It has been a precarious and scary time for the nation, state and community as North Arlington bravely navigates through this pandemic, a challenge like no other in history.
While many pray and hope that things get back to normal, just what will a “new normal” look like?
For the face of our culture and community has changed already and social distancing and masks will not be leaving our lives anytime soon!
Local officials have tried to offer information on the pandemic, but few if any have embraced this new world order.
How we live our lives have changed whether we like it or not.
Community gatherings will no longer be the same as ZOOM and other technologies will be the gathering point of individuals through a computer screen or smart phone.
How we work, travel and educate have all been changed forever and change is now the constant in how one lives their life.
Take for example the acquisition of QPHS which has set back North Arlington some $11,000,000 in purchase price and renovations.
The strategy pre-pandemic is no longer credible or reliable.
How does one practice safe “social distancing” in classrooms?
How does one conduct recreational and sporting events in this new normal?
Remote technology and using that option effectively to offer educational services is something local school officials need to implement. School districts cannot build their way out of this challenge and a complete reexamination of the delivery of public education must begin now.
In the area of redevelopment, does stuffing as many apartments and multiple dwellings on Ridge Road make any sense moving forward?
Do people want density, or a North Arlington that’s small, safe and suburban?
People are seeking safe distance, and will be hesitant to travel on subways and buses to journey to Manhattan, the epicenter and Ground Zero for this pandemic, just as it was for 9/11 some 20 years ago.
The notion of local urbanization on Ridge Road and added density is not what residents will want. Tenants do not pay school taxes and the stress of added services because of density housing is a mistake that needs to cease now. But most importantly, the spending of tax dollars like there’s no tomorrow is not acceptable. We saw that last fall when all four school bond questions were defeated by 2-1, landslide defeats!
For our school district and municipality need to entirely rethink the delivery of services through non-gathering strategies and remote technology.
For they have no choice.
While children demand and deserve recreational activities and services, how do you offer these services in a cost effective manner?
Basic and primary services and municipal communication needs to improve.
The Borough’s website needs to be a communications hub. It is currently substandard and the Borough’s Social Media presence needs to drastically improved and move further away from paper and traditional modes of interaction with residents and taxpayers.
The only constant in life is change.
And change has hit our lives in a way like never before.
It is up to us not only to adapt to these mandated realities, but to ensure our elected officials make the same changes and fiscal sacrifices in performing their functions as advocates and building new public policy engagements that are based in technology to reach this new normal in a transition that is as painless as possible.
The old way is the wrong way.
Brick and mortar solutions must be avoided and those redevelopment and school improvement ideas currently being practiced need to be altered or scrapped immediately as a complete waste of time, dollars and energy.
We need forward thinking; technology savvy individuals leading this new normal; not embedded bureaucrats and those who don’t get it managing local school districts and municipalities into the ground!
If you’re hoping things will get back to what they were, that is wishful thinking at best.
For better or worse, embrace the change that has already taken place. It will make for better North Arlington today as well as tomorrow.
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