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 47
Standout student
FEBRUARY 7, 2022
MESSAGES RIGHT ON TIME Park Ridge author aims to empower
PARK RIDGE
THE JAMES LEASES ALL 240 UNITS
Residential/retail center home to seniors, new commuters, others
BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS
Editorʼs note: The Greater Pascack Valley Chamber of Commerce hosted a virtual “Breakfast With the Mayors” on Jan. 26. Invited were the mayors of Montvale, Park Ridge, Woodcliff Lake, River Vale, Old Tappan, Hillsdale, Washington Township, Westwood, Emerson, and Oradell. We covered their talk on affordable housing Jan. 31 — check it it out online. Weʼre also rounding up highlights from each town…
Jacqueline Rosta of the Township of Washington makes dean’s list at RMU. SEE PAGE 15
M
TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON
TEST TO STAY AT WWRSD
New rules could keep more kids in class
BY MICHAEL OLOHAN AND JOHN SNYDER OF PASCACK PRESS
Days after Westwood regional K-12 trustees offered contrasting views on the districtʼs quarantine protocols for the unvaccinated and un-boosted, newly appointed superintendent of schools Dr. Jill Mortimer wrote families with an update on K-12 Covid cases. She also followed through on a free-to-families “courtesy” program she had settled on, as offered by the state health department: Test to Stay, which requires registration and every-other-day testing at the middle school, among other restrictions, that allows more exposed kids to stay in their classrooms. On Feb. 3, Mortimer said, “Fortunately our numbers have
See TEST on page 354
I
Erika Wells of Park Ridge is preparing children’s books she hopes foster conversations on grief and motherhood. Her first title, “Scarlett Slays the Day,” on a theme of selfesteem, is based in the borough. Above, right: the author with her sons Colton and Wesley.
BY JOHN SNYDER OF PASCACK PRESS
TʼS A SWEET BOOK of personal transformation and triumph, and West Ridge Elementary School has never looked grander. Park Ridge native Erika Wells, graduate of Park Ridge High School Class of 1999, spent the 16 years pre-covid living in New York and working as a celebrity hairstylist for such shows as “Billions,” “The Late Show With Stephen ColAUTHOR’S FAMILY: AMANDA LEE SEELY PHOTOGRAPHY
bert,” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” When the pandemic struck and the entertainment industry shut down, she found herself in what she calls “a real pickle.” “Iʼm a single mom of two boys and being out of work was extremely difficult. I was living on Long Island, and I put my mortgage on forbearance for a year and I was like, I have a choice: I can keep doing this or make a decision to follow
Continued on page 20
KEITH Misciagna told the Greater Pascack Valley Chamber of Commerce mayorsʼ breakfast Jan. 26 that The James, the boroughʼs new downtown mixed-use residential and retail development on Kinderkamack Road, featuring 240 rental units, was “completely 100% occupied, which was a surprise for both the developer and the borough.” He said The James only opened “a few months back” and that “the good news” is that the new tenants are “a mixed group,” including seniors who have scaled down — and new residents commuting into New York City, with rail transit close by. Regarding the siteʼs 17,000 square feet of retail space, Misciagna said B&M Meat Market was moving in, offering dining and takeout. AYOR
See PARK RIDGE on page 334
CURTAIN RISING
B ck in time...
Bergen County Players, one of America’s longestrunning little theater companies, brings us a wild run of ‘Moon Over Buffalo,’ opening Feb. 12.
The Hillsdale that so many remember from the 1960s returns in a photo comparison by assistant editor Kristin Beuscher, president of the Pascack Valley Historical Society. SEE PAGE 4
SEE PAGE 19
