Tag: Village of Ridgewood

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Ridgewood launching redesigned website

Village of Ridgewood

JANUARY 1, 2016    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

The village will launch a redesigned website to go along with the New Year, with the site set to go live on Jan. 1.

The website (ridgewoodnj.net) contains features that make the former one look ancient by comparison, according to officials.

“We are very excited about our new website, because it is more user-friendly, better organized and allows for quicker, easier access to timely information,” Mayor Paul Aronsohn said.

The new website features a search bar, so viewers can find an article or event by simply typing a phrase into the search. This makes locating services or events easier than it was on the old website, where users needed to look around manually until they found what they were seeking.

“Our past website, there was no search feature,” said Dylan Hansen, the village’s network administrator. “You pretty much had to know where something was to find anything. On our new website, you can just type something in, and it should auto-fill … with some of the top articles.”

Another inclusion in the new website is more accessibility. With the click of a button, a person can increase or decrease the text size, change the contrast of the screen’s colors and enable any highlighted text to be read out loud. This feature is aimed at assisting those with poor eyesight, colorblindness or standard blindness.

“One of the things I go onto many websites and don’t see is accessibility features,” Hansen said, noting that most people need to use programs to get these features.

He added that having these features makes the website compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/town-government/redesigned-village-website-going-live-1.1483600

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Look Who is Getting Ready to Run for Ridgewood Village Council

3 amigos in action Ridgewood NJ

January 2,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ , Gwenn Habernickel Hauck is getting ready to run for Village Council  ( https://www.gwennhauck.com/ ) . Gwen is a current Village Council member and is a key member of the Council Majority ,know to most blog readers as the “3 Amigos” .

While Mayor Aronsohn  is as many have long expected moving on , Gwen is preparing for a new electoral challenge.  Gwen has long catered to the senior set in town ,but has become a very controversial figure on the dais . Her tenure has been dominated by her unwillingness to address the obvious conflicts with Valley Hospital, her frequent non sequitur out bursts , her addiction to electronic communications during council meetings and he unwillingness to listen to alternative point of views .

It is important to note you get the Government you vote for. So all you posters on this blog that voted for the 3 Amigos and now posting negative opinions about them let us remind you what your vote did and how it screwed the rest of us.

Yes Westsiders, hows your leaf pick up coming along and the high density housing ,cant wait for little Johnny to lose his AP spot, ah?

Yes Preserve Graydon Group hows the new ramp looking , we hear 3 people have used it in 2 years? And the far east side Schedler Field hows the house coming along and enjoy the 90X60 baseball field , especially the lights at night and the traffic .

 And of coarse we are all looking forward to paying for the 5 story parking garage through increased in parking rates and hours and of coarse as the Walker report stated ,increased property taxes .
And lets not forget the 0% tax increase for two years and all that money taken from the emergency fund ,the down grade of municipal services ?
Don’t forget the increase in the debt service which we will be paying for long after you 3 are gone. And of coarse our personal favorite ,fill the Village with high density housing destroying the very character , and turning Ridgewood into just one more New Jersey dump waiting to be the next Hoboken, the key word is like Bayonne ,”waiting”.

ALBERT J PUCCIARELLI 2078 55.50%

KEITH KILLION 1711 45.70%

RUSSELL R FORENZA 817 21.82%

PAUL ARONSOHN 2479 66.21%

MARY JANE SHINOZUKA 1484 39.64%

GWENN H HAUCK 1727 46.13%

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Ridgewood Mayor Sets the Record Straight not to seek re-election

aronsohn_070512_rn_tif_

file photo by Boyd Loving

Ridgewood Mayor’s Corner: Plans for the new year

JANUARY 1, 2016    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Welcome to a New Year – one full of new challenges, exciting opportunities and endless possibilities.

Indeed, 2016 promises to be a big year for our country and for our community. Big changes in leadership along with big decisions on key issues will lead to important results nationally as well as locally.

https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-guest-writers/plans-for-the-new-year-1.1483657

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the Ridgewood blog would like to wish you and your family a happy ,healthy and prosperous New Year !

clock_cbd_theridgewoodblog

for the PJ blogger and the entire staff of the Ridgewood blog

we would like to wish you and your family a happy ,healthy and prosperous New Year !

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Ridgewood Restaurant Week 2016 Starts January 17th

RESTAURANT WEEK 2016
A Year Never Tasted So Good! RESTAURANT WEEK 2016

A Year Never Tasted So Good!
Back by popular demand – RESTAURANT WEEK 2016

What a great way to start the New Year
Sunday – Thursday January 17-21
And January 24-28
Restaurant Week in Ridgewood – Fine Dining at $25.16

Each chef is preparing a tantalizing 3-course, prix-fixe menu at $25.16. Please add a wine that will enhance the cuisine.

