The Maroon Vol. 2… No. 35 Sunday, May 8, 2022
“Bringing us all to a place we don't want to lose."
Observer: Hacked!
Macky’s New York: The World Is A Stage
William Peay: Tales From The Wood…
RHS Athletic Hall Of Fame: Save The Date: Nov. 5th 2022
Did You Know… A Visit From The Doctor
M + A NYC: Mighty Are We As One
James Stroker: Hope Coach
Siobhan Crann Winograd: Around The Village
Observer
Hacked!
The irony of Substack being hacked was not lost on me, especially after I wrote about the need for more Cybersecurity experts and the recent increase in attacks nationwide. I had also called out the leadership of the Ridgewood High School Alumni Association (RHSAA) for their obliviousness about their own hacked site. The not so mysterious hacker visited again in March 2022. I now believe that the sooner the RHSAA implements term limits for their trustees the better.
In addition to Substack there were many other outages last week, one involving the web hosting company we use for Maroons Online. A less scientfic person would have concluded it was bad karma or the like. In reality, the U.S. is deeply involved in a Cyberwar. One that has spilled well beyond the borders of the current Ukrainian conflict. The fact we experienced two outages of well-managed sites goes to show we all need to better understand how computers networks are connected & made secure.
We can all do more to mitigate breaches like having reliable backups & keeping our software up-to-date. There is plenty more I could suggest but doing a Google search to see how much inconvenience you can put up with is the best place to begin.
Macky’s New York
Matthew Cortellesi Photography
May 6, 2022 - Lincoln Center
The World Is A Stage
You can't help but feel special sanding on the plaza - some people take bows...I take multiple curtains calls - that is until security brings out the "hook".
Shot looking west on a rainy day with the opera house in the distance.
Time 1130am
#ny1pic
William Peay
Tales From The Wood…
Louis Edward Peay, affectionately known as “Eddie”, departed this life peacefully on April 30, 2022.
Eddie was born on October 25, 1936, in Hackensack, NJ to the late Carlos Sr. and Ernestine Peay. He grew up from an early age in the Village of Ridgewood. He worshiped with his family at Mount Bethel Baptist Church, a predominately African American church with roots in the Ridgewood community for over 100 years. Eddie lived his entire life in Ridgewood until his passing: raising his beautiful family, building a successful business, and giving back to his community in ways too numerous to count.
Eddie was educated in the Village of Ridgewood schools, attending Union Street Elementary School, George Washington (GW) Junior High School, and Ridgewood High School. After graduating high school in 1954, Eddie attended Lafayette College (Easton, PA) to study engineering and play football.
Eddie returned home from college early to pursue his entrepreneurial aspirations and start a family. He married Alveria McBurroughs of Westwood, his high school sweetheart; together they raised their three children. As a firm believer in education, Eddie paved the way for all three of his children to graduate college and pursue their own life dreams.
Eddie later met and married his second wife, Essie Grant. They were married for 25 years; happily spending their life together before she preceded him in death.
Eddie was a successful entrepreneur, starting several businesses including the locally recognized brand “Peay Moving Services” which he operated for over 60 years. When he closed the doors to his moving business, Eddie finally retired and remained in Ridgewood managing his local real estate investments, spoiling his grandchildren, and sharing a “Hey Buddy” with a smile around town.
From an early age, Eddie Peay was known as a “Baller”; many were surprised to learn the young black athlete grew up in the 1950’s in the Village of Ridgewood. He always had a passion for playing sports and couldn’t wait to finish his chores and look for pickup baseball or basketball games or just someone to throw the football. Eddie excelled in baseball and football. His Ridgewood Baseball Association team was one of the Village’s first youth teams to receive national recognition. This passion carried from his youth, through high school and on to college, culminating most recently with his recognition as a Class of 2022 inductee into the Ridgewood High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
Eddie also proudly served his country as a Radar Technician in the United States Army until his Honorable Discharge as a Private First Class.
As a lifelong resident, Eddie loved the Village and its people. He gave back as a volunteer coach with the Ridgewood Junior Football Association. He inspired many young athletes in town that hard work, commitment, and teamwork were not only the cornerstones for successful teams, but the foundation for good personal character. He also volunteered his time from helping with the RHS Jamboree to maintaining a “green” Ridgewood by planting floral arrangements downtown.
