Emerson • Hillsdale • Montvale • Park Ridge • River Vale • Township of Washington • Westwood • Woodcliff Lake
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 27 ISSUE 47
Bring it on
FEBRUARY 5, 2024
A SEAT AT THE TABLE
TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON
Annual mayorsʼ breakfast a hit for chamber
CHATBOT SIDES WITH DISTRICT ON STUDENT INTEGRITY BY JOHN SNYDER OF PASCACK PRESS
Kaitlin Brill from BSA Troop 47G in Westwood soars on service. PAGE 24
PASCACK VALLEY
RESIDENTS PRESS FAA ANEW ON AIRPLANE NOISE POLLUTION BY JOHN SNYDER OF PASCACK PRESS
Taxpayers for Aircraft Noise Solutions, a local group representing some 90,000 residents in the Pascack Valley and Hackensack area, is pressing the Federal Aviation Administraionʼs Eastern Region administrator, and air traffic controllers, for a solution to vexing private-aircraft noise thatʼs impinging on local quality of life. In a letter sent on Jan. 24, TANS representatives Warren Feldman of Woodcliff Lake, Audrey Herget of Park Ridge, and Mary Ellen Stickel of the Township of Washington Township reminded Marie Kennington-Gardiner, FAA Eastern Region Administrator in Jamaica, N.Y.,
See NOISE on page 264
Powering the 2024 Greater Pascack Valley Chamber of Commerce Annual Mayors' Breakfast Jan. 24, left to right: Chamber webmaster Ralph Crespo; Westwood Councilwoman Lauren Letizia; Chamber President Tony Pallogudis; River Vale Mayor Mark Bromberg, Township of Washington Mayor Peter Calamari, Emerson Mayor Danielle DiPaola, Montvale Mayor Michael Ghassali, Chamber past president Robin Malley, Oradell Mayor James Koth, Park Ridge Mayor Keith Misciagna, Old Tappan Mayor Thomas Gallagher, Hillsdale Mayor Michael Sheinfield, State Sen. Holly Schepisi (R-River Vale); and Woodcliff Lake Mayor Carlos Rendo. Photo: Mike Olohan.
N
BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS
INE AREA MAYORS and a
new councilwoman headlined the annual Greater Pascack Valley Chamber of Commerce mayors breakfast at The Tavern at The Iron Horse in Westwood on Jan. 24, delivering updates on infrastructure projects, economic develop-
ment, and community engagement. At the event, the chamber—
LIDDY HITS 800 Coach Susan Liddy of Emerson earns her 800th career victory with the Academy of the Holy Angels' varsity basketball team.
PAGE 23
which supports 10 towns—honored its longtime member and Robin chamber advocate Malley, a Realtor and brokersales representative for Friedberg Properties & Associates, River Vale. (See “Chamber honors Robin Malley, ʻan inspirationʼ” on page 6.) State Sen. Holly Schepisi (R-River Vale) spoke as well,
Continued on page 13
The Westwood Regional School District says itʼs formulating a student integrity policy about ChatGPT and so-called artificial intelligence. Alongside a photo of their team at work, on Jan. 30 the district posted, “The goal of the committee is to create and foster a policy in which all students learn and demonstrate proficiency in their skills and knowledge in an honest manner. Here are our edureorg cators workingBorough together and collaborating on what that looks like across all subjects.” We asked ChatGPT3.5—a chatbot developed by OpenAI and launched in 2022—what it made of the districtʼs work in this new arena. It said: “The initiative by the Westwood Regional School District to formulate a student integrity policy regarding the use of ChatGPT and AI demonstrates a proactive approach to addressing the ethical considerations surrounding technology in education.”
See CHATBOT on page 244
B ck in time... In this image snapped in winter, early 20th century, a man waits in his horse-drawn carriage outside the Montvale train station. It must have recently snowed… PAGE 4