Call the restaurant for selections.

Fish Urban Dining
201-857-5151

It’s Greek to Me
201-612-2600

LaTour, A French-American Grill
201-445-5056 (lunch only)

Mediterraneo Restaurant
201-447-0022

Memoire Restaurant
201-857-8899

Novo Mediterranean
201-444-4910

Park West Tavern & Loft
201-445-5400

Pearl Restaurant
201-857-5100

Planet Swirl FRO-Yo & Grill
201-857-4455

Raymond’s
201-445-5125

ROOTS Steakhouse
201-444-1922

Sakura-Bana Japanese
201-447-6525

The Office Beer Bar & Grill
201-652-1070

Village Green Restaurant
201-445-2914

Catering
Chestnut Catering
201-445-3031

From Scratch Ridgewood
201-981-8606

Other Offerings
Super Cellars Fine Wines & Marketplace
201-444-0012

The Wine Seller
201-444-3300

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FIRST WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY of the SEASON : DRIVE CAREFULLY , SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN

snowstorm_theridgewoodblog

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 8 PM THIS EVENING TO
6 AM EST TUESDAY…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN UPTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORY FOR SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 8
PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM EST TUESDAY.

* LOCATIONS…SOUTHERN FAIRFIELD AND NEW HAVEN COUNTIES IN
CONNECTICUT…SOUTHERN WESTCHESTER COUNTY IN NEW YORK…BERGEN
AND EASTERN PASSAIC COUNTIES IN NEW JERSEY.

* HAZARD TYPES…SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN.

* ACCUMULATIONS…A TRACE OF SNOW AND ICE ACCUMULATION.

* TIMING…A WINTRY MIX DEVELOPS ACROSS THE TRI-STATE FROM WEST TO
EAST THIS EVENING. THIS WINTRY MIX CHANGES TO PLAIN RAIN
SOMETIME BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND 6 AM TUESDAY.

* IMPACTS…SLIPPERY ROADWAYS AND SIDEWALKS. WITH THE MAIN
THREAT BEING TO ELEVATED SURFACES AND HIGHER ELEVATIONS IN THE
ADVISORY AREA.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW…SLEET…OR
FREEZING RAIN WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR
SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES…AND USE CAUTION WHILE
DRIVING.

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At the Holidays the Importance of Place Comes Home

Christmas tree Ridgewood NJ

file photo by Boyd Loving

an article worth reading and so relevant to what Ridgewood is going through right now..
PUBLISHED BY LESLIE WRIGHT ON DECEMBER 22, 2015

At this time of year, when we gather with loved ones, often returning to, or remembering, the places we hold dear, the reflections of Orton Family Foundation Trustee Ed McMahon on the importance of place seem especially apropos. Ed is senior resident fellow at Urban Land Institute in Washington, D.C.

We live in a world of rapid change: immigration, new technologies, global trade, instantaneous communication, changing consumer tastes, rapid movement of people, ideas, and goods, etc. However, if I have learned anything over 25 years in the community planning arena, it is this: change is inevitable, but the destruction of community character and identity is not. Progress does not demand degraded surroundings. Communities can grow without destroying the things people love.

Place is more than just a location or a spot on a map. A sense of place is a unique collection of qualities and characteristics—visual, cultural, social and environmental—that provides meaning to a location. Sense of place is what makes one location (e.g. your hometown) different from another location (e.g. my hometown), but sense of place is also that which makes our physical surroundings valuable and worth caring about.

Land use planners spend too much time focusing on numbers—the number of units per acre, the number of cars per hour, the number of floors per building—and not enough time on the values, customs, characteristics, and quirks that make a place worth caring about. Unfortunately, many American communities are suffering the social, economic,  and environmental consequences of being places that simply aren’t worth caring about. The more one place (one location) comes to be just like every other place, the less reason there is to visit or invest. Just take tourism, for example: the more a community comes to look like every other community, the less reason there is to visit. On the other hand, the more a community does to enhance its distinctive identity, whether that is natural, cultural, or architectural, the more reasons there are to visit. Why? Because tourism is about visiting places that are different, unusual, or unique; if one place was just like everyplace else, there would be no reason to go anyplace.

