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 25 ISSUE 39
Holiday Shopping Guide
DECEMBER 13, 2021
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS ’21 Westwood brings the valley back to town
See page 13
MONTVALE
SCHOOLS BOND GETS ITS TEST DEC. 14
Polls open this Tuesday on $29.4M referendum; state aid depends on it
BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS
Local voters will decide the fate of a $29.4 million bond referendum to enhance school facilities, upgrade heating and air conditioning, and renovate and add restrooms — all to help maintain small class sizes — on Tuesday, Dec. 14 from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. A pot of $7.2 million in state aid for the project is possible only with a successful referendum, district officials and Mayor Michael Ghassali said in separate appeals. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Dec. 14, or hand-delivered to the county offices that day during business hours. Mail-in ballots cannot be submitted at the in-person polls. In addition to the mail-in option, Montvale will have two inperson polling places open from 6
See SCHOOLS on page 264
An estimated 8,000 revelers from all over the Pascack Valley flocked to Westwood on Dec. 4 for a day of fun and to honor the borough’s first responders and essential workers. In addition to the trademark parade — which showed off 30 groups that give the borough its strength and character — the event featured live music, demonstrations, visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus and a tree lighting ceremony. The event was suspended in 2020 over the pandemic.
W
BY MICHAEL FITZSIMMONS FOR PASCACK PRESS ESTWOODʼS
HOME for the Holidays celebration made a triumphant return Saturday, Dec. 4 — a spectacular and mild evening with a huge turnout. More than 30 groups marched and rode down Westwood PHOTO BY RICHARD FRANT
Avenue as thousands of people lined the street to watch the parade to Veteransʼ Memorial Park. Following the parade, Santa and Mrs. Claus assisted in the lighting of the tree. [Mayor Ray Arroyo estimates 8,000 attended from up and down the Pascack Valley; see his remarks on Page 2.]
Continued on page 15
TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON
VACANT
HOUSES AND THE LAW
Absent owners said to keep paying, lapsing on bills BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS
While the Pascack Road–Washington Avenue intersection is slated for major improvements in spring, several unoccupied homes — with broken windows, peeling paint, and dilapidated exteriors — mar the intersectionʼs northwest corner and have for almost a decade. During a Nov. 8 council meeting, borough administrator Robert Tovo and councilman Michael DeSena disagreed about the condition of the long-empty homes, with DeSena questioning why the homes have not been cited for violations under the townshipʼs property maintenance codes — including its abandoned or so-called “zombie house” ordinance. The houses have prominent warning placards at the entrances, in red and white, to advise emergency workers itʼs unsafe to enter. Tovo noted that the township lacks a code enforcement official, despite advertising twice for the position. He said property code violations are handled by himself and officials from the public works and zoning office. However, the deteriorating homes near the Washington–Pascack nexus remained a sore point with DeSena. “Thereʼs obvious grass growing out of the roofs,” DeSena told Tovo, calling them “zombie hous-
See VACANT on page 474
FOOTBALL MOMMAS
B ck in time...
Pascack Valley moms duked it out in two Black Friday charity games: the Hillsdale Lady Hawks and Emerson Mamaliers hosted challengers from Oradell and River Edge. SEE PAGE 33
Let’s ditch these high-tech distractions and return to the commerce of a simpler time: Kristin Beuscher takes us ‘shopping’ at Gottlieb’s Department Store in December 1925. SEE PAGE 4
