I can only fantasize how magnificent this place may have been in the 80s. I Imagine a beautiful, quiet village, super clean and orderly, where neighbors were cordial and friendly and people respected each other, where residents shopped in downtown and just shrugged off any 10 minute delay to find a parking spot, where residents greeted each other in the streets, when you could sometime forget the house or car door open at night and not being told by some genius that “if someone violates your property it is your fault”, when people were more concerned with their family well being than that of the world, when they elected politicians they really trusted, when local government was as frugal with costs as they were in their family, when kids in schools were taught science and math and not pulled into ugly politics of different colors and brainwashed with socialist ideas, when USA flag was the only visible flag and people were proud of it, when people moved here to live the Ridgewood village life and not try to bring the NYC way of life and try to impose it to everybody else, when giggling about someone’s way of life wasn’t a a crime etc etc. Those who lived here are welcome to tell me if and how wrong I am.
When giggling about someone’s way of life wasn’t a crime etc etc….
WTf?
Really?
Tell you where your wrong?
Politics of different colors?
Dear dinosaur, it’s time for you to stop waxing about YESTERDAY
and come to grips with reality. And what exactly is the “Ridgewood way of life”? To be a completely isolated narrow minded dolt who thinks the whole world revolves around you and your perceived way of life?
Try going 2 miles south of whole foods for once and stop your bitching because, really….nobody cares.
Amen Brother
need to go back at least another decade…. more likely 2 or 3 more decades.
Moved here in 1971 and that’s pretty close.
That is true drive 2 miles south what a different world
Anonymous 12:03 is correct. I grew up in Ridgewood during the 40s, 50s, and early 60s. Ridgewood is an entirely different town now. I feel sad about the changes. When my generation passes on, no one will be left who remembers what it was like. Some of the comments replying to this post clearly reflect what Ridgewood has become.
I think that entire part of the country has been ruined both by developers and by the ever expanding levels of government required to manage the tangled mess they create and leave behind.. There is no going back to the standards and values of a bygone era. My Dad used to say we lived there at the last good time. From what I have seen firsthand and from what I have read on this blog, I think he was right.
Those who can do so are leaving New Jersey; it is not hard to see why. It is The Garden State no more.
Man’s only hope is to move forward ~ Norman Mailer
A lot of “movement” right now is backwards.
What the reader is really dreaming about is a town in which a Latino Mayor and female Deputy Mayor would certainly be unheard of, and where people of color & non Christians would not be welcome.
Just when you thought we’d put that kind of thinking all behind us.
no that is what a typical smug liberal BIGOT , would think of , the type of disgusting people who have ruined this town, and imported dirt bags like Paul Aronsohn , and loony tune Harwin,, better get George Wallace on the phone , he will help you Democrats whip this place in shape and get all those illegals to cut your lawns and polish your cars , and they will say yes sir ,no sir when you tip them a quarter
no offense but town is less welcoming now than ever
If the commenters thus far are typical Ridgewood residents, then they’ve succeeded in proving the point of the poster
does that include yours?
909 hate to break it to you but we used to have far more people of color than we have today , guess the obnoxious progressive”know it alls” taxed them all out of here
James I was referring to missing the days prior to progressive intrusion on our lives
got it thanks , sorry for my misunderstanding
To be a completely isolated narrow minded dolt who thinks the whole world revolves around you and your perceived way of life?”
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This describes many CURRENT residents of Ridgewood… NOT those of 40+ years ago..
Here’s the difference.
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In the past, most Ridgewood residents were affluent and were good people driven by strong values and respect for their neighbors.
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Today, many Ridgewood residents are affluent and are condescending, self-important totalitarians driven by a desire to coerce their neighbors to conform to their world view.
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I grew up here and My 90 year old parents also have a place in town (subsizing the schools for you newbies). It used to be a nice respectful town, no political lawns signs (the election isn’t until November and the newbie libtards have their “Josh” signs out in June )
People ran for town council to help th village, not for their further political aspirations.
Ridgewood began its decline when it went from being a reliably republican town to voting democrat .
When the rude new Yorkers move here with their piss poor attitude, it contributes to the decline.
This is not scientific , but reliable. Ever notice all the vicious dogs owned by nasty people? Dogs tend to mimic their owners. Nice people have nice friendly dogs. Think about that the next time some barking growling dog makes their presence known.
10:56 – Yes, today’s residents – entitled and spoiled. Ridgewood was once a lovely town – no more and the developments and parking garage will completely destroy it. And, 9:29 is correct the town used to have more minorities and we all got along. Anyone remember Luella at the YMCA? We all got along and knew each other’s families – except for maybe “the Hill” and that sector will always be a little different based on economics.
11:15 you are correct but not all of us were affluent. We were middle class but the values – hard work, good schools, good manners really helped all of us get along. The affluence back then was mostly old money – quiet and generous. There is a difference now. I don’t think it is just in Ridgewood – LOL – those Franklin Lakes housewives and their attitudes are like cockroaches!
7:14 – not scientific; not reliable.
In 20 years or 30 years, I’m going to come back to this blog to see if people are whining about how the town has deteriorated and wishing for the good old 2018’s.
