Village of Ridgewood Coronavirus Updates : Whats Working and Whats Not

UPDATE ON COVID 19 (CORONAVIRUS) AND CLOSURE OF VILLAGE OFFICES AND DEPARTMENTS

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, As of March 19, 2020, in Bergen County, there were an additional 80 new presumptive positives for those infected with coronavirus, which includes 3 Ridgewood residents confirmed and an overall total of 194-205 in Bergen County confirmed.  At this time, 75% of Bergen County municipalities have at least 1 confirmed case of coronavirus.  These numbers will continue to increase daily, now that there is additional testing available.

Therefore, in an attempt to stop the spread of the COVID 19 (coronavirus), all Village offices and departments will be closed as of March 19, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. Essential staff will be working remotely, and emails and voice messages for all of our office staff will be checked regularly and responded to, throughout the day. Some staff members may return periodically to make certain that the Village continues to operate without disruption. At this time, Village offices and departments are scheduled to open again on April 6, 2020.  We appreciate your patience as we work our way through these challenging times.

Here is an update on other information for your use:

For Village of Ridgewood:

Garbage will continue to be picked up, curbside, through April 5, 2020.

 There will be no bulk refuse pickup through April 5, 2020, so that our main focus will be picking up garbage on its assigned day.  If your garbage is not picked up on the day you put it out for collection, it will be picked up the following day.

 For the present time, recycling will continue to be picked up.  This is subject to change, if the garbage is not able to be picked up on the collection dates.

 Recycling pickup for businesses in the Central Business District will be suspended through April 5, 2020.

 Garbage collection for residents in the Central Business District will continue.

The Building Department will continue to do inspections for new construction, construction on homes where no one is currently living, and on any building projects that are located outside a home or business.

New Building Department permit applications should be mailed to the Building Department, at Village Hall or they may be placed in the yellow mailbox, outside of the lobby of Village Hall.  Building Department staff will be working intermittently, and they will process as many permit applications as possible during that brief timeframe.  Unfortunately, Building Department permits may not be done on-line, because there is no software for it, and it has not been authorized by the State of NJ.

 All meters in the Central Business District are free from March 19 through April 5, 2020, with no time limits.  Please be sure to park your vehicle in a legal parking space.

  All parks and playgrounds are closed in the Village.  However, the walking paths at Veterans Field and Habernickel Park are open.

 All recreational and school sports and organized sports practices have been cancelled.

 The Village Council Work Session, scheduled for March 25, 2020 has been cancelled.

 The Village Council Work Session, scheduled for April 1, 2020 will be held, and will be televised live on Optimum channel 77 and Verizon Fios channel 34, as well as live streaming on the Village website and Youtube. The public should not attend the Village Council meeting in person, in order to abide by the social distancing protocols, but those wishing to comment during the Public Comments section of the agenda may do so by calling into 201-670-5500 ext. 253, during the time for public comments.

 Local tax appeals may be filed up until May 1, 2020 or 30 days after the Governor decides that his Executive Order is no longer necessary, whichever is later.

 The April 21st Board of Education Election will be held on May 12th, in combination with the Municipal Election for Village Council, and shall be conducted solely by vote-by-mail ballots, which will automatically be sent to all registered voters, without the need for an application to receive a vote-by-mail ballot.  All vote-by-mail ballots will have pre-paid postage.

 County Committee Petitions – Candidates for County Committee will collect signatures for their petitions with an on-line form.  The on-line form shall be provided to county clerks and municipal clerks as a means of accepting petitions that are due to them by 4:00 p.m. on March 30, 2020.  The verification requirements of N.J.S.A. 19:23-11, insofar as they are not included on the on-line form created by the Secretary of State, shall be suspended for petitions due by 4:00 p.m. on March 30, 2020. The requirements of N.J.S.A. 19:23-7 and N.J.S.A. 19:23-15 that a candidate provides a notarized oath of allegiance with their petition shall be suspended for petitions due by 4:00 pm on March 30, 2020. Candidates who have not already signed and notarized an oath of allegiance shall attach a signed pledge of allegiance to their petitions containing the same language as prescribed in N.J.S.A. 41:1-1. 6.  The number of signatures required for Democratic and Republican County Committee petitions, by district, are attached to this email.

 Earth Day and the Daffodil Festival have been cancelled.