Reader says It does not take much to turn a real estate market and we are likely on the tipping point.
Perhaps the most interesting indication of this is the No Valley and No Apartment signs that appear on the lawns of houses that have recently sold to young families moving into town. They came here for the schools and the neighborhood feel of the town. Then, they learn that what they just bought into is under the threat of the massive hospital and apartment complexes. Having just sunk their young fortunes into new homes, they are justifiably worried.
Think now of what happens if that worry becomes known to those currently looking. Through this blog, for instance, or newspaper coverage of the planning board hearings or letters to the editors. Real estate can very quickly take a nose dive in Ridgewood when towns in close proximity offer almost as much without the looming risk.
If you were 30-35 again, with two young children and enough money to buy a house in Ridgewood, and there was a chance Ridgewood was going to turn into something more along the lines of the hustle and bustle found in a small city sometime in the next 5 to 10 years, would you risk your hard earned down payment money on Ridgewood property? And for those of us in the 45 to 55 range, on the verge of being empty nesters, do we risk riding the property market to the bottom when we can cash out now?
No, make no mistake, Ridgewood is very much on a precipice formed by the intersection of a monolithic hospital concerned about its future revenue stream, developers who want to increase their profits and well meaning Villagers who are buying into false arguments and fears generated by the Hospital and developers.
My guess is that the vast majority of the town does not want apartment buildings on Broad street which already has the crappiest residential buildings along the tracks between the Cadillac dealer and the car wash. Adding any residential buildings there is a recipe for disaster. The hospital stuff is clearly more of a divided issue and not as much of a no brainer regarding the negative impact.
#1. In your opinion. In my opinion, denying Valley should be a “no-brainer”. Valley will destroy a beautiful residential area.
They are both “no brainers” as far as having a negative impact on this town. What is the positive impact of a 6 plus year expansion of a hospital that pays no taxes on its primary property ? And when it’s done what the hell are you stuck with ?
Valley is only a no brainer if you live in the area. Would you rather have the place go to shit because quality doctors don’t want to work in an out of date facility? There are plenty of shit hospitals in NJ and most of them are in shit towns. Think about it.
As for turning Ridgewood into Hoboken north…no. Half the CCoR are former Hobokenites. I’m with them. Hoboken is a great place if you are single and want to get laid fairly regularly. If you have a young family, the downsides are many.
The only way Valley will “go to shit” (as you said) is if VALLEY decides to allow that to happen. Valley is incredibly profitable. Over $101 MILLION, revenues minus expenses in 2012 alone! They also have one of the lowest charity care rates in the state.
Valley has neglected to make improvements to it’s facilities because it fully expected to be under construction by now. Valley has had plenty of time and plenty of money to make upgrades. While they still need to live within their space constraints, a little creativity and a little less greed could have already afforded them a higher percentage of single patient rooms. Did you know that in Valley 37% of their rooms are already single patient? Did you know that for the 5th year in a row Valley has received a grade of A in patient safety, including infection rate and mistakes, etc.
Valley is an excellent hospital because the doctors and nurses are excellent. Valley should improve their facilities for their staff and stop pretending that unless they double in size they will not be able to continue to provide quality healthcare. Spare a few million, Valley, and improve the working conditions for your staff. Ridgewood residents have probably raised enough money through the auxiliary for you to undergo a renovation rather than an expansion!
And don’t be so sure that 6 years of construction will only affect the surrounding neighborhood. A construction project of that length and magnitude will cause lower prices on area home sales which will translate into a lower tax base, which will affect us all. It will affect the surrounding area as neighborhood streets will become easy ways to avoid traffic, much like the west-side residents are complaining about with the Garber Square road improvement project.
Ridgewood needs to decide what Ridgewood wants to be and stop wasting time and money responding to applications from others. Improvement does not always mean build bigger or more. Much like better education doesn’t mean buy more technology and test more. But that’s a whole other argument!
#4, this is why people believe that people who live on the west side do not care about people who live on the east side. Why do you favor Valley over your fellow Ridgewood neighbors? We are supposed to be a community. Valley can improve without the massive construction it is demanding. We are all for improving the hospital, but it does not have to be to the detriment of your fellow neighbors and their kids (you know, the ones who are friends with your children).
The doctors don’t have to work in an “out of date facility” if Valley would just make better use of what they have. They have to modernize, not expand.
By the way, if you live in Ridgewood you do live in the area.
see what I mean? People are split on the Valley thing. Nobody is in favor of adding apartment buildings to Broad Street on the train tracks.
This is #4 and I live on the East side of the tracks, about a mile from Valley. I could walk to it if I had to, and when we had our first child, I did (the parking was annoying).