SCHOOL NEWS

Kmart: Holiday

FROM PAGE 4

16-bit Intellivision. No wireless controllers in those days! Kmart also sold a variety of games for each of these systems. The Atari came bundled with “Combat.”

Shown at bottom center, Kmart also had this boombox—a 1980s staple. It was $138 (worth $425 today) for this stereo that played cassette tapes in the days before CDs hit the market. It could also record cassettes—perfect for making mixtapes off the radio— and came with two blank ones.

The final tech gadget featured, at a price of about $80, was the Timex Sinclair 1000. Produced only from 1982-1983, this was the cheapest home computer on the market at the time. It had 2KB of RAM, black-and-white graphics, and no sound. It would be hooked up to a television set, which served as the monitor.

Kmartʼs arrival in Westwood had been years in the making and was fraught with controversy. From the projectʼs conception in 1973, it took nine years for the Westwood Plaza shopping center to open. The $8.2 million plan saw opposition and legal action from the Borough Council, Chamber of Commerce, and residents, who thought it would cheapen Westwood, put Westwood Avenue merchants out of business, compound flooding issues, and cause a traffic nightmare. After the Planning Board approved the site plan in 1974, the Borough Council tried unsuccessfully to overturn the decision at the State Supreme Court.

Did you know? The “K” in Kmart stands for Kresge. The companyʼs founder was Sebastian S. Kresge, who opened his first store in 1899. Kresgeʼs aim was to have a discount store, and at first he tried to restrict the price of the merchandise to not more than 10 cents. Today only three Kmart stores remain in America. In addition to the one in Westwood, there is one in Bridgehampton, Long Island, and another in Miami, Florida.

— Kristin Beuscher is president of the Pascack Historical Society

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WESTWOOD

Mia goes gold with Westwood Cares

Congratulations to Mia Heid, a senior at Westwood Regional High School and Senior Ambassador through Girls Scouts of Northern New Jersey Council:

Sheʼs earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest achievement in Girl Scouting. The award recognizes high school Girl Scouts who address issues they are passionate about by planning and implementing a project that produces lasting change in their communities and beyond.

To earn the award, Mia developed and carried out Networking for Necessities, a project that focused on creating a website, as well as a social media presence and expanding connections to resources for local non-profit Westwood Cares Inc.

Miaʼs project increased awareness about this organization, which allowed families in need to have greater access to necessities, helped to grow the amount of donated goods and engaged more community members in volunteerism.

A project is measurable when a Girl Scout collects information or data throughout their project and uses it to show that their actions have had a positive impact on the community and/or contributed to addressing their chosen issue.

You can check out Miaʼs Westwood Regional High School senior Mia Heid has earned herGirl Scout Gold Award,raising the visibility of Westwood Cares Inc.Inset:Mia with project advisor Erin Collins,who serves on the board of Westwood Cares Inc.

work via Instagram @miagoesgold and @westwoodnjcares.

Mia was supported by her project advisor, Erin Collins, a board member of Westwood Cares Inc. and a Girl Scout troop leader.

Only 5.4% of eligible Girl Scouts successfully earn the Gold Award, Girl Scoutʼs highest award, which was created in 1916.

In earning her Gold Award, Mia has distinguished herself as a community leader and changemaker who has made a meaningful and sustainable difference in the world. Her accomplishments reflect leadership and social responsibility.

—Staff report

Editorʼs note: The following article is for informational purposes only. When it comes to Social Security and retireERIC KOHLMEIER ment, you may have conflicting viewpoints: On one side, you hope to start collecting your benefits as soon as youʼre eligible—after all, itʼs your hard-earned money. On the other side, you know that, if you wait, your monthly benefit amount will increase.

While it does make sense to wait as long as you can, Rob Arthur, first vice president/manager of the Federal Benefits Consulting Group, Wells Fargo Advisors, recommends you reevaluate your situation every year in retirement before deciding whether to continue delaying getting benefits.

One item you need for that annual retirement review: a current copy of your Social Security benefit estimate from ssa.gov. This provides personalized estimates of future benefits based on your real earnings and lets you see your latest statement and your earnings history.

Here, Arthur outlines a comparison of claiming now vs. later, and offers key considerations as you review your strategy each year.

Comparison: Claiming sooner vs. later. Letʼs start with a hypothetical example: John Doe was born in 1960 and was earning $200,000 a year when he retired. He decided to start receiving Social Security benefits as soon as he became eligible at 62, or five years before he would receive full retirement benefits. His monthly benefit in todayʼs dollars is $2,106.

