>The question is do we want to remain a Village or do we want to become more city like?
First, to address the commentary, the train station is beautiful. No doubt about it. But why so big? That’s what the old mayor and council failed to address when it was being built and something about which the current council appears to be clueless. Why would NJ Transit pour that much money into Ridgewood? Call me cynical, but the answer has to lie with broader expansion plans to make Ridgewood a transit hub.
To get to the broader issue raised by this post, call us semi urban, urban, urbane, suburban or whatever you like. We are a densely populated town, like many in the NorthEast. But at the moment, we can still call ourselves a Village. The question is do we want to remain a Village or do we want to become more city like?
Every issue we face has to be addressed in that light: Do we accept a larger, improved train station — and more bus connections and parking as we become a transit hub? Do we tear down the center of town to put up a hundred one room apartments — and then deal with the need for more parking for the working couples that move in and the need for a larger school budget for the children that will undoubtedly follow? Do we double the size of the hospital — and devalue a large portion of the Village’s housing stock and take away the front yards of those on Linwood so there is enough room for the construction vehicles and patients that the Hospital hopes to attract from across the NorthEast? Do we continue to supply water to our well heeled neighbors in Wyckoff and elsewhere — and then have them sue us? Do we turf and light our fields and shut off the lights by 8 or 10 — and create a carnival atmosphere if we choose the latter? Do we emphasize sports over academics and the arts — and lose the competitive edge our students had in all these areas?
Ridgewood is at a semi-urban crossroad. It has been and remains a premier town in the New York Metropolitan area. The challenge is to keep it as Village like as possible. That is a tall order for the Village council and all of us. Myoptic visions must be set aside and folks need to see the broader picture. With every potentially wonderful advance put on the drawing board — hospital, train station, parking lots — come potential disadvantages. They need to be weighed carefully. We diminish the whole when we diminish any part of our collective backyard.
