the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Furthermore, the plan entails the removal of nearly all mature trees, exposing residents to toxic air pollutants from nearby Rt. 17 with minimal protection. Additionally, the proposal includes the installation of potentially harmful artificial turf. Despite objections from 400 neighbors and concerned citizens who signed petitions opposing this substantial overdevelopment, there remains frustration due to the lack of discussion on risk mitigation strategies to address safety concerns.
Moreover, the omission of Dr. Sara Evans’ letter from Mt. Sinai cautioning village leaders about the health impacts of turf from the application process is concerning. Furthermore, there has been no effort to arrange a meeting with her to address concerns related to PFAS contamination. Although the potentially contaminated soil situation is being addressed by the NJDEP, a comprehensive drainage and stormwater management plan has yet to materialize.
The chart is also lacking important information regarding a compromise plan that was previously agreed upon by residents of the Schedler neighborhood and the village council. Delays in implementing this plan occurred due to various funding and COVID-related reasons.
Many current council members campaigned on a promise to implement this compromise plan. However, after their election, they abruptly changed course and began working on a new plan.
This new plan, which has been sent to the SHPO, includes the use of turf. Surprisingly, the village’s own Green Team was not given an opportunity to provide input at a public setting. Instead, they were limited to a four-minute public comment period to express their opposition. Additionally, the water department was not consulted regarding potential contamination of groundwater from the turf. Furthermore, letters from health experts, including one from Mt. Sinai, were disregarded.
It would be beneficial to update the chart to include the timeline of the compromise plan agreement, dating back to either 2017 or 2019, and to highlight the current council’s decision to rescind it.
The 2018 plan was only a preliminary recommendation, not approved, and it included FieldTurf CoolPlay (page 10). Furthermore, the park plan was contingent upon the completion and outcome of independent expert studies, including those related to traffic, noise, safety, archaeological, and environmental impacts (page 18).
Forget the timeline, where’s my calendar ?
Fun fact: You are not missing anything by not getting the calendar. It is all about the importance of trees in the village of Ridgewood, which is funny because the village has not problem cutting them all down when it suits their purpose.
Post of the day !
Exactly.
The VM is a fake photo op guy who is in place to bow to the demands of the mayor.
Anything that goes against this abomination being built and highlights the deceit of our current mayor and most of his council and etc. was most certainly omitted from their report to SHPO!! Health concerns for the neighbors .Possible danger s to the neighbors properties,and their continued legitimate objections to this project have fallen on deaf ears! Destruction of this once beautiful, quiet habitat for wildlife and the pending safety and future health concerns for the children using this UNNECESSARY and costly sports field means nothing to them!! Promises have been made to the sports people and that’s ALL that matters..And remember all you taxpayers in this village,you too will be burdened with the cost of building and maintaining this abomination for years to come…
The fact that this is still causing such an argument shows we should sell it to a developer and let them build something on RT17 that will produce some tax revenue rather than continue to spin our wheels fighting over absurd things.
The developer would not make money. Do you know how much money the developers by the train station are losing? Noone wants to live by the highway.
Keith was and IS a Vagiano’s campaign manager. He was Vagiano campaign manager when Vag ran for assembly, and now he’s using this fake propaganda to promote his November council election campaign!
He may blow a whistle on that but at this point his behavior would be like chicken little… “the sky is falling”. If he packs up and leaves Ridgewood, we can have a nice going away part for him.
Just build it already.
It’s a Sports Complex !!! Park ? A walking path around rt17, yes take some deep breaths. Children’s playground looks like two swings and no picnic tables. Are there any community garden space? Bocci ball courts. Trees, grass to walk or play on.
Please call it what it is. Next year SW will get lights in there, maybe sell hot dogs from the house. Lol
I would be willing to take bets that eventually they will lobby for on extended park hours, instead of the dawn to dusk they promised those neighbors.
Because they LIE 99% of the time. The ones that always have to have the last word and try to make you believe you are going nuts and don’t remember details. But we do! If only they could just admit that they have their secret, or in this case, not so secret agenda, it would at least soften the blow to the village residents who are paying for special interests. They made the field gigantic because that was their plan. Vagianos is up for re-election and if you don’t think this is a huge part of this to back up his promise, you are sorely mistaken.
Terribly unsafe to be built right on Route 17. This is a tragedy waiting to happen. Sadly, it is totally unnecessary and a waste of our tax money. The Village’s existing fields are terribly underutilized, they are rarely used at all. Drive by them and see for yourself. Some scheduling and planning are all that is needed.
Baseball participation in town is down 35% from 10 years ago.
Kids no longer play for RW travel coaches…they opt for club teams. These teams play on the road for the most part.
The soccer dads want the turf at Schedler…soccer is now an all year-round sport.
Unlike other towns the RBSA does not do a good job of promotion
Is this maroons soccer club? If so, the towns they list on their website are Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Waldwick, Ho-Ho-Kus, Paramus, Fair Lawn, Hawthorne and other communities in Bergen & Passaic County, NJ. So why is Ridgewood responsible to fulfill requirements for fields when other towns are involved however Ridgewood taxpayers will foot the bill. Not sure the math on this adds up. Can someone explain?
The should do a Ridgewood Water timeline relating to the PFAS remediation
When the village realize that PFAS was in the water with higher than normal numbers?
Did Ridgewood sue the companies prior to telling the residents or visa versa,?
Has the lawsuit been settled and if so, for how much?
Who is the lawyer representing Ridgewood in this lawsuit (hopefully a PFAS forever toxic chemical expert)?
When will the remediation be completed so that Ridgewood has normal numbers;
When did Paul Vagianos say “we didn’t put PFAS in the water but we are going to take it out”?
When will the remediation to clean the water be finalized so that clean water is available?
Yes, that would be so nice if they can do this timeline.
Looks like 2019.
Lovely artwork but a lot of missing information. How much did this cost?
This Village Manager, Keith Kazmark, really SUCKS!