We have lots of intelligent residents who lead and operate successful businesses. The problem is, we have to wait for them to retire so they could take a volunteer or paid position with Ridgewood. In the meantime people who have no experience and no knowledge of anything rush to see their names and faces in print. Some, like Knudsen, have been unable to realize she is no longer Mayor and keeps sending out “important announcements” before our current Mayor. Maybe this is requested help, and then I apologize. But her notices always preceded his by only a few minutes.
“The newer people will never believe that it was once possible to have a charming town. One had all types of stores. One could buy reasonably priced clothing and the merchants even notified you if you had a child that needed special skinny sizes when they received a shipment you could use. You could walk into a hardware store with a handful of screws and say “I need more of these.” We had our own butcher shop which had great meats at reasonable prices–and hired Down’s syndrome individuals to keep it clean. We had a news, stationery, business supplies and gift shop where you could buy anything practical you needed. If we didn’t have it in Ridgewood, it probably was not made. Now we have a great selection of restaurants and not much else.”
“Self-serving people there for personal gain” defines our Councils of the past decade or more. Riche with his no bid telecoms contracts with the Village, the definition of conflict of interest. Whatever the hell Ahronson, Pooch and Gwen wanted, none of it seemingly any good for the rest of us. Knudsen getting her boys on the RPD and RFD with some nifty maneuvering around the hiring requirements, and protecting the dilapidated Schedler above all other interests because it’s across the street from her dad’s house… the list goes on and on.
The problem is that we have too many short term residents. People are able to get elected because they have friends and contacts they make due to their young children in school . Where else could a short term resident like aronson or zuzsy get elected?
Many towns with a more stable population (instead of NYC people who live here for a 10 year term) would never elect some new resident to an important position. I am surprised that a long term resident such as hauck would go along with the apartment deals, but I guess she was close enough to aronson that he could literally whisper in her ear to convince her to go along with making this “east Montclair ”
I can tell you that as a life long resident who has the best interests of the village at heart, I would never get elected because the new residents are a larger voting block. Hence the decline of what we expect for the character of our village.
And if elected I doubt I could sit up there and put up with the general public or nasty anonymous online comments.
A real solution with be for all property taxes to reflect the purchase price of the home . This is done in florida. It protects the long time residents From tax increases that benefit the new people who push their agenda. Let them pay for their own schools and parking garages
The former council members who pushed and got extensive apts and changed master plan to allow for more than 25 units per acre were game changers all right. Same council people paved the way literally for the coming parking garage that will change the character and destroy the charm of the Village forever. There should be statues of the three of them to commemorate their revolutionary achievements. The smaller garage passed by the currant council is not the original accomplishment/ innovation. It is a mere follow-up.
Ridgewood NJ, Add your voice and vision to the future of the Village of Ridgewood at: www.visionridgewood.org
What should the Village be like in 5, 10, or 20 years? What trends do you think might have a significant impact on the Village in the future? What is your vision for the future of the Village?
The Village recently launched Our Village, Our Future, which is a Village-wide visioning process that will form the creation of our community’s next Master Plan. Visit www.visionridgewood.org to learn more about Our Village, Our Future and start providing your insight and input through the on-line Visioning Questionnaire.
Ridgewood NJ, All Village of Ridgewood offices will be closed Monday, January 21st in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. There will be no sanitation or recycling pickup. The Police Department will be open.
THE RIDGEWOOD VILLAGE COUNCIL’S PUBLIC WORKSHOP AGENDA
JANUARY 9, 2019
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)
Manager’s Report
Council Reports
Discussion
Ridgewood Water
Award Contract – Eastside Reservoir Improvements
Award Second Year Contract – Landscaping Services
Award Second Year Contract – Line Stop and Valve Insertion
Award Second Year Contract – Servicing and Repairing of Electric Source
Award Second Year Contract – Water Billing and Data Collection Services
Award Second Year Contract – Furnishing and Delivering Sodium
Hypochlorite Solution
Award Contract – Servicing and Repair of Potable Water Pumping
Facilities
Award Professional Services Contract – Per-and Poly-Fluoroalkly
Substances Planning and Treatment Study
Award Contract – Asbestos Abatement and Boiler Replacement
Award Second Year Contract – Laboratory Analysis Services
Parking
Parking in Train Station Lot after 6:00 P.M.
Maturity Schedule for Funding the Hudson Street Parking Garage
Amend Parking Permit Ordinance – Hudson Street Parking Lot Permit
Budget
Award Second Year Contract – Landfill Disposal of Solid Waste
Declare Property Surplus – Parks Department Log Pile
Declare Property Surplus – Various Vehicles
Authorize Release of Escrow Funds – 143 and 147 West Glen Avenue
Award Contract – Recreation Program Instruction for 2019
Approve Shared Services Agreement – School Resource Officer
Graydon Pool Membership Fees
2019 Bond Ordinance – Various Capital Improvements
Resolution to Amend Temporary Capital Budget
Policy
Amendments to Outdoor Café Ordinance
Amendments for Regulations for Dumpsters on Private Property
Operations
Confirm Endorsement of Application for Community
Development Block Grant – Care Plus NJ, Inc.
