Aging is inevitable, and for many, it signals the beginning of a new chapter - one where you cross off bucket list items and live life to the fullest, on your own terms. However, for some women, aging is a horrible prospect, filled with chronic fatigue, irritability, and inability to perform in the bedroom. If you're concerned about life in middle age and beyond, we've got great news: there are easy, proven steps that you can take to help stop the negative effect of aging.
Global Life Rejuvenation was founded to give women a new lease on life - one that includes less body fat, fewer mood swings, and more energy as you age. If you're ready to look and feel younger, it's time to consider HRT (hormone replacement therapy), and growth hormone peptides. These therapies for men and women are effective, safe, and customized to fit your goals, so you can keep loving life as you get older.
HRT, and growth hormone peptide therapies bridge the gap between your old life and the more vibrant, happier version of you. With a simple click or call, you can be well on your way to a brighter future. After all, you deserve to be the one in charge of your wellness and health. Now, you have the tools to do so - backed by science and applied by our team of HRT experts with more than 13 years of experience.
As women age, their hormones begin to go through changes that affect their day-to-day lives. For women, hormone deficiency and imbalance usually occur during menopause and can cause chronic fatigue, hot flashes, and mood swings, among other issues. Hormone replacement therapy helps correct hormone imbalances in women, helping them feel more vibrant and virile as they age.
Often, HRT treatments give patients enhanced quality of life that they didn't think was possible - even in their 60's and beyond.
The benefits for women are numerous and are available today through Global Life Rejuvenation.
As women age, their bodies begin to go through significant changes that affect their quality of life. This change is called menopause and marks the end of a woman's menstrual cycle and reproduction ability. Though there is no specific age when this change occurs, the average age of menopause onset is 51 years old. However, according to doctors, menopause officially starts 12 months after a woman's final period. During the transition to menopause, women's estrogen and other hormones begin to deplete.
As that happens, many women experience severe symptoms. These symptoms include:
The symptoms of hormone deficiency can be concerning and scary for both women and their spouses. However, if you're getting older and notice some of these symptoms, there is reason to be hopeful. Hormone replacement therapy and anti-aging medicine for women can correct imbalances that happen during menopause. These safe, effective treatments leave you feeling younger, healthier, and more vibrant.
The most common reason for menopause is the natural decline in a female's reproductive hormones. However, menopause can also result from the following situations:
Oophorectomy: This surgery, which removes a woman's ovaries, causes immediate menopause. Symptoms and signs of menopause in this situation can be severe, as the hormonal changes happen abruptly.
Chemotherapy: Cancer treatments like chemotherapy can induce menopause quickly, causing symptoms to appear shortly after or even during treatment.
Ovarian Insufficiency: Also called premature ovarian failure, this condition is essentially premature menopause. It happens when a woman's ovaries quit functioning before the age of 40 and can stem from genetic factors and disease. Only 1% of women suffer from premature menopause, but HRT can help protect the heart, brain, and bones.
For many women, menopause is a trying time that can be filled with many hormonal hurdles to jump through. A little knowledge can go a long way, whether you're going through menopause now or are approaching "that" age.
Here are some of the most common issues that women experience during menopause:
If you're a woman going through menopause and find that you have become increasingly depressed, you're not alone. It's estimated that 15% of women experience depression to some degree while going through menopause. What many women don't know is that depression can start during perimenopause, or the years leading up to menopause.
Depression can be hard to diagnose, especially during perimenopause and menopause. However, if you notice the following signs, it might be time to speak with a physician:
Remember, if you're experiencing depression, you're not weak or broken - you're going through a very regular emotional experience. The good news is that with proper treatment from your doctor, depression isn't a death sentence. And with HRT and anti-aging treatment for women, depression could be the catalyst you need to enjoy a new lease on life.
Hot flashes - they're one of the most well-known symptoms of menopause. Hot flashes are intense, sudden feelings of heat across a woman's upper body. Some last second, while others last minutes, making them incredibly inconvenient and uncomfortable for most women.
Symptoms of hot flashes include:
Typically, hot flashes are caused by a lack of estrogen. Low estrogen levels negatively affect a woman's hypothalamus, the part of the brain that controls body temperature and appetite. Low estrogen levels cause the hypothalamus to incorrectly assume the body is too hot, dilating blood vessels to increase blood flow. Luckily, most women don't have to settle for the uncomfortable feelings that hot flashes cause. HRT treatments for women often stabilize hormones, lessening the effects of hot flashes and menopause in general.
