The Planning Board is out of it’s league and are scared of Valley’s Drill Sergeant lawyer
How does that head of the board live with himself? Allowing Valley’s lawyer “The Drill Sergeant” to act like he owns these meetings, while treating the residents who would like to speak so disrespectfully? He can’t even remember if it’s 2 questions or 3 questions that he allowing? Get a clue.
It is so obvious that our planning board needs some state or county aid in this decision. The Drill Sergeant is running these proceedings any way he wants. He claims he is going to object before anything is said. The Board is out of it’s league and are scared of him. Valley must be paying this “pit-bull” a fortune to represent their interests. They’re old lawyer sits there and yawns the whole meeting.
The meeting was petty and useless last night. The only real point that was mentioned several times by Mr. Speck, for CCR, was that the board has the power to do what ever they want to the H-Zone not what Valley is asking for!
I don’t think the board or council should give them another SF. Keep the existing H-Zone. This is not a hardship case. Valley can easily build at their Paramus location without even a fight. Shame on Valley for not doing so many years ago when they started this mess. Valley, should blame themselves for Pascack Valley re-opening!
Valley, started as a Community Hospital and should remain this way (Like Graydon). Fix broken limbs and deliver babies. No one is having serious surgery here ever.
IMHO the planning board’s attorney has been a captured pawn of Valley Hospital for years. What Mr. Speck said at Monday night’s meeting about the Planning Board having the power to make independent policy recommendations using its own discretion, and not having to put up with being spoon-fed by Valley’s attorney, is advice that the Planning Board’s attorney should have been providing all along. For some reason could not find it within her heart to do so, and Ridgewood’s taxpayers have been paying the price, as well as her hourly rate, ever since. What a ripoff!
I’ve said it before. Gail Price does not truly Ridgewood residents’ interests. Throughout her tenure, she has always given the benefit of the doubt to Valley, and disregarded and downplayed the residents’ and their consultants’ opinions. As a matter of fact, she treats us with contempt.
Her primary source of income us not acting as the PB attorney but in private practice representing commercial interests such as Valley in getting their plans through. She has no interest in curtailing Valley’s plans because they, or other similar entities, may not hire her for lucrative work in the future.
The PB should fire her immediately.
Thed.
Anyone that has followed this process knows that neither Valley nor its parade of paid experts has presented ONE SINGLE REASON why this expansion is good for Ridgewood. It has been years of PR spin, smoke and mirrors without any substance. Valley is the worst kind of institution to have in our or any town. They care nothing for us and they bring nothing to us. They pay no property taxes on their main campus. Less than 10% of their employees and patients live in town. The unfathomably obnoxious behavior of Mr. Drill sums up what Valley thinks of Ridgewood.
Give me a reason. ANY reason why this is a good idea. Not one word from Valley or its condescending supporters on this front.
There is something so absolutely wrong with this process – the fact that we’re still discussing it is absurd. The Planning Board, particularly Mr. Nalbantian and Ms. Price, is in such obvious cooperation with Valley and their cartoon-like Mr. Drill. Couldn’t they try at least a little to cover their bias?
And you folks that are against the apartments? Are you paying attention? You guys are about to be sold out next so you might want to come to the next Valley meeting to see what’s in store for you. There are exactly the same number of good reasons to build up the CBD but the developers will get the same cozy reception from our public officials. Just watch.
I agree that Gail Price may not be objective and impartial. Her firm’s website http://www.pricemeese.com shows that her occupation is representing these same
parties like “Medical Complexes and Hospitals” and also “Residential Developments” too which are now being discussed in the CBD.
It is really very hard to understand how our planning board’s attorney who is suppose to represent the public’s interest has a more encompassing job where she represents the interests of similar developers. This just isn’t right. Gail’s other interests along with her firm’s interests may conflict with the best interests of Ridgewood. Her role in these hearings and the downtown development hearings is too important not to pay attention to a possible conflict of interest. Let’s be safe. It’s time to dump Gail Price.
I stopped going to hearings after the first round. At the hearings I felt like I was in Oz where the PB attorney was the good and evil witch. She granted Valley it’s every wish and when opponents confronted her she grimaced, gritted her teeth and dismissed their concerns being sure to add in a good dose of contempt. After the first round of hearings failed, I was surprised… oh never mind.
The final point I’ll make on Price is that, based on her primary occupation, she’s not skeptical about the negative impact of development, but is paid to drive development through.
Therefore, even if she wasn’t purposefully favoring Valley, she most likely has a bias towards extreme development.
Thed.
During the Renewal I hearings their was a resident who got up to the mike and asked if anyone knew the person sitting next to Ms. Meyers in the audience. He went on to say the person was the head of the board of adjustment that gave Valley permission to expand previously. So, one should not be surprised if Ms. price and M r. Nalbantian aren’t interviewing for their next jobs…
Does Gail Price get paid by the Village? If so, she should be fired. Period.
It is no secret that Ms Price is a smart woman and a very successful lawyer with a private practice. This is America and if a person works hard they reap benefits.
Some are implying that she may have business with Valley. She has integrity and would never do that. If someone has proof then what is it? Otherwise this character assassination should end. It serves no purpose.
In response to #9, questioning whether Ms. Price should recuse herself from both the Valley and CBD applications is NOT character assassination. The implication is not that she has business with Valley. Nobody is saying that. What is being said is that Ms. Price has a bias towards developers. This is the nature of her private practice where she represents these same kinds of people and companies. Common sense says
since this is her private business she would then not do anything in her public job that
would hurt her own business. Some might argue she would take the side of the developers that would bring more business to her personal practice. In the least she has a bias to developers and should not be the Planning Board’s attorney on these kinds of projects. She needs to recuse herself. On the everyday more mundane matters of the Planning Board Ms. Price is capable of doing her job. However on these
large development projects, when Ms. Price represents similar clients in her private practice, there is definitely a conflict of interest. Wake up and smell the conflict of interest. We’re not picking on Ms. Price. It is just common sense and Ms. Price should do the right thing and recuse herself.
“Common sense” has been lacking since Valley submitted the application. I think she tries to be objective, or at least sound it, but how she could possibly be is beyond me, and most other rationale human beings.
Guilt by association? Ms Price also represents other municipalities.
Ms Price does not work with any of the developers with variances requested in Ridgewood and she does not work for valley. She also does not exist in a vacuum, she knows a lot of movers and shakers. High profile attorneys tend to know other high profile people. Don’t disrespect her for her success.
Price needs to step out of the way and stop acting partial to Valley. It is not her show to run