"A private association
is essential. To be effective, such an organization should include
in its membership all families of the community."--Radburn Designer
Clarence Stein, from the "Radburn" chapter in his classic book
Toward New Towns For America.
Fair Lawn
Weather Forecast, NJ
http://www.radburncitizens.org
Archival News
ARCHIVAL NEWS
BULLETIN FROM PRESIDENT MARSHALL CHANDLER
Dear
Neighbors,
Landmark, the
developer who wants to build 165 housing units on Hayward and Daly
Fields, is taking another step toward ground breaking.On May 20th, they met with
the staff who work for the Fair Lawn Borough Planning Board.This was described as a
meeting of ‘professionals’, to advise Landmark on preparing their
proposal, and was not open to the public.
The first
Work Session open to the public will occur in Room 201 at the Fair
Lawn Borough Hall at 7pm on Monday June 13th.This is the meeting at which
Landmark will make its first presentation to the full Planning
Board.Unfortunately,
public comment is not welcome at the Work Session , but it appears
that this is immediately followed by a Regular Meeting in the
Council Chambers.If
you have something to say, come to both the Work Session and the
Regular Meeting.
Landmark has
successfully sued our town, to force this development into the
center of Fair Lawn.They have been encouraged in all of this by the Radburn
Association Board of Trustees.One of the outcomes of the Landmark’s lawsuit against the
citizens of Fair Lawn has been a court mandate that limits Fair
Lawn’s control of the configuration of this development.The Borough’s Planning Board
is forced to approve the project, and can only negotiate the
details.
Likewise, for
all the assurances by the Radburn Board that we will maintain
architectural control, the developer has provided only the skimpiest
of details about their intentions, and takes the continued
enthusiasm of the trustees for granted.These Borough planning
meetings represent the best, and possibly the last chance for us to
influence the outcome.
Please tell
your neighbors, and make sure that the Planning Board knows we
care.
The INN (Interfaith Nutrition Network) was founded about
thirty years back for the express purpose of feeding hungry people
in Long Island. The INN spends less than ten percent on
overhead and the rest goes for food and shelter. Clothing is
almost all from donors which is what Radburnites have done for the
past two years. It was an effort on my part to bring people from
both sides of the problems that divide the community to work
cooperatively. Please take a look at this informative video.
-- Ron Coll
Wednesday, May 11,
2011
Dear Neighbors,
When spring comes, do you discuss pricing with your yard
service?And when it
comes time to renovate your kitchen, will you get more than one
bid?How you feel
about those questions is key to an issue before the Radburn board
of trustees.
This year, the board has twice engaged expensive services
without even looking into alternatives.We have made these
decisions with minimum information, no comparison shopping, and a
deep sense of loyalty to current
vendors.
Being the greenest of trustees, I have sought insight on
how we make these financial decisions.One of my fellow trustees
recommended that I read the Radburn Association By-Laws.I read them word for word,
and did not find bad or good by-laws about finances.I found NO by-laws setting
out how financial decisions are made.
After conversations with most of the current board members,
I detected cautious interest and sympathy for bringing more
structure to how we handle your money.In hopes of winning
support of the majority of the board, I developed a motion to make
a tentative and timid first step towards codifying our financial
decision making.The
text follows:
s
Motion for a Committee to Consider and Report to Board with
their Recommendations on a Competitive Bidding
Process
The Radburn Association Board requests the creation of a
Special Committee, consisting of three members nominated and
chosen by the Board, to consider and report to the Board with
recommendations on a competitive bidding process for vendors.
The Special Committee should develop their recommendations
and report them to the Board by June 30, 2011.
The Board will vote to adopt, modify or reject the
recommendations of the Special Committee at the Voting Meeting
scheduled for July 2011.
I made this
motion at the RA voting meeting on April 25th.It didn’t get very
far.The President of
the Board immediately moved that we “table” my motion, intending
to prevent the trustees from even being able to publicly discuss
or vote on my motion.The “tabling motion” carried 5 to 4, preventing its
consideration.We
convened to a private session, which was lively indeed!
It became
evident that the board is divided on this issue, with some
trustees desiring careful evolution, while others stridently
oppose any change to the way things have always been.After nearly two hours, it
became clear that neither the proponents nor the opponents were
backing down.To
break the stalemate, the Chairperson of our Policy Committee
offered to engage her committee to consider the issue, and return
to the board with recommendations.I hope that this will
produce some useful and actionable ideas that will enhance our
ability to adequately oversee finances.
I will
continue to seek reforms that improve our stewardship of your
money.Look for
updates on this, and other community business.Have a wonderful spring
season.
