But with and increasing hostile council majority dead set in many residents opinions of destroying the very nature of the Village , with massive over development residents are left to wonder what happened to their town. The village has simply turned into everything many residents were trying to get away from .
It’s a constant theme heard all around the Village , at cocktail parties, student activities and other social gatherings ; the Village has lost its luster. From harsh notices on an outstanding summons for “failure to comply with leaf removal requirements.”
Residents also feel harnessed and ask themselves ,”What the hell is going on with all these tickets lately? 600 or so so we have been told . No comfort when the notice threatens to arrest you and revoke oury license if you dont respond with guilty and pay the $85, or not guilty and go to court.
New residents say , “our experience so far has us feeling an awful lot like generating revenue is more important than making sure we’re safe.”
To many the excessive use of ticketing sounds like a scam or typical New Jersey .Many residents complain that despite following the rules they were ticked anyway with no reasonable recourse . Contrary to the Deputy Mayor other people have jobs as well.
It is just abother Jersey town, don’t kid yourself. I can shop or dine in Ridgewood any time I want and return to my home in Saddle River. Building a garage will make this easier for the out of towner.
I really don’t visit Ridgewood very oftem, there are a lot of great places to dine and shop. You think too much of yourselves.
Life must be bring in Saddle River if you are reading and posting on The Ridgewood Bog at 7:20 in the morning.
lol, at 7:20 you exactly miss the point. To those of us who choose to live here it isn’t just another place to eat, dine or shop and when we start feeling like you there is a major problem. The community here has always been strong and different from many towns, Saddle River being a perfect example (lovely town, not so neighborly). Now we are divided, depressed, fighting against each other, openly maligned at public meetings, upsetting the church, etc. and now – worst insult of all – our village government is seeking design tips from no other than the Bergen County Improvement Authority!!!
Unless it’s about housing, parking, or Valley don’t expect anyone to show to a council meeting. Really no one cares about these issues besides a few complainers.
Wrong 7:47 Valley ,Housing and Parking have risen to the top.”No one cares about this issues” , Really I guess you haven’t attend any council meeting to see how many people care
People have always complained, especially about taxes, but I do think these days there is a poisoned atmosphere of mistrust and invective. For that, the mayor and VC are accountable. In years past, I may have disagreed with a Council decision, but always felt they had the best interests of the Village at heart. Rightly or wrongly, every action of the current VC is clouded with suspicion. So far at least, the VC hasn’t done anything truly terrible and irreversible, but there is a sense that they are up to something and do not feel accountable to residents.
From an optics standpoint, financing through the BCIA looks terrible–it feeds suspicion that the garage is payback for support among certain vested interests. There really is no good explanation on why this is being rushed through in such a manner.
Or maybe the BCIA funding is “payback” to the 66% of the voters who came out to support a garage. We knew we were voting for a big parking garage which is _what we want_!. The mayor is fighting to express the will of the people to have a garage and solve this parking problem once and for all.
@ Brian – what parking problem – the out of town commuters who can’t find a space? And at whose expense. I want more parking too, but not at the expense of the Church in that area and pedestrians walking the street. Were we asked to vote on having the elderly church goers give up their spots for the continence of out of town commuters? I certainly wasn’t.
Don’t be a fool – the mayor is not imposing your will – – he is imposing his own is a quite distasteful manner. Those of us who asked questions and made points were lied to or shunted aside. Remember, we were all told there would be plenty of time and opporunity to weigh in on the design and that simply has not happened.
Good comment 11:36. The fact the garage was put out to the voters in the form of a referendum and an overwhelming majority voted in favor of it. Subsequently some have complained the voters did not know what they were voting for however in this country you only get to pull; the lever once and no one is allowed to second guess their vote. If that were the case many…..perhaps even most politicians would find themselves out of a job and that sentiment extends all the way to the White House. With regard to the parking garage the people have clearly spoken and the Council is now obligated to respect the will of the people. Too bad 2 Council members don’t get it that the outcome of referendum was clear and it should be respected. No more stalling, time to get it done.
Wow @ 1:29, clearly you fall into the category of those who didn’t know what they were voted for. I voted “yes” for parking on Hudson street, not IN Hudson street. Show me a plan in the footprint where seniors do not lose easy access to church from street spots and I will support it. I will not support a design so clearly over scale for the lot. A homeowner would not be allowed to break these rules and even though our town does not have to follow it’s own code – it should!
129, it’s not that the 2 council members don’t get it, they agree for the need for increased parking. It’s the size that concerns them as well as a very vocal minority, including some that may have voted yes on the referendum… I agree let’s do it as presented as its not on a residential street but in the business district. But if compromise is needed I don’t see that as unreasonable either… as Reagan said, “if I see 3/4 of a loaf I’ll take it”… 200 hundred spaces would be better than zero.
1:29pm, who gave you these talking points? They sound rotten.
RW has been running on momentum for about 15-20 years (if not more – I have only noticed it for that long).
Its take a while but momentum eventually slows and then stops.
We have been on a slow downward glide for many years now.
7:47AM – ‘few’ is too many. They just ‘one complainer’ to compile all the evidence and give it to the authorities.
Brian,
Ridgewood does not, nor did it ever, need a parking garage this big. If it did not need it 15-25 yrs. ago, before the Internet and bigger malls, why the hell would you need one now ?