MORE HOMES ARE EYED AS LANDMARKS

The map at top provided by the Landmarks Preservation Commission shows the boundaries of the Ridgewood South Historic District, a plan to be considered by the LPC in September to provide landmark status to over 200 apartment houses in the vicinity of Onderdonk and Woodward avenues between Catalpa Avenue and Woodbine Street. As shown in the bottom photo, ranking members of the Ridgewood Property Owners and Civic Association gathered together to Mayor Michael Bloomberg (shown in foreground, fourth from left) to the civic group's June 4 meeting at I.S. 93. The mayor announced during the session that the LPC would meet this September to vote on a plan to create a new landmark district protecting 90 Ridgewood apartment houses in the vicinity of Forest and Fairview avenues between Gates Avenue and Woodbine Street. (bottom photo: Robert Pozarycki) The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) will vote this September on the creation of a landmark district covering nearly 90 Ridgewood apartment houses and begin considering a second proposal to preserve another 200 homes in the area, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced during last Thursday's Ridgewood Property Owners and Civic Association (RPOCA) meeting.

Before the crowd of residents and civic members gathered on June 4 in the auditorium of I.S. 93, Bloomberg stated that the LPC has scheduled a Sept. 15 hearing at their Manhattan headquarters to vote on the Ridgewood North Historic District, which would grant landmark designation to scores of Mathews flats rowhouses located in an area generally bounded by Forest and Fairview avenues between Gates Avenue and Woodbine Street.

During that September session, the mayor noted, the LPC will also hold a public hearing regarding the Ridgewood South Historic District, a new proposal to landmark an additional 212 Mathews flats in another part of the neighborhood. According to information provided by the LPC, the study area is generally bounded by Woodward and Onderdonk av- enues between Woodbine Street and Catalpa Avenue.

On top of the two landmark districts, an LPC spokesperson informed the Times Newsweekly that the commission will also vote on Sept. 15 on a proposal to landmark the Ridgewood Theatre, located on Myrtle Avenue between St. Nicholas and Cypress avenues.

Regarding the landmark district proposals, the two areas under consideration feature attached apartment houses developed by Gustave Mathews and his brothers during the early part of the 20th century. Each of the buildings houses contains up to eight apartments and features exteriors with yellow and burnt-orange façades, wrought iron fencing and stone stoops.

The RPOCA had been pressing the LPC to landmark these homes and nearly 3,000 others around Ridgewood that were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Civic president Charles Ober noted that the organization was recently honored by the Historic Districts Council for their efforts to bring about the creation of landmark districts in the neighborhood.

At last Thursday's meeting, Mayor Bloomberg told residents that the organization would likely get their wish, noting that over the last seven years, the LPC has created more landmark districts outside of Manhattan than ever before.

"For those of you who want landmarking, I think you're going to get what you want," Bloomberg said to the applause from the crowd. "Ridgewood's history needs to be preserved and celebrated. These landmark decisions, we think, will go a long way toward doing that."

Under landmark regulations, homeowners would be required to maintain the exterior of their properties. If they wish to make renovations to the windows, brickface, doors or fencing, they must seek and receive a permit from the LPC. Property owners who fail to comply with LPC regulations would be forewarned by the agency and given a grace period to correct the violations before fines would be levied.

Mayor on the state of Ridgewood

Aside from landmarking, Bloomberg provided residents with an overview of education and public safety in Ridgewood and discussed some of the economic difficulties facing the city today.

Regarding education, the mayor cited statistics which indicated that students at I.S. 93 were outperforming their peers citywide on standardized tests. According to the most recent scores, more than 70 percent of students at the Ridgewood middle school met or exceeded their grade level in English language arts, up from 40 percent three years ago.

The trend also held in mathematics, Bloomberg said, as nearly 82 percent of I.S. 93 students scored at or above their grade level in the subject; three years before, that number was just over 50 percent.

With test scores increasing across the city, Mayor Bloomberg noted that the city is "catching up to the state" in academic performance while simultaneously closing the education gap among minority students. He credited investments made in hiring teachers and implementing accountability reforms in improving student progress.

