Ridgewood’s Valley Hospital sues over rejection of expansion project
OCTOBER 3, 2014, 11:53 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2014, 11:56 PM
BY MARY JO LAYTON
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
The Valley Hospital filed suit Friday against the Ridgewood Planning Board for rejecting its proposal to nearly double in size, arguing the board illegally sided with neighborhood opponents rather than permitting an upgrade for “an inherently beneficial regional hospital.”
For Valley, the lawsuit filed in state Superior Court in Hackensack is an attempt to end a protracted and costly stalemate with the village — its expansion plans have been defeated two times in the last four years.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-s-valley-hospital-sues-over-rejection-of-expansion-project-1.1102356#sthash.4G5tiib0.dpuf
Like a good neighbor.
They are a nonconforming business muscling in on a residential community. Taxpayers are under assault by big business.
““The Planning Board arbitrarily, capriciously, unreasonably and/or unlawfully prohibited a reasonable upgrade and modernization of The Valley Hospital’s regional hospital when it rejected the proposed 2014 master plan amendment,’’ the lawsuit stated.”
The needs of the region are greater than those of the taxpaying residents. Valley forgets to mention their need to make money
Thanks Mr. Pfund, I mean Judge Pfund, for the gift that keeps on giving.
The Planning Board does not represent the interests of the taxpaying residents? Our village exists to support Valley?
Boycott ALL Valley fundraising.
“Valley’s lawsuit said the board “unlawfully prioritized the interests of a local neighborhood over the broader community and regional interests” for an “inherently beneficial regional hospital.””
Audrey Meyers has overplayed her hand. She will lose support that she had in town.
Valley needs a fresh start. The same OLD board lacks vision and keeps going after the same thing. Valley needs a New board with a new vision and a new President.
Im waiting for Dom’s posting!
Don’t forget the undercover agents for the hospital on this Council. There is more then one.
If the region needs this why did they fight the reopening of Pascack? They do not care about the needs of people they care about business expansion.
Bigger Valley Hospital big Valley Hospital Ball. more pictures for the Ridgewood News.
dose Big Als firm work with Valley???
again PJ How does Audrey Meyers have a job ???
cat got you tongue Deputy Mayor lol ……….
dont get mad get Al
We should put together a team of local residents who are attorneys or law students and are willing to donate their time and to work in a subordinate position to the town attorney to help the town mount an effective defense to this attack. I don’t want to see a situation in which Valley pours millions into its weak case thinking it can simply cow a cost-sensitive municipality into giving up the fight.
Maybe the Rev resents the concession stand part of Valley hospital.
This was a long time coming and valley should have sued from the get go. Sorry mr. McKenna if you find the suit “offensive”….I find you and your band of brothers at CRR offensive. When you bought your home
And that very large building was off in the distance what were you thinking? And now because you made a shitty real estate purchase the community as a whole should suffer? Don’t tell me that this is about children at school or saving your village….this is about protecting your investment and guess what? Your going down and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Thank for that Rev. Al. #16
#14 has a good idea, the town uses resident with financial backgrounds to battle the employees why not use residents with legal background’s to assist with the battle against valley?
That will never happen #18 when you have Valley supporters on the Council. you think they would approve something like that ?
I think its time to shed some light on Valley’s non-profit status. Roughly $100 million in profit in 2012. Provided $610K in charity care that year. No wonder they have millions of dollars to fund frivolous law suits.
#16- You sound like one of the clown’s who has a personal interest in this. Good for you. But try and understand what elected officials have been saying all along; that the community as a whole will suffer MORE if Valley gets it’s way with this borderline absurd proposal.
Personally attacking Mr. McKenna ? Get a life…
Valley has bungled this thing from the start. They have been arrogant and out of touch and it has cost them dearly. Hackensack is eating their lunch and Valley has spent the last 8 years learning the hard way that they cannot build a regional medical center in a residential neighborhood. If I were on Valley’s board I would fire the entire senior management team.
This lawsuit is only the latest example of how this corporate special interest does not care a lick about Ridgewood. When will Valley’s supporters and their Council representative get a clue?
I would be embarrassed if I were sitting on Valley’s board and could not come up with an alternative plan for what has turned into a joke for both the hospital, and, more importantly, Ridgewood.
Just what you want to see on the front page of The Record. What great press !
When I made my “shitty” real estate purchase no. 16, I was aware of the master plan. Does that plan, a constitution, to keep Ridgewood an uncongested, quiet, peaceful village of small buildings have any meaning?
Yes, it does. And that is why Princeton Medical Center chose to build away from its residential area after consulting with the residents.
We don’t need Valley Hospital , there are many hospitals to chose from here, no. 16.
