I grew up in Maplewood, and have to say its true that there is no where else like it. To destroy what makes it special is essentially destroying the town appeal and identity. Maplewood is known for the charming small town feeling and to bring another obtrusive and overwhelmingly large building in to our town center destroys what we all love and remember and hold dear about this town.
A
Anonymous
12 years ago
Featured
Village development and change seems evident. It could be economically and culturally beneficial. Please involve the public for the most successful design and result for all.
T
Therese Ojibway
12 years ago
The village green-look of Maplewood drew us to relocate here 20 years ago. It reminded us of New England. Please preserve its small-town scale and charm.
E
Ed Cerny
12 years ago
Putting anything in Ricalton Square would be tragic. If one wants evidence of this, one need merely take a look at once-quaint South Orange Village from a NJ Transit train. Actually, you can hardly see South Orange from the train anymore, thanks to SOPAC and the new apartments being constrcted there. Once, anyone who passed through South Orange looked up S. Orange Ave, up the beautiful hill, and thought "Gosh, this South Orange place looks really nice! Not like those other Oranges I just passed through. This seems like it might be a nice place to live!" Well now South Orange just looks like a couple walls that obscure a town that, to a train rider, might be no different from any other town closer to NYC. Is this what we want the world to see Maplewood as? If we put a multi-story development around Ricalton Square, there goes the view of our quaint village too. That would take away the draw that attracts many folks to explore Maplewood as a potential place to live. It's what attracted my family when we moved out from NYC and I am sure we are far from alone in that regard. The view of our village is an asset to all of us, it supports our property values, and it gives us something to be proud of. Once that view is gone, it's gone forever and for everyone.
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Ann Laskowski
12 years ago
No large scale development for Maplewood please!
M
Mike Ryan
12 years ago
Maplewood resident for 15 years. I have zero interest in a Transit Village Program.. The post office square footage should complement the beauty and charm of our downtown.
M
Marilyn White
12 years ago
Featured
Check out the Durand Hedden House exhibit on the history of the Maplewood Village post office. When the current building was built (1958), the town proudly celebrated with a big parade. The post office has been a valued part of our community since the late 1880s.
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Meredith Caplan
12 years ago
Featured
I urge town officials to focus on the history and charm of downtown Maplewood when evaluating design alternatives. Public support and input is critical. This is a lived-in town, it's about the people and the liveable design.
G
Grace Miller
12 years ago
Please help save our quaint town... No large scale development.
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Beth Stein
12 years ago
The beauty of Maplewood Village is so unique that over the past 34 years that we have lived in this town, we have seen several of our friends move away, only to return to Maplewood because they could not duplicate the feeling of the Village. Please do not destroy what is an integral part of our wonderful town!!
J
Jeremiah Birnbaum
12 years ago
Our town, our town square! Our land-use laws are unfairly biased towards developers and negate the future of our community and the wishes of our people.
E
Emily Zacharias
12 years ago
Featured
Our pedestrian eco-system in the Village must be preserved. Any development needs to be devoted to proper scale, and the historic/social context of the open space near the train station.
C
Clayton Vernon
13 years ago
I disagree with the premise here that proper process hasn't been followed here. It has. We elected a terrible TC of lackeys subservient to a horrible Mayor. Note our Mayor is 100% responsible for the horrific stain upon our town of the "Station House" apartments, including lowering the price of the land multiple times to remove any financial gain for us against further children in the schools whose property taxes don't even approximate their costs. Now, the Mayor's lackeys have been lying of late about the relationship with the Post Office, which was paying us a very fine rent and performing a valuable pubic service while imposing no burden upon the town or schools. There is no assurance the tax revenues from the new development will exceed the rent paid by the Post Office. And, given the Mayor's fondness for PILOT's as a short-term municipal budget fix also decimating the schools, we have no assurance a PILOT won't be granted here. The Mayor already knows the ultimate answer on the PILOT but he won't tell us, as he operates in stealth as we saw with the suddenly announced plan to purchase the Woman's Club without any prior public input. Simply put, the Mayor cannot be trusted. But, it is the residents' fault for electing him and the mindless lackeys on our TC. We have the government we deserve.
K
Kasey Cullen
13 years ago
I was born and raised in Maplewood. It is a beautiful QUAINT town. This redevelopment of our beloved village is going to ruin everything that is beautiful and special about Maplewood and make it another cookie cutter town. DON'T RUIN OUR TOWN!
J
Jasper Abraham
13 years ago
As a long time Maplewood resident, I have seen our town change a lot of the years, and not for the better. I remember paying a dollar to take a gal to a movie and grab a root-beer float afterwards, so you maybe figure out I've been around a couple of years or so haha! But Maplewood Village has always been a special place, a refuge of small town values and American tradition. Young people growing up here don't know how good they have it compared to a lot of towns, and it's the older (greatest) generation's responsibility to ensure that the town is still beautiful and puyre for the next round of Maplewoodians. Home truly is where the heart is, let's create a wonderful and vibrant community that will exist for generations. Commercial sprawl takes away from the very heart and soul of a neighborhood, and Maplewood Village is a bastion of cleanliness and classic tradition. We don't want a transit village! There are no Edward Hopper paintings with "transit villages" in them, and for a darn reason! Excuse me for valuing traditional American values like family and home and national pride. We've all had to deal with the ramifications of the 1960's in some way or another, but sacrificing our government institutions to make more low-income housing available in our own downtown is not the way I want my town to go, and I know you are all with me. let's keep this town traditional and SAFE.
