Emerson • Hillsdale • Montvale • Park Ridge • River Vale • Township of Washington • Westwood • Woodcliff Lake VOLUME 23 ISSUE 51
DEAN’S LIST
PA S C AC K VA L L E Y ’ S BEST H O M E TO W N N E W S PA P E R
LIFESAVING CONVERSATION
Addiction survivors speak amid faces of the dead
Sebastian Bortz of WWHS makes the dean’s list at Susquehanna University. SEE PAGE 15
PARK RIDGE
HOUSING
TRIAL TO EXAMINE AVAILABLE LAND BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS
A court-ordered affordable housing trial set to begin March 16 likely will help resolve two of the most contentious issues between Park Ridge, Fair Share Housing Center and Hornrock Properties: what land is eligible to be considered for its “vacant land analysis” and based on that analysis, what number of affordable units comprise a “realistic development potential” for the borough between now and July 2025. The trial is expected to resolve these issues that likely hold the key to whether a Superior Court judge will order Park Ridge to permit multifamily housing— including affordable units—on more than 30 acres of former Sony property. The borough has fought
See PARK RIDGE on page 404
ALUMNI IN RECOVERY Founder Nancy Labov shares statistics on the opioid epidemic at a Westwood forum March 2.There were 3,021 suspected overdose deaths in New Jersey during 2019, while an antidote drug was administered 15,104 times. Meanwhile, 3.9 million opioid prescriptions were written, according to data from NJCares.gov. BY JOHN SNYDER OF PASCACK PRESS
His name is Mark, and he made the news when on Valentineʼs Day 2014 one of many bags of heroin he brought to his girlfriendʼs house fell on the floor, and was picked up by her 9month-old son. —Who sucked on the bag, and overdosed, quickly becoming
unresponsive. Mark called his younger brother, Craig, desperate for help, and Craig—an addict as well, who had been sober for nine months at the time—refused. Craig—whoʼd progressed from alcohol and marijuana to Percocets, Roxicodone, and sniffed and then injected heroin by the time he was an Indian Hills High School
PHOTO COURTESY STEVE BEUBIS
junior—had needed to detach from that life, the addictʼs life of chaos and damage. Mark was arrested, held on a half-million dollars in bail with a manslaughter charge pending, and vilified in national media. He ended up putting his head through a noose in his cell but was unable
Continued on page 29
MARCH 9, 2020
PASCACK VALLEY
NEW JERSEY
PREPS FOR CORONAVIRUS BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS
A 32-year-old Fort Lee man became the first New Jersey resident to be diagnosed with the coronavirus, which has been found throughout the United States after spreading from its original outbreak in China to 66 nations on all continents except Antarctica. “I urge residents to remain calm and use resources from the New Jersey Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to prepare and prevent the spread of infection,” said Gov. Phil Murphy. Prior to the Fort Lee ALSO case, in nearINSIDE by New York City and • School disWestchester tricts told to County, N.Y., prepare for health officoronavirus cials worked — Page 3 to contain community spread of the virus as cases there were confirmed. On March 5, the CDC said there were 100 cases in the United States—and 10 related deaths in 13 states. “Most people in the United States will have little immediate risk of exposure to this virus, but some people will be at increased risk depending on their exposures. The greatest risk is to those who have been in close contact with people with COVID-19,” the CDC said. “People with suspected or confirmed exposure should reach
See CORONAVIRUS on page 264
POM POWER
B ck in time...
Congratulations to the Rockers Dance Team, composed of students in grades 6–8 from Hillsdale, Montvale, River Vale, and Woodcliff Lake! SEE PAGE 32
We’ve gotten off pretty light this winter, but residents and railroads had major shoveling to do this time in the late 1940s.
SEE PAGE 4