Medical Weight Loss in Ridgefield Park, NJ

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

September 27, 2023

Media Contact for the County of Bergen

Contact: Derek Sands

[email protected]

®

Above: County Executive Jim Tedesco and Ridgefield Park Mayor John Anlian cutting a ribbon alongside County Commissioners Mary Amoroso and Tracy Zur, Ridgefield Park Commissioners Mark Olson, Wanda Portorreal William G. Gerken, Teaneck Mayor Michael Pagan, Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes, and Sustainable Jersey Chairman Gary Sondermeyer

RIDGEFIELD PARK, NJ – Today, officials from the County of Bergen and Village of Ridgefield Park gathered to celebrate a new partnership to provide Bergen County municipalities with an efficient means of recycling EPS Styrofoam®.

One of the most widely used packing and insulation materials across the globe, Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) also known as Styrofoam®, takes over 500 years to decompose and while highly recyclable, the product is difficult to do so at the consumer level. That is why County and Village officials have worked together over the past year to put together an agreement to procure an EPS Densifying Machine to increase sustainability and recycling programs.

The agreement (Bergen County Commissioners Resolution 748-23), which was authorized on June 21, 2023, by the Bergen County Board of Commissioners, provides that the County of Bergen allocate $40,000 to the Village of Ridgefield Park to purchase and install an EPS Densifying Machine that would reside on Village property. Per the agreement, the Village of Ridgefield Park would make the EPS Densifier available to any Bergen County municipality seeking to collect and recycle EPS Styrofoam® by entering into a local shared service agreement. The densifier, which purchased by the Village in August from the Elmwood Park based company RecycleTech Corp., is now officially operational with the capacity to densify 200lbs of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) per hour.

County Executive Jim Tedesco applauded the agreement stating how “this is a wonderful example of county and municipal government working together to achieve a common goal.”

Tedesco continued “Throughout my tenure as County Executive, we have strived to reach creative solutions through the expansion of shared services with our municipal partners, local boards of educations, and neighboring counties. “I thank all stakeholders for making today a reality and strongly encourage all municipalities to take advantage of this opportunity as we work towards building a more sustainable Bergen County.”

Village of Ridgefield Park Mayor John Anlian echoed County Executive Tedesco’s sentiment stating "New Jersey has 565 separate municipalities; and some might say that such a high number of separate governmental entities is an inefficient way of running things. But, when you have more people involved in our local governments, you have more people thinking about how to deal with and solve our problems. This project is a great example of where local people, with the financial help of county government, can achieve great results. We thank all involved for providing their ideas and enthusiasm for this project."

This initiative came to fruition as result of efforts from several stakeholders including County Commissioner Tracy Silna Zur, Ridgefield Park Village Commissioner Mark Olson, and the local organization Sustainable Jersey – Bergen Hub.

"The County of Bergen has already taken steps to reduce the amount of EPS Styrofoam® waste by banning its use in all county parks and facilities, but protecting our environment is a team effort. I am thrilled to see the hard work and collaboration between the County of Bergen, the Village of Ridgefield Park, and the Sustainable Jersey HUB come to fruition," said Bergen County Commissioner Tracy Zur. "This new EPS Densifier will serve as an important recycling tool while creating new opportunities for partnerships and shared services."

"It has been a great privilege to be a part of this project. Besides those from the county and Sustainable Jersey, many individuals from several municipalities within the Sustainable Jersey Bergen Hub have worked hard to make this day a reality,” said Mark Olson, Village of Ridgefield Park Commissioner. “Many times it was just one person making the difference. Over time that was many different people. Without all of them this day may never have happened."

“Sustainable Jersey is delighted to have helped the Bergen Hub launch its polystyrene education and collection program,” said Gary Sondermeyer, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Sustainable Jersey. “A sustainable future is all about partnerships and at this point 467 municipalities and 1,135 schools actively participate in Sustainable Jersey where we have awarded some $7.4 million in grants to advance local projects. Every step we take, like today’s dedication and Creative Bergen, are important to advance a future grounded in a shared ethic of sustainable living.”