Similarly, when it comes to 21st century economic development, a key concept is “community differentiation.” If you can’t differentiate your community from any other community, you have no competitive advantage. Capital is footloose in a global economy. Natural resources, highway access, locations along a river or rail line have all become less important. Richard Florida, a leading economic development authority and author of The Creative Class, has said, “How people think of a place is less tangible, but more important than just about anything else.”

https://www.orton.org/blog/holidays-importance-place-come

 

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Ode to Traffic Easing

garber square LED sign
by Linda McNamara

Reducing lanes at Garber Square
Has made congestion hard to bare
Bike lanes to nowhere not so great
This plus over development need not be our fate

The council has heard our many suggestions
It’s not too late to change direction
We love this town so charming and rare
Let’s move forward with caution and care

Happy Holidays to all and a Happy New Year too
May the spirit of the season last all year through
For the good people  working so hard for us all
Let’s hope they are listening especially Roberta and Paul!

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Ridgewood Police : Holiday Crime Prevention

Honda-Civics-collide-Ridgewood-Police-Ridgewood-Fire-Deparrtment3-300x225

file photo by Boyd Loving
December 22,2015
Chief John M. Ward

Ridgewood NJ , With the holiday shopping season in full swing I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone happy and joyous holiday. Additionally I would like to share some holiday safety tips with you. While savvy shoppers are seeking out the best bargains so are the criminals. This is a peak time for crimes such as home burglaries, thefts, and even muggings. I hope these safety tips help prevent you from being the victim of a crime during the holidays.

At Home
Be extra cautious about locking doors and windows at all times.
Don’t display gifts and other valuables where they can be seen from a window or doorway.
If you go out in the evening, turn on lights and a radio or television so the house looks occupied.
If you go on vacation, get an automatic timer for your lights. Ask a neighbor or trusted friend to watch your house, pick up the mail and newspapers and park their car in your driveway from time to time.

If your lights are on timers, please remember to adjust for the changing sun set times, so the lights do not come on during day light hours.
Beware of package deliveries where couriers have the “wrong” address. Write down license plate numbers of suspicious delivery attempts.
Schedule deliveries while someone is home. Often criminals will grab unattended packages left at front doors. Unattended packages at the door are also a signal to criminals that a home may be vacant.

After Christmas, don’t advertise your new electronics and/or other new valuables that you have just received by putting the boxes out on the curb for the garbage collectors. Break the boxes down and fold them to where the words are on the inside.
If you believe someone’s actions are suspicious please don’t wait, call the police while the individual(s) are still in the area.

Shopping
Stay alert to your surroundings and the people around you. If you see people “hanging around” parking garages, parking lots, or the outside of stores, avoid the area. Notify the police or security department.
Shop before dark if possible. Coordinate shopping trips with a friend if you plan to be out late. Never park your car in an unlit area, no matter how convenient it is.
Lock your car doors and windows even if you are only gone for a few minutes.
Keep packages and other valuables out of public view, preferably locked in the trunk.
Park near street lights if possible and have your keys in hand when you return to your car. Always check the interior of your car before you unlock the door to get in.

To discourage purse snatchers, don’t overburden yourself with packages. Have your purchases delivered whenever practical.
Avoid carrying large amounts of cash. Pay for purchases with a check or credit card whenever possible.
Be extra careful with purses and wallets. Carry a purse under your arm with the strap across your body. Keep a wallet in an inside jacket pocket, not a back trouser pocket.

Teach your children to go to a store clerk or security guard and ask for help if they should become separated in a store or shopping mall. They should never go into a parking lot alone.

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An Abundance of Parking in the Village of Ridgewood a Week before Christmas

Cottage place lot

Cottage place lot

December 23,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Since it was only a few days before Christmas the staff did a walk through in the Central Business District to eye ball the parking situation . The Cottage place lot, mid-day on Saturday December 19, the last Saturday before Christmas Star Wars was open, the Chipmunks was running, plenty of shopping to do with only 6 days until Christmas. And yet tons of empty spaces.

IMG 0255

Hudson Street lot

And of coarse the Hudson Street lot, December 5 Saturday mid day – Santa was at Christ Church, he was at a breakfast at The Office, he was cruising around on a firetruck, less than three weeks until Christmas, and an abundance of open spaces.

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Village of Ridgewood DECEMBER SCHOOL RECESS -Recreation Activities

MAGIC SHOW FEATURING JOE FISCHER

DECEMBER SCHOOL RECESS -Recreation Activities

December School Recess

Special Events with Ridgewood Recreation

MAGIC SHOW FEATURING JOE FISCHER – Monday, December 28th, 11:30 am at the Anne Zusy Youth Center, Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood. Tickets are $5 for all attending (under 2 free).

A show that is sure to amaze.

