Cover-Up Alleged: Residents Point to NJ Health Dept Report Showing Ignored Recommendation for Community Soil Testing at Schedler Site
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
RIDGEWOOD, NJ – Tensions are escalating in the Schedler community as local residents confront officials over a critical recommendation allegedly ignored—or outright denied—by the project developers and the Village. The controversy centers on soil contamination testing at the Schedler property, a crucial component for ensuring community safety.
At a recent community meeting regarding “The Village at the Schedler,” officials from Matrix and the Village flatly denied—or claimed they could “not remember”—a directive from the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) calling for broader soil testing.
The Smoking Gun: DOH Recommendation
Residents, however, came prepared, pointing directly to the official NJDOH conclusion, which they state makes the recommendation unequivocally clear on page 10 of the health department’s findings:
“DOH recommends that DEP consider collecting surface soil samples at the site and on adjacent residential properties to characterize community exposures.” [Emphasis added]
This recommendation, clearly stated in a public document, directly contradicts the narrative presented by the project leaders at the meeting. The core issue is the need to characterize “community exposures”—meaning testing must extend beyond the immediate project boundaries and into the yards of adjacent homes.
Silenced: Resident’s Concerns Dismissed
The frustration peaked when a resident who lives directly next to the Schedler property raised this point not once, but twice, during the meeting. Both times, the resident’s concerns and the citation of the NJDOH report were reportedly dismissed or silenced by the panel.
The question remains: Why are officials denying the existence of this clear, public recommendation for community soil testing?
The official documentation leaves little room for interpretation, and residents are now demanding immediate action and transparency. Ensuring the safety and health of the community requires a full characterization of environmental exposures, and that, according to the NJ Department of Health, includes testing “on adjacent residential properties.”
This incident underscores the critical need for local officials and developers to adhere strictly to health authority recommendations and maintain transparent communication with the community, especially concerning environmental and health hazards.
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the reason is that some of the council members made promises to the sports groups when running for election to get a full size field completed…the sports groups are now upset that this seemingly simple project has been delayed for so long…
Scott Muller is ready with his shovel.
It was a simple project, until they changed it to a full sized AstroTurf field.
Now it’s a full-fledged boondoggle.
The great irony here is that they don’t need a 60×90 field. The Bonvarlet league folded several years ago.
That was a lie.
This is field envy.
That would be Winograd who campaigned on one plan, then once elected re-traded to a full size field
Where is the Bee-Man on this? Isn’t he the resident environmentalist on the council?
He’s a moron with no value to add. Everything he does is fake and most of what he says doesnt make sense. He’s just a seat filler who can vote the way Paul tells him too.
and what about past present employees that worked at that location no one knows if they were contaminated. The mayor of the council nor top village officials ever reached out.
Call a lawyer. They’re never reaching out.
They have all either lied or manipulated the facts. These are the elected officials responsible for our village? Worst group ever. This started with Paul vagianos getting Whino and Weitz to run and Pam is just so gob smacked with Paul that she can’t see the forest gor the trees. Literally.
Susan Knudsen was the mayor when those berms were built with contaminated soil from the car dealers.
and who was the Village “engineer” ?