Place to Place Liquor License Transfer – 54 East Ridgewood Landmark
Review of January 16, 2019 Public Meeting Agenda
Public Comments (Not to Exceed 5 Minutes per Person)
Closed Session
Legal – Board of Education Elections, Ridgewood Water Rate Litigation
from the desk of Village Manager Heather Mailander
Ridgewood NJ, Village Hall, The Stable and all Village offices will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on December 31, 2018. Village Hall, The Stable, all Village offices and the Recycling Center will be closed and there will be no sanitation or recycling pickup on January 1, 2019, in observance of the New Year’s holiday. All Village offices will reopen on January 2, 2019 at 8:30 a.m. The Police Department, on the second floor of Village Hall, will be open on this holiday.
May 2019 be a happy and healthy year for you and your family!
Ridgewood NJ, No injuries were reported in a two (2) vehicle, Friday afternoon, 12/28, collision at the intersection of Franklin Avenue and North Walnut Street, Ridgewood in which the driver’s side door of a 4-door BMW was ripped off of its hinges. Ridgewood Police, Ridgewood EMS, and RIdgewood Fire Department responded to the incident. Both vehicles involved were towed from the scene. No summonses were issued by Ridgewood Police.
RIDGEWOOD NJ, On Saturday, December 22, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) wrapped holiday gifts for North Jersey families at Bookends bookstore in Ridgewood.
“The holidays are such an important time for small businesses across the country and here in New Jersey, ” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “I am so proud that there are so many great businesses in my district, like Bookends here in Ridgewood. I want to thank Walter Boyer for having me at his store and I encourage everyone to go check Bookends out, whether for the book selection or the author events they regularly host.”
Congressman Gottheimer went on to say, “Small businesses play a vital role in our economy in the Fifth District and neighborhoods across the country, especially during this key retail season. The federal government shutdown hurt small businesses, because it impacts small business loan applications. We can prevent that by getting folks to the table to finalize a deal to reopen the government, just like business owners do every day.”
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, New Jersey boasts 1.7 million small business employees working for over 820,000 small businesses. 98.3% of the state’s businesses are small businesses and they employ more than half of New Jersey’s workers.
Bookends in Ridgewood has been a staple in the community and a renowned bookstore for more than thirty years. They have hosted over 1,000 authors in the last fifteen years from politics, pop culture, and fiction. During the holiday season, they wrap gifts in their store free of charge.
James, re housing:
Ok, cant disagree with the recommendation on who to vote for. But why does Ridgewood seem to be taking it on the chin? Why aren’t we fighting? Why isn’t our council actively supporting those representatives trying to undo this housing madness? Why does our legal representation seem so weak? Why did the council fold like a cheap suit when Village residents sued to stop the development and why did the council side with the developers over the residents? Why doesn’t the Village come up with some other proposal rather than agreeing to do a percentage of the squalid housing now being constructed?
So, it seems to me that the Council just agreed to plant hundreds if not thousands of new units throughout the Village.
Ridgewood NJ, Kings Pond Park, including the associated Gypsy Pond Park, is a public, municipal park spanning close to the entire length of Goffle Brook through the village of Ridgewood in Bergen County, New Jersey. It is the second largest wildscape in the village of Ridgewood and one of the larger wooded areas along the lower Bergen-Passaic border.
Ridgewood NJ, Several schools in Bergen and Union counties have recently been vandalized with graffiti containing hateful messages and symbols. In Bergen County, a student at Ridgewood High School alerted officials on December 4 of a swastika alongside a Star of David carved into a bathroom stall.
On November 30, swastikas and racial slurs were found on a bathroom wall at Pascack Hills High School in Montvale. That incident follows several others since September in which anti-Semitic and racist graffiti had been drawn at nearby Pascack Valley High School in Hillside. In Union County, students reported on November 30 that swastikas had been scrawled inside bathrooms at Summit High School.
The symbol and other offensive drawings had been discovered a day earlier on bathroom walls at Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School. Superintendent of Summit Public Schools June Chang told parents that swastikas were also seen at the middle school before the Thanksgiving holiday break.
On November 29, Edison Intermediate School Principal Matthew Bolton told families a student at the Westfield school “defaced school property with messages of hate directed at various groups.” Similar incidents in the area occurred over the past two months, as a swastika was drawn in a bathroom at Franklin Elementary School and misogynistic, racist, and anti-Semitic graffiti was discovered on exterior walls of Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School.