Be sure to watch for “Secrets of Magic” during our winter session – a 6 week class of behind the scene magic with Joe Fischer, with take home tricks each week.

ARCTIC ANIMALS ART CAMP WITH ABRAKADOODLE – Monday and Tuesday, December 28 and 29, 10 am to 12 noon each day, at the Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood. Grades K-3. $90, all materials provided ($100 non-residents).

Calling all animal lovers! Students will use clay and paint in this camp while learning about some snowy friends! From igloos and polar bears to chilly moose, a fun time will be had by all!

CHILDREN’S CRAFT WORKSHOP WITH MRS. C. – Monday, December 28th, 1 to 3 pm, at the Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood. Grades 2-6. $30, all materials provided ($40 non-residents).

Use your creativity and imagination while learning simple techniques required to draw, paint, and finish a project of your choice. All materials included. Bottle dolls, wood painting, basket weaving, tile painting, beads, jewelry, and a lot more!

MYTHBUSTERS WITH EDUCATION EXPLORERS – Tuesday, December 29th, 1 to 3 pm, at The Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood. Grades 1-5. $45, all materials included ($55 non-residents).

Explore science the Busters Way! Children will participate in a variety of hands-on experiments that put common “myths” to the test. Using scientific method and children’s innate curiosity, they will have fun exploring many STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) principles.

Purchase of tickets for the shows or registration for the program offerings may be made either online at Community Pass, www.ridgewoodnj.net/communitypass or in person at The Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For additional information, or if special accommodations are needed, kindly contact the Recreation office at 201-670-5560.

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Ridgewood ready to wrap up leaf collection

leaf me alone

DECEMBER 17, 2015    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2015, 1:44 PM
BY BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

As the winter solstice approaches, village trees are now nearly barren and another leaf collection season will draw to a conclusion.

The village is winding down its annual No Leaf Left Behind initiative in which leaves are collected from in front of residences by workers raking them into a pile and hauling them away.

It had been a particularly heavy leaf season during the past couple of months with 31,544 cubic yards of leaves already collected through Dec. 1. At that time last year, only 20,567 cubic yards had been collected, an increase of approximately 50 percent. The final round of leaf collection has begun with the final week occurring in Area D on Dec. 18 through Dec. 23.

Ridgewood has been described as a “very leafy town” with an annual collection of 32,000 to 35,000 yards of leaves on 95 miles of road.

This year’s biggest challenge was the amount of leaves that fell after a particularly heavy rainstorm in mid-November. Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld said it caused a shift in the schedule.

“I remember walking out of my house and thinking ‘I can’t believe all of the leaves that are out here,'” said Sonenfeld.

In an e-notice sent out to residents, Sonenfeld did note the unusually heavy fall of leaves early in the season. A significant amount of leaves fell in that two- to three-day period after the storm causing some delays, but also made for an easier time of collecting leaves toward the end of the season.

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/ridgewood-ready-to-wrap-up-leaf-collection-1.1475598

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Ridgewood Board of Adjustment Meetings Cancelled – December 22 and 29, 2015

village-hall-theridgewoodblog

BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT

AMENDMENT TO MEETING SCHEDULE

CANCELLED: DECEMBER 22, 2015 and December 29, 2015

In accordance with the provisions of the “Open Public Meetings Act,” please be advised that the BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT public meetings for TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015 and TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2015, in the VILLAGE HALL COURT ROOM, 4th Floor, 131 NORTH MAPLE AVENUE, RIDGEWOOD, NJ beginning at 7:30 p.m. have been cancelled.

The next regular meeting will be held on January 12, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. in the Village Hall Courtroom, 4th Floor, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ.

All meetings of the Ridgewood Board of Adjustment (i.e., official public meetings, work session meetings, pre-meeting assemblies and special meetings) are public meetings which are always open to members of the general public

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The Ridgewood Blog taking time out to say thank you for your Support and we are grateful for all the contributions

Reading_theridgewood_news_theridgewoodblog

December 13,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood blog is the lone independent voice of headline news in North Jersey . While much larger competitors have
come and gone the Ridgewood blog has persevered with your help. The Ridgewood blog is a unique social experiment were readers have the ability to create and determine what news matters most to them. With your support the blog has been mindbogglingly successful and its because of reader participation that has made it so .It is a unique interaction experiment in community dialogue .

We appreciate and are grateful for all the contributions made by readers and from the suggestion of several readers would like to
extend readers an opportunity to become patrons . The patron program is open to all . For as little as $25 you can become a patron .Patrons
will be listed d on the side bar or like always chose to remain anonymous. Contributions of $250 or more receive a special gift ,which
will be sent out in January . Every little bit helps , from contributions to content.

