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 26 ISSUE 7
Opening night
MAY 2, 2022
TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON
VALLEY GETS ITS CRAFT ON
SPECIAL
Five Dimes Brewery opens to fanfare in Westwood
MEETING MAY 3 ON DPW PLANS Governing body seeks feedback on vision that so far seems unpopular in WT, Paramus
BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS
Washington Township Public Library patrons get an opening night viewing of ‘The Bad Guys’ at Township Theatre. SEE PAGE 24
PASCACK VALLEY REGIONAL
BOARD OKS $65.5M Woodcliff Lake sees its school tax fall; its homeowners get slight break after 2021 hike
BUDGET
BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS
The Pascack Valley Regional High School District board voted, 6-0, on April 25 to approve a $65.5 million annual budget for 2022-2023. The budget had previously been reviewed and approved by the county superintendent, said the boardʼs business administrator. According to a presentation by Board Business Administrator and Secretary Yas Usami, the local tax levy equals about 83% of the total budget, or $54,643,367. Voting to approve the budget
See BOARD on page 154
Five Dimes Brewery, at 247 Westwood Ave., owned by Chris Alepa, got its feet wet in a series of soft openings, then blew the roof off in its official grand opening weekend, April 22–24. Festivities included live music by Midnight Moonlight, fanfare by the Police Pipes & Drums of Bergen County, and treats by Cakes of Wrath. At right: brewmaster McLain Cheney and Jessica Davies.
I
BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS
F YOU DONʼT YET
know the difference between a flight, a growler, and a crowler youʼll need to visit Westwoodʼs new craft brewery to update your beer vocabulary — and find out whatʼs on tap at Five Dimes Brewery, the Pascack Valleyʼs first brewpub. The venue, long anticipated, officially opened the weekend of April 22–24, with a few soft openings before that to make sure the taps were working and
the staff was ready, said its owner, a longtime home beer brewer and beer connoisseur. (The announcement was made April 7, National Beer Day.) Special thanks went to Midnight Moonlight and the Police Pipes & Drums of Bergen County “for an incredible live music experience,” and Cakes of Wrath “for the coolest cake around.” Owner Chris Alepa, who purchased the former L.N. Grand Five and Dime store about two years ago, was instrumental in informing the latest
borough master plan update, which now adds brewpubs as a permitted use, and was committed to an overhaul that respects the siteʼs nearly six decades as a beloved five and dime. (One nice touch: the storeʼs old sign has a place of honor inside.)
Continued on page 39
A special public meeting to discuss the Townshipʼs purchase of 95 Linwood Ave. for the construction of a Department of Public Works facility is set for Tuesday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m. over Zoom and in person at council RELATED chambers. “ F o r m a l $700K grant on swim action may or may club gets not be taken at this hearing on meeting,” reads May 2 the public notice posted on the — Page 6 township website. Under an extended state DEP deadline, the township in fall 2021 had toxic soil under its longstanding DPW hauled away, and razed the building, at the municipal center complex on Hudson Avenue. The township, declining to rebuild on site, asserting it would not be sufficient to keep up with growth, has been eager to site a replacement DPW but space is limited and Mayor Peter Calamari said no out-of-town site or partnership came through. DPW equipment is dispersed at
See DPW on page 104
GROWING STRONG
B ck in time...
The Emerson Environmental Commission was on the job for Earth Day — and Earth Week. Dispatches from The Family Town.
A surge in horse thefts has the region on edge. Kristin Beuscher takes us to the spring of 1910 for the grim details — which resonate today.
SEE PAGE 8
SEE PAGE 4