BEFORE THE DESIGN WAS SELECTED. They subsequently issued a $120,000.00 change order to try again and we are not done yet
2) They bootstrap a false claim that the petitioners don’t support building a Hudson Street garage at all and are anti -everything. This is false and can be verified as such by any number of Council Meeting recordings and correspondence
3) They can falsely claim that the petitioners are causing the Village to incur the roughly $ 40-45k in expenses, thus smearing the petitioners, when in fact, the Council is deciding to call a special election
4) It puts the election on the calendar when they will be still be using the bully pulpit to misinform the public
5) It fits with their overall victim narrative. They are claiming to hostage to the demands of the petitioners when it’s clearly the Village that is being held hostage to the agenda of the other way around. All the petitioners want is either a more reasonable garage or the residents to make an informed decision Mayor, please stop making stuff up. It hurts the Village you claim to Love
Posted on

Ridgewood Council Candidate Ramon Hache Responds to the Village Removal of His Campaign Signs

Ramon Hache ridgewood NJ

April 13,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Village council candidate Ramon Hache responds to Ridgewood blog reports yesterday that the Village’s Streets and Parks Departments were ordered to remove any campaign signs, specifically those belonging to Ramon Hache, found erected on Village owned properties.

“I am very troubled by the decision of the Village to take down my campaign signs. It is my understanding that, as of last November, there is no ordinance that prohibits them from being on village-owned properties.  Although I didn’t personally place the signs at the locations in question, I understood that my supporters were not violating any local ordinances. It is very discouraging as a candidate, but especially as a resident, that a double standard has been applied when it comes to my signage. I guess my candidacy, unlike the “Vote Yes For Parking” initiative, is not in line with the Council’s agenda.”

Posted on

Readers point even more conflicts of interest at Ridgewood Village Hall

Ridgewood_-Village_Hall_theridgewoodblog

Readers point even more conflicts of interest in Village Hall .”Wait , so planning board approved the high density housing they were advised by Gail Price. Then when council conducted the studies – they were conducted through Village Manager’s office. Village Manager’s assistant, who was coordinating all those studies and providing data to the external firms is spouse of a counsel at Gail Price’s office.

NJ Law states that a conflict of interest need not be financial in nature but merely a perception of partiality to the issue in question.

Gail Price is the planning board attorney and has her own law firm. Her husband wants to be Ridgewood Councilman. Well lets see who else is connected. Richard M. Fricke works for Gail Price’s firm and his wife Janet is the assistant to our Village Manager .

Finally, the dots are connected! Janet Fricke is connected to the Library cabal. She is a political appointee, not civil service.”

Posted on

Bizarro World in Ridgewood

Parking 2/8/16

Bizarro World (with apologies to Seinfeld) by Anne Loving

So tonight at the Village Council Meeting two very strange things happened.
1. Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld stated that she has started going around to parking lots to check on availability and has found ample available spots in the Cottage Place lot as well as in the N. Walnut lot.  First of all, why is she doing an informal unscientific study of available parking when countless dollars have been spent on actual parking studies?  Second, so many people have stated that there are always available spots if one is willing to walk a couple of blocks, so this is not news.  And, of course, most bizarre of all is why in the heck is Roberta reporting about all this available parking when she is spearheading the gigantic garage that is supposedly so necessary?
2. Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck issued a parental reprimand to those who use social media (she being a major contributor herself).  She said that before anyone posts, they should do a “gut check” (I think that was her term) and ask themselves if what they are about to post is something they would put in a national newspaper.  Wait a minute, this is coming from the person who has called residents various unflattering (and highly inaccurate) names including “stalker,” “creepy,” and “terrorist.”  And this same councilwoman kept dead silent when a member of the public called an entire group of fellow citizens “fornicators.”  Huh?  Might one suggest that the good Councilwoman gut-check her own language, and control the council meetings when members of the public use vulgar language.
Wow.
Posted on

Ridgewood Petitioners : respond to village council regarding timing of referendum question

abraham godwin ridgewood

April 1, 2016

STATEMENT FROM PETITIONERS

Dear Village Council of Ridgewood-

From our attorneys regarding the referendum petition to repeal Ordinance #3521:

“We are confident that the bond counsel is wrong.  Bond ordinances are NOT controlled by the Faulkner Act or Walsh Act
or any other general act that gives NJ residents the right of referendum.  The right to repeal a bond is a right shared by ALL

New Jersey residents under the Local Home Rule Act, not just Faulkner Act towns.”