Marshall Chandler
Elected RCA President for 2011-2012
The winners of the CA election on November 17,
2010:
PRESIDENT: Marshall Chandler
VICE PRESIDENT: Eitan Cohen
TREASURER: Igor Yelisleyev
SECRETARY: Eric Schutz
Congratulations to these new officers, who will assume
office in January. They support open and fair elections, financial
transparency and keeping Daly Field green, along with a dedication
to creating more great social events for Radburn residents.
Thanks to all of the candidates who volunteered to run
for office, and to all residents who took the time to vote. We look
forward to working together in 2011 and beyond.
Board Set to Sign New
Landmark Contract
Citizens' Association President Art Murray reported on
the latest Daly Field developments at the most recent Citizens'
Association meeting on October 21. Following is a summary of his
comments.
Landmark at Radburn L.L.C., the developer that wants to build
165 to 200 housing units on Radburn's Daly Field, has presented
the Radburn trustees with a revised contract for the sale of the
property.
The trustees will be voting to approve the new contract on
November 8. (The Radburn Association has
subsequently announced that residents may request that a trustee
show them the contract, or view it at the Grange.)
As announced by the Radburn Association his week, residents
will be allowed two "viewings" of the latest Landmark development
plan (in addition to it being available at the Grange), but no
formal hearings with residents will be held.
Landmark has not presented a detailed site plan, only a
rendering, even though more than six years have passed since the
original contract was signed.
At the October 18 trustees meeting, Murray asked that the vote
on accepting the revised contract be scheduled for April 2011 so
that the current and new boards would have ample time for
consideration. None of the other trustees supported Murray's
proposal and it was tabled.
Murray also asked that Radburn’s attorney, Michael Ferro,
appear for a Q&A with the trustees to assure that the
contract's finer points, contingencies and implications can be
fully understood. (He initially encountered resistance, though a
meeting ultimate took place on November 1.)
The trustees appear willing to sign the new contract without
first receiving an analysis on Radburn's legal liability regarding
carcinogens in the groundwater beneath Daly that are impossible to
fully remediate. The board had commissioned the law firm of Porzio, Bromberg & Newman to conduct the
analysis for $5,000. It is currently unclear when that
analysis will be delivered to Radburn, but the vote on November 8
is scheduled to go forward regardless.
The new expiration date for the contract is in 2014. The
trustees apprear ready and willing to stay exclusively married to
Landmark until then, spurning other potential purchasers while
receiving no money from the developer until it decides to execute
the contract and settlement.
Board Set to Sign New
Landmark Contract
Citizens' Association President Art Murray reported on
the latest Daly Field developments at the most recent Citizens'
Association meeting on October 21. Following is a summary of his
comments.
Landmark at Radburn L.L.C., the developer that wants to build
165 to 200 housing units on Radburn's Daly Field, has presented
the Radburn trustees with a revised contract for the sale of the
property.
The trustees will be voting to approve the new contract on
November 8. (The Radburn Association has
subsequently announced that residents may request that a trustee
show them the contract, or view it at the Grange.)
As announced by the Radburn Association his week, residents
will be allowed two "viewings" of the latest Landmark development
plan (in addition to it being available at the Grange), but no
formal hearings with residents will be held.
Landmark has not presented a detailed site plan, only a
rendering, even though more than six years have passed since the
original contract was signed.
At the October 18 trustees meeting, Murray asked that the vote
on accepting the revised contract be scheduled for April 2011 so
that the current and new boards would have ample time for
consideration. None of the other trustees supported Murray's
proposal and it was tabled.
Murray also asked that Radburn’s attorney, Michael Ferro,
appear for a Q&A with the trustees to assure that the
contract's finer points, contingencies and implications can be
fully understood. (He initially encountered resistance, though a
meeting ultimate took place on November 1.)
The trustees appear willing to sign the new contract without
first receiving an analysis on Radburn's legal liability regarding
carcinogens in the groundwater beneath Daly that are impossible to
fully remediate. The board had commissioned the law firm of Porzio, Bromberg & Newman to conduct the
analysis for $5,000. It is currently unclear when that
analysis will be delivered to Radburn, but the vote on November 8
is scheduled to go forward regardless.
The new expiration date for the contract is in 2014. The
trustees apprear ready and willing to stay exclusively married to
Landmark until then, spurning other potential purchasers while
receiving no money from the developer until it decides to execute
the contract and settlement.
Art Murray Elected CA
President in November, 2008
The winners of the CA election on November 19, 2008:
PRESIDENT: Art Murray
VICE PRESIDENT: Bart Spinelli
TREASURER: Marshall Chandler
SECRETARY: Larry Koplik
Congratulations to these new officers, who will assume office in
January. They support open and fair elections, financial
transparency and keeping Daly Field green, along with a dedication
to creating more great social events for Radburn residents.
