Whether you want a garage or not, we all need to come to the realization that in it’s current state, our taxes in this town are going up (from already ridiculously high levels) and that this council and ones before have failed to do what I think most would agree is their primary job..to be fiscally responsible, municipal managers and not politicians with special interests. The question that i think has failed to be answered is, what benefit, to the residents of Ridgewood does a large parking facility bring? Will it bring more shoppers to town to stave off the inevitable doom of retail (which if you’ve picked up a paper in the last 5 years you’d realize is happening), and in the slim chance it does, how much of a benefit would we as tax payers realize? Does it benefit the current RESIDENTS who commute via train into NY, probably…but then again, what size garage would do the trick? In the new tax regime, local tax rates matter now more then ever..so the days of raising taxes with little to no push back are over. The idea of a multi million dollar spend on a garage, without clearly and concisely outlining the benefits to tax payers, just falling back on the argument that this debate has gone on for 30 years, just baffles my mind. I’m not pro or con the current or prior council, i question the motives behind certain positions by some, which have been clearly outlined in past posts. Unfortunately, special interests in this town have come to the forefront, probably due to the fact that we all have very busy jobs, lives etc (contrary to what a previous councilman thinks), and don’t think we have to actively monitor town councils…lets be clear, their job is to run the town as efficiently as possible, balancing the costs of services and the level of taxation that is optimum to keep the influx of new families coming. This garage, will probably be the tipping point. Ignore, the older aggressive guy at the council meetings who thinks he’s the smartest guy in the room, why do we care about his pontificating about conspiracy theories and constitutional interpretations?? Let’s move on, rid the council of politics and vote in residents who make decisions based on the good of the town FOR THE FUTURE, not the past. This council should not be a stepping stone for wannabe politicians that will sell this town out in hopes of furthering their pathetic attempts at a political career.
Well said.
The answer is: No benefit whatsoever.
Let’s focus on the facts the village has paid tens of thousands of dollars to gather: do we have enough existing parking inventory to meet demand? The 2015 Walker “HUDSON STREET PARKING GARAGE PRELIMINARY FINANCIAL ANALYSIS” found here: https://mods.ridgewoodnj.net/pdf/manager/2015walkerFinal.pdf is an amazingly comprehensive study of existing village parking. The key findings, on the report pages 15, 16, 17, 19, and appendix page 4 clearly show we do not use the parking we have on weekdays and most importantly, on Saturday nights. On appendix page 4, the bottom table “EXISTING WEEKEND CONDITIONS – PUBLIC” shows 32% or 194 available public parking spaces at 7pm.
We are being used and abused. It’s dreadful. As said above, the ONLY driving factor (as it were) should be whether this would be of sufficient benefit to Ridgewood residents now and in the future for us to subsidize it at a moment when property values are a huge concern due to the new tax laws and other factors. The answer is either. NO or PROBABLY NOT. Neither answer would promote forging ahead with this ludicrous project Yes, it has been discussed for decades. That might be attributable to indecision–or to the knowledge that it is a bad and dangerous idea. PLEASE, council, think about maintenance issues, safety issues, and more before you act. Now that various builders have offered prices, we seem to be in the used-car lot with the salesman asking if we want the blue one or the green one. We want NONE.
This town is so corrupted. Moving on to Saddle River where I dont have to pay 40K to have my trash picked up in the drive way! More parking does NOT benefit residents; it benefits residents of OTHER TOWNS, and the corrupted politicians in this town.
Congratulations… we have finally arrived…
.
Ridgewood is now officially ripe for the picking.
.
Carpetbaggers have reached critical mass.
.
What a joke this town is so overrated.
There is no benefit to residents, au contraire it will cause much pain to us. It has never been about the residents , it has always been about the CBD which for many idiots and hacks has always been a concern. Funny thing though is that garadgezilla doesn’t even help them either. Dark forces have decided that Ridgewood change into a shithole. Skunks will benefit from this. Ignorance of the masses will enable them. With all these ugly issues , politics, leftists hacks etc. I wish I never moved here.
Parking – thats what it brings – and yes, place is overrated, along with the schools