This collaboration will aid municipalities already collecting EPS Styrofoam®, as well as those that want to begin collections, by dramatically reducing transportation and storage costs. Before the execution of this agreement, the Village of Ridgefield Park would collect EPS Styrofoam® and truck the material as far as Sussex County and Eastern Pennsylvania to be processed. Now, with the machine centrally located in Bergen County, municipalities can more easily recycle this material which can be used to manufacture new EPS Polystyrene packaging or rigid plastic products including picture frames and moldings.

Municipalities interested in entering into an Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) shared service agreement should reach out to Village Commissioner Mark Olson at [email protected].

County Executive Tedesco and Mayor Anlian were joined today by County Commissioners Mary Amoroso and Tracy Zur, Ridgefield Park Commissioners Mark Olson, Wanda Portorreal, and William G. Gerken, Teaneck Mayor Michael Pagan, Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes, Rutherford Mayor Frank Nunziato, a representative from RecycleTech Corp., a representative from Congressman Josh Gottheimer’s office, various members municipal environmental commissions and green teams, and the Sustainable Jersey Chairman Gary Sondermeyer.

A video of the full press conference and densifier demonstration is available to watch and download for fair use distribution here.

Above – County Executive Jim Tedesco placing a piece of EPS Styrofoam® in the new densifying machine

Above – Mayor John Anlian (center) looking at post densified EPS product

Above - County Executive Jim Tedesco and Ridgefield Park Mayor John Anlian cutting a ribbon alongside County Commissioners Mary Amoroso and Tracy Zur, Ridgefield Park Commissioner Mark Olson and Wanda Portorreal, Teaneck Mayor Michael Pagan, and Sustainable Jersey Chairman Gary Sondermeyer moments after the ribbon was cut

All video and photos are provided courtesy of the Office of Bergen County Executive

3-minute read

It’s been three years since NJ Transit began buying up parcels in Ridgefield Park to build a new sprawling bus depot and related facilities.

Last year, the agency added another 17 acres to its footprint in the village, bringing the total to more than 53 acres on the site next to Route 46 and the New Jersey Turnpike, where the behemoth bus garage, equipped to handle 500 buses, will go.

“The Northern Bus Garage, one of NJ Transit’s largest proposed infrastructure projects, is currently advancing to 30% design,” Warren Berry, director of zero-emissions systems planning at NJ Transit, said during an update about the facility at the November sustainability committee meeting for board members.

The agency “secured the location for the facility and reached out to various utilities and stakeholders to discuss electricity needs, transportation access and other important considerations,” Berry said.

With the property in place, the agency is also moving along in the planning phase for the new facility, which was approved to proceed to 30% design in October 2021 after Gannett Fleming was awarded a $12.5 million contract, with money coming from the state Transportation Trust Fund and Federal Transit Administration.

“The project has achieved 10% concept design and is under review. Review of the 10% design and its continued advancement is part of the path to 30% design,” said NJ Transit spokesman Jim Smith.

Project faced controversy

The project first faced controversy in 2020 when the agency sought to buy the property, which is some of the remaining unused acres that the village has spent more than two decades trying to develop, without success.

Village officials took NJ Transit to court over the matter, but they lost. With NJ Transit’s purchase, some $1 million came off the village’s tax rolls.

As part of getting to 30% design, NJ Transit officials will also be coming up with a funding strategy for the new bus campus, which could include applying for federal grants, a design-build strategy and possibly a public-private partnership.

It’s estimated to cost around $536 million to construct the new garage, according to the most up-to-date capital plan documents.

2,200 buses for 253 routes

Once completed, this garage would be a crown-jewel addition to the agency’s suite of 16 bus garages throughout the state, which range in age from 20 to 120 and currently house some 2,200 buses that operate on 253 routes.

This year, NJ Transit buses served on average nearly 11 million people a month and have been the quickest mode within the agency’s system to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.

All but one of the agency’s 16 garages is over capacity, with both Market Street in Paterson and Big Tree in Nutley over capacity by more than 50%, forcing the agency to park some buses in adjacent outside lots.

The Northern Bus Garage will allow the agency to expand bus operations, provide space to house buses while other garages are undergoing renovation, and advance the agency’s zero-emissions goals.

“They literally fold the mirrors in every night just to be able to fit the buses we have, and we can’t fit the 60-foot buses we need because the 40-foot buses are overflowing,” Richard Schaefer, NJ Transit’s senior vice president of capital programs, said at a recent transportation speaker event in September.

