The proliferation of apartment dwellings by out of town developers seem to have the green light with Mayor Dan Pronti and his all-Republican council in-charge, a majority obsessed with urbanizing North Arlington and radically moving away from what make North Arlington so appealing and that’s retaining a sense of small, safe and suburban!
With all Republicans all of the time running NA, what is the impact on traffic by radically increasing the borough’s tenant population that will drive-up local rentals and gentrify North Arlington all at the same time!
Do they even understand the ramifications of urbanization and gentrification?
There are those who lack the institutional memory in charge who seem to forget the fact North Arlington was nationally recognized as a great place to live or raise a family and run a business was based on a “safe and suburban” environment for residents who are predominantly longtime homeowners and “empty nesters” who feel they are being squeezed and pushed out thanks to this goal of transforming North Arlington into an extension of Harrison and Hudson County!
Tenants don’t pay school property taxes and don’t bear the burden of higher taxes by a school board that tried to raise school taxation some $20,000,000 if they had their way last year when residents struck back and rejected four (4) attempts to raise taxes in the form of dubious referendums that had zero public support while expending $11,000,000 on a building they do not need (QPHS) while the rest of the district’s physical plant remains in need of renovation and repair!
Just who authorized the North Arlington Board of Education to squander some $11,000,000 in surplus school funding that could have been used for tax relief?
Instead, they spent it all on a building that doesn’t house a single student or teacher!
Compounding the situation was the fact that the two school board members seeking reelection voted to give the schools superintendent a blank check that was rejected by voters four times by 2-1 margins over the course of two elections over some 45 days!
Both of these failed and flawed trustees ran with no opposition, another example of the deterioration of North Arlington’s local democracy!
Then local Democrats ran a shrinking violet, “me too” campaign that said nothing and blew the opportunity to defend taxpayers from this circus atmosphere and instead ignored the only issue that mattered and that was out of control school spending that could not be justified or supported by voters!
They were afraid to take a stand on anything and thus offering the voters nothing based on the advice of a first time candidate that finished last with no experience in managing a local campaign.
In the end he took his running-mates with him, a defeat that should have been a very easy victory against three of the most inexperienced GOP candidates ever nominated by the local Republican Party.
This foolishness took down a four-term incumbent and a popular new candidate who should have won.
Republicans didn’t win, Democrats and North Arlington lost.
Now we have this freshman Mayor patting himself on the back with more Ridge Road overdevelopment and rental units that simply change the suburban feel of North Arlington.
Had the QPHS property been properly redeveloped with one-family homes, millions in added assessments would have been placed on the tax rolls instead of this folly and falsehood that North Arlington somehow is in need of a dormant facility that once housed close to 1,000 Catholic school pupils.
2020 will be a presidential year in that the voter turnout could be as high as 7,500, a far cry from the 3,300 who voted in the 2019 General Election or the 1,500 or so who voted in the rejected December school referendum ballot!
North Arlington in many ways is an undervalued asset with great economic opportunity for River Road which has become stagnant under Pronti and his followers.
We just witnessed the SOMOS closing and no progress regarding several parcels in dire need of a face lift and upgrade along the banks of the Passaic River.
Instead, Pronti seeks to take a prime River Road property, keep if off the tax rolls and promise what North Arlington does not need which is a few units of senior housing that in all probability will be awarded to non-North Arlington residents but most of all lose another economic opportunity to add revenue and ratable to the community.
That’s bad government as well as terrible politics.
With total control, the local GOP has no one left to blame and must be held accountable for the lack of ideas and solutions when if come to increasing our ratable base.
Not only do they have no one to blame, but fail to cooperate with county, state and federal officials to get anything done.
North Arlington is slowly becoming an island to itself as no one who matters cares about North Arlington or its big fish in a small bowl mayor, Dan Pronti!
North Arlington deserves some answers to the tough questions.
Why was $11,000,000 spent on QPHS?
How did the school board accumulate this surplus funding to spend it exclusively on a single facility?
What is the plan to improve River Road?
Maybe Mayor Pronti could learn a few things from Freeholder Steve Tanelli who successfully renovated and repaired the tennis courts with no assistance from our freshman mayor!
How many more apartment units does Dan Pronti propose for Ridge Road in 2020?
How much truck traffic will be added to Schuyler Avenue thanks to his misguided development goals and objectives at Porete Avenue?
How come none of this is addressed at his numerous Social Media destinations?
Local Democrats need to get back into the game with candidates that are qualified, competent and prepared to serve.
Candidates that understand the issues and willing to do the hard work to persuade residents and get North Arlington back on the right track.
One-party government only helps one person and that’s Dan Pronti.
One-party government is a monopoly controlled by one person, Dan Pronti.
North Arlington needs a healthy mix of Democrats and Republicans where Democrats currently have nothing to say about anything despite outnumbering Republicans by a healthy margin!
North Arlington is at a crossroads and needs new candidates that are prepared to serve in a serious fashion.
Hopefully NA Democrats are up to that challenge and will nominate candidates who will do exactly that in a year that favors their party and preference.
Sometimes you learn more from losing then winning.
Offering new candidates and new ideas while competing hard is what NA Democrats need to do to win.
We trust that will be the case come November of 2020.
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