Thanks to all of the candidates who volunteered to run for
office, and to all residents who took the time to vote. We look
forward to working together in 2009 and beyond
Citizens' Neighborhood
Patrol
The first meeting of the Citizens' Neighborhood Patrol took place
on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at June Meyerson's house. Please feel
free to call June at (201) 797-0689 if you have questions about the
program.
Engineering Firm
Achieves "First Cleanup" Goals for Topps
Property
Environmental engineering firm Anderson Mulholland notified area
residents on April 1 that it had achieved its "first cleanup" goals
of meeting DEP standards for soil at the polluted former Topps dry
cleaners property , with "dramatically reduced" concentrations of
hazardous chemicals in the underlying groundwater. The Topps
propeerty itself is now considered to be cleaned up, though
contaminents still exist in groundwater south and east of the
site.
The firm announced in February that it was extending vapor
intrusion testing to 20 additional homes downstream from the site on
Ramsey Terrace and Ramapo Terrace, and that effort continues. The
firm hopes that remediation of the Topps site will ultimately lesson
chemical concentrations in the groundwater downstream that has
caused vapor intrusion in several homes. Please direct questions to
Anderson Mulholland at 914 251 0400 ext 311 or via email at
toppsinfo@amaiconsult.com.
Radburn resident Lisa Nicolaou's account of finding her "dream
home" in Radburn appeared in The Record's North Jersey
Homes section on Saturday, November 22, 2008. We've made a scan
available here. Congratulations, Lisa!
On December 7, 2006 The Radburn Association raised
assessments by over 36% in order to help replenish its capital
reserve fund, which has been drastically depleted over the past
several years by massive spending on legal/professional fees.
Spending exceeding $200,000 annually started more than a year before
the Daly Field sale was announced to residents, and two and a half
years before the Radburn Association first received a letter from
the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. In all, over
$295,000 in spending has gone unreported to Radburn residents since
2003.
Over 160 people attended the Covered Dish Dinner on Sunday, March
2, 2008, resulting in a huge buffet of delicious offerings for
everyone's enjoyment. In fact, we held a contest, and Joan and Steven Goldstein won
for "Tastiest Dessert" and "Tastiest Entree," respectively. All
we can say is that there must be some excellent meals in the
Goldstein household! Congratulations to Joan and Steven, and thanks
to all who came and shared the good times (and good eats) with
neighbors!
Proposed
Constitutional Amendment Defeated
The proposed amendment to the Constitution of the
Radburn Citizens' Association proposing to limit Executive Committee
members to the elected officers failed to pass in vote taken at the
CA meeting on May 23, 2007. The results were 133 (46%) in favor of
the amendment, and 156 (54%) opposed. Passage required a two-thirds
majority in favor, which would have been 193 votes. View the proposed amendment.
Write-In Candidates Win
Trustees Election; Are Refused Seats on Board
Kathy Moore and Felice Koplic received the
most votes in Radburn's Board of Trustees election in November 2005,
based on votes tallied at The Grange on November 30 of that year.
Moore and Koplic received significantly more votes than any of the
Trustee-nominated candidates. However, the Board has decided to
disqualify them on the basis that they were write-ins and not among
those chosen by the Trustees to run. The next two top vote-getters,
Lou Weiss and Jeff DeVries, were seated on the Board in January.
Ellen Glassett and George Brouca also ran for election.
Leading vote totals: Kathy Moore -- 199;
Felice Koplic -- 199; Jeff DeVries --132; Lou Weiss --120.
Residents Turned Away at
Trustees Meeting
About 20 Radburn residents were
refused admittance to the Radburn Board of Trustees meeting at The
Grange on November 30. The New Jersey Planned Real Estate Full
Disclosure Act (PREDFA) requires that communities such as Radburn
allow citizens to attend any board meetings at which binding votes
are to be taken. In refusing the citizens, Radburn Association
President Robert Matule claimed that the meeting that night would
contain no binding votes, and therefore there was no legal
requirement that the community be allowed in the door. See photo.
Rothman and Gordon
Write Letters Questioning Radburn Election
Procedures
On November 16 Congressman
Steven R. Rothman and Assemblyman Robert
Gordon sent letters to both the DCA and Governor-elect
Corzine communicating their serious concern over the lack of
democracy in Radburn. Rothman wrote: "I am deeply concerned that
democratic governance is not being practiced by the Radburn
Association. In a representative democracy such as our country, we
enshrine the use of free and fair elections...." Read the letters now!...
New Jersey Says That Radburn Must Conform to
PREDFA Law
The New Jersey Department of Consumer Affairs
has sent a letter to the Radburn Association telling it that it must
have democratic reforms. Read the
letter.
Access suggested text for your own letter to
the Radburn Trustees demanding that they NOT waste our money by
fighting New Jersey state law that requires free elections and open
meetings in Radburn! See the
suggested text.