And as for Valley’s touting robotic surgery. It has been proven not as effective and safe as scalpel surgery.
The truth is Valley is touting a lot of high tech nonsense. The truth is when I have needed expert medical attention and gotten a second opinion in the Big Apple, the Big Apple has always been my choice and it’s always been a simpler , quicker sure cure from the Valley doctors around here.
We live by Hackensack Medical and NYC and that will never change. The truth is number sixteen Valley is good for band aide medicine, a community hospital and that will never change.
Remember Princeton Med. moved because they are not greedy , selfish arrogant, uncaring medical people.
They are not bullies like Mr. Drill. Remember, Mr. Drill is Valley. That is who they are….. selfish , uncaring. In effect… I want what I want when I want it and you and your family can go straight to hell. That’s what Valley is.
#16, I can’t speak for anyone else, and I am not the original poster, but what I was thinking was that over time there would be REASONABLE growth in a small to medium size hospital serving LOCAL COMMUNITIES and I’d live with the consequences. I also thought the Master Plan was a well thought out plan, not a zoning suggestion to be altered willy nilly because a developer or business had deep pockets. (thanks again Judge Pfund!)
#20 “non-profit status” distraction again? If you think they are violating the laws regarding their non-profit status, please write a letter to the appropriate state authorities. Whatever its faults, Valley Hospital is not stupid, and is very careful about their non-profit status. This is a red herring.
#5, #11, #22 While I agree with your sentiments concerning Valley’s arrogance, they have a good chance of winning the lawsuit.
In 2011, when the Village Council rejected the Planning Board’s approval of the Valley’s Master Plan changes, the Council members carefully and deliberately limited their objections to land use issues and procedural issues of the Planning Board. This go around, the statements by some of the Council members were much less on point, and the Valley is pouncing on this.
#24….so you made a decision to focus on a “plan” as opposed to a VERY LARGE BUILDING sitting right in front of you. It’s a plan, NOT a constitution and your uncongested, quiet peaceful “village” died years ago.
Having a facility like valley in my own backyard is what the founding fathers of Ridgewood envisioned… Your just bent because IT IS IN YOUR BACKYARD and now you want others in the surrounding communities to pay for your short sightedness. And you want what you want when you want it and the community as a whole should suffer? Go back and reread your comments and tell me who’s selfish and uncaring…..paaaalease.
We don’t need Valley Hospital No. 27. If they enlarge to 90 feet , they spoil the whole Village.
Most of their doctors are second rate; for serious conditions The Big Apple is the place to go.
The people have spoken on Valley and the Planning Board gave it’s decision; but Valley is above the rules; rules don’t apply to them.
And that is how most of their doctors do medicine. Not the least and most effective; but the most and damaging and most costly. Bullying doctors, administrators and lawyers.
In my case it is not a real estate decision. My house would sell for more if Valley expanded. Valley workers would buy it in a heartbeat. It is small and cheap by Ridgewood standards.
You assume wrongly.Some people are tree huggers. That’s me. I care about our environment. You don’t Shame on you. You contribute to the anthropocene. You probably don’t believe that people cause destruction to environment and cars cause pollution and that we in Ridgwood should shun development of downtown, for several reasons.
I also campaigned to keep Graydon sand. I’ll bet you were for concrete Graydon.
Rules don’t apply to Valley Hospital ; Doctors, administrators , lawyers.
Their ownly concern is $$$$$$$$!!!!!!!
Come on people. There are other community hospitals near by when you get a sprain.
Do y;ou think they care about you??
By this action, Valley has proven to me and to residents of this village that it is nothing more than a self interested business entity without any true integrity or competent leadership. This attempt will fail because the associated issues don’t support such a audacious over development. The community as a whole is now aware and tired of their bullying, the wasting of our taxes and time . It has become clear to many in all sections that fears of them trying to turn this town into Valleywood is coming true. The Board of Valley should be embarrassed by their lack of proper management planning,. their double talking and miscue on PV and their disgraceful approach and tactics agaisnt a host that has subsidized them for ages. Valley has lost its way and much of the goodwill that it once had. I personally will disassociate myself with the institution.
Here’s the bottom line- they have come out with guns blazing- going solely via the traditional opposition route will be iffy at best- as well as expensive- staying within the law is paramount but the ace in the hole is social media, publicity and making it personal- picketing on streets where some of the “beneficiaries” live (with a permit of course), boycotting organizations that they are involved in as well as negative publicity that is factual and not slanderous- there will be some surprises and the attack dog lawyer and tone deaf ceo to name 2 will be surprised I’m sure 🙂
#28 – While I am and have been against Valley’s large physical expansion – comments like yours are over the top, and hurt our cause. Could anyone really believe your post is real, or are you on the other side, trying to make us look bad?
