Tag: Wyckoff NJ

Posted on

Wyckoff Police Remind you to Lock Your Vehicle Doors!!!!!!!

52934098 2129834530431430 1440289640304082944 n

Lock your vehicle doors!!!!!!!

Wyckoff NJ, There has been some reports of entries to vehicles, as well as in other communities surrounding Wyckoff. All of these entries and thefts were through unlocked vehicle doors. These crimes are completely avoidable. Please remember to always keep your doors locked and valuables out of plain sight. Remember to REMOVE key fobs from the vehicle. We recommend you bring in your garage door opener if you park outside as well.

Continue reading Wyckoff Police Remind you to Lock Your Vehicle Doors!!!!!!!
Posted on

Ridgewood Water Litigation ;the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Mayor Hache fills us in on all the details and where we stand . Since 2010, the governing bodies of the three communities outside of Ridgewood served by Ridgewood Water (Gen Rock, Midland Park and Wyckoff) have been engaged in a law suit, which challenged the allocation of expenses by the Village for the water company’s budget. The 3 towns felt that a 21 percent increase in rates in 2010 was excessive. The actual rate per 1,000 gallons is not excessive and, in fact, is in the lower middle of rates offered by other neighboring water utilities and still much cheaper than Suez. The challenge was started by the governing body of Wyckoff, whose auditor is a member of the former auditing firm of the Village when similar allocation methods procedures were used by the Village for the Water Utility budget. The claim argued that the methodology used by the Village in allocating percentages of Village expenses to the Water Utility was unfair (since it was not actual expenses) to the 3 towns and it caused the rates for water usage to be unreasonably excessive to the rate payers of the 3 towns and those rate payers were subsidizing the property taxes of Village residents.


The methodology used by the Village had been accepted by the Local Finance Board of the State in 2004, and the Village continued using that method throughout the years. This litigation which was started in 2010 (and amended in each of 2011 & 2012), finally reached trial in 2017. The trial court decided that the ordinances which approved rate increases in 2010, 2011 and 2012, did not have an adequate factual basis in the record that would warrant the rate increases that were adopted by the Village. As a result, the Court required the Village to hire an expert to calculate what the appropriate rate increases for the years in question should have been.
The Village (while still disagreeing with the Court’s decision that the record lacked an adequate factual basis), complied with the preparation of the rate study by hiring the most qualified expert in the field of water rate studies, Howard Woods. Mr. Woods completed his rate study and has recognized that the Village did not adopt excessive rates during those years challenged by the 3 towns.

The three communities decided to appeal the Court’s decision, and that appeal is pending; the Village cross-appealed on those issues raised by Plaintiffs. Their requests to stay the rate study pending the outcome of the appeal has been denied (at least for now) by the trial Judge. The rate study was presented to the Village Council in early 2018. The Village Council adopted an ordinance to adopt rates established by the Woods study, with the purpose of establishing rates for the years of 2010 through 2017.

Posted on

Ridgewood Child’s Library Card used to Rack up Over $1000 in Overdue Fines

PMM3QA2V

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, according to North Jersey Media a village child’s library card was fraudulently used to rack up over $1,000 in fines borrowing items from local area libraries.

Sources say ,at least 46 items were fraudulently checked out of two Bergen County libraries using a 12-year-old Ridgewood boy’s library card. The Items were checked out from both Mahwah and Wyckoff libraries and the Ridgewood resident has received an overdue notice of $1,000 fine notice.

Continue reading Ridgewood Child’s Library Card used to Rack up Over $1000 in Overdue Fines

Posted on

Wyckoff Mans Admits Taking $340,000 In Bribes To Steer Contracts To Cinelli Iron & Metal

hqdefault1

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Wyckoff NJ,  A former senior vice president of a national demolition company today admitted accepting $341,052 from the chief executive officer and from the president of a scrap metal company to steer business to them, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Frank Aiello, 53, of Wyckoff, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court to an information charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Continue reading Wyckoff Mans Admits Taking $340,000 In Bribes To Steer Contracts To Cinelli Iron & Metal

Posted on

Ridgewood Water Open House event will be at the Wyckoff Public Library from 6 to 8pm tonight,

43184448 693529581016138 1043796586162814976 o1

photo courtesy of Ridgewood Water

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Wyckoff NJ, Reminder…the 2nd Ridgewood Water Open House event will be at the Wyckoff Public Library from 6 to 8pm tonight, October 4th. The first of four Open Houses was on October 2nd at the Midland Park Fire House Social Hall.

Topics include Ridgewood Water 101, Working with Regulators, Emerging Contaminants, About Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, Ridgewood Water’s Action Plan, and Communications & Customer Service.

