The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officially proposed a $39.4 million clean up the Wolff-Alport Chemical Company Superfund site on Irving Avenue in Ridgewood.

According to EPA, a study of the site revealed that several buildings as well as soil and sewers were contaminated with radioactive materials from past industrial activities. While there is no immediate threat to nearby residents because of the agency’s past actions, the comprehensive plan addresses potential long-term risks through a combination of response actions, including permanent relocation of commercial businesses, demolishing contaminated buildings, excavating contaminated soil, and cleaning/replacing contaminated sewers.

“The EPA has used the Superfund program to successfully address shorter term risks posed by the radiation at this site, and this proposed plan moves us closer to a permanent fix that will protect those who live and work in the area over the long term,” said Catherine McCabe, the EPA’s acting regional administrator. “While we recognize that relocation will be a stress on these businesses, we are weighing that against the long-term risks from radiation, which include an increased risk of cancer. EPA believes that this proposal offers the best course of action.”

The proposal calls for permanent relocation of five commercial businesses, demolition of all contaminated buildings on site, cleaning/replacing the contaminated sewers and excavation, removal and off-site disposal of an estimated 24,300 cubic yards of contaminated soil, sediment and debris.

Earlier this month, Ridgewood resident Jeffrey Leider took home gold at the Warlock Summer Smash competition in Poughkeepsie, NY.

He bested 70 competitors, coming in 1st place in 4 out of 5 events. The competition featured exercise such as: pull-ups, thrusters, power cleans, squats, shoulder raises, snatches, rows, toe to bar, box jumps, and the assault bike.

Leider, a successful personal trainer with clients in Queens and Manhattan, owns his own company named LeaderLife Fitness.

The company holds true to Leider’s passion of a healthy & positive lifestyle with training clients and teams, cooking and delivering meals to clients, and writing in content about fitness and health. His wife, Angela Leider, is a big part of the company as well.

Jeff Leider is part of the crossfit team at Crossfit Ridgewood on Freshpond Road. Earlier this year, he ranked in the top 100 crossfitters on the North East.

“The work ethic I have is fueled by the love and support of my family and friends,” Leider told the Ridgewood blog.

Leider, a graduate of Baruch College, played basketball for the D3 Bearcats, and had a short stint in the ABA semi-professional basketball league. He initially began learning about fitness to strengthen his basketball game. Soon after his entrance into the world of fitness, he began to not only see the fruits of his training, but he fell in love with the process of training as well.

After a few corporate internships, the finance major decided that the field of fitness and personal training was what he was truly passionate about.

Leider has helped over one hundred of clients throughout his nine year training career.  “Most people should be training for functionality,” says Leider. “Functionality is very important to your health and well-being, and training involves strengthening the body to be capable of doing real-life activities in real-life positions. You are training several muscle groups at once, which can improve balance, core stabilization, strength, and flexibility,” said Leider.

You can contact Jeff Leider at LeaderLifeFitness@gmail.com or visit www.leaderlifefitness.com .

A Ridgewood landlord is being charged with retaliating against immigrant tenants after they reported him to the New York City Commission on Human Rights (CHR) for discrimination.

According to CHR, they served the landlord a notice back in March of the complaint alleging discrimination, after immigrant advocacy group Make the Road New York brought the case to the commission.

In response to the complaint, the landlord allegedly denied the allegations and indicated that he sent a copy of the letter to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which included tenants’ personal information, in violation of the NYC Human Rights Law’s retaliation protections.

“Our message is loud and clear: we will hold landlords accountable for discrimination in our city,” said Mayor de Blasio in a statement. “We stand with tenants, regardless of their origin, in Queens and across the five boroughs.”

CHR has the authority to fine violators with civil penalties of up to $250,000 for willful and malicious violations of the Law and can award compensatory damages to victims, including emotional distress damages and other benefits, according to a release from the commission.

The names and addresses of the landlord and tenants were withheld by the agency to protect the tenant’s privacy. 

The FDNY is offering a free CPR class in Ridgewood tonight, as part of City Hall in Your Borough’s Queens week.

The class is at the Queens Library Ridgewood branch, 20-12 Madison St., from 6-7:30 p.m.

 

Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan is continuing her call for a change to Ridgewood’s zoning laws that are allowing a 17-story tower to be build at 54-27 Myrtle Avenue.

Nolan originally wrote to Mayor Bill de Blasio in March, expressing concern over the development and recently received a response from City Planning Comissioner Marisa Lago that says the building is allowed to proceed, as of right.

“The Department of City Planning continues to believe that this density is appropriate for this location, due to its excellent proximity to mass transit and location along a primary street,” Lago said in a June 21 letter.

“I am aware of the property’s ‘as of right’ status,” Nolan wrote back, “However, the current zoning rules for Ridgewood are 17 years old and the pace of development has changed dramatically in the near two decade period since.”

Nolan believes, with the L and M trains shutting down for extensive periods over the next few years, a downzoning of Ridgewood is appropriate.

 

Woodbine, a community space in Ridgewood that provides programming to residents interested in developing skills to build autonomy in the current age, launched a Patreon earlier this year.

Interested parties can set up a monthly donation to help fund the space and the various initiative they are involved in. The founders of the space described their mission on the Patreon, which can be found here. 

 

Woodbine is one of the many spaces we are shepherding into the fray. We live in New York, it’s not easy and it’s not cheap, but as our network grows we need to be able to increase the scale of our endeavors. Our monthly costs for the collective are roughly $2000, which we have split between ourselves for years.  In addition, any additional project costs such as building the Health Resource Center, Woodbine Community Gym, the Ridgewood Community Garden, text, and videos among many others have always been internally supported.  As we look to expand in the growing chaos, we need your support.  We have plans to expand to upstate NY, open up an autonomous health center, a community maker’s space, and release more text and videos.  We aspire to build a regional territory of autonomy, combining farmers and engineers, preppers and designers, hundreds of acres of farmland in the Hudson Valley, and a thousand joys. And we can’t do it without your help.