I grew up in Maplewood, and have to say its true that there is no where else like it. To destroy what makes it special is essentially destroying the town appeal and identity. Maplewood is known for the charming small town feeling and to bring another obtrusive and overwhelmingly large building in to our town center destroys what we all love and remember and hold dear about this town.
Village development and change seems evident. It could be economically and culturally beneficial. Please involve the public for the most successful design and result for all.
The village green-look of Maplewood drew us to relocate here 20 years ago. It reminded us of New England. Please preserve its small-town scale and charm.
Putting anything in Ricalton Square would be tragic. If one wants evidence of this, one need merely take a look at once-quaint South Orange Village from a NJ Transit train. Actually, you can hardly see South Orange from the train anymore, thanks to SOPAC and the new apartments being constrcted there. Once, anyone who passed through South Orange looked up S. Orange Ave, up the beautiful hill, and thought "Gosh, this South Orange place looks really nice! Not like those other Oranges I just passed through. This seems like it might be a nice place to live!" Well now South Orange just looks like a couple walls that obscure a town that, to a train rider, might be no different from any other town closer to NYC. Is this what we want the world to see Maplewood as? If we put a multi-story development around Ricalton Square, there goes the view of our quaint village too. That would take away the draw that attracts many folks to explore Maplewood as a potential place to live. It's what attracted my family when we moved out from NYC and I am sure we are far from alone in that regard. The view of our village is an asset to all of us, it supports our property values, and it gives us something to be proud of. Once that view is gone, it's gone forever and for everyone.
No large scale development for Maplewood please!
Maplewood resident for 15 years. I have zero interest in a Transit Village Program.. The post office square footage should complement the beauty and charm of our downtown.
Check out the Durand Hedden House exhibit on the history of the Maplewood Village post office. When the current building was built (1958), the town proudly celebrated with a big parade. The post office has been a valued part of our community since the late 1880s.
I urge town officials to focus on the history and charm of downtown Maplewood when evaluating design alternatives. Public support and input is critical. This is a lived-in town, it's about the people and the liveable design.
Please help save our quaint town... No large scale development.
The beauty of Maplewood Village is so unique that over the past 34 years that we have lived in this town, we have seen several of our friends move away, only to return to Maplewood because they could not duplicate the feeling of the Village. Please do not destroy what is an integral part of our wonderful town!!
Our town, our town square! Our land-use laws are unfairly biased towards developers and negate the future of our community and the wishes of our people.
Our pedestrian eco-system in the Village must be preserved. Any development needs to be devoted to proper scale, and the historic/social context of the open space near the train station.
I disagree with the premise here that proper process hasn't been followed here. It has. We elected a terrible TC of lackeys subservient to a horrible Mayor. Note our Mayor is 100% responsible for the horrific stain upon our town of the "Station House" apartments, including lowering the price of the land multiple times to remove any financial gain for us against further children in the schools whose property taxes don't even approximate their costs. Now, the Mayor's lackeys have been lying of late about the relationship with the Post Office, which was paying us a very fine rent and performing a valuable pubic service while imposing no burden upon the town or schools. There is no assurance the tax revenues from the new development will exceed the rent paid by the Post Office. And, given the Mayor's fondness for PILOT's as a short-term municipal budget fix also decimating the schools, we have no assurance a PILOT won't be granted here. The Mayor already knows the ultimate answer on the PILOT but he won't tell us, as he operates in stealth as we saw with the suddenly announced plan to purchase the Woman's Club without any prior public input. Simply put, the Mayor cannot be trusted. But, it is the residents' fault for electing him and the mindless lackeys on our TC. We have the government we deserve.
I was born and raised in Maplewood. It is a beautiful QUAINT town. This redevelopment of our beloved village is going to ruin everything that is beautiful and special about Maplewood and make it another cookie cutter town. DON'T RUIN OUR TOWN!
As a long time Maplewood resident, I have seen our town change a lot of the years, and not for the better. I remember paying a dollar to take a gal to a movie and grab a root-beer float afterwards, so you maybe figure out I've been around a couple of years or so haha! But Maplewood Village has always been a special place, a refuge of small town values and American tradition. Young people growing up here don't know how good they have it compared to a lot of towns, and it's the older (greatest) generation's responsibility to ensure that the town is still beautiful and puyre for the next round of Maplewoodians. Home truly is where the heart is, let's create a wonderful and vibrant community that will exist for generations. Commercial sprawl takes away from the very heart and soul of a neighborhood, and Maplewood Village is a bastion of cleanliness and classic tradition. We don't want a transit village! There are no Edward Hopper paintings with "transit villages" in them, and for a darn reason! Excuse me for valuing traditional American values like family and home and national pride. We've all had to deal with the ramifications of the 1960's in some way or another, but sacrificing our government institutions to make more low-income housing available in our own downtown is not the way I want my town to go, and I know you are all with me. let's keep this town traditional and SAFE.