Posted on

Ridgewood Water Catches Contractor Dumping Contaminated Soil on its Wyckoff Property

RidgewoodWaterLogo_061912_rn_tif_

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Northjersey.com has reported that .,”Ridgewood Water says its water supply is safe after catching a contractor dumping contaminated soil on its Wyckoff property.”

Northjersey goes to state in the article that , “A utility employee saw a local contractor on Aug. 20 dumping between four and six loads of soil at the Ames wellfield. According to a statement by Ridgewood Water, the Wyckoff Police Department was immediately notified and is investigating. At the same time, the Ames well was shut down as a precaution.” Interesting when the Ridgewood blog checked the Wyckoff Police blotter , there was no mention of the incident on that or any other date and when we went to the Ridgewood Water website it was off line on September 27th in the evening .We do know how that feels but it seemed an odd coincidence .

Continue reading Ridgewood Water Catches Contractor Dumping Contaminated Soil on its Wyckoff Property

Posted on

75% of pedestrian fatalities in 2016 occurred in the dark

42427510 963667590485941 1255862168360845312 o

photo by Boyd Loving

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Wyckoff NJ, this was issued by the Wyckoff Police Department, but it applies to all of Bergen County. Three pedestrian fatalities on Bergen County roads in the span of seven days across the County serves as a reminder of the safety rules both pedestrians and drivers should follow. These numbers could rise as the days grow shorter heading into the fall/winter season. Federal statistics show that 75% of pedestrian fatalities in 2016 occurred in the dark.

Continue reading 75% of pedestrian fatalities in 2016 occurred in the dark

Posted on

Ridgewood Water will be hosting a series of Community Open Houses in Wyckoff, Midland Park, Ridgewood and Glen Rock

Ridgewood Water

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Water announced that it is hosting a series of Community Open Houses in Wyckoff, Midland Park, Ridgewood and Glen Rock to provide the public with an opportunity to learn more about Ridgewood Water’s regular maintenance, system upgrades, and compliance with new and evolving regulations for drinking water, including Per – and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). PFAS are man-made chemicals that are found to be widespread and extremely persistent in the environment.

Continue reading Ridgewood Water will be hosting a series of Community Open Houses in Wyckoff, Midland Park, Ridgewood and Glen Rock

Posted on

Wyckoff Committee Opposes Sanctuary State Status for New Jersey

illegal immigration and undocumented immigrants1

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Wyckoff NJ, The Republican-led Wyckoff Township Committee approved a resolution this week declaring its opposition to the creation of sanctuaries in New Jersey for illegal aliens. The resolution also states that Wyckoff will not budget money for unfunded state or federal mandates related to sanctuary cities.

Continue reading Wyckoff Committee Opposes Sanctuary State Status for New Jersey

Posted on

Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips , “When you pass a budget where we had 18 new tax increases built into that budget, you scare the daylights out of people,”

26173092 328356444313715 8233963851146359414 o

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Wyckoff NJ, Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips joined Jill Horner on Comcast’s Newsmakers last week to discuss capping state spending each year at the same 2 percent placed on local government tax levies. Municipalities have a two percent cap, which is credited with helping to slow the rapid growth of New Jersey’s notoriously high property taxes; but the state is not subject to that cap.
“The towns have been largely living within the two percent cap without a problem,” DePhillips (R-Bergen) explained to Horner. “I think it would be hypocritical for us not to do this when we are imposing the same requirement on towns.”

Continue reading Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips , “When you pass a budget where we had 18 new tax increases built into that budget, you scare the daylights out of people,”

Posted on

Wyckoff Home Hit by Car

38764137 931329210386446 8121684269408976896 o

photos courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook page

August 9,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Wyckoff NJ, A 4-door BMW sedan crashed through the front wall of a home on Harding Road, Wyckoff early Wednesday afternoon, 08/08, and became completely wedged in a first floor room of the structure. Wyckoff Police, Wyckoff Fire Department, and Wyckoff EMS responded to the scene. A flatbed tow truck winched the vehicle out of the structure and up onto the truck’s tow bed. At least one (1) person was reported to have been injured in the crash; no word from police at the scene as to whether the injured party was an occupant of the vehicle involved, or an occupant of the home. A representative from the Township of Wyckoff’s Building Department was also on scene.

Posted on

Water Main Break Closes Franklin Avenue Near Boulder Run in Wyckoff Yesterday

ridgewoodwaterlogo-061912-rn-tif

July 21,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Wyckoff NJ, Yesterday Friday July 20, a water main break occurred on Franklin Avenue in the vicinity of the entrance to Boulder Run. Franklin Avenue in both directions (East & Westbound) was closed between Main Street and Godwin Avenue. Ridgewood Water and Wyckoff traffic officers were on site.

East-bound & West-bound Franklin Avenue have been reopened between Main Street & Godwin Avenue .

