for breaking news visit www.timesnewsweekly.com NOVEMBER 5, 2015 • times 3 Glendale Christmas tree lighting ceremony will happen this year BY ANTHONY GIUDICE agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com @A_GiudiceReport Christmas in Glendale is saved. The Glendale Kiwanis confirmed that the 50-year holiday tree lighting ceremony will be taking place this December, “money or no money.” The Ridgewood Times recently reported that the Glendale Kiwanis was looking for donations from local residents and business owners to help fund the holiday festival due to a lack of funds at the Glendale Chamber of Commerce, which had funded the celebration in previous years. The community quickly responded, sending in their donations. One of the event’s biggest expenses, the tree itself, was generously donated to the Glendale Kiwanis for the celebration. “The tree was donated by a family out in Franklin Square,” said Joe Aiello, president-elect of the Glendale Kiwanis. “It is a big, 30-foot tree. Just because we got the tree doesn’t mean everything else is free. We still need to bring the tree down to Glendale, set it up, decorate the tree, place the lights and star on it and get gifts for the children.” The Glendale Kiwanis is still in need of more money, totaling “a couple thousand dollars,” Aiello said. “We have to thank a lot of community organizations and residents for providing donations,” he continued. “When something is in need, the community comes together and stands together. We are putting up a banner to thank everyone who donated. We’re still looking for donations.” Some of the local businesses that helped donate to the cause include Grace Pizza, R i d g e w o o d S a v i n g s Bank and the Starbucks at Atlas Park, which will be donating hot chocolate for refreshments during the tree lighting ceremony. “It is an icon in Glendale,” Aiello said of the event. “Last year we had around 400 kids at the event, I expect this year we will draw a lot of kids from the community.” The Christmas tree lighting ceremony will take place on Sunday, Dec. 6, at the Glendale Veterans Triangle, located at the corner of Myrtle and Cooper avenues. For more information, contact the Glendale Kiwanis Club. RIDGEWOOD TIMES/Photo by Anthony Giudice The Glendale Kiwanis confirmed that the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony will take place this year. Judge tosses Article 78 lawsuit in Glendale shelter case BY ANTHONY GIUDICE agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com @A_GiudiceReport Community efforts to stop the construction of the proposed homeless shelter on Cooper Avenue in Glendale took a hit last week as a judge dismissed the Glendale/Middle Village Coalition’s Article 78 lawsuit. The Glendale/Middle Village Coalition put forth the Article 78 lawsuit on the grounds that the environmental assessment conducted at the Cooper Avenue site was flawed in its findings and incomplete in its studies. They argued that the assessment did not fully capture the impact that a facility of that size would have on the surrounding community and called for another review before any action is taken. They contended that the study, which was conducted by AECOM, contained erroneous information, including basic information about schools in the community close to the proposed homeless shelter. The information in the AECOM study was outdated, but the judge overseeing the case determined that specific guidelines do not point to a significant impact for purposes of environmental analysis. The coalition states that if any decisions on the shelter were made based on the findings of this flawed study, then the decisions are flawed and another study is needed. Judge Jennifer Schecter ruled that it is not the role of the courts to weigh in on many of the issues raised in the Article 78 lawsuit, but stated that the agency seemed to procedurally satisfy the considerations of environmental impact into planning and review. “We expected that. I’ve been through things like this before,” said Bob Holden, member of the Glendale/Middle Village Coalition and president of the Juniper Park Civic Association. “I think most of us have been through things like this in the civics. We’re going to appeal, that’s a given. So we have planned on that. It was a long shot to begin with.” RIDGEWOOD TIMES/File photo A judge dismissed the community’s Article 78 lawsuit against the proposed homeless shelter on Cooper Avenue in Glendale.
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