Mansion Sale, Park Avenue Duplexes and More Top March News

Historic Oradell Mansion Purchased For $100 At Auction

The landmark Blauvelt Mansion, an imposing, 25-room estate known as the "jewel of Oradell," has been sold for $100.

CareOne, which operates assisted living facilities in New Jersey, bought the 117 year old shingle-style house on Friday afternoon at a Sheriff's sale in Hackensac, NJ.com reported.

Next fall, Muhlenberg College will welcome a trifecta of Bergen Catholic Crusaders as AJ Gallagher, John Feaster and Dom Mattia have all chosen to compete for the D-3 Mules football team.

All three athletes have been a starting member of the Crusaders for the past few years with Gallagher (Wyckoff) serving as tightend, Feaster (Washington Township) as a wide receiver, defensive back and kick-off returner, and Mattia (Cedar Grove) as an offensive lineman.

The River Edge Mayor and Council will soon have to muster a super majority vote toadvance a controversial conditional zoning ordinance to allow duplexes on Park Avenue. Late last week, the borough's Planning Board, by a 7-2 vote, agreed that the proposed ordinance is consistent with the Master Plan.

The ordinance would allow a developer to utilize a 22-lot span along the eastern side of Park Avenue to construct the duplexes. Park Avenue is located near the River Edge train station and a few blocks away from the New Milford border.

After the Planning Board signed off on the duplex ordinance, Park Avenue residents issued the following letter to the River Edge Mayor and Council in opposition to allowing the conditional zoning change on their street.

For the coming school year, Oradell taxpayers can expect a tax hike under the approved $30.8 million River Dell Regional School budget for 2013-14. At the same time, River Edge residents will see a reduction in their portion of the tax levy.

The $26.9 million tax levy, which comes in at the state mandated 2% tax levy cap, calls for a $257 increase to the average Oradell homeowner while River Edge taxpayers will see a $19 reduction.

Over the next 11 years, River Edge and Oradell taxpayers will see approximately $1.2 million in savings through the Regional School Budget.

The district introduced its $30 million budget for 2013-14 on Monday night and revealed that by refinancing the remaining debt service from the 2003 referendum, taxpayers will see significant savings in the years to come.

After an outstanding final season with the William Paterson Pioneers, first baseman Adam Derner of River Edge will now take his bat and glove out to Illinois where he joins the Frontier-league Normal Cornbelters.

Spend more at local shops along Kinderkamack Road in Oradell in the future, and borough residents may receive up to $1,000 off their end of year tax bill. On Tuesday night, borough officials met with Carmine DeFalco who instituted a Property Tax Reward Program in his hometown of Marlboro.

After reaching the final seven competitors in 2012 at the North Jersey Spelling Bee competition, Oradell resident and River Dell Middle School student Indrani Das returned on Thursday at the annual event and claimed the title of North Jersey's top speller.

The eighth grader won the title after correctly spelling "thalassic" which refers to smaller bodies of water such as a sea or  gulfs as opposed to a larger ocean.

Hurricane Sandy damaged a total of 95 homes in River Ege and Oradell, according to state Department of Community Affairs data reported by NJSpotlight.com.

Made famous by the likes of Carol Burnett and Bernadette Peters in the 1970s, the River Dell High School drama club put their own spin on "Once Upon a Mattress." The annual spring musical is a retelling of the classic fairytale of the Princess and the Pea and was performed over three days.

With no clear consensus among the governing body, River Edge will dedicate an entire April work session with the borough engineer and planner on what should be done with the former DPW yard on Grove Street.

The lot, which is partially zoned commercial and partially residential, was the subject of a prior discussion to convert the lot into commuter parking but came with a pricetag of at least $100,000.

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