Letters make an impact. Please send one!
Sample letters are below. You may send letters by mail or fax to:
Mr. Gordon Stanley
Chairman, Wyckoff Planning Board
Memorial Town Hall
340 Franklin Avenue
Wyckoff, NJ 07481
Fax 201 891 9359
With a copy or separate letter to
Mayor David N. Connolly
Township of Wyckoff
Memorial Town Hall
340 Franklin Avenue
Wyckoff, NJ 07481
Fax 201 891 9359
The same letter or a variation should be sent to:
Editor
Suburban News,
41 Oak Street
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Fax: 201 612 5421
Email: suburbannews@northjersey.com (preferred)
Phone: 201 612-5415
Editor
The Villadom Times
333 Godwin Avenue
Midland Park, NJ 07432
Fax 201 670 4745
Phone 201 652 0744 (letters may not be sent by email to the Villadom Times)
The Record
150 River Street
Hackensack, NJ 07601
Fax 201 646 4749
Email: LettersToTheEditor@northjersey.com
(Letters of 200 words or less have a better chance of being published in The Record)
We recommend calling the newspapers to ensure they received your letters. Be sure to sign all letters. For newspapers, include your day time phone number; they will call to verify you sent the letter.
Here are two sample letters:
Download Word document--letter to Mr. Stanley
Download Word document--letter to Mayor Connolly
The texts of these letters are below. Please personalize them with your own ideas about open space and preservation concerns.
Text of Letter to Mr. Stanley
Mr. Gordon Stanley
Chairman, Wyckoff Planning Board
Memorial Town Hall
340 Franklin Avenue
Wyckoff, NJ 07481
Fax 201 891 9359
Dear Mr. Stanley,
I am writing to express my deep concern with the proposed development for Deep Voll Ravine by Barrister Home Construction. That this is the third attempt to development this environmentally sensitive site only underscores how ill-suited the ravine tract is for further building of any sort.
I urge you to deny the variances required for the developer to move forward. The steep slopes at the site will be 100% disturbed and there will be a massive amount of soil disturbance also. When the developer is finished, there will be a monumentally destructive change in the character of the ravine.
The Master Plan of Wyckoff calls for the saving of open space, and the Deep Voll Ravine site is an ideal tract for preservation. You have a responsibility not only to oversee the ongoing development of our town, but also to preserve open space. I ask that you live up to the commitment made in our Master Plan and take the steps necessary to preserve the ravine site. As you know, much of the funding need for a land purchase can come from grants from Bergen County and New Jersey Green Acres—now it’s time to take advantage of that funding.
Sincerely,
cc:
Mayor David N. Connolly
Township of Wyckoff,
Memorial Town Hall,
340 Franklin Avenue,
Wyckoff, NJ 07481
Fax 201 891 9359
Text of letter to Mayor Connelly
Mayor David N. Connolly
Township of Wyckoff
Memorial Town Hall
340 Franklin Avenue
Wyckoff, NJ 07481
Fax 201 891 9359
Dear Mayor Connolly,
You recently ran for re-election on a promise to “keep taxes low.” I am writing to ask that you live up to this promise. The development proposed for Deep Voll Ravine by Barrister Home Construction will not be tax positive for our Township. It will cost us all more in property taxes then it will bring in.
Rather than increase our taxes through more development, why not take advantage of this unique opportunity to save a precious piece of our town? Voters in Wyckoff have confirmed that they are willing to invest in an open space trust fund, and this fund can be used to mitigate taxes increases and improve our quality life—and property values—by preservation of open space.
I urge your administration to pursue the preservation of open space beginning with Deep Voll Ravine. Besides its great beauty and history, the ravine is an environmental sensitive site with steep slopes and wetlands. In saving the ravine, you will be living up to the pledge made by the Wyckoff Planning Board in its Master Plan to preserve open space. There is funding available at the state and local levels to save open space—indeed, our neighboring towns have taken advantage of it to good effect. What this work takes is a commitment and I am asking you to make that commitment.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
cc: Mr. Gordon Stanley
Chairman, Wyckoff Planning Board
Memorial Town Hall
Franklin Avenue,
Wyckoff, NJ 07481