New Jersey Statutes Annotated. N.J.S.A. 40A:49-10 reads as follows:“Any proposition submitted to the voters of any municipality under the provisions of section 40:49-9 or of section 40:49-27 of this title shall be voted upon at the next general election held in

the municipality at least thirty days after the filing of the protest or protests herein provided for, unless the governing body thereof
shall call a special election therefor.”

If a special election is called, and $40-45,000.00 of municipal funds are used, that will be a choice that the Council alone makes, and for which
the Council alone will be held accountable.

Thank you.

Gail McCarthy & Lorraine Reynolds

Posted on

Is the Village Manager is really questioning spending 40K?

Village_Manager_Roberta_Sonenfeld_theridgewoodblog

April 1st 2016

Ridgewood NJ, from the Take Back Ridgewood Facebook page , Your Village Manager is questioning spending 40K on an election (are we living in democracy?), while she was busy in spending 122K of OUR money to get construction documents for a design that was yet to be discussed with public?

They asked for change order of $120,000.00 because they had already spent the $295,000.00 on all of the plans for a design that was not finalized!! And we wonder why they won’t budge on the current plan. Do not blame us for wasting the taxpayers dollars!

https://www.tubechop.com/watch/7840960

Posted on

Village manager Roberta Sonenfeld is at it once again

Roberta
Village manager Roberta Sonenfeld disrupting petitioners
March 31,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Village manager Roberta Sonenfeld is at it once again . Sonenfeld attempted to disrupt “petition signers” on this past Easter weekend  with high density developer John Saracino . This time the Village manager expressed her concerns in a letter to the “The Ridgewood Daily Voice” .

The Village manager voiced her concerns , claiming petitioners were misrepresenting the Bergen County Improvement Authority (BCIA) bonding referendum, saying ”  village is subject to the referendum provisions of the Faulkner Act and not the Home Rule Act. As a result, since there is no general or regular municipal election scheduled during the allotted time period, a referendum would be required to be held “not less than 40 nor more than 60 days” after the last possible date of withdrawal of the petition by the petitioners. Such a special election would cost Ridgewood taxpayers approximately $40,000 to $45,000.” “https://ridgewood.dailyvoice.com/politics/letter-overturning-bond-ordinance-will-cost-ridgewood-taxpayers/648624/”

However the Village Council has since voted unanimously to rescind the village’s agreement with the Bergen County Improvement Authority (BCIA) to fund the $11.5 million downtown parking deck.The vote comes on the heels of the  council decision to self-fund the construction of the controversial 325-space parking structure on Hudson Street.

Observers note “I think she is taking this stuff personal.”

Posted on

Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld Should Resign Immediately for Interfering with Petition Process

Roberta

Dana (with orange balloon) with petition. Roberta trying to interrupt conversation. John Saraceno standing off to side. Picture by Ellen McNamera snapped picture.

March 26,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, People at Van Neste square now collecting signatures. Roberta, Rurik & John apparently trying to interrupt conversations, so petitioners can’t talk to people.Hard to believe a village employee is trying to prevent a legal democratic process!

No time in modern history has a Village manager so unprofessionally inserted herself into the political process .  Hired as a political hack Roberta Sonenfeld has now crossed the line .

Readers raise questions:

Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld may I ask you. Are you not hired to work for ALL of the residents of this town, by our elected representatives?

How and in what way is it acceptable, professional, or above board, for you to be in the town park today with a developer/builder who seeks to change our town, and clearly people are divided over that, and a man with a stake in the game. You’re there on our dime speaking on their behalf while residents are peacefully, and quietly attempting to exercise our rights. Residents of this town who again, PAY YOUR SALARY- for now.

How are you there pushing your agenda and not mediating the questions among-st all residents and accurately discussing both sides of the arguments?

