The Maroon Vol. 2… No. 36 Friday, May 13, 2022
“Bringing us all to a place we don't want to lose."
Observer: Exiles On Main Street
Macky’s New York: Bob Dylan's New York Stories
William Peay: Tales From The Wood…
RHS Athletic Hall Of Fame: Save The Date: Nov. 5th 2022
Did You Know… Mental Health Awareness Month
RHS Tired Teens: Later School Start Times
M + A NYC: Mighty Are We As One
James Stroker: Hope Coach
Jim Schoneman: Rock Hound
Siobhan Crann Winograd: Around The Village
Bertrand Russell: Message To Future Generations (1959)
Observer
Exiles On Main Street
We all know the much loved Village of Ridgewood pedestrian plazas will cease to exist at the end of May. Though I am going out on a limb to predict the blowback from village voters will be tremendous. I expect the Village Council members, at least those who desire to be re-elected, will reverse themselves quickly this summer. I believe they could easily switch gears and, for instance, tell voters of a new marketing campaign touting the European atmosphere of Ridgewood’s newly made permanent pedestrian plazas.
I hope that the Village Council would be prescient enough to acknowledge that there could easily be more local foot traffic downtown in the coming years, not less, due to a number of factors.
*****Villagers working from home is one trend.
Under 40% of Manhattan office workers currently go to their desks on an average week day, according to Partnership for New York City, a nonprofit group representing local business leaders.
Why would anyone want to resume commuting to work if they can accomplish the same tasks from their home office? Let’s face it, the coronavirus pandemic has killed the traditional five-day work commute. Villages like Ridgewood will likely become known for their downtown shopping plazas before they ever regain a reputation for being a commuter town. Give the former commuters reasons for visiting the downtown shops & restaurants is all I am suggesting.
*****New downtown living accomodations is another growing trend.
A visiter to Ridgewood’s downtown can’t help but notice a lot of new apartment complexes. The Benjamin, The Dayton, and The Chestnut Village to name a few. People are choosing to live in and among the shops & restaurants. They are close to the train and bus stations if they want to commute into NYC once and a while.
*****There is plenty of parking.
A firehouse and parking lot were removed and the Hudson Street Garage was built to accomodate residents and visitors from nearby towns. Even with less than stellar occupancy rates to date this garage near the railroad station fits with a vision designed to delight people searching for a quaint European village feel, instead of an American shopping mall off of a crowded highway. Sorry Paramus Park, you are no longer cool and you badly need a makeover.
The new Exiles On Main Street are the office workers, cubicle dwellers, and anyone who has suffered through an open office floor plan at their place of employment. They have noticed an improvement in their work/life balance and don’t want to go back to commuting to work. Ridgewood ought to embrace them and provide them with incentives that acknowledge the brilliant choices these exiles have made.
Macky’s New York
Matthew Cortellesi Photography
May 8, 2022 - Flatiron
Bob Dylan's New York Stories
"Go to him he calls you, you can't refuse
When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose."
I shot this on a wet NYC manhole cover just north of 23rd st on Broadway looking north with Empire State and the ghost of brother Bob.
Time 1045am.
#ny1pic
William Peay
Tales From The Wood…
The End of European-style Pedestrian Plazas
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
Anne Robinson
Did You Know…
Mental Health Awareness Month
Did you know that May is Mental Health Awareness Month?
The rates of mental health disorders in our youth population have been escalating for years to the point of being declared a national emergency last fall. The new legislation in NJ that would require all high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 was first proposed as a means of addressing the staggering numbers of adolescents with mental health issues. An article in the New York Times this week highlighted the link between sleep and mental health. Matt Richtel, author of the NYT series on adolescent mental health put it well:
“If you’re not getting some outdoor relief time and enough sleep — and you can almost stop at not enough sleep — any human being is challenged,” Matt said. “When you get the pubescent brain involved in that equation, you are talking about somebody being really, really challenged to feel contented and peaceful and happy with the world around them.” In fact, the first question a physician or therapist should ask an adolescent with symptoms of ADHD, migraine headaches, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, or substance abuse is, "How much sleep are you getting?"
While digital technology and excessive homework can interfere with sleep, the one factor that has been proven to be associated with sleep deprivation in adolescents is an early school start time. Because of the shift in circadian rhythm at puberty, adolescents find it difficult to fall asleep before 11:00. Early school start times make it impossible for adolescent students to get the 9 hours of sleep they require setting them up for a whole host of physical and mental health issues. In schools that have shifted to a later school start time, students report getting more sleep and feeling happier.
We need to move with a greater sense of urgency to establish later school start times if we expect to improve the mental health outcomes for our youth population.
RHS Tired Teens
Later School Start Times
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
This is my Mom in the ‘80s shot with a Polaroid camera in the living room of the house that I grew up in.
James Stroker
Jim Schoneman
Rock Hound
Split Rock Lighthouse against a cloudless blue sky.
Siobhan Crann Winograd
Around The Village
In addition to cutting off citizen participation via hybrid access (boo), the current chair of the Ridgewood Village Council meetings has made in person participation extremely uncomfortable and embarrassing for our community. After some inappropriate, unwelcome and mean spirited comments last week, I asked that the Village Council begin to self regulate as a body and rotate the chair. While it may not change the majority bloc voting, I am hopefully it will improve the discourse.