Bloomberg added that the city is working closely with state legislatures on an extension of the law which allows the city to control its education system, which was originally passed in 2002.

As for crime, the mayor indicated that felonies continue to drop around the 104th Precinct and across the city despite the economic downturn. Crime has tumbled in the Ridgewood based command by 9.4 percent year-to-date and is down 43 percent over the last eight years.

The downward trend is also seen in communities across the city, and Bloomberg noted that New York is on track for another year in which felonies fell to all-time lows.

"Everybody knows that when the economy slows down and goes into recession, crime goes up. That's what everybody knows, but it doesn't have to be true," the mayor said. "It turns out that if we keep working hard and everyone works together, you don't have to suffer from conventional wisdom."

Though the economy is in a decline, Bloomberg stated that the city is tightening its belt while also doing what it can to provide some assistance to New Yorkers in need. He encouraged residents in trouble to call the city's 311 hotline if they need help in finding a job or seeking healthcare, noting that the operators can steer callers to the proper agencies that can assist them.

As for government spending, Mayor Bloomberg noted that the recession will not deter the city from making "the kinds of investments" in infrastructure and public services "that we stopped making in the 1970s." While acknowledging that expenses were slashed and taxes were raised, the city would work to get through the current economic crisis.

"We are going to keep the streets safe," he said. "We are going to keep improving the schools. We are going to keep the best municipal work force in place."

Ridgewood's two City Council members, Elizabeth Crowley and Diana Reyna, were on hand to meet the mayor, while the directors of two local organizations—Albert Jusczaczak of the Glenridge Senior Center and Theodore Renz of the Myrtle Avenue Business Improvement District— presented Bloomberg with gift bags as tokens of their appreciation.

Feral cats

Neighbors who are disrupted by the activities of stray cats in their backyards or on the streets can do their part to help control the feline population, according to Susan Wright, a Ridgewood resident and participant in the New York City Feral Cat Initiative.

Jointly operated by the Mayor's Alliance for Animals and the Manhattan based organization Neighborhood Cats, Wright explained that the initiative offers ways for local residents to curb the proliferation of stray cats living outside of area homes.

Wright noted that when she first moved into Ridgewood, she noted a pack of 20 feral felines living in her backyard. Since they were not domesticated, she explained, the cats regularly shrieked loudly at all hours, marked their territory around the area and reproduced uncontrollably.

Even so, she stated, stray cats play an important role in controlling the rodent population in New York City. Wright referred to a previous attempt to eliminate feral cats during the 1990s which resulted in a rat epidemic that forced the city to end its policy.

The Feral Cat Initiative, she said, taught her the proper method for trapping cats in order to be taken to a local veterinarian or animal clinic to be spayed or neutered. Once the procedure is completed, Wright noted, the cats are released back to where they were originally caught.

Spaying or neutering alley cats not only controls the feline population, she stated, but also reduces the wilder tendencies alley cats have. The felines also tend to live longer lives than untreated cats.

The Feral Cat Initiative offers free two-hour training on the trap, neuter, release (TNR) method as well as information on how to care for the treated felines to all who are interested. For more information, call 1- 212-330-0033 or visit the website, www.nycferalcat.org.

Negotiating with contractors

Before choosing a contractor to perform renovations to a home or business, RPOCA First Vice President Paul Kerzner offered residents tips on how to negotiate to get the best deal possible.

Kerzner suggested that residents solicit bids from three separate contractors for their project and compare the costs. During negotiations, he advised, the owners should then go back to the firm that offered the highest bid and inquire as to why the costs were so great.

Residents should also offer incentives to builders while also agreeing to work with them to reduce costs for supplies. When negotiating, Kerzner also suggested that the owners take a good tone and not be belligerent about their desires for the project.

The Ridgewood Property Owners and Civic Association will not meet in July and August. Its next session is scheduled to take place on Thursday, Sept. 3 at 7:30 p.m. at I.S. 93, located on Forest Avenue between Woodbine and Madison streets.