APRIL 14, 2015 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2015, 9:42 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Ridgewood Council has approved new construction code fees, adopting the implementing ordinance by 3-2 vote during its meeting last Wednesday.
Council members Susan Knudsen and Michael Sedon voted against the fee changes.
Knudsen did not offer explanation for her vote; however, Sedon said he reviewed the Building Department’s upcoming budget when reaching his decision. In comparing anticipated revenues and expenditures, the councilman said the department is turning a $134,000 profit.
“My feeling is we’re covering the cost of the department and able to make a little bit of money while still offering residents a bit of a deal on inspections when they have work done,” Sedon said, suggesting the higher fees were unnecessary.
With the new ordinance, the building department is aiming to bring the village’s construction code fees more in line with surrounding towns and the state of New Jersey.
Tom Yotka, the new director of the Building Department and construction official, said the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) requires the construction official in each municipality to review the fees a minimum of every two years. Yotka noted the last effective change to the ordinance was in 2009, but did not know when the department last reviewed its charges.
RIDGEWOOD, N.J. , Ridgewood Police with the help of Fish and wildlife officials tranquilized a bear found roaming through the Village in a sign that bear-sighting season is here.
Chief John M. Ward ,”I would like to thank Bergen County, Glen Rock and Ho Ho Kus Police Departments, TYCO animal control and NJ Fish & Game for their assistance in the tracking, containment and capture of the bear. Additionally I would like to thank Ridgewood Fire, Emergency Services, and OEM for their valuable assistance with notification of the public and helping to secure the perimeter, area sports fields and schools during the incident. Finally I would like to thank our residents for their cooperation and understanding which allowed us to deal with the situation as quickly and safely as possible. “
Authorities speculate that the 175-pound male black bear that was seen Saturday morning in Ridgewood,may have been the same one seen in Hawthorne Friday night.
Experts tell The Bergen Record that bear sightings pick up at this time of year as the bruins emerge from hibernating to look for food. Males can roam as far as 50 miles from their dens.
Bears have been seen all around New Jersey but sightings have been mainly concentrated in the northwest part of the state.
New Jersey hosts a state-sanctioned bear hunt that has killed about 1,900 bears since 2010 and the state has proposed expanding the hunt in coming years.
Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld will hold office hours for Ridgewood residents and business owners on Thursday, April 23 between the hours of 4:30pm 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 Garden Room – on the First 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
RIDGEWOOD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – A black bear reportedly roaming around Ridgewood, New Jersey, was tranquilized by authorities Saturday.
According to posts on the Ridgewood Police Department’s social media accounts, the 175-pound bear was roaming the community earlier but was removed by the New Jersey Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Ridgewood police tell WCBS 880 a call came in at about 8:10 a.m. about a bear in the area heading into town.
Village Clerk, when acting VM, violated ordinance and was called out on it by resident. Same resident had applied for a Village position. Resident denied position in violation of residency requirement ordinance by same Village Clerk while Acting Manager. New Vm (R.S.) learns of violation in May, 2014 and decides to amend ordinance to support her Village Clerk. Councilwoman Knudsen got to close to discovering the truth and the V.M. and 3 amigos decided to sic their attack dog(labor attorney) on her. All the rhetoric about wanting to hire the best available employee is B.S.
That’s either a crass indictment, or a rare glimpse of truth and municipal reality that the public was not supposed to be afforded. One can’t necessarily decide between the two possibilities without more information or an alternative source, but you may be assured that at least one inquiring mind wants to know which is real, and which IS an illusion!
The meeting was a disgrace. Go to villageofridgewood and follow them on ustream (upper right corner) there are 2 parts to the meeting. Click on the one that shows the black screen and not a person. Go to 15:25-that’s basically when the bashing of councilwoman Knudsen starts. It is beyond my comprehension that she asked for some information to help her understand an ordinance they were voting on. Knudsen still has not received all the information she asked for, And the mayor gets the labor attorney to come to the council meeting to blast Knudsen and threaten her under the guise of “she’s here to explain things”.
If the labor attorney wanted to explain things, she could have picked up the phone weeks ago to speak with Knudsen and not left her in the dark about things since Knudsen’s request of March 11th.
They should all be ashamed of themselves, but of course this is typical of Aronsohn, Pucciarelli and Hauck. The village manager is a hot head. She can barely control herself. You can tell when she gets angry. She can’t stop fidgeting. Scratching her head constantly, bouncing in her chair, turning red, fanning herself etc. Shame on Matt Rogers for allowing the bashing to continue. I thought his job is to represent the council. He certainly did not represent councilwoman Knudsen last night.