Posted on

Wyckoff Committeemen Madigan And Shanley Lead The Way With Pot Sales Prohibition

POT-SMOKING-KID

July 20,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood

Wyckoff NJ, With Township Committeemen Thomas Madigan and Timothy Shanley leading the way, Wyckoff’s governing body approved an ordinance this week banning the sale of marijuana in the township.
The ordinance, which supplements the town’s existing zoning code, prohibits the sale of marijuana, it’s derivatives and paraphernalia throughout the town. The ordinance does not prohibit the sale of medical marijuana prescribed by a physician and dispensed by a licensed pharmacist.

The ordinance was approved in a 4-0 vote of the township committee; Mayor Brian Scanlan was absent from the meeting. The ordinance has the support of the local police department and the Wyckoff Planning Board.
Republicans Madigan and Shanley said they acted now to prevent retail marijuana sales in the township because they are anticipating that Trenton politicians, including Gov. Murphy will legalize marijuana sales after the November election.

“We wanted to take preventive action before someone began investing in setting up a shop to sell marijuana in town,” said Madigan, a long-time resident and community volunteer.
“Retail marijuana sales are likely to bring with it an element of the drug culture that will not fit our community and could cause crime problems,” added Madigan.

Committeeman Shanley, the father of three young children and a baseball coach, said the ordinance is necessary “to protect the township’s children from exposure to the negative influences that will likely arise from the retail sale of marijuana in our town. If the legislature makes pot legal, we don’t want it sold in retail establishments in our town. I believe we can protect our neighborhoods by prohibiting the retail sale of marijuana in our town.”
“While many residents of New Jersey want marijuana legalization for a variety of reasons, it nevertheless brings with it some negative social concerns that have to be dealt with. Tim and I thought it was in the best interest of Wyckoff to get out front and begin addressing some of the concerns of legalizing pot for retail sales,” said Madigan.

Posted on

Orange & Rockland Warns Customers of Green Dot Bill Payment Scam

31968236 1987731671297894 1433734390633988096 n1

July 18,2018
by Michael W. Donovan

Wyckoff NJ, Orange & Rockland today warned the public about a phony-bill payment scheme in which imposters pose as utility company representatives and call customers, demanding immediate payment for what they fraudulently claim are delinquent electric and gas bills.

Unsuspecting utility customers across the nation, most recently at in Orange & Rockland’s service territory, have been bilked by these bogus claims by crooks who insist on payment the day of the contact.
Here is how the scam works:

A Spanish or English-speaking individual posing as a utility company employee calls customers saying their service would be disconnected if they do not make an immediate payment using a prepaid debit card. In some cases, the call is pre-recorded.
Customers are told to purchase a Green Dot MoneyPak at a pharmacy or convenience store, use cash to put money onto the card, and then provide the number on the card to the person who called them.
Customers are advised that if they do not immediately call back and provide the MoneyPak information, their service will be turned off that day.
Typically, after the customer provides the MoneyPak number, the scammer steals the customer’s money by transferring the funds from the MoneyPak to a prepaid card and then cashing it in at an ATM.
O&R urges anyone who is contacted in this fashion to break off contact with the crooks and call O&R Customer Service at 1-877-434-4100.
If you are contacted by someone who says they represent O&R and you wish to verify their identity, either ask for their photo ID card, if they are at the door, or call O&R at 1-877-434-4100 to verify their identity and the nature of their business with you. Orange & Rockland employees are trained to cooperate with this request and happy to comply with an identity verification request.
Remember, when in doubt, hang up the phone or break off contact, and call O&R at 1-877-434-4100 to verify that the person you are dealing with is an Orange & Rockland employee conducting legitimate business.

Posted on

Orange and Rockland Power Customers Hit by Payment Scam

Orange-and-Rockland-Featured-compressor[1]

June 1,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Wyckoff NJ, the Wyckoff police have again issued a warning to Orange and Rockland customers .The latest rash of phony-bill payment schemes in which imposters pose as utility company representatives and call customers, demanding immediate payment for what the crooks fraudulently claim are delinquent electric and gas bills.
These scammers pose as utility company employees and call customers saying their service will be disconnected if they do not make an immediate payment using a prepaid debit card or even a credit card.
Orange and Rockland does not accept payment from prepaid debit cards.
Orange and Rockland urges anyone who is contacted in this fashion to break off contact with the crooks and call O&R Customer Service at 1-877-434-4100.
If you are contacted by someone who says they represent O&R and you wish to verify their identity, call O&R at 1-877-434-4100 to verify their identity and the nature of their business with you.
Remember, when in doubt, hang up the phone or break off contact, and call O&R at 1-877-434-4100 to verify that the person you are dealing with is an O&R employee conducting legitimate business.

Orange & Rockland and its subsidiary, Rockland Electric Company, serve approximately 300,000 electric customers in New York and northern New Jersey, and more than 130,000 natural gas customers in New York.