“Ridgewood is not for sale,” claims Deputy Mayor Al Pucciarell then Village accepts a gift from donor with ties to builder
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
The Record
RIDGEWOOD — A private foundation with ties to a developer proposing to build housing in the village will help pay for improvements to a stable along North Maple Avenue that serves as headquarters for the Ridgewood Parks and Recreation Department.
The gift, from a foundation operated by donor David Bolger, will pay for new restrooms, a meeting room and improvements to the kitchen area at the Lester Stable, officials said.
A resolution adopted by the council at its meeting last week accepted the donation and initiated a construction agreement between the village and the Bolger Foundation.
The agreement’s terms are still being worked out, officials said, with work at the stable estimated at between $250,000 and $300,000.
During the meeting, two residents questioned the village’s acceptance of the foundation’s money, since Bolger’s son, developer J.T. Bolger, has an application for a multifamily housing development before the village’s Planning Board.
Mayor Paul Aronsohn and Deputy Mayor Al Pucciarelli defended the move, saying the foundation was an entity separate from J.T. Bolger’s Two-Forty Associates.
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What. A. Joke.
Yes, the two have nothing to do with one another. Except they eat together over the holidays, and the guy giving Ridgewood the money used to change diapers on the guy who wants to build here.
Finally we are able to accept a gift that’s appropriate without the usual “naysayers” putting in their 2cents.
What a disgrace.
Just put the “votes for sale” sign out in front of Village Hall and be done with it already.
Hudson County at its best.
What is an Appropriate Gift when you have plans in front of the Planning Board? Is there some kind of guide that I can refer to? Just found it. BIG AL THE DEVELOPERS FRIEND guide to appropriate gifts.
I am completely disgusted with all of them.
It is truly sickening. Hope they choke on their turkey.
What’s truly embarrassing is the audacity they act with, I guess they feel that acting inappropriately in the open (transparently) makes everything ok! I’ve seen comments on other threads, and blogs about how the ordinance is written gives the council a loophole, the council has the last word on what’s right and wrong, I wonder how that would stand up to legal scrutiny?
So sad. I guess we should just have a schedule of prices so everyone knows what they need to “gift” in order to get what they want done in this town. How much for a small varience so I can bump out my house a few feet? How much do the people of this town need to “gift” in order to stop Valley Hospital?
You get the Council you voted for now live with it.
Well, #9, we did not all vote for them
If Pucciarelli actually believes his “everyone on the Planning and Zoning Boards is above reproach” crap, then why didn’t he vote yes when Valley hospital wanted to give money earlier this year? If they’re all above reproach, then what difference would it have made if Valley was permitted to make a directed donation.
Good point #11.