Just outside our service area are Oradell and Old Tappan, whose mayors also were invited to present at the Greater Pascack Valley Chamber of Commerce annual mayors breakfast on Jan. 26. Because the challenges and fortunes of all in the Greater Pascack Valley are inextricably linked, we’re happy to present this summary of their reports to the chamber.
Oradell
Oradell Mayor Dianne Didio said she was grateful to be part of the Pascack Valley Mayors Association and represent the southern end of the Pascack Valley.
She said the Pascack Valley Mayors Association does a lot of good things together, such as sharing ideas, and suggested Hillsdale Mayor John Ruocco call to get information about their shuttle program for seniors and efforts to match seniors with high schools students to handle snow shoveling duties.
She said two new restaurants are coming to town: Aura, under construction in the central business district, where previously a coffee shop stood.
Also, she said, the former Charlie Brown’s at the southern end of Kinderkamack Road will be opening as a new Fire & Oak Restaurant, a sister restaurant of the Fire & Oak – An American Grill in Montvale.
“Oradell has been starving literally and figuratively for restaurants, so we’re very excited to have these two new additions to our town,” said Didio.
She said housing for people with special needs should be started this year, and another pending United Way supportive-housing building for people with special needs is in the works, too.
She said an application is pending for an apartment building with an underground garage, although she could not provide details or comment.
Also under construction is a 20-unit apartment building for seniors 62 and older, which should help to allow seniors to age in place, she said.
She said “We’re all challenged” by traffic and with all the development going on, the Kinderkamack corridor will see increased traffic. “I don’t know what the answer is. I don’t think anybody does.”
Didio said she suspects the borough will have more applications for senior housing to be built and the borough provides services and programs, including times for games, social interaction, games, regular meals, exercise classes, and history lessons.
She said outdoor dining is “here to stay” but was not sure where it can go on Kinderkamack Road. She said, “People enjoy it when the weather is nicer.”
The mayor said the Bergen County League of Municipalities will be having a discussion on Teterboro Airport flight patterns at its next meeting, Feb.8. She said she invited all mayors to include them in the discussion.
Old Tappan
Old Tappan Mayor John Kramer said that although his community is in the Northern Valley, he appreciated being included in the breakfast with his Pascack Valley peers.
He said that the construction department has been “extremely busy” over the past two years, adding personnel and expanding office space.
He said “many applications” have come in for residential renovations as well as “knockdowns” for new homes. He said that a 220-unit mixed-use retail/residential development, The Enclave, is under construction on a 20-acre site at 200 Old Tappan Road (formerly Pearson Education) adjacent to the Bi-State Shopping Center.
He noted the site includes condos with affordable housing units now under construction.
Our sister paper Northern Valley Press covered the initial public hearings on the 200 OTR LLC proposal for a 229-unit, 21.000 square feet of ground level retail townhouse development in early 2020.
Kramer said “high-end rental units” are included in The Enclave. (See “229-Unit, Mixed-Use Proposal Faces Board Questions, Concerns,” Northern Valley Press, Feb. 17, 2020.)
Kramer said a 3-acre parcel opposite Northern Valley Regional High School called “Central Square” has been cleared and readied for construction of a 26-unit condominium, including six affordable units. Also on Central Avenue, is a fully-approved site for an 84-bed memory care facility with construction yet to occur.
Moreover, Kramer said, the Planning Board was scheduled to begin hearings on an 80-bed assisted living facility, located on a five-acre parcel on Old Tappan Road, near the Syrian Orthodox Church.
He said in northern Bergen County, “There’s nothing but development going on which adds to all of our traffic woes. As a result of some of these developments going in, we’ve seen an increase in flooding not quite as severe as to what some of the Pascack Valley towns have had.”
He said outdoor dining is permitted in Old Tappan, and the former Charlie Brown’s restaurant was taken over by Aurora, a Mediterranean/Greek-style restaurant.
He said the borough offers “many programs” for seniors; however many were affected by Covid.
Kramer said after more than 50 years of operation, Old Tappan’s municipality-owned golf course will be managed by a private company for the 2022 golf season. He said it will now be a semi-public course operating seven days a week, scheduled tee times, and a spring reopening. He urged golfers to check the borough website at oldtappan.net for more information.
When he finished his report, his host, Greater Pascack Valley Chamber of Commerce chair Robin Malley, assured him, “We still like to consider you part of the Greater Pascack Valley.”
Check out the breakfast on WCTV-NJ, learn more about the GPVCOC at its website, and check out Michael Olohan’s report of the mayors’ breakfast discussion on affordable housing: “At breakfast, mayors urge regional strategy on 2025 housing mandates.”