Ridgewood Mayor Ramon Hache
Ridgewood Nj, according to Mayor Ramon Hache , the Village Council tackled a broad range of issues during 2018. I will list just a few of our accomplishments and then provide an update on issues that are still pending a final resolution. During 2018, the Village Council:
- Approved $12 million in funding for Hudson Street parking garage (see below).
- Expanded the use of parking kiosks (total of 7) and increased meter rates in order to fund the Hudson Street parking garage.
- Approved reconfiguration of train station parking lot which will create an additional 36 parking spaces for commuters and shoppers/diners. See plan here.
- Re-allocated parking for employees in the lots with lower demand.
- Completed the second phase of the much-needed Downtown beautification which included funding for the lighting of Van Neste Park Project.
- Amended our B1/B2 zoning in the Central Business District to include more modern uses which will bring a new and improved mix of businesses.
- Adopted a new Blade Sign ordinance to beautify the Downtown.
- Adopted regulations for outdoor displays to allow businesses to promote themselves with more individuality.
- Decorated empty storefronts during the Christmas holidays through the Ridgewood Arts Council.
- Planted 140 trees (the second largest amount of trees in the last 40 years).
- Replaced the Maple Park Turf Field, funded through the Open Space Trust Fund.
- Approved $2.2 million for repairing and paving our streets. Obtained $380k in paving grants for North Pleasant Avenue and sections of Hillcrest Road.
- Launched the visioning process for the comprehensive revision to the Master Plan (see below).
- Funded the purchase of a new Senior Bus.
- Reached a settlement agreement with Fair Share Housing Center (see below).
- Continued to address the Water Department litigation (see below).
- Purchased Goffle Road property for use by Ridgewood Water for a treatment facility.
- Hired a leading law firm to pursue lawsuits against parties responsible for contamination to our drinking water, in order to offset the cost of remediation.
- Successfully conducted three rounds of lead and copper testing which resulted in an 82% reduction in lead levels and the lowest lead and copper levels ever recorded in the system.
- Made substantial improvements to our water infrastructure which will provide millions of gallons of additional water output in summer 2019.
- Purchased the Elks Club which is the last contiguous piece of property to the current municipal campus and will increase the efficiency of Ridgewood Water Department personnel by consolidating into one location.
- Improved leaf pickup. There were 180 fewer leaf tickets issued than in 2017. Only 15 repeat leaf tickets were issued.
- Continued working on the Green Acres Diversion on South Broad Street.
- Voted on the final design of the Schedler property and completed preliminary work on the restoration of the Zabriskie-Schedler House (see below).
- Developed a plan for the restoration of Kings Pond Park and received funding through a Bergen County Open Space grant for the first phase.
- Continued to improved communications with residents through the use of social media.
The Mayor forgot to add raising taxes to the list.
All looks good for is résumé . He is being groomed for higher office.
The Mayor forgot to add raising debt to the list. Next generation will have to pay for all the money we are borrowing for these vanity projects.
Well Mayor what Village assets are you going to sell off to your friends at the County to pay for list . Why didn’t you add to your list your great plan to buy the NJ Bell building and turn it into a Performing Art Center ? I guess your saving that for next year. Mayor, you gift the gift that just keep on giving. Oh I almost forgot the Council plan to buy the Old Town Garage land and turn it into yet another parking garage . Lets see, buy the land, take it off the tax rolls and build another garage. $$$$$$$$$
seems not very popular..in general. . time to move on up and out. .leaving the wreckage in rear view..
Not a single tangible/meaningful achievement to the current residents. Using social media to communicate is not an achievement mayor but it is clear you have nothing else to show for. I wish I could take back the vote I gave to him. I am sure his business will do great post mayor time.
Schedler is Knudsen’s narrow interest. Moving Ridgewood Water in to the Elks HQ was so the Ridgewood Police Department can expand in Village Hall, a quid pro quo between Knudsen and the RPD for hiring her sons. Both these properties are off the municipal tax rolls as well as Habernickle. No attempt to challenge the not-for-profit status or demand payments in lieu of taxes for municipal services provided to the Valley Health Care “System” (who’s radio and billboard ads clearly imply they are “for profit”), placing a heavier burden on all other property tax payers who saw a 2% annual increase which was more than the BOE related increase in percentage terms, this is a bunch of narrow interests for a self-serving Council. No shame.
lol you really are making a fool out of yourself
you sound ridiculous , like Gwenn you are trying to write off the east side of Ridgewood
No mention of the pass given to the cop who tested positive for drug use? And did we ever get made whole by quarters king Tommy Boy?