If he had delayed receiving benefits until he was 70, heʼd receive $1,700 more a month, or $3,806. And he would make up for the eight-year delay in not taking any benefits in about 10 years. (And because one out of every four 65-year-olds today will live past age 90, according to the Social Security Administration1, the long-term benefit could be substantial.)

Make wellness a deciding factor. Your health can play a big role in helping determine when you should start taking benefits. Do your loved ones live long lives, or has everyone succumbed to illness before age 65?

“Itʼs not the most accurate indicator of whatʼs going to transpire in the future, but it can have some bearing,” Arthur says. “If youʼre in reasonably good health, that counsels in favor of waiting,” he continues. “If youʼre in poor or guarded health, that counsels toward drawing benefits sooner rather than later.”

Do you have enough income? Another key factor is having other sources of income to live comfortably in retirement without needing Social Security benefits. He says you should consider the guaranteed rate of return Social Security offers: 6.25% (plus a cost-of-living increase). Thatʼs better than the guaranteed rate of return available in todayʼs market.

Considerations for married couples. Arthur advises married clients look at multiple factors when determining the timing for each spouse to claim Social Security benefits.

For example, if your spouse works full time and you work part time or seasonally, his or her Social Security benefits may be dramatically higher than yours. Itʼs still wise for both of you to wait, if possible.

“Not only does it increase the size of the benefit that the [higherearning] individual personally receives, but it also increases the size of whatʼs known as the survivorʼs benefit that the [lowerearning] spouse could draw if the individual passes away,” Arthur says.

Keep in mind that the current average life expectancy of a 65-year-old man is 84 years, while a woman that age can expect to live until age 86, according to the Social Security Administration.

What about taxes? When it comes to when to claim Social Security benefits, Arthur advises his clients not to focus primarily on the tax ramifications.

“The vast majority of people that I counsel, their marginal tax rate in retirement will be fairly constant,” Arthur says. “If retirees were to take their Social Security benefit at 62, what I typically see is their marginal tax rate is exactly the same or approximately the same as it would be if they claimed the benefit at age 70. I want [them] to focus instead on maximizing the net cash flow over the remainder of their lifetime.”

Global Investment Strategy is a division of Wells Fargo Investment Institute, Inc. (“WFII”). WFII is a registered investment adviser and wholly-owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company and provides investment advice to Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Wells Fargo Advisors and other Wells Fargo affiliates. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is a bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.

This article was written by/for Wells Fargo Advisors and provided courtesy of Eric Kohlmeier, senior financial advisor, managing director—investments in Park Ridge, (201) 505-0472.

Investments in securities and insurance products are not FDICinsured/not bank-guranteed/may lost value.

Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, Member SIPC, is a registered broker-dealer and a separate nonbank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.

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Park Ridge draws a crowd to its Christmas tree lighting at Depot Square on Dec. 4.

Elvesalways bring the magic.

PARKRIDGE

CONGRATULATIONSTO

Jade J., above, who won the Light the Christmas Tree raffle and a gift card to The Ridge Diner at the boroughʼs Christmas tree lighting ceremony, at Depot Square, on a very merry Dec. 4.

The recʼs Liz Falkenstern reports, “Thanks to Recreation, DPW, band director John Diomede and the Park Ridge High School Band, our special soloist, Viana Harley, Frosty and Elves, PKRG and the police reserves!”

She said “Mike Raia did a great job as emcee. We also appreciate the hard work of Doug, Steve, Greg, Rob, Carolee, Maureen, Joan, Paul, Marissa, Bob, Binnie, Laurie, and Ken to make this community event happen.”

Falkenstern thanked to Pop Empanada for boiling the hot chocolate water, and The Ridge Diner for cleaning the pots after the event.

Additional thanks went to sponsor TD Bank, Il Freno Espresso,Vozza Agency, and the Chamber of Commerce for the treats, cookies and popcorn.

She said, “Hope you also enjoyed a special dining discount last night at the Ridge Diner, Pop Empanada, Marcʼs Pizza or Pesto Italian Bistro! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!” Mayor Keith Misciagna toasts the season.

Families flock to the borough’s Christmas tree lighting.