Mood swings are common occurrences for most people - quick shifts from happy to angry and back again, triggered by a specific event. And while many people experience mood swings, they are particularly common for women going through menopause. That's because, during menopause, the female's hormones are often imbalanced. Hormone imbalances and mood swings go hand-in-hand, resulting in frequent mood changes and even symptoms like insomnia.
The rate of production of estrogen, a hormone that fluctuates during menopause, largely determines the rate of production the hormone serotonin, which regulates mood, causing mood swings.
Luckily, HRT and anti-aging treatments in Saddle River, NJ for women work wonders for mood swings by regulating hormone levels like estrogen. With normal hormone levels, women around the world are now learning that they don't have to settle for mood swings during menopause.
Staying fit and healthy is hard for anyone living in modern America. However, for women with hormone imbalances during perimenopause or menopause, weight gain is even more serious. Luckily, HRT treatments for women coupled with a physician-led diet can help keep weight in check. But which hormones need to be regulated?
Lowered sexual desire - three words most men and women hate to hear. Unfortunately, for many women in perimenopausal and menopausal states, it's just a reality of life. Thankfully, today, HRT and anti-aging treatments Saddle River, NJ can help women maintain a normal, healthy sex drive. But what causes low libido in women, especially as they get older?
The hormones responsible for low libido in women are progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone.
Progesterone production decreases during perimenopause, causing low sex drive in women. Lower progesterone production can also cause chronic fatigue, weight gain, and other symptoms. On the other hand, lower estrogen levels during menopause lead to vaginal dryness and even vaginal atrophy or loss of muscle tension.
Lastly, testosterone plays a role in lowered libido. And while testosterone is often grouped as a male hormone, it contributes to important health and regulatory functionality in women. A woman's testosterone serves to heighten sexual responses and enhances orgasms. When the ovaries are unable to produce sufficient levels of testosterone, it often results in a lowered sex drive.
Often uncomfortable and even painful, vaginal dryness is a serious problem for sexually active women. However, like hair loss in males, vaginal dryness is very common - almost 50% of women suffer from it during menopause.
Getting older is just a part of life, but that doesn't mean you have to settle for the side effects. HRT and anti-aging treatments for women correct vaginal dryness by re-balancing estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. When supplemented with diet and healthy living, your vagina's secretions are normalized, causing discomfort to recede.
Uterine fibroids - they're perhaps the least-known symptom of menopause and hormone imbalances in women. That's because these growths on the uterus are often symptom-free. Unfortunately, these growths can be cancerous, presenting a danger for women as they age.
Many women will have fibroids at some point. Because they're symptomless, they're usually found during routine doctor exams. Some women only get one or two, while others may have large clusters of fibroids. Because fibroids are usually caused by hormone imbalances, hysterectomies have been used as a solution, forcing women into early menopause.
Advances in HRT and anti-aging medicine for women give females a safer, non-surgical option without having to experience menopause early. At Global Life Rejuvenation, our expert physicians will implement a customized HRT program to stabilize your hormones and reduce the risk of cancerous fibroid growth.
Endometriosis symptoms are much like the effects of PMS, and include pelvic pain, fatigue, cramping, and bloating. While doctors aren't entirely sure what causes this painful, uncomfortable condition, most agree that hormones - particularly xenoestrogens - play a factor.
Endometriosis symptoms are much like the effects of PMS and include pelvic pain, fatigue, cramping, and bloating. While doctors aren't entirely sure what causes this painful, uncomfortable condition, most agree that hormones - particularly xenoestrogens - play a factor.
Xenoestrogen is a hormone that is very similar to estrogen. Too much xenoestrogen is thought to stimulate endometrial tissue growth. HRT for women helps balance these hormones and, when used with a custom nutrition program, can provide relief for women across the U.S.
Hormone stability is imperative for a healthy sex drive and for a normal, stress-free life during menopause. HRT and anti-aging treatments for women balance the hormones that your body has altered due to perimenopause or menopause.
HRT for women is a revolutionary step in helping women live their best lives, even as they grow older. However, at Global Life Rejuvenation, we know that no two patients are the same. That's why we specialize in holistic treatments that utilize HRT, combined with healthy nutrition, supplements, and fitness plans that maximize hormone replacement treatments.
If you've been suffering through menopause, is HRT the answer? That's hard to say without an examination by a trusted physician, but one thing's for sure. When a woman balances her hormone levels, she has a much better shot at living a regular life with limited depression, weight gain, mood swings, and hot flashes.