James, why do you & your friends feel the need to protect your girl? Apart from saddling the Village with a bunch of liabilities to satisfy her narrow interests, what has she done for Ridgewood? How many properties is the Village going to buy and take off the tax rolls? All of the buildings left by Valley perhaps? How much time does our Council spend on Schedler which is as narrow an interest as it gets? How much debt has the Village added in the past five years just as interest rates head to 4~5%? For what? You’re not asking questions about this, just apologizing for Susan. Are their underhand payments from developers to build the garage and redevelop NJ Bell, the Elks HQ, the old Town Garage and it’s underwater toxic plume, Schedler, etc? Are their sweetheart deals for favored friends? Follow the money my friend.
Ramon is the mayor , the council has five members , once Aronsohn put in motion the high density housing , the Village was virtually destroyed
you mean deals like submarket rents for all the developers friends in town ??? you mean like that ??
Sorry Ramon is Mayor but who wears the pants? Ahronson was a huge disappointment, we all know that. But why aren’t you question the antics of Knudsen and friends? Why do they all get a pass from you? Are you conflicted somehow? What does she have on you ?
The party line is now that Susan is only “one of five” on the Council. You’ve said it, Jane Shinozuka has said it. How many times have Sedon, Walsh and Hache voted differently from Knudsen? Is it a voting block? And yet Schedler continues to dominate our Village agenda despite ongoing bankruptcies in the CBD, alarming increases in Village debt and interest payments, the looming loss of Valley, the parking shenanigans, etc. you have a voice in Village matters, why aren’t you adressing this ? Instead you just keep blaming Ahronson. Follow the money.
Because once you elected Hudson County Machine Aronsohn and his two cohorts and pushed through the high density housing , the town was no longer special and had no place to go but down hill , risking property values being destroyed and of coarse encouraging the continued decline in the schools , the present and future councils will be cleaning up the mess for a very long long time , as for your bigoted and dishonest attacks on Knudsen ,these things have a tendency to boomerang . Taxes ,debt , issues in the CBD and so on , the blog has addressed them for more than 12 years ie Village Hall fiasco, golden toilets , flooding, turf fields, parking ,lazy merchants, greedy land lords and on and on and on and on……
I am sure even some of the anti council crowd is looking at dropping their airs and fake English accents and moving back to the Bronx ,even forgetting the sub markets rents they were promised by developers
Blah blah blah. So you won’t question Knudsen’s narrow self-interests or the present Council’s incompetence?
Have you ever questioned Knudsen and her cronies? Or are you a crony? Why?
Kundsen has no cronies lol
I’m not following you Janes. Somehow the as yet under construction redevelopment of the shuttered Brogan Cadillac and Ken Smith Chevrolet urban blight sites in our CBD have led to the demise of our schools? Property values haven’t risen in ten years despite what the realtors say. Rents haven’t risen in the CBD. We have empty storefront after empty storefront with ongoing bankruptcies. Knudsen and Sedon are as much a part of this as anyone, they voted for garagezilla, too.
The Schedler house restoration is a total waste of money. The cost for repairing a greatly deteriorated building and making it handicapped accessible are astronomical and a pure waste of money. Have the total costs ever been shown to the residents? Bits and pieces (potential underestimated cost of the roof repair) have been shown but, unless I missed it, no projection of total costs has been made. The Council is convinced that the town is made of money and they can spend to their hearts’ content.
The root of the problem is the failure of our Village Council to distinguish between their Narrow interests and the underlying drivers of value for Village residents. Their self-interests are reflections of important aspects of Village business; but however important and useful for Village planning, they should not be used in a self-congratulatory list of “accomplishments” as surrogates for the underlying value of the Council’s work. Genuine value creation fur residents requires a Council culture that compels our Governing body to pursue projects that promise to improve life for all residents, whether it be property tax reduction or paving our third world roads – while not treating their own narrow self-interests (Schedler, Elks HQ, Hudson Garage) as ends in themselves.
James, you are being unjust to those “from the Bronx”. Maybe they value RW more than your friends who are now in position to benefit from over development etc. You keep blaming Aronsohn for everything and excuse anybody else after him (except for Voigt). Well for a few years now your friends have been in a position of power and have done nothing differently from Aronsohn. You have to be fair when distributing fault.
Agreed. This blog is nothing more than an infomercial support Knudsen, Sedon and Walsh. James, if you still have the cojones, what is the cumulative-to-date and projected cost to Village taxpayers (excluding matching grants) for Schedler since Knudsen was first elected? How much will the total cost to clean up and redevelop the 7-acres cost us? Why won’t you and Boyd ask questions like these? We all know her three sons will cost Villagers over $15 million in wages, OT, accumulated leave payouts, plus PE soon & healthcare benefits. How much will Schedler cost us? The Elks HQ? The old Town Garage?