Friends and sponsors came together in the spirit of the season to make this year’s Light the Christmas Tree raffle and festivities so memorable.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

On Tuesday Dec, 6, 2022, the council passed the development plan for 188 Broadway by a vote of 4 yes, 1 no (Higgins) and one abstention. As Mayor Rendo and Councilman Schnoll took a victory lap — they offered no feasible explanation of how their “behind the scenes” (see Pascack Press Dec. 12, 2022) secret negotiations and fuzzy math resulted in a settlement benefitting the east side residents.

Let us help:The number of fair-market-value units awarded plus the redirected COAH units is virtually the same as 188ʼs first two applications. The special meeting was buried during late year holiday season and the public was barred under the guise of a covid excuse long passed its expiration. As hoped for, it was lightly attended, bereft of useful detail and long on celebration.

In other words, the Zoning Board was pushed aside and the east side was left with a spot zoning nightmare. There appears to have been absolutely no good-faith settlement by the mayor and council, nor any reasonable concession from the owners of 188 Broadway.

Craig Marson served on the council and was a member of the legal and finance committees. During his term, he was never notified of meetings with 188 Broadway representatives. As a main objector to the project from inception he should have been able to voice his concerns but was precluded from providing any input.

The plan provides for only one entry and exit. The already clogged Broadway intersection will be further burdened; especially during peak travel times when it is already difficult to negotiate.

Why have the owners of 188 Broadway been awarded lucrative concessions when other properties have been permitted to languish (e.g., the old service station)? Higgins voted yes to discuss area in need of redevelopment — not for the 188 project as presented.

The owners of 188 Broadway are providing $300,000 for the COAH concession and $50,000 for recreation facilities. These are a pittance relative to the profits the owners stand to make on the project. Again, what is the benefit here to the east side residents? The majority of the council and the mayor seem totally unconcerned about the zoning and legal issues presented by limiting the highdensity residential buildout to the east side of town.

The mayorʼs shameless social media blitz would have you believe that this was a binary situation —allow the development as passed or the whole east side of town will whither on the vine. In our opinion nothing could be further from the truth. A compromise that respected the Master Planʼs zoning and development limits and incorporated non-residential uses is always an option. He just chose to ignore this.

Sincerely,

Josephine Higgins

Woodcliff Lake councilwoman and former mayor

Craig R. Marson

Former Woodcliff Lake councilman

Well done in Woodcliff Lake

To the editor:

RE: YOURARTICLE: “Itʼs settled: 46 housing units at 188 Broadway,” Michael Olohan, Dec. 12, 2022. Great effort by the town. A long timing in coming.

The town should continue to clean up Broadway. Next door to 188 Broadway is another commercial building, 172 Broadway, with very few tenants. Next to 172 is a vacant bank building on the corner, never to be re-leased.

Re-conceptualize these two buildings as town housing/apartments. Office space and local retail is not coming back any time soon.

Peter Suchoboky Woodcliff Lake

Sustained cheers on WMS grant

To the editor: W OODCLIFF Middle School is moving forward to a more sustainable future. Thanks to the efforts of principal Mike Andriulli, the school recently was awarded a grant for $950. The funds will be used to provide enrichment programs that educate students upon the value of recycling. Students will have the opportunity to engage in recycling activities. In addition, paper recycling bins will be placed in every classroom. The grant was made possible by the Bergen County Utilities Authority as part of their Environmental Awareness Program Challenge.

Julia Ogden

6th grade science 6th grade team leader

Cheers for ‘Women’s Wave’ march

To the editor: O N SATURDAY, Oct. 8, hundreds of community members met up in Westwoodʼs Veterans Memorial Park to participate in the “Womenʼs Wave” march to

support womenʼs rights. When I organized this event (through womensmarch.com) I had no idea that the turnout would be so large. Ninety-five people RSVPʼd; we estimate that 300 showed up.

I was overwhelmed and humbled, standing in front of this crowd of like-minded and supportive citizens. Living in this community for over a decade, I always felt there must be a group of people who may share my ideas of social justice and equality for all, but there was never a forum to gather or connect.

Not only did we gather, we also shared our voices and showed the power of our actions which resulted in a nationwide “wave” of support for womenʼs rights in the polls on Nov. 8. As a mother, a daughter, and a woman, I express my sincerest gratitude to those who attended this march and who supported us from behind the scenes.

I am also invigorated by the momentum we have gathered to unite. We are not alone and we will continue to speak up for what we believe in. Thank you all for showing up and I hope to see you again soon.

Nicole Heid Westwood

Submitted photo: Unnamed Women’s Wave activists take to downtown Westwood on Oct.8