Emerson • Hillsdale • Montvale • Park Ridge • River Vale • Township of Washington • Westwood • Woodcliff Lake
T H E PA S C AC K VA L L E Y ’ S H O M E TO W N N E W S PA P E R
VOLUME 29 ISSUE 45
SWINGING FOR COOPERSTOWN
Catholic Schools Week
Pascack Valley powerhouse Grit Venom (12U) seeks boost to reach All Star Village
JANUARY 19, 2026
EMERSON
FIRM SEEKS
$1.1M
FROM BLOCK 419 REDEVELOP PARTNER Court filing says developer ʻvirtually insolventʼ
JAN. 25–31
Starts on Page 13
BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS
WESTWOOD
‘WE STILL HAVE A CONSTITUTION’
Anti-ICE protest downtown coincides with outcry nationwide; calls for change following U.S. citizenʼs fatal shooting BY JOHN SNYDER OF PASCACK PRESS
More than 100 people gathered Sunday afternoon, Jan. 11, along Washington Avenue in front of Veterans Memorial Park to protest the Trump administrationʼs immigration enforcement tactics and to mourn the death of Renee Good, a 37-year-old Minneapolis woman shot and killed last week by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer.
See ICE on page 224
Championship moment: Left to right, top to bottom: Ryan Smith, Elan Ofeck, Peyton Calonico, Mason Morris, Connor Smith, Matt Baez, Mikey Phelan, Joaquin Estabillo, Matthew Thompson, Adrian Augustyn, Damien Velez, Lincoln Drummon, and Liam Sager. (Credit PV Venom)
A
BY JOHN SNYDER OF PASCACK PRESS
S C R A P P Y,
STELLAR
12U club baseball team made up of boys from the Greater Pascack Valley area has a big destination in mind for
this summer: Cooperstown. The Pascack Valley Venom (Grit Venom 12U), a two-time championship-winning club team, is working toward a trip to All Star Village in Cooperstown, N.Y. in August — and the players are asking local businesses
to come along for the ride. “Theyʼre working very hard at improving on the field, and Iʼve also been impressed with how motivated theyʼve been with their fundraising efforts,”
Continued on page 16
A law firm that represented Emerson Redevelopers Urban Renewal (ERUR) for nearly six years in its long-running legal fight with the borough over the delayed Citizen Emerson Station redevelopment is suing the developer and related entities for more than $1.1 million in unpaid legal invoices. Sills Cummis & Gross PC, of Newark, filed a civil complaint in Essex County Superior Court (docket No. ESX-L-008763-25) in mid-November, 2025 seeking $1,118,335.24 in unpaid fees and costs, according to court filings. In late December, the firm filed a notice of default against Accurate Builders LLC and related entities after receiving no response to the complaint, filings show. ERUR is a subsidiary of Accurate Builders LLC. [Editorʼs note: Accurateʼs website still lists Emersonʼs four-story redevelopment as “under construction,” and specifies “Year built: 2021.” The See FIRM on page 244
NOVEL CRISIS
B ck in time...
River Vale firefighters respond to a crash involving an electric Amazon delivery van and a utility pole at of Peters Place and Collignon Way on Jan. 6. The van was incinerated. PAGE 19
“The inhabitants of Park Ridge and Woodcliff are becoming alarmed at the numerous burglaries that have been perpetuated in the two villages within the last two weeks,” the New York Tribune began on Jan. 18, 1896. PAGE 4