How do you still sit in your current position? How do you look your neighbors in the face?

You represent one, and only one, side of the argument and it is questionable as to WHY. It is very very questionable.

I think that people have been remiss in not forcefully and immediately investigating THAT.

Posted on

Village Ignores Rare Bald Eagles and Black Crested Heron sighted on Schedler property

bald eagle

January 17,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, 4 American Bald Eagles and a black crested heron , all on the endangered species list. According to the Conserve Wildlife Foundation Bald Eagles are extremely sensitive to human disturbance. At no time should anyone approach nesting eagles. People who want to observe or photograph eagles and who come too close may actually cause the birds to abandon a nest. In 2014, there were 156 pairs of bald eagles monitored in the state of New Jersey. Apparently the Village of Ridgewood is well aware  https://mods.ridgewoodnj.net/…/2015schedlergrantupdate.pdf if see Page 16 of a document Roberta signed . Unfortunately the page was magically removed from the Village website.

Included with this article is a copy of the original and we posted it for your viewing pleasure .If you scroll down you will see where these birds are listed but they checked N/A disregarding their endangered species classification. n a recent council meeting Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld called them some animals who happened to be running around at that location.
Posted on

How can the Village Council put together Bond Ordnance before the final Parking Garage Design is Decided ?

Village_Manager_Roberta_Sonenfeld_theridgewoodblog
November 13,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , Prior to the Nov 3rd referendum, Mayor Aronsohn and Councilwoman Hauck were telling people “If you think we need more parking, vote yes. This is not the final design. We will get public input about the size, design, financials, etc before decisions are made.” It appears now that many people voted yes on the bond referendum, trusting those statements and that they would have input.

At the Nov 9th council meeting, during the manager’s report, Roberta spoke of the parking committee coming to the Dec 9th council meeting with their recommendations. She said the parking committee has taken input from residents. That seems to be news to a lot of people .Most residents were not aware of any meeting where the public was allowed to give their input on record. The informal “parking forums” that took place were not “on the record” . Residents expected there to be council meetings dedicated to the discussion of the parking garage. Members of the parking steering committee should be present to hear all comments. After public comments, the council should discuss in front of the public, their thoughts on the structure.

During the managers report on Nov 9th, Roberta also suggested putting together the bond ordinance for the garage at the Dec 9th council meeting. This clearly sounds to us that things are being done backwards yet again. How exactly can you have a dollar figure for a bond when the design has not been decided? How can the design be decided before you have had a formal public meeting where everybody can express there opinions?  Why is money being wasted asking the architects for different renderings, when you haven’t heard the public yet? Maybe someone will have ideas that should be incorporated into the new designs and should be heard before the architects are asked to come back with multiple designs?

Once again it seems that the residents  are feeling their voices are not being listened to again regarding the many significant issues facing the village: high density housing, parking  Schedler, and Habernickel.

Posted on

Neighbors question Ridgewood’s proposed use of Gate House

Habernickel Park Gate House

NOVEMBER 13, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

A change in use for the Gate House at the Irene Habernickel Family Park has prompted the concerns of residents on Hillcrest Road and its neighboring streets as it raises several quality of life issues for them.

An ordinance and a resolution to authorize the lease and its execution were approved on Sept. 30; however, Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld announced last week the village had not yet signed the lease.

A public hearing was held last Wednesday at which neighborhood residents brought forth their own issues on the subject, which included misgivings about traffic, excess parking on streets and the use of a residential area for a business.

Green Acres, which reimbursed the village for the purchase of Habernickel Park, required the hearing for the purpose of public information and the planned recreational and educational use for the Gate House has already been deemed approvable, according to Sonenfeld.

The anticipated lessee of the Gate House is Health Barn USA, which offers year-round educational programs for children, ages 3 to 15 years. Programs are attended by 10 to 15 kids per class and the summer camp has a maximum of 25 attendees, said owner Stacey Antine. For typical programs, children are dropped off and picked up by their parents. Health Barn only receives buses for school field trips, which take place during the day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and for special needs children, said Antine.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/neighbors-question-use-of-gate-house-1.1454555