file photo by ArtChick
Ridgewood is a destination. If you park them they will come. Parking is not just for commuters. It’s for restaurant goers, shoppers and patrons of other businesses. But sadly that ship has sailed. So Ridgewood’s reputations as the town with no parking will continue to proliferate, drivers will continue circling as pedestrians continue having accidents, and the types of businesses we would like to attract will avoid us without assurance of parking for customers. Lack of forward thinking is keeping us locked in a past that is no longer viable and now the damage is beginning to show as businesses leave town. Ridgewood is not a mall, and we should not equate failing Macy’s or Sears with Ridgewood’s CBD, which offers a completely different experience of boutique shops and specialty stores, restaurants and pretty park. I don’t come to town to get my shoes fixed or my nails done. I come to Ridgewood because it’s a nice place to go. The parking garage was a good idea, the study was done, the plans were made – it should have moved forward
No hospital, no newspaper and soon no downtown. Might as well admit these newcomers all want this place to become Allendale or Wykoff or one of those unimportant blips. When I grew up Ridgewood was something more. It was a place to shop. People were born there. It even had a newspaper. Now Ridgewood is no longer special. Wish these people had just moved to those towns and let Ridgewood continue to be something better.
Any time i go into town i do not have any problem parking,this includes Friday and Saturday nights.
Ridgewood isn’t “special”. The fundamental shift in retail shopping affects the CBD. It is playing out at malls and downtown shopping areas across the country. the fact is that 25-30 years ago the CBD was thriving even though there was even less parking back then (before firehouse was razed). So a parking garage is not the silver bullet–ask the folks in Englewood or Montclair. I endorse the incremental approach adopting by the VC. Nothing would be more of a blight than an empty and useless parking garage.
I have lived in Ridgewood for 30 years. It is not a destination for me. I am not looking for “boutique ” shopping. I can get designer clothes at Riverside.
I run errands in town and sometimes go out to dinner. This is not a resort, it is convenience. I also go to dinner at Saddle River Inn and in Westwood/Allendale.
The business community can do what they want to attract customers. Do not ask me to chip in. We pay a lot of taxes for others to view this as a “destination”
This antiquated thinking is the problem.
7:19 clearly you and the merchants want to fleece the overburdened taxpayers for your poor business operations. World has changed good luck suck it up we are not floatiing a fatcat garage its too expensive for the taxpayers to risk its eventual failure then we have a hertz rent a car and drug dealing monolith with massive bonding payments you folks will be long gone with your failed busineses. We Say No
Taxpayers are overburdened with education taxes or haven’t you noticed. You already said no that’s why we have idiotic parking rules instituted by council and businesses leaving town. Providing parking has nothing to do with poor business operations or fleecing taxpayers. It’s just an emotional response from people like you who just don’t want change. Too bad for Ridgewood.
10:04 is correct, Ridgewood is not a destination anymore and will only convert even more to a commuter bedroom as main employer Valley leaves and the CBD continues its inexorable decline in to a toxic waste dump (Town Garage toxic plume, decrepit old car dealerships like Ken Smith and Brogan, etc). We used to visit Ridgewood as a destination in the 1980s with ballet classes at Irene Fokine’s school, etc. Those days are long gone. Too bad the crowd in charge today have driven out Valley – soon many of the businesses will leave too given excessive rents and the lack of support from the Council and their anti-development supporters. They don’t even make it easy for commuters who are going to be the only ones who can afford the property taxes eventually !
main employer ?????????????????????????????????????
James, who employs more people than Valley?
I would bet most residents in the Village commute to NYC, New Jersey and Bergen county have long ago chased all the high paying jobs out of the state. btw Valley is only moving near the fashion center in Paramus its about a 5 minute drive,if you ever left town you would understand that .
7:42… This is a commuter town. Most employed town residents work elsewhere, whether in NYC or other parts of NJ NY and Connecticut. A good chunk of the Valley employees do not reside in Ridgewood as well.
You guys are evading the question. Which non-BOE institution has the most employees in the Village? Those people may not live in Ridgewood, but they certainly work here. Ever heard of the employment multiplier? Has anyone bothered to determine the impact Valley leaving will have upon the municipality when it departs or are you all too busy drinking champagne? How many jobs in Ridgewood are a result of direct/indirect Valley employees spending money in the community and in providing public safety services to Valley every time a fire alarm gets pulled or a patient assaults someone?
Valley has been proven time and time again to be a terrible corporate neighbor, and the costs for Ridgewood associated with Valley have long been proven to far outweigh anything positive
Again, you’re avoiding the question. Everyone agrees they were a terrible neighbor and could have already completed a smaller, more reasonable facility upgrade and expansion. No one questions how arrogant and boneheaded their CEO and Board were on empire building and communicating their plans. The Council voted down their plans once and the Planning Board voted them down as well. But the Village should have been negotiating a payment in lieu of taxes for municipal services rendered based on the Morristown precedent. And the employment multiplier? How many jobs in Ridgewood are a result of direct/indirect Valley employees spending money in the community and in providing public safety services to Valley every time a fire alarm gets pulled or a patient assaults someone?
Have you or the CRR got a number or any factual evidence on how the costs for Ridgewood associated with Valley have long been proven to far outweigh anything positive?
824… there may be some impact on places like delis or restaurants but if it was meaningful I think you would have had local restaurateurs and merchants howling in protest… One thing I noticed was during shift changes cars leaving Valley were heading east on Linwood or Glen and incoming were coming east of Paramus road…
Ridgewood actually WAS special.
It has not been special for many years (AT LEAST a decade or two).
It has just gotten so bad now that it is obvious to everyone.
Its still a “nice” place, but it is no longer special – it’s just one of the many nice places to live.
p.e.smith is right on this one (did I just type that?) The non resident employees would have been much more likely to head to Paramus to grab lunch or run errands compared with Ridgewood. We are pricier and less convenient. Frankly though, I would imagine most did their 12 hours shift and left,
Also there will still be many employees at that location so all is not lost.
I live near Valley. The ambulances are super scary and they come often. I won’t even drive on Linwood anymore , if I can help it, and Maple is a horror show too when you hear the ambulance siren. Good riddance to Valley. And I know nurses there They can hardly wait to get the hell out of there when their shift is over, they are dead tired. If they don’t bring their lunch, they eat in Valley cafeteria.
I agree with the contributors that said Valley was a great source of UNPAID work for the local fire and police. They were constantly being called to Valley for false fire alarms (did they ever get charged after two as a Village resident would be?) And the police and firetrucks suddenly pulling out in order to rush to Valley were in a much greater number at a time than the ambulances. Also, the police and fire had to close and guard the Graydon back parking lot every time an emergency (usually heart) patient was helicoptered in. Valley took all of this for free and made no payments in lieu of taxes. I am sure that Valley contributed in some ways to the community (supporting baseball and other teams for example) but not as much as they cost the town. It’s only in the past few years that we have not collected their garbage and recyclables for free as well. And I’ve certainly seen the town trucks clearing their parking lot and roadways before turning to do the town itself. And they are not far away when they move, as well as maintaining a full (probably no in lieu of taxes with it either) facility at their original spot.
7:25… congrats for lurching into the truth… well done…