Readers Debate best Use for Zabriskie Schedler House and property
#1 written by Anonymous 18 hours ago
the re ader makes a good point. what is the cost of maintaining the property as a passive Park as compared to a multipurpose field with a 90-foot diamond And parking lot. There has to be a huge difference in cost Tothe taxpayers of Ridgewood long term. Something everyone should consider.
#2 written by Anonymous 18 hours ago
“Give the kids in the neighborhood a small playground and some walking trails.” Really? Do you think for one minute the Village paid $4 Million or whatever it was for that piece of property so “the kids in the neighborhood” could have a small playground and some walking trails? The Village of Ridgewood is in desperate need of more open space, open space that can be used by a wide variety of organizations. The Habernickel property is a great example of a project that addresses the needs/wants of many different groups. Schedler should be a similar project. Ridgewood is very deficient in the number of fields for the number of kids playing sports. The need for a large baseball diamond has been acknowledged for a long time. If Schedler is the place that such a field fits than that should be incorporated into the design
#3 written by Anonymous 18 hours ago
The same thing was proposed for Grove Park – only on a larger scale. The Sports Council wanted something like 4 ball fields and a parking lot. And the fill was going to come from the Valley Hospital underground parking excavation.
The neighborhood got together and got facts and fought it. Even the kids for whom this sports complex was being built for didn’t want it if it meant destroying one of the last forests in Ridgewood.
#4 written by anonymous 18 hours ago
Disingenuous #2. Village did not pay 4 million for the property. The cost was about 2 million with very little coming from Ridgewood. Get your facts straight before you go shooting your big mouth off. The lions share was paid for by Greenacre grants not ridgewood taxpayers. But the ridgewood taxpayers will bear the long term brunt of maintaining your field compounded by devalued neighborhood properties. All this while your son enjoys a full baseball scholarship to an ivy league college to cement his future as a New York Yankee.
#5 written by JJJ 17 hours ago
No to the ball field and parking lot! A passive park would be much better. Sports council is just plain greedy and continue to try to bully the village to give them what they want.
#6 written by Anonymous 11 hours ago
So if there is no parking lot how are the rest of the residents that don’t live near by get to use the park. Wow. you people what your own little park only to be used by the neighborhood. Typical for that group always crying that they are the forgotten part of town.
#7 written by Anonymous 9 hours ago
The VIllage purchased the property for $2.7 million. $1.6 million of the bill was covered by grant money. The Village paid an additional $90,000 for a property abutting the Schedler property known as the Shotmeyer property. There is about $60,000 a year in lost tax revenue and ongoing maintenance costs as well.
#8 written by Anonymous 5 hours ago
Never should have been purchased in the first place. I agree, just a lot of Ridgewood sport bullies trying to get their way again. PS #4 and your son will end up a Yankee??
Who would want to do that?
A lot of Ridgewood bullies on both sides of the argument. Right Phil.
How is there $60,000 in lost tax revenue and what are the maintenance costs of the property is just sitting there unused?
pathetic #1. a taxpaying redsident of ridgewood passionate and desperate to preserve the value of his home, the biggest investment of his life, his safety, security and quality of life. if people don’t stand up and scream they are are steamrolled by special interests and big money. people in our neighborhood are entitled to the same courtesy and consideration other ridgewood areas enjoy. we have no school and our kids wait for a bus on to get to the other side of town, and still not even the school that is closest and most convenient for us. both somerville and travell are closer than hawes and organizing playdates would be much easier if my kids attended either.
now you want to expose us to the full effects of route 17 for a sports field? i am happy to have a pitbull on my side because otherwise every tree would have been paved over already.
the neighbors in this area are not against a sports field. we are against on here because clearing any part of the property will destroy our properties.
pathetic #1 have some consideration for the hardship we will face if this happens.
VOR lost tax revenue when the property was taken off the tax roll and placed into open space inventory. Currently there is no cost to maintain the property as is notwithstanding the lost tax revenue. The cost to the taxpayer if the property is developed as a sportsfield will be significant due to the required maintenance and lost tax revenue from devalued area homes.
What would have happened to this property if the Village had just not bought it?
The property is assessed at $2.7 million which translates roughly into $60,000 in annual property taxes if the Village didn’t purchase the property. The property tax revenue would have been much higher if the property was redeveloped.
There have been maintenance costs on the existing building. The roof had to be covered and the building had to be better secured from outsiders. I think there was asbestos abatement done which was probably in the tens of thousands of dollar range.
Sell this and the “horse Farm”. Both are a waste of money.
The POS Schedler house only became a historic place AFTER the town bought it. If it were privately owned now, it would be condemned and razed. Put it up for sale.
The purpose of buying the property was to “prevent commercial development,” presumably with such negative effects as the loss of trees, increased traffic to local residents, and related safety issues. That is a worthwhile purpose. Unfortunately, a baseball field causes those same negative effects! That site is not well-situated for a baseball field.