Village of Ridgewood Public Access (180:00)
Village of Ridgewood Public Access
Wednesday at 4:57pm
50 views
https://www.ustream.tv/recorded/60890176
APRIL 10, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD – The Village Council, after hours of debate that included allegations of harassment, has voted to eliminate a residency requirement for most civilian hires.
The 3-2 vote at the Wednesday council meeting ended weeks of often contentious discussion on the change and opened up all municipal positions not affiliated with the police and fire departments to applicants statewide.
Councilwoman Susan Knudsen and Councilman Mike Sedon cast the two dissenting votes, arguing that village openings should be filled with qualified village residents.
“I have faith in our residents,” Sedon explained. “Getting rid of this [residency requirement] is a disservice to the town.”
Mayor Paul Aronsohn, Deputy Mayor Al Pucciarelli and Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck all insisted that the village would benefit most from hiring the best possible candidates for each position, regardless of their address.
April 9, 2015 Last updated: Thursday, April 9, 2015, 4:02 PM
By Darius Amos
Staff Writer |
The Ridgewood News
Emphasizing an investment in personnel and the revitalization of village services, Ridgewood finance officials this week unveiled a “recommended” spending plan that would boost 2015 municipal taxes by 1.2 percent over last year.
For the typical Ridgewood household, this budget would increase tax bills by $46.72, based on the average assessed home value of $690,662.
The proposed $47.06 million budget was one of three spending scenarios presented by Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld during a special public meeting on Monday.
Each plan calls for a tax increase, a situation that the municipality avoided while crafting budgets during the previous two years.
Sonenfeld explained that keeping taxes flat while maintaining a high level of municipal services “is hard,” particularly during years when Ridgewood is obligated to pick up certain expenses, such as increases related to police and fire department contracts. This year was no exception, she said, noting that the police department budget will increase by more than $500,000 over last year’s actual amount spent.
“We took the message that the council gave us very seriously – with tax increases you would like to see service improvements and improvements in quality of life in the town. I think we all agree with that,” said Sonenfeld, who, along with treasurer Steve Sanzari, formulated the recommended budget using previously provided input from Ridgewood’s department leaders.
This my personal opinion on last nights public meeting.
1. A delay of almost 50 minutes before beginning the scheduled agenda to hear a “personal grievance”statement by the employee labor attorney for the Village.
2. It was not on the agenda and a matter that should have first been discussed in a closed meeting.
3. Sadly, the Mayor permitted the “employee” to make her statement at the public Village meeting hoping to “clear the air” and be helpful. “which was a BIG mistake.
4. I have lost all confidence our Councilmen (for now) on the public behavior of these matters.
I have been a residence in Ridgewood since 1948 and have seen “many meetings” — that one was the worse..
The Ridgewood blog was founded in March of 2006 by James J Foytlin aka PJ Blogger . Mr. Foytlin was born and raised in Ridgewood ,New Jersey and is a graduate of Ridgewood High School .
Ridgewood NJ, – Oct. 26, 2009 – RIDGEWOOD, N.J. — 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 lake coverage of his home town. After all Ridgewood is only 18 miles from midtown Manhattan[6] the media capitol 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 responsibility taken 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/vi…
[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
Public pensions are one of the top issues confronting the municipal bond market, according to the vast majority of credit analysts responding to a survey released on Monday.
The survey asked 162 municipal bond credit analysts to name the five most important issues or trends currently facing the market. Of the respondents, 86 percent included matters related to pensions, such as funding levels and pension obligation bonds, on their top five list.
The second most-noted topic was Puerto Rico, which 50 percent of the analysts included as one of their top five issues or trends. The island commonwealth is currently mired in a debt crisis.
Tom Kozlik, a sell-side municipal credit analyst at the Philadelphia-based financial services firm Janney Montgomery Scott, LLC, conducted the survey.
While he emphasized that he was not speaking for all of the respondents, Kozlik said that, for him, public pensions are a key source of concern.
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
Does anyone thinks it’s a coincidence the human resource and village manager are both from Bergen leads and this residency requirement is being changed when the hr person isn’t from ridgewood. Old friends from the bergen county program . Ridgewood owes a debt of gratitude to councilwoman knudsen for standing up for ridgewood residents when aronsohn, pucc and hack don’t care about the people they represent. What’s wrong there’s no one from ridgewood to fill these jobs.
Regardless of what the law might become, the fact is that these people are not willing to hire anyone now under the current law. That is outrageous. Holding off on hiring until they can change the law. Sounds like a massive lawsuit to me.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood will be paving this spring and summer in two rounds with two separate contractors. The Village posted an updated schedule on March 26, 2015.
According to the Village website during 2015 the Village will embark on a very ambitious street resurfacing and repair schedule
staring this spring .
Ridgewood Street Resurfacing and Repair Program – 2015
For the 2015 street paving list
Click Here
For the criteria for paving and maintaining streets
