>From the Bergen Record:
Regarding “Overstating impact of hospital height” (Your Views, Feb. 3), on The Valley Hospital’s renewal proposal:The hospital’s plan calls for a combined building height increase of 15 feet, making the total building height 80 feet. What makes the impact far greater than just the height increase is that the proposed new north and west buildings would be only 40 feet from the property line, not the 120-foot setback of the hospital’s Cheel Building today. With the new buildings brought so close to homes and the adjacent streets, the adjective towering is an appropriate description.
A longer-term concern is the fact that, if approved, Valley’s proposed master plan would allow the hospital to more easily achieve zoning changes to expand even more in the future — bulkier and taller!
I have spoken to most of the immediate neighbors of Valley. They point out that they continue to endure all of the daily inconveniences — the noise and traffic — of living near the hospital without complaint.
Valley is a non-profit hospital offering high-quality health care and has more than $225 million of available liquid assets. There is no threat of Valley closing or going bankrupt.
Concerned Residents of Ridgewood believes that the hospital should continue to modernize to serve the neighborhood. However, this goal can be achieved using alternatives that are more sympathetic to the village than the “renewal” proposal.
Paul Gould
Ridgewood, Feb 4
