>The Concerned Residents of Ridgewood (CRR) is pleased to announce that Pete McKenna has been elected as the new President
Paul Gould Moves to Texas in Career Relocation
Ridgewood, NJ – January 11, 2011. The Concerned Residents of Ridgewood (CRR) is pleased to announce that Pete McKenna has been elected as the new President of CRR, a grassroots non-profit organization committed to maintaining the residential character and the quality of life of the village of Ridgewood, and announces that Paul Gould, president to date of the organization, will be moving to Texas in a career re-location. Mr. McKenna is well qualified to take on this role as an 18-year village resident who has worked closely with Mr. Gould and other CRR members to keep Ridgewood a resident-friendly community since Valley Hospital announced its “Renewal” initiative to double its size at its Ridgewood campus.
In accepting his position as elected by the CRR Steering Committee, Mr. McKenna said, “We are thankful for Paul’s commitment, passion and tenacity in supporting the community and protecting the residential character of our village. While the face of our effort has changed, most of the Steering Committee members and key roles remain filled by the people that have actively supported Paul behind the scenes.”
Mr. McKenna expressed confidence in CRR’s membership and committees in carrying out the many aspects of CRR’s current work, including: a court case to overturn the Master Plan Amendment that was passed last June to allow the proposed expansion; opposition to any future ordinance by Village Council that would be required for the expansion to take place; research and fact-finding to support these efforts; attendance at public meetings; continuing communications among residents; and fundraising.
Mr. McKenna will emphasize a continuing push to raise funds within the community to support legal and other professional support needed for this effort, and said he and the Steering Committee are actively seeking support via the “stopvalley.com” website, including through its new PayPal option for donations.
Offering a historical perspective, he said, “While I appreciate that times change, much of what we value in Ridgewood is the result of the hard work and dedication that our predecessors put into the Master Plan and supporting ordinances that focus on keeping Ridgewood primarily zoned for single family residential homes,” Mr. McKenna said.
“I am not anti-Valley, but I think we need to look both at the past and the future to see what is right for Ridgewood relative to Valley’s ambitions. Valley is no longer the community hospital that provided services to an under-served suburb in the 1950’s. It is a major medical delivery company that has a Ridgewood address and some deep present day and historical ties to the community. It’s a shame that the decades of goodwill that were built have been so badly damaged by this process,“ he said.
Mr.McKenna also shared the following about the Master Plan Amendment process culminating last June: “The Planning Board’s process for evaluating the Master Plan Amendment was lengthy without being thorough. The process failed to consider some very important precedents, and not enough critical thinking and challenge of Valley’s assertions were evident from the Planning Board and the experts it hired.”
“I think the Village Council has learned from the Planning Board’s errors and will conduct the ordinance process with a genuine interest in the residents’ concerns,” Mr. McKenna
added.