The agency is also in the process of designing a new garage in Union City, and in April it bought a 4-acre bus garage property owned by Coach USA-affiliated Rockland Coaches in Westwood.

The facility in design for the Northern Bus Garage would be about 1.8 million square feet, with about 1 million used for bus storage of 500 45-foot and 60-foot buses that are both diesel and zero-emission electric.

It will also include charging equipment for zero-emissions buses, fueling and maintenance areas, washing and inspection bays, and staff offices. Around 800,000 square feet would be for staff and visitor parking, snow removal vehicle storage, landscaping and drainage.

Jackson Zarinko (5)Photo Credit: Guy Kipp

PublishedFebruary 26, 2024 at 9:39 PM

Last UpdatedFebruary 26, 2024 at 11:18 PM

NEW PROVIDENCE, NJ -- This log cabin wasn't built with any bricks.

The cozy confines of New Providence Pioneers boys basketball team's home gym are known as the "Log Cabin," and there's been no clanging of metal in the way the team has been shooting the ball in its first two state tournament games.

The bench in this log cabin is also made of a particularly sturdy grade of material. It's a bench that's reinforced with standout parts like Andrew Nook and Jack Fitzgerald, whose entry into games doesn't only reinforce, but helps add to the team's advantage.

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Nook scored 12 points off the bench, junior guard James Miller scored 15 points, and senior center Peyton Pazdera collected 14 points and 10 rebounds to lift New Providence to an 80-46 victory over Ridgefield Park in the quarterfinal round of the NJSIAA Section 2, Group 2 tournament on Monday night.

New Providence (19-6) shot 60 percent for the game (30 for 50), continuing the team's torrid state tournament scoring heater that began with the Pioneers' 88-79 victory over Becton in the opening round last Wednesday.

Senior forward Corey Rust had 11 points, 10 rebounds and three assists; and senior point guard Jackson Zarinko contributed team highs of five assists and four steals to go with six points for New Providence.

But while the final score looks like a rout, the game was still very much hanging in the balance when Nook and Fitzgerald entered the fray in the second quarter, with a couple of Pioneers saddled with two first-half fouls. With New Providence leading, 17-11, Fitzgerald sank a layup off a pass from Rust after a deft move without the ball. Then Fitzgerald sank one of two free throws to give the Pioneers a 20-13 lead.

A 3-pointer by Nook made it 23-14 New Providence after taking an assist from Fitzgerald. Then, with New Providence ahead, 28-18, Nook gave the team what was essentially a 4-point play: He was fouled attempting a 3-pointer, went to the line, hit the first two free throws, missed the third, but, in a scramble, retrieved his own rebound, was fouled again, went to the line again and made two free throws to give the Pioneers a 32-18 lead with 1:39 left in the half.

These were vital contributions from a player who began this season in the starting lineup. Now, head coach Art Cattano has the luxury of exceptional depth, with several players who don't start who can come in and give the team important minutes.

"First of all, when I'm on the bench, I'm always cheering on my teammates and rooting for them to do their best, and when I come in, I try to contribute any way I can, whether it's with my defense, my shooting or my passing," said Nook, a senior guard.

"Andrew is a kid who was starting for us, and he really handled it well when we made the change (to bring him off the bench)," Cattano said. "Our last game, which he didn't get into until the end, was the first time I sensed he was a little down about it (not playing more). We sat down and I talked to him, and I told him that what he showed, and the way he performed when he came in at the end of that game, 'you bumped back up,' and I was planning on bringing him in a lot earlier tonight."

In addition to Nook's seven points in the second quarter, Miller scored 11 points in the first half, which ended with New Providence ahead, 34-20, after sinking 11 of 21 from the field as a team and holding Ridgefield Park to 3-for-11 shooting from the floor in the second quarter.

Notably, the Pioneers built their 14-point halftime lead with just two points from Rust, the team's leading scorer on the season, thanks to the efforts of Nook, Fitzgerald and junior forward T.J. Munn, who turned in another one of his solid "glue guy" performances (six points, three rebounds, two assists).

"Andrew is always going full-throttle," Cattano said of Nook. "We've been trying to get him to slow down a little on offense for three years, but he always gives you everything he's got out there, and I was very happy to see him play as well as he did tonight."