Query the percentage of adult Ridgewood residents who, knowing what we know now, would gladly retain the services of racist, misandrist, police-hating new hire Sarah Jeong on their prestigious New York newspaper’s editorial board (if they owned or ran it). Compare this to the percentage of adult Ridgewood residents in the early ’80s who, had it been publicly known at the time what the old Soviet Union documentary archives later revealed about Massachusetts U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy secretly offering to work hand-in-hand with the Soviets to undermine the political and national security agenda of newly-elected U.S. president Ronald Reagan, would have whispered up their sleeve, “Go Teddy, go!”. From the perspective of this 40+ year resident of Ridgewood, the percentage of such rabid anti-american sociopaths living in the Village has certainly gone up. However, it was never zero. Bear in mind that here in idyllic Ridgewood in the eighties, we counted the following South Irving Street residents among our neighbors: NASA’s then-chief climate change propagandist Dr. James Hansen, and future “It’s Okay to Lie to the Public About Pending Life-Changing Legislation” obscenely highly-paid Obamacare consultant MIT professor Jonathan Gruber. Two of the biggest antisocial misanthropic hoaxes in U.S. history, and 1980’s Ridgewood residents turned out to be in their respective vanguards, enthusiastically (and nefariously) pushing and promoting such garbage. The current anthropogenic global warming (AGW) scare has the added “feather in its cap” of having ideological roots in the Eugenics-inspired global depopulation movement. Like, as in reducing the earth’s human population from over eight billion down to about 1 billion. (!) Thanks a lot, Jim. We really needed that headache
The original pollster is obviously commenting with long gone memories of what Ridgewood was really like in the 70’s. We moved in in Jan 1971 and were lucky enough to land in a newly developed neighborhood with residents all around our own age. Now, we are lucky to know a few neighbors on the block. But, even in those golden old days, Ridgewood was basically split at the tracks. Many of the “other side of the track” were wealthy, gave their kids whatever they wanted, and never ever babysat or delivered papers as our kids did. One of our daughters had many friends over there and actually voiced the question “Why didn’t my grandparents give me a car when I turned 17 or 18?” (Said grandparents lived “over there”.) The “East” side was considered much poorer and was actually looked down on when you answered where you lived. And “the other side” (across RT 17) was, and in many cases is still, virtually unknown. How many people have actually driven over to the other side and looked at the Schedler property? Ridgewood was much quieter, gentler and friendly to all. Most residents have remained friendly with unfortunately a good number of “We must be the best snobbism attitude” scattered around.
The School budget was occasionally voted down but more people voted than now. However, I was actually told by a resident that “Of course we have to have a no limit budget. People in Ridgewood can all easily afford it.” This was even after “the Lawns” were built. Responses to that construction (fought against bitterly by many residents) was “Ridgewood should not have ‘a sub-division’, it cheapens the whole town.” Sound similar to today?
irony is yearning for the good old days when folks were respectful and in the same post referring to people with differing political views as “libtards” Thanks for the entertainment!
Many of you would be better off in Pleasantville ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSDm62Hmbf4 ) . I particularly enjoyed the comments of a long time resident, reminiscing about Ridgewood when it was a nice respectful town and in the same sentence referring to about half of his fellow residents with differing political views as “libtards”. Very respectful, perhaps its time to look in the mirror?
This village is so overrated now you’ll never ever be the same. Wait until they build and build and build 2 to 5 years you better park your car in Start walking . I’m glad I sold my house and moved out see you suckers.
The most shocking thing during my few years in RW are the neighbors.One day they are your best friend the next they don’t even look at you even you if you just say “good morning”. They ignore you for days then all of a sudden they become friendly again. Forget it if they see you in a supermarket or the train station. These are the people with kids in school and very good jobs who moved fairly recently from NYC or Hoboken or J City like in the last decade. Older people who live in same hood since 3-4 decades are super nice and friendly. Why the difference?! I just can’t explain this.
12:34pm, that’s prom queen syndrome.
I still say this is not a village or even a town but a small city………
It has been 30 years since the alarm bell was sounded for manmade global warming caused by modern industrial society. And predictions made on that day—and ever since—continue to be falsified in the real world.
.
The predictions made by climate scientist
**James Hansen**
and Michael Oppenheimer back in 1988—and reported as model projected by journalist Philip Shabecoff—constitute yet another exaggerated
**Malthusian**
scare, joining those of the population bomb (Paul Ehrlich), resource exhaustion (Club of Rome), Peak Oil (M. King Hubbert), and global cooling (John Holdren).
We’ll never go back to “the way it was” but it would help a lot if all parents in the village tried to teach their children manners and respect for authority. That is really what is missing in many of both adults and children today. “YOU can’t tell ME not to do….” I actually had one young man tell me that threatening to call the police if he continued throwing ice filled snowballs at the cars meant nothing. He “knew all the Police by now and his parents’ wouldn’t let them do anything to him”. Years ago we actually had a Youth Council that would pronounce sentences like cleaning up the park, or help in some activity, for youth who had committed misdemeanors and didn’t need a real court. Now, that type of offense is tossed under the rug with parents who say “How dare you?” to both Police and to teachers. These people and these children are still a minority but it is becoming more and more of a problem as parents who were given the world (anything but time!) are now raising their children to have the same superior attitudes.