The response to our recent email was very gratifying !

for those that wish to contribute
paypal :
[email protected]

or if you prefer checks can be sent James Foytlin PO Box 227 Ridgewood NJ 07451

The funds will be used to offset IT services which have been a bit
staggering the last couple of years .

Founders Day : the History of the Ridgewood blog

the History of the Ridgewood blog
Monday, October 26, 2009

The Ridgewood blog ( https://theridgewoodblog.blogspot.com/ ) was founded in March of 2006 by James J Foytlin aka PJ Blogger .[1] Mr.
Foytlin was born and raised in Ridgewood ,New Jersey and is a graduate of Ridgewood High School .[2] [3]

After many years living in New York City[4] Mr Foytlin returned to Ridgewood after a divorce and the tragic events of 9/11 . Once he
settled in he noticed a lack of sufficient news coverage of local events . One day a friend from Brazil[5] showed him her home town on
the internet and to Mr. Foytlin’s great surprise when he tried to reciprocate he was utterly dismayed at the absolute lack of coverage
of his home town. After all Ridgewood is only 18 miles from midtown Manhattan[6] the media capital of world and there was not a single
picture of Ridgewood to be found . How could this be? Ridgewood is a picturesque upper middle class village of around 25,000 located in
Bergen county in northern New Jersey[7] . Founded by Dutch settlers before it became an English colony[8] . The town or village as its
called is steeped in rich history and tradition .Known for a large amount of Victorian era housing , a quality school system and a family
friendly atmosphere.

Though busy getting reacquainted with his home town the fact that the Village of Ridgewood was so under represented on the internet
continued to disturb Mr. Foytlin. Mr. Foytlin had been writing news letters for his job in financial services since the mid 1990’s . The
popular flip, off beat investment strategy news letters had become email blasts with the advent of readily accessible internet.[9] By
2004 the email blasts were converted into blog format for the One Small Voice blog ( https://onesmallvoice.blogspot.com/ ). [10]

Around that time the Village of Ridgewood had finally completed it’s much anticipated and long delayed renovation of the Village hall which
has been flooded out due to Hurricane Floyd.[11] The renovation was marred by huge cost over runs and lengthy delays. In 2005 it opened
with great fan fare , was once again flooded with the very first rain . Mr. Foytlin was more shocked by the abject lack of responsibilitytaken by elected officials than the fact that the $9 million dollar renovation had to some extent been a failure . That was the breaking
point and Mr. Foytlin had had enough so he decided to give , citizen journalism a go and created the Ridgewood blog in March of 2006. [12]

The birth of PJ Blogger .By this time Blogging its seems had become quite the rage and mainstream news anchors such as Dan Rather had
questioned the validity of information from non professionals sitting around in their Pajama’s blogging.[13] Mr. Foytlin not a fan of Dan
Rather or any of the mainstream media decided to blog under the name PJ Blogger as a play on words and to plant himself firmly in the camp
of the new digital media.

Innovations by the Ridgewood blog to citizen journalism.

“The Fly” is a column on the Ridgewood blog the originates from the expression ,”I’d like to be a fly on the wall “ . The idea is that
every citizen has both a unique perspective and experience and these two factors can be used to gather news and opinions about local
issues. Originally only of handful of people in town participated but with time the Ridgewood blog can now count on 20–40 semi regular
contributors. These post are both anonymous and signed and are largely opinion as well a breaking news.[14]

The Ridgewood blog brings a free market lassie fare point of view to local issues . Mr. Foytlin aka PJ Blogger has stated that for local
issues there are only two kinds of people ;the ones who say spend what every you want because I will not be around to pay the bill and the
second group which are more focused on the ,”be careful this is my money your spending” . The Ridgewood blog is dedicated to the
interplay of there two groups.[15]

[1][12] the Ridgewood blog website https://theridgewoodblog.blogspot.com/
[2] Birth Certificate born in Valley Hospital , Ridgewood 04/09/1962
[3] Ridgewood High School Class 1980
[4] 444 East 86th street ,530 East 72nd
[5] Monica Rocha
[6] Mapquest
[7] United States 2000 Census, the village population was 24,936.
[8] https://www.americantowns.com/nj/ridgewood/organization/village-of-ridgewood
[9] Fahnestock & Co. now Oppenheimer & Co.
[10] https://onesmallvoice.blogspot.com/
[11] https://www.ridgewoodlibrary.org/localhistory/lh_vh_pease.htm
[13] https://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110005611
[14] [15] James J Foytlin