It's hard to find anyone in a green jersey in the Log Cabin who isn't playing well lately. A team brimming with this level of confidence offensively is a dangerous entity at tournament time. The Pioneers came out in the third quarter and outscored Ridgefield Park, 23-2, to open the half. Pazdera scored nine of his points in that stretch and Rust knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and passed for two assists (both entry passes to Pazdera in the post).

"This team's got so much chemistry," Nook said. "We always have fun with each other, we're always picking each other up, and that contributed to our chemistry on the court."

"I love the way our kids played tonight," said Cattano, whose third-seeded team must now leave the confines of the Cabin and head to Newark for Wednesday's sectional semifinal against second-seeded Collegiate. "I look forward to it (playing Collegiate on the road). I'm very confident. We're taking these one at a time, but we want to go there."

"We always bring the energy anywhere we play," Nook said.

A former bussing coordinator with the Ridgefield Park Board of Education in Bergen County has filed a lawsuit claiming he was fired after complaining that a state monitor was wasting taxpayer money.

Robert Kilmurray, 52, states in court papers the monitor was hired in 2015 to provide insight into business operations and personnel matters after the district overspent its budget.

But when the monitor allegedly began harassing an administrator in 2022, Kilmurray complained about the monitor to an official in New Jersey government, according to the suit filed Aug. 29 in Superior Court of Bergen County.

The complaint allegedly led to Kilmurray’s termination, which the suit calls a violation of the state’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act. Kilmurray had worked for the district since 2008.

District officials did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment.

Before he was fired, Kilmurray had received only positive feedback from the state monitor, according to the suit.

The lawsuit alleges the monitor personally disliked a district administrator and wasted district resources, along with taxpayer money, to harass the person, the suit states.

A school ethics disclosure form submitted to the state in 2020 shows that Kilmurray’s brother is an administrator in the district, but Kilmurray’s attorney declined to identify the administrator.

In July 2022, Kilmurray reported the “violation of law and/or public policy to a government official,” the suit states. The state monitor learned of Kilmurray’s complaint, and “took action that led to plaintiff’s termination of employment,” the lawsuit alleges.

In addition to whistleblower laws, the lawsuit alleges Kilmurray’s firing was a wrongful discharge, claiming the “district had no legitimate non-retaliatory reason for its termination of plaintiff.”

The suit seeks to reinstate Kilmurray to his job, along with his seniority, benefits and lost wages.

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Location: Veteran’s Memorial Park

Address: 554 Shaler Blvd, Ridgefield, 07657

Event Date: 09/16/2023

Event Time: 11:00 am - 7:00 pm

Event Description:

Come to the Veteran’s Memorial Field in Ridgefield for the Ridgefield PBA Food Truck & Music Festival. This event takes place on Saturday, September 16, 2023 from 11:00 am until 7:00 pm. Admission is $5, but kids under 5 are free. Visit the Just Jersey Fest website to learn more.

At the Ridgefield PBA Food Truck & Music Festival, guests can enjoy food trucks and music all day. Dogs are also welcome at this event. Tickets for the festival are available on-site. Follow Just Jersey Fest on Facebook for event updates and more details.

Every Just Jersey Fest festival is guaranteed to feature over 20 gourmet food trucks per event. In addition, all festivals are kid friendly and many events are dog friendly as well. (It’s best to check with each event for more info about rules regarding pets.) Other benefits of Just Just Fest Events include craft beer, sangria, and margarita bars. Plus, all events feature either a live band performance or a DJ.

Just Jersey Fest does ask guests to bring their own blankets or chairs, as they do not provide seating. Likewise, they do not permit outside food, drinks, or coolers. (Food and refreshments are available for sale at every event.) Finally, Just Jersey Fest asks all attendees to consider bringing a non-perishable canned or boxed item for donation. These donations are provided to local food pantrys.

Allison Kohler is the president of both Just Jersey Fest and JMK Shows. With over 35 years of experience in event promotion, she is the premier event organizer for food truck festivals. She also organizes the Big Brew Beer Festival, Beer BBQ Bacon Showdown, Taco Palooza, and many other local festivals.

Click Here To See More Events on Best of NJ.

Upcoming Events at Veteran’s Memorial Park: