Hackensack, NJ Community Message Boards

Initially, I met with every principal but the current one - and nothing changed. I then had an appointment set up a couple of years ago with the current principal. Just before the meeting, I was told by the Middle School that the meeting was canceled and that I would have to approach the schools superintendent instead.

Unbelievably, the superintendent's office told me I had to take it up with the city manager! I did.

I had no idea that turning off a switch was such a complicated matter.

On April 18, 2007, the city manager emailed me that the superintendent informed him that "certain changes would be made".

I took that to mean that reprogramming of the bells would occur over the summer. When the new school year started in September, it was clear that nothing had changed, so I sent a video that reflected that to the city manager.

On October 18, 2007, he emailed me that he again had spoken with the superintendent and that bells would be shut off on holidays.

Not only hasn't that happened, but one of the school's "solutions" was for me to call them the day before a holiday to remind them to turn their bells off. I have no idea why that should be the responsibility of a neighborhood resident instead of school employees, but apparently I'm not very good at it. Even when I call, the bells stay on.

When that happens and there's no one there to call on the holiday, the only recourse is to call the police, who get in touch with the school custodian (I think) and the bells get turned off. So the school's inability to turn off their own bells not only inconveniences the neighborhood, but also their own custodian.

I hope they're paying him double-time for working on a holiday.



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You don't expect an educational institution to engage in willful, useless noise pollution, but that's exactly what the Hackensack Middle School has been doing for at least a decade.

Inside a school, it's normal for some sound (bells) to go off to signify the beginning and end of class periods. It's also normal to hear something similar outside when students are there, such as lunch periods.

The Middle School doesn't want to be normal or even be a good neighbor. It has loud electronic bells that go off outside for the beginning and end of EVERY period..........even holidays! The sound is akin to that of a much-higher-pitched Queen Mary foghorn.

Why is this a concern of mine? I live almost two blocks from the school and 7 floors up and I've gotten unnecessarily blasted by them for ages. So has my entire neighborhood.

Have you ever gone to a wake for a departed loved one at the Gentile Funeral Home across the street from the school when classes are in session? I have. And right in the middle of a silent prayer/contemplative moment for the friends and relatives of the deceased, the Middle School foghorn goes off - with no students outside - and ruins everything.

The sound is always unnecessarily loud, but I've noticed it sounds louder up here than it sometimes does at ground level. Perhaps the school's outside loudspeakers are mis-aimed. The school is aware of this and does nothing. It would make much more sense to put their speakers on the school's periphery and aim the sound inward at the people for whom it's intended. The entire neighborhood doesn't need to know when every period begins and ends all day long.

ONE of the many Middle School principals employed during the last decade told me that there is no reason for any electronic sound to emanate from the school when there are no students outside. Unfortunately, that sensible principal is no longer there.

Leaving the bells on during holidays or over holiday periods - including the current Thanksgiving break - has become a more frequent problem. You would think that intelligent people would know enough to turn them off when no classes are in session.

You would be wrong.

I even called the school an hour before they left on Wednesday to ask that they turn them off. On/Off switches are so tricky.

So, I've be woken up the last two mornings (and countless others) by bells meant for students who were home sleeping. As usual, I documented the audio infractions on video, but the wind today played havoc with the microphone, so - since I have so many other videos of the problem - I picked out a couple of windless recordings from the past that you may find eye- ear-opening and cell-video'd them off the TV.

This one was from a windless Martin Luther King Day in 2007:

http://xrl.us/MSchMLK2007


This one was shot at 12:43 AM(!) during a bells malfunction in 2006. Perhaps this still-of-the-night event might be the equivalent of an interrupted contemplative moment at Gentile's:

http://xrl.us/MSchMidnight2006


Anyone else ever hear these things? A TEACHER once told me that she heard them from as far away as the Sears parking lot!

But even when the annoyance is pointed out to them - repeatedly - the Middle School doesn't see/hear the problem and won't lift a finger to fix it by hitting "OFF".

I guess I ask for too much.

Perhaps the YouTube community would enjoy these videos.



BTW - If the video links don't work for you, try the download links below.



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http://xrl.us/TerhuneHmstd

Seller says it's pre-1910.

Sometimes when no one's around to operate them, the large apparatuses seem to group together on Anderson St and make strange metal-on-metal sounds. It looks a bit like this:





Now I know why.

This little guy entered the world around the corner on Ward St last night, weighing in at one ton, 15 ounces.





Awww......ain't he cute?



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http://xrl.us/FourteenNineAGallon


You can see the end of the railing of the Anderson St Bridge's northern sidewalk on the left and the "Entering Teaneck Township" sign on the right.

AND GAS WAS ONLY 14.9 CENTS A GALLON!

Unused/undated, but cars look late 1920s - early 1930s.



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Below are 3 images from last Friday and 4 more from today. It appears that a lot of work was done in those 3 days (they were off Sunday).

There was a long opening - wide and deep - on Friday and today it was getting asphalt. A couple of smaller holes are present and I was told Friday that another large opening - closer to Main St - still has to be made.

I was also told on Friday that they are NOT going past Main St to River St and that they HOPED to git 'er done a week before Christmas. Bear in mind that the things I'm told are guesstimates/hopes and are always subject to change.

One part of the work area today looked like butterscotch and another smelled like tar - an interesting sensory combo.



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http://xrl.us/RadioCenterHack


Seller's description:

This auction is for a vintage Radio Log Book.  It was sold for 25 cents by Wurtz & Fuchs, Inc of Hackensack, New Jersey.  Book is complete and contains all the wave lengths, wattage and call signals for radio stations around the country.  None have the pages have been filled out.

Measures 4.5" x 7.75"

Condition:  Great condition overall.  Light cover wear but otherwise clean.



Seller says it's from the 1920s. While nothing actually says that, the store's telephone number - 176-W -  looks pretty old.



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