Here are just a few additional benefits of HRT and anti-aging treatments for females:
Hormone imbalance causes a litany of issues. But with anti-aging treatments for women, females can better process calcium, keep their cholesterol levels safe, and maintain a healthy vagina. By replenishing the body's estrogen supply, HRT can relieve symptoms from menopause and protect against osteoporosis. But that's just the start.
Global Life Rejuvenation's patients report many more benefits of HRT and anti-aging medicine for women:
If you're ready to feel better, look better, and recapture the vitality of your youth, it's time to contact Global Life Rejuvenation. It all starts with an in-depth consultation, where we will determine if HRT and anti-aging treatments for women are right for you. After all, every patient's body and hormone levels are different. Since all our treatment options are personalized, we do not have a single threshold for treatment. Instead, we look at our patient's hormone levels and analyze them on a case-by-case basis.
At Global Life Rejuvenation, we help women rediscover their youth with HRT treatment for women. We like to think of ourselves as an anti-aging concierge service, guiding and connecting our patients to the most qualified HRT physicians available. With customized HRT treatment plan for women, our patients experience fewer menopausal symptoms, less perimenopause & menopause depression, and often enjoy a more youth-like appearance.
Growth hormone peptides are an innovative therapy that boosts the natural human growth hormone production in a person's body. These exciting treatment options help slow down the aging process and give you a chance at restoring your youth.
Sermorelin is a synthetic hormone peptide, like GHRH, which triggers the release of growth hormones. When used under the care of a qualified physician, Sermorelin can help you lose weight, increase your energy levels, and help you feel much younger.
Human growth hormone (HGH) therapy has been used for years to treat hormone deficiencies. Unlike HGH, which directly replaces declining human growth hormone levels, Sermorelin addresses the underlying cause of decreased HGH, stimulating the pituitary gland naturally. This approach keeps the mechanisms of growth hormone production active.
Ipamorelin helps to release growth hormones in a person's body by mimicking a peptide called ghrelin. Ghrelin is one of three hormones which work together to regulate the growth hormone levels released by the pituitary gland. Because Ipamorelin stimulates the body to produce growth hormone, your body won't stop its natural growth hormone production, which occurs with synthetic HGH.
Ipamorelin causes growth hormone secretion that resembles natural release patterns rather than being constantly elevated from HGH. Because ipamorelin stimulates the natural production of growth hormone, our patients can use this treatment long-term with fewer health risks.
One of the biggest benefits of Ipamorelin is that it provides significant short and long-term benefits in age management therapies. Ipamorelin can boost a patient's overall health, wellbeing, and outlook on life.
When there is an increased concentration of growth hormone by the pituitary gland, there are positive benefits to the body. Some benefits include:
Whether you are considering our HRT and anti-aging treatments for women in Saddle River, NJ, we are here to help. The first step to reclaiming your life begins by contacting Global Life Rejuvenation. Our friendly, knowledgeable HRT experts can help answer your questions and walk you through our procedures. From there, we'll figure out which treatments are right for you. Before you know it, you'll be well on your way to looking and feeling better than you have in years!
973-587-8638
SADDLE RIVER — After 14 months and 19 hearings, the borough concluded testimony Tuesday in its bid for acceptance of its affordable housing plan in Superior Court.Ten attorneys representing various interests have until Feb. 18 to file post-hearing summaries and final arguments on the acceptability of the proposed plan.Judge Gregg Padovano in Hackensack extended the borough's immunity from affordable housing lawsuits until March 31, but did not commit to a date by which he would render a decision.Test...
SADDLE RIVER — After 14 months and 19 hearings, the borough concluded testimony Tuesday in its bid for acceptance of its affordable housing plan in Superior Court.
Ten attorneys representing various interests have until Feb. 18 to file post-hearing summaries and final arguments on the acceptability of the proposed plan.
Judge Gregg Padovano in Hackensack extended the borough's immunity from affordable housing lawsuits until March 31, but did not commit to a date by which he would render a decision.
Testimony by Special Master Francis Banisch dominated the three-hour hearing Tuesday. He explained the evolution of the proposed sites, concluding in November with a rare plan amendment eliminating the 16-unit Woodcliff Lake Road site and transferring those units to other sites next to Route 17 north.
The unusually long hearing process was in contrast to the affordable housing hearing for neighboring Upper Saddle River, which lasted 40 minutes.