#27 …How does “the community suffer?” What the hell are you talking about ? We “suffer” NOW because they don’t pay taxes on this property, they use the municipal facilities, they bring in people who drive like whack jobs on our side streets when they leave work on their way back to Paterson,etc.
Tell me, would you associate the word “trust” with Valley over the last several years ?
well the first shots have been fired for this round- traditional opposition without a social media dimension will be difficult and expensive- the equivalent of guerrilla warfare from a social media standpoint is slowly gathering momentum- these methods stay within the law and will be factual but not slanderous- publicity will help (there has been interest from some organizations) and picketing “beneficiaries” residents or streets will be done (with a permit of course) with recommendations to also boycott enterprises throwing their support behind the expansion-
Here is my very real concern: I was surprised — albeit happy — with the last Planning Board vote. However, I was concerned at the time that somehow some deal was being made where the hospital would sue and our council would either lose in court or say they didn’t have the funds to fight. This way, some leaders could save face, the hospital could bypass the council and years of construction would begin! And now it appears to be happening.
I was worried when nothing was done to take the current screwed up master plan process — thanks Pfund! — off the books. And it also seemed odd to me that the vote to memorialize the PB vote was put off for weeks and just happened recently. Why put off a formality?
There is more here than we know.
Pooch and Hawk are still on the council and so is the person who invited them to run. Look out, everybody.
Yes they are and the resident will vote them in again
Yes #37 ” Like a lamb to the slaughter”
Snappy comments aside, this suit is a real concern. The hospital, rather than compromise, will now try to get a judge to force the town to allow something that has TWICE been deemed extremely detrimental to our community.
Anyone that lives in this town and supports Valley is completely out of touch. If you even read the suit, you would have noticed that this is going to cost all of us, not just Valley’s opponents. Apart from sticking us with what will be staggering legal fees, Valley has now made it clear that they feel that any detriment to the Village is outweighed by the benefit to the region. This is an important turn of events since they’ve spent the last 8 years spinning one BS story after another about how their expansion won’t do any harm.
And as for the members of our Village Council that support Valley, I’d like to come to the next budget meeting when you have to find a way to pay for all this.
I feel that the lawsuit of Valley conveys a clear message to the Village of Ridgewood ” they want what they want” and will use their power and money to get it. The residents of this town have been go to meetings and spending their valuable time and money for 8 years. Valley has presented their plans twice to the Village and they were both rejected. The process was followed and people presented their views for 8 years about how they have felt about this expansion. It has been 8 years of peoples time!! Enough is enough. Valley has not made much of a compromise on their site plans. And as a result, it has been voted against both times because at the end of the day the hospitals proposal is too BIG for this site surrounded by residential homes and a school. For those who are claiming people do not want it in their backyard I ask you to take a good look at the Valley plans because I do not think you would want it in yours either!! If your neighbor wanted to rebuild their home to be double its current size and it was going to take years of construction, I think you would be against it as well. If I wanted to double the size of my house on my property, I would be told my lot is too small for the site and to come up with a plan that works in the space or find a new space. This Valley renewal is not a expansion. Look at the plans… it is a rebuild of a hospital. Can anyone really say that a 94 foot building belongs in the middle of a residential area? It does not fit in the space. People seem to forget that the houses surrounding the hospital were here before the hospital! The hospital was built in a residential area. I truly believe that the people against the expansion are not against the hospital updating but this plan is ridiculous. 10 years of construction and more than doubling it current size! If Valley really cared about Ridgewood and its neighbors they would have come up for alternative plan to address the size of the buildings and set backs from the homes. It is sad that this will never be over until Valley gets their way!
Uhhhh, the Mayor has voted against the Valley expansion… TWICE. Get your facts straight.
once again the “mayor” invited Valley to resubmit there out sized plan after it was meticulously gone over and resoundingly rejected by the planning board and the public …Uhhhhhh get your facts straight
Thanks James for clearing that up. The Mayor base will always try to twist the truth.
You mean interested parties aren’t allowed to reapply to the Planning Board ? Just because he “invited Valley to resubmit” doesn’t mean he told them to submit the exact outsized plan that had already been rejected by the previous Council ? Which he then rejected in his capacity as a Planning Board membert. Surely they have the right to submit a renewal plan in keeping with the Village Master Plan and not former Mayor Pfund’s ordinance 3066 ? The Council should just repeal 3066, or at least the part that allows interested parties to apply for amendments to the Master Plan. They are getting sued, after all. Time to stand up and defend the taxpayers of Ridgewood. They should also ask Valley for a PILOT, period.
When the community can no longer have a say, it is no longer a community worth living in.
When this lawsuit is complete if the village wins and valley loses can the village file a suit against valley to recoup the legal fees?