Vince Parillo - THE RIDGEWOOD BLOG.

file photo by Boyd Loving

March 11,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The Historic Preservation Chairman, Vince Parillo, asked if any members of the HPC had any comments. When Councilwoman Susan Knudsen commented,Vince Parillo then asked, do any voting members have any comments?, thereby ignoring Councilwoman Knudsen’s comments. When it was time to vote, Councilwoman Knudsen explained her vote, the Mayor questioned the audience whether Councilwoman can vote, and the HPC Chairman Vince Parillo replied that her vote doesn’t count.

Basically Mayor Aronsohn and HPC Chairman Vince Parillo had teamed up to discredit Councilwoman Knudsen and make her presence irrelevant in the meeting.

Tony Damiano, a store owner and also President of The Ridgewood Guild, is a newly appointed HPC member. He sent a letter because he could not attend. In his letter he mentioned he is approving “Plan D” because this design fits the lot, which is not correct, as he well knows as he attends Village Council meetings at which this fact has been clearly discussed.

Jim Shimmel voted on the design while he should have recused himself because he owns a building next door to the proposed garage.

In the meeting it was also discovered that the resolution passed on January 27th for design D requires two lanes for traffic on Hudson Street but design D only provides one lane.

Lastly, a resident asked the architects why the archways of the garage, which are supposed to be 11.5 feet high, look smaller than the entrance door of The Village Green restaurant, which is probably six feet eight; the architects could not explain this apparent inaccuracy

photo by Saurabh Dani

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Last night I videotaped the Historic Preservation Commission meeting and the full recording of everything I shot can be viewed here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOCBptQJMcs

My camera angle had an obstructed point of view of the drawings presented, but they can be viewed here:

https://www.ridgewoodnj.net/p…/423-hudson-street-parking-deck

Last night was unfortunately yet another example of how our local government is conducting business. The misinformation regarding the presentation of this parking garage is in glaring view.

For such a massive project that is going to cost us millions of dollars, why can’t we get a proper view of how this proposed garage is really going to look? Why isn’t there a 3D rendering, both virtual as well as a physical model built of the garage as well as the other buildings, so that we can truly understand what is being proposed? Why is the proposed garage still not residing inside of the municipal lot footprint? Why does the “Plan D” proposal that the Village Council voted in favor of on January 27th now have only one lane of vehicular travel, when for that vote there were two driving lanes?

Lastly, the treatment of Councilwoman Knudsen by other members of our government as well as the architectural firm was beyond reproach. Her concerns were dismissed by Commissioner Parillo – as was her vote. This is not how we treat a Councilwoman or anyone for that matter.

Once again, we as residents are faced with difficult choices. Many of us want a garage, but this is not how to do it.

On March 23rd, the Village Council will be voting on this proposed garage as well as the high density housing issue. I strongly encourage you to mark your calendars for that evening and to share your concerns with our Village Council and members of the Historic Preservation Commission in the meantime.

There is so much that can be done with improving our wonderful village, but let’s do it right and with care.

Thanks for listening.

Historic Preservation Chairman Teams Up With Mayor to Silence Councilwomen

Historic Preservation Commission Meeting : Yet another example of the misinformation regarding the presentation of the Hudson Street Parking garage For Ridgewood

Dana Glazer