Emerson • Hillsdale • Montvale • Park Ridge • River Vale • Township of Washington • Westwood • Woodcliff Lake
PA S C AC K VA L L E Y ’ S H O M E TO W N N E W S PA P E R
VOLUME 27 ISSUE 39
DECEMBER 11, 2023
MONTVALE
Holiday Shopping Guide
PARTY LIKE IT’S BOROUGH INPUT HILLSDALE 2073 SEEKS ON EASING Borough gala, time capsule make history
Interest in seeing GSP Exit 171 allow for righthand turns; year-end town hall meeting could lead to changes for 2024
See page 11
TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON
COUNCIL CLEARS $825K FOR HOME BUY
Will county funds come through? Mayor suggests trail at site of 450 Pascack Road, adjacent to Memorial Field BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS
The Township Council voted 4-0, with one abstention, to appropriate $825,000 in funds—including $785,000 in bonds—to acquire the 3.2-acre tract at 450 Pascack Road for possible use as a walking trail or other passive recreation uses. Approving the purchase were council president Desserie Morgan and members Tom Sears, Stacey Feeney, and Daisy Velez. Council vice president Steven Cascio abstained without public explanation. The property has been the focus of on-again, off-again negotiations between the township and property owner over a decade, with one of the owners alleging it fell into disrepair due to the townshipʼs failure to purchase the site previously. In summer 2021, the township bid $430,000 for the property fol-
See COUNCIL on page 384
TRAFFIC FLOW
BY JOHN SNYDER OF PASCACK PRESS
A
Hillsdale 125th Anniversary Committee chairs Gerry Beatty and Police Capt. Sean Smith prepare to bury the borough’s 125th Anniversary time capsule in front of the Police Department on Hillsdale Avenue. Michael Olohan photo.
BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS
FTER A YEAR of celebrating the boroughʼs 125th anniversary, Hillsdale residents danced and partied one night and buried a time capsule days later to help remember the year 2023 for residents who will be there to open it up 50 years from now, in 2073. Approximately 30 residents, including parents, chil-
dren and officials, gathered Dec. 2 to witness the burial of the 125th Anniversary time cap4RICHARD FRANT PHOTO
sule in front of the police headquarters on Hillsdale Avenue, concluding a yearlong series of events and celebrations. The capsule was buried adjacent to the first borough time capsule, sent forth in 1998, to celebrate the boroughʼs centennial. “Thank you all for coming today and being part of this historic moment in Hillsdale,” said 125th Anniversary Committee
Continued on page 33
Residents are in gear with Mayor Michael Ghassaliʼs question, stemming from the Dec. 4 year-end town hall meeting, “Aside from building an overbridge or under-track tunnel, or combining it with the Park Ridge station, any ideas on how to reduce the traffic backup?” Ghassali posed the question on his government official Facebook page, noting traffic flow is a main concern in town, where new and expanded businesses, and an influx of retail opportunties and more, are driving more outings. At the town hall session— “Building a Stronger Future: A town hall meeting to listen to you and share our business strategies and goals for our Montvale”—the mayor and council hosted an informal discussion. On Dec. 5 Ghassali posted, “Facts: NJ TRANSIT trains stop 33 times every weekday at the Montvale train station. Each stop See MONTVALE on page 104
FLYING IVORIES
B ck in time...
The Contemporaries of the Woman’s Club of Westwood host 75 members and friends at their first dueling-pianos charity fundraiser event, at the Phoenician. PAGE 9
The first Jewish house of worship in the Pascack Valley was founded in 1923, when 10 families worked together to purchase a storefront in downtown Park Ridge. PAGE 4