The primary focus of the meeting was to determine whether there were objections to the November amendment to the borough's affordable housing plan, which took four years to negotiate. However, residents repeatedly sought time to raise objections to the so-called O'Donnell 10-acre property now in hearings before the Planning Board for a 60-unit townhouse development, including eight affordable units. The property formerly hosted comedian Rosie O'Donnell's mansion.
Attorneys repeatedly objected to resident testimony, contending that it would "muddy the waters" to allow residents to speak about issues not before the court.
However, Padovano allowed residents to express their concerns for 90 minutes.
Chief among the objectors was Lynn Hobson, who described herself as the founder of the Louis Hobson Foundation for Racial Injustice. The foundation is not listed with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, but Hobson said its 501(c)3 status is pending. Hobson's website describes her as an Edgewater-based publicist serving "up & coming Hip-Hop artists, models, and reality show stars."
Hobson objected for 30 minutes to the grouping of affordable housing in the southeast corner of the O'Donnell property, contending that the eight units should be dispersed among the 52 market-rate townhouses rather than clustered in the southeast corner of the property nearest the Packer Brook buffer.
"The affordable housing units should not be segregated," Hobson said. "The Fair Share Housing Council dropped the ball. The change is terrifying."
Other residents raised objections to the site's runoff, density and traffic. But Padovano repeatedly advised that "we can't get involved in the proceedings of the Planning Board."
Banisch concluded that "the court should endorse the substitution of the site" and approve the plan as amended.
Saddle River is one of the nation's wealthiest ZIP codes. The affordable housing plan calls for 247 units, with 147 of them affordable, on several sites:
Marsha Stoltz is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
SADDLE RIVER — The cost and design of a proposed pedestrian bridge to connect two halves of Rindlaub Park separated by the Saddle River have led to the resignation of Borough Council President Rosario Ruffino.Rosario resigned after the July 18 council meeting and talks about the project's burgeoning $1.45 million cost and design. Planning Board Chairman Jeffrey Liva was appointed to the vacated seat on Monday.An ordinance authorizing an additional $750,000 for the project, originally budgeted at $700,000, w...
SADDLE RIVER — The cost and design of a proposed pedestrian bridge to connect two halves of Rindlaub Park separated by the Saddle River have led to the resignation of Borough Council President Rosario Ruffino.
Rosario resigned after the July 18 council meeting and talks about the project's burgeoning $1.45 million cost and design. Planning Board Chairman Jeffrey Liva was appointed to the vacated seat on Monday.
An ordinance authorizing an additional $750,000 for the project, originally budgeted at $700,000, was also passed on Monday. The council awarded the builder's contract to Empire Construction.
"I am extremely fiscally conservative on most matters," Ruffino said in his resignation letter. "I am not sure that the mayor and council appreciate that fiscal responsibility must be paramount in the immediate future."
Ruffino's letter also charged that "full due diligence has not been completed."
"We have not engaged an engineer to perform a survey on the property in order to determine what, if anything we can build," Ruffino said. "In my opinion, an engineering survey of the land is the next logical step before proceeding, but the council thought otherwise."
A footbridge connecting the two parts of the borough's Rindlaub Park has been "part of our master plan for almost 20 years," said Mayor Albert Kurpis.
The 15.8-acre Rindlaub Park straddles the Saddle River just south of East Allendale Road between West and East Saddle River roads. About half the borough-owned property is on each side of the river.
The portion east of the Saddle River can be reached via a service road off East Saddle River Road south of Borough Hall, and it includes running and biking trails, two baseball fields, two tennis courts, a bandshell stage, a restroom/snack stand, parking and a playground.
The portion west of the Saddle River can be reached only via the neighboring Waterford Gardens property and includes Tricker Pond, favored by the area's resident swans. The plan calls for connecting the active eastern half to the passive western half with the bridge, and enhancing the western side with walking paths.
"The lake is totally inaccessible to residents," Kurpis said. "The only way this land and lake can be made accessible is by building a pedestrian bridge to it. The pedestrian bridge will double the size of Rindlaub Park. It will provide protection in the event of sudden inclement weather."
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Kurpis is a major supporter of anything that enhances the borough's "country lane" look. He is proposing a wooden covered bridge echoing those of rural New England. It would become "another iconic structure representing the unique historic charm of Saddle River," although largely hidden from street view.
Financing this design is a complex issue.
The ordinance that approved doubling the bridge's cost says the borough had already appropriated $700,000 for the project, $35,000 from its capital improvement fund and $665,000 in "authorized bonds and notes." An additional $750,000 was approved Monday from the borough's "reserve for pedestrian covered bridge."
Kurpis said the municipality has accumulated $300,000 in matching grants for the project and the Francis Walsh family has offered to donate $750,000 toward the cost of the bridge. The balance to be paid by the borough would be $100,000. The grants can be used only for the bridge, Kurpis said.
"Building this bridge will not be a financial burden to the town," he said. "But prices have gone up. Supply chain issues have made everything more expensive."
SADDLE RIVER — A resident has filed a lawsuit alleging the Planning Board approved a 112-unit affordable apartment complex without allowing time for objector statements and witnesses.The complaint was filed April 13 in state Superior Court in Hackensack by attorney Matthew Gilson on behalf of Vincent Blehl, who lives immediately east of the 8.38-acre project on Choctaw Trail, just off Route 17 north.The largest of the borough's four affordable housing projects was approved Jan. 25 after two hearings and mem...
SADDLE RIVER — A resident has filed a lawsuit alleging the Planning Board approved a 112-unit affordable apartment complex without allowing time for objector statements and witnesses.
The complaint was filed April 13 in state Superior Court in Hackensack by attorney Matthew Gilson on behalf of Vincent Blehl, who lives immediately east of the 8.38-acre project on Choctaw Trail, just off Route 17 north.
The largest of the borough's four affordable housing projects was approved Jan. 25 after two hearings and memorialized March 1.
Blehl contends the board ignored another resident's Jan. 25 letter requesting an adjournment so he could "obtain professionals and the opportunity to present a case in opposition."
Blehl is seeking to have the March 1 memorialization invalidated, effectively holding up construction. However, the complaint makes no outright demand to reconvene the hearing, asking for fees and costs and "further relief as the Court shall find equitable and just."
The developer, Michaels Development Co., is also named in the complaint. A spokeswoman for the company declined to comment on the complaint.
CHOCTAW APPROVED:Saddle River OKs 112-unit affordable apartment complex; balks at vote on 60-unit project
Blehl was the primary speaker at the two Choctaw hearings, spending 30 minutes at the Jan. 14 hearing questioning plans to protect his downhill property from runoff. He asserted that more recent flood data should be used to determine whether proposed retention methods were adequate.
However, developer engineer Adolf Montana testified that Blehl's criteria exceeded Bergen County guidelines and were more stringent than the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration standards he was required to follow.
Blehl objected to the placement of a backup generator near his property line, and he won a developer concession to dress up the rear of one apartment building facing his house.
Planning Board Chairman Jeff Liva declined to comment on the complaint. Planning Board attorney Thomas S. DiBiasi, affordable housing attorney Jonathan Dril, and Mayor Albert Kurpis, who sits on the board, did not respond to requests for comment.
Marsha Stoltz is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
SADDLE RIVER — A possible vote on an affordable housing project that could have put the borough in default was avoided Wednesday when officials agreed to an April 13 postponement while changes are made to the plan's most objectionable features.The so-called O'Donnell application for East Allendale Road reached a contentious climax last month when developer Michael Kasparian unexpectedly called on the Planning Board for a vote while a number of issues remained unresolved. ...
SADDLE RIVER — A possible vote on an affordable housing project that could have put the borough in default was avoided Wednesday when officials agreed to an April 13 postponement while changes are made to the plan's most objectionable features.
The so-called O'Donnell application for East Allendale Road reached a contentious climax last month when developer Michael Kasparian unexpectedly called on the Planning Board for a vote while a number of issues remained unresolved. He accused chairman Jeff Liva of needlessly prolonging the hearings by allowing residents unlimited time and subject matter during public portions of the meetings.
The board risks being held in default if the members vote against the project, unless they can prove the plan differs substantially from the conditions under which it was approved as one of four sites in the borough's February 2020 affordable housing settlement.
As Borough Planner Joseph Burgis warned residents at a March 2020 council meeting, the consequences if the board, council or mayor is found in default include:
The 352 pages of documents attached to Wednesday's agenda include memorandums from various borough experts outlining a series of increasingly more serious objections to the project. Issues characterized by Burgis as needing a waiver in his Sept. 7 report had escalated to needing variances in his most recent assessment letter on March 8.
Chief among the objections were buildings in setback areas and buffers, insufficient delineation of water and sewer plans, and distribution of affordable units throughout the site. A map among the documents indicates the eight units previously grouped in the southeast corner of the site have been scattered among the market-rate units.
Developer attorney Kenneth Porro said Wednesday that progress had been made toward resolving those objections with borough officials, but that time was needed to formalize the changes.
The board agreed to the adjournment.
The borough reached an affordable housing settlement agreement with the Fair Share Housing Center in February 2020 after four years of negotiations.
The O'Donnell site on East Allendale Road was one of four sites the borough agreed to "without coercion or duress" as part of the settlement, despite its steep slopes, drainage, waterways and location on a busy county road.
The properties were rezoned in December 2020 in compliance with the settlement agreement's terms for the use of each site. The O'Donnell and Algonquin sites were rezoned for Townhouse Inclusionary Housing. As such, any plan that meets those criteria is considered a permitted use and is all but assured approval.
The settlement agreement was amended in November. The 16-unit Woodcliff Lake Road site was eliminated, and its units transferred to the 112-unit affordable apartment complex on Choctaw Trail. Choctaw — on a side street next to Route 17 north — was approved in January after two hearings with incidental changes and little public comment
The settlement agreement says the borough will be held in default if:
In such cases, the agreement states, the developer can apply to Superior Court Judge Greg Padovano for relief.
The hearing will be in person only and will start at 7 p.m. on April 13, with no Zoom broadcast.
Marsha Stoltz is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
SADDLE RIVER — On the eve of an anticipated court ruling to determine the borough's compliance with its affordable housing settlement, the Planning Board dismissed an application for one of its affordable housing sites Wednesday.The board's vote on the O'Donnell project for East Allendale Road was precipitated by developer Michael Kasparian when he insisted on a vote after he could not reach an agreement with the board over the height of a retaining wall, one of nine variance and waiver points being debated that n...
SADDLE RIVER — On the eve of an anticipated court ruling to determine the borough's compliance with its affordable housing settlement, the Planning Board dismissed an application for one of its affordable housing sites Wednesday.
The board's vote on the O'Donnell project for East Allendale Road was precipitated by developer Michael Kasparian when he insisted on a vote after he could not reach an agreement with the board over the height of a retaining wall, one of nine variance and waiver points being debated that night. The developer contends only three waivers are required.
Kasparian said Thursday, "we will file a lawsuit to enforce our rights."
"The dismissal of our site plan application is a breach of the Borough's obligations under the terms of our collective Fair Share Housing Settlement Agreement," he said in an email.
Under a 2020 settlement agreement, the borough would be in default if it failed to approve the 60-unit project with eight affordable units. Judge Gregg Padovano could then refuse to extend the borough's immunity to other affordable housing proposals, potentially exposing it to more development.
Jonathan Drill, the borough's affordable housing attorney, had no comment Thursday on how the borough would proceed.
Developer attorney Kenneth Porro said Thursday "the Planning Board’s unilateral decision to dismiss my applicant’s filing without prejudice gives pause."
"The Board can either approve or deny an application," Porro said by email. "The Board’s action to dismiss without prejudice, without any input whatsoever from the court-appointed master or the Fair Housing litigation parties is puzzling."
The Fair Share Housing Center, which negotiated the settlement, did not respond to a request for comment. The O'Donnell site is one of four designated in the settlement.
APARTMENT PROJECT OK'D:Saddle River OKs 112-unit affordable apartment complex; balks at vote on 60-unit project
The borough held 19 hearings over 14 months on its affordable housing plan before submitting its case in December. By contrast, neighboring Upper Saddle River's plan was approved during a 45-minute lunch break last February.
Hearings on the O'Donnell project began in November, with the first four taken up with developer expert testimony, followed by unlimited periods of public comment and questions that were allowed by board chairman Jeff Liva over developer protests because "residents have a right to be heard."
Only when Drill began attending meetings in February did the board conduct hearings along more traditional lines, limiting residents to questions and topics within the board's jurisdiction and reserving comments for the end of hearings. Wednesday's vote was taken before those comments could be heard.
A second 112-unit 100% affordable apartment project on Choctau Trail was approved by the board in January with little public interest after two hearings. But that was next to Route 17 north in an isolated part of the borough. The O'Donnell project is next to the borough's Wandell School and across the street from Borough Hall. Wednesday's was its eighth hearing.
Borough planner Joseph Burgis issued a series of letters starting last September outlining concerns about the project. But it was only at Wednesday's hearing that the retaining wall was discussed in any detail. Concern was expressed about safety for children living in the project because of the height of the wall.
Kasparian and Porro debated back and forth with the board over the retention wall until Drill suggested continuing the meeting to May 25 so the plans could be formalized, triggering Kasparian's call for a vote.
Marsha Stoltz is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