Eddie leaves to cherish his memory his sons: Louis “Tony” Peay (Cathleen) of Raleigh, NC and Jacques Peay (Jill) of Ridgewood, NJ. Son-in-Law: Gary Henson of Camden, NJ. Grandsons: Bryce Joyner, Garette Henson, and Anthony Peay. Nephews: Carlos Peay III and William Peay; Grandnieces: Parmalier Peay and Dejoie Peay; Brother-in-law and Sister in-law: James and Margo Grant and their sons Derrick and Rashawn of Raleigh, NC. Eddie was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Essie, and daughter Colette.
We were extremely honored and grateful that my Uncle Eddie's classmate, teammate, Quarterback and dear friend, Bill Daly RHS '54 made the trip from New Hampshire to attend his farewell... True Life long friendship.
RHS Athletic Hall Of Fame
Save The Date: November 5, 2022
Visit The RHS Athletic Hall Of Fame
Digital Printing for the RHS Hall of Fame provided by Tim Boucher, RHS 1988
Did You Know… A Visit from the Doctor
By Dr. Anne Robinson
Did you know that the American Academy of Pediatrics put out a strong policy statement in 2014 saying that adolescent students should not start school before 8:30? Dr. Judith Owens, a lead researcher behind the AAP policy statement, did a virtual event in Ridgewood last week. In her presentation, she reiterated what our community has been hearing for over a decade: the science, the research, and the evidence all point in the same direction. A later school start time for adolescent students leads to positive outcomes in physical health, mental wellness, safety, athletic performance, and academic achievement. She spoke of teen car crashes, depression, suicide, alcohol, and drug use and made it clear that early school start times place students at greater risk for all of the above. She said that grades, test scores, attendance, and graduation rates improve when start times are shifted later. She also warned of the health consequences of sleep deficiency caused by early school start times, including infection, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and immune dysfunction. She urged schools to take action. Every day we delay is at the expense of student health, safety, and achievement.
"To do nothing is really to do harm." Judith Owens, M.D.
M + A NYC
Mighty Are We As One
Inspired by art, designed in New York, and made by hand with love by artisans all over the world. Shop home décor and wearable accessories at www.mplusanyc.com
James Stroker
Siobhan Crann Winograd
Around The Village
Schedler House Update- Last Night (May 4, 2022) the Village Council rejected the 1 Million Dollar bid for the house project. Apparently all of the $500K grant money has been spent and now the house project is frozen. Important to note the bid was 20% over the estimated $800K and the Village now has to reissue the bid (go back to the beginning). Not one bit of discussion about the field, playground, parking lot or the property as Ridgewood still does not have an approved plan in place plus there was no discussion of future uses for this uber expensive house. Stay tuned
So last night Pride was on the agenda for discussion and that too did not go so well. The agenda item was to discuss the formal establishment of the Pride Committee for next year and every year. The discussion was centered around composition, rolls and chairs. The dais conversation quickly degraded including a statement on the record from Knudsen that last year's Pride committee "was a disgrace". Insults were hurled, inappropriate analogies were made and again not one fact was presented. The Mayor refused to answer the question of who is on the current committee that she assembled in darkness after she dismissed the OP committee this fall. While I am thrilled to see Pride happening within Ridgewood and personally relieved that the committee was being recomposed as interfacing with the village manager and mayor last year was not that pleasant, I am just taken aback by the mean spirited comments from the dais. Added to that I feel that too many public forum events have been controlled by Village Hall including Knudsen's insistence on speaking when not asked by the committee, the refusal to address other flag requests and interfering with the flag poll by raising her event flag without approval from anyone. We live in a community that thrives and values volunteerism, to have the OP insulted and degraded from the dais last night is just simply unacceptable. Thank you to everyone who has made this event a part of our community including the new committee (that no one knows about).
So the Pedestrian Mall is toast. Tonight's Village Council meeting was somewhat beyond. Knudsen spoke multiple times referencing dozens of people and businesses that do not support the plaza. Ironically none of them have ever showed up to say their own piece, so I personally consider this hearsay and am disappointed a council would allow so much off the record comments to be a part of a real, factual discussion. Reynolds went so far as to criticize the businesses who paid for the cost of the plaza in prior summers and highlighted the payment as proof some restaurants benefit too much (sadly not even a thank you for all the prior financial support, unbelievable). Perron was super supportive and rooted in fact. Sedon also tried to advocate but they were overtalked with anecdotal stories from phantoms that are not on record. Due to the lack of hybrid, there were two public commentors (myself included) who stressed how much the public loves the mall but we were ignored and sadly spoken down to after public comment was closed. There will be one weekend during the blackout period at the schools but that is it. #PedestrianMallisToast2022