Ridgefield Park, N.J.: A 21st-Century Mayberry

Jul 04, 2018 · 13 comments
judy (new york)
This was my hometown and not only was I raised there, but my Dad was born and raised there. To this day, I return to RP to visit so many of my family who live there. Proud to be from RP.
Name required (USA)
No one wants to live in a place with high taxes and mediocre schools.
M (NYC )
Presumably those who like and gravitate to the idea of “living in the fifties” are all white?
pbilsky (Manchester Center, VT)
My family had a giftwrap factory there for years (1965-1978). It was a great town be in then. I was a youngster and loved walking through town to get an egg cream and anything else I needed. It still sounds great. Most importantly, Luigi's seems to still be there. Our business was right across the street and during the busy season (think Christmas giftwrap) we would sometimes eat there five or more nights in a row. I bet it is as good as ever! PB
judy (new york)
@pbilsky, we loved your giftwrap.
Mets Fan (New York, NY)
The Skymark development sounds like a nightmare in an already impossibly congested area. (46/80/NJT). How are these monstrosities approved in Bergen County? And one so close to a rare open green space (Overpeck) that we have in this area? I clicked through to their plans which show giant parking lots and condos up against bird habitats. With the glut of shopping mall/condos already in Bergen, plus the looming xanadu/american dream fiasco, this will just be another wasteland of garbage stores and chain restaurants. We don't need more malls, we need thoughtful public transportation options and environmentally conscious development.
Diane Foster (NY, NY)
It's heartening to see that the few restaurants listed here serve ethnic fare:Thai, Peruvian and Greek, but I also was wondering whether the Mayberry reference is short-hand for "white." Articles in this section used to be frank about that...
Steve L (Chestnut Ridge, NY)
Never any need to wonder; there's always Wikipedia, which tells us: The racial makeup of the village was 66.09% (8,413) White, 6.40% (815) Black or African American, 0.35% (44) Native American, 11.48% (1,461) Asian, 0.01% (1) Pacific Islander, 11.93% (1,519) from other races, and 3.74% (476) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 36.18% (4,605) of the population. So it's a village that is mostly white, but other ethnic groups are well represented as well.
john (Ridgefield Park)
Yes Diane you could jump to that conclusion, but you would be totally wrong. Our town is a great mix of many cultures. Maybe you should come and visit and see before you make such a statement Lifelong resident John
Diane Foster (NY, NY)
Wikipedia is not anything I'd source for a news article, or research, or even a term paper. My point is The Times used to use US Census records and routinely share the ethnic/racial breakdown of these neighborhoods for Living In. I'm not quite sure when or why the paper stopped doing this. Now THAT's a news story.
Tom (Bluffton SC)
Of course, it's in New Jersey, with crazy high property taxes keeping house values low.
Steve L (Chestnut Ridge, NY)
Tom, there are many places in New Jersey with "crazy high property taxes" as well as very high values.
Tom (Bluffton SC)
There is a direct correlation between high property taxes and lower than median house values in towns that have them. Ridgefield NJ is one specific example. In CT the reverse is true for all property values in towns like Greenwich and Darien which have relatively (for CT) low property mill rates and higher home values. Of course one could cite the relative exclusivity of these towns to begin with but it isn't the whole story. If Darien CT were to raise property taxes significantly, home values would decline ceterus paribus.