Police Car Accident, Theater Rivalry, Condo Rumors Top This Week's News

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Police Car Hits Jogger

A Westwood Police Officer driving on Westwood Avenue hit a jogger when she ran through a red light at an intersection Wednesday morning, according to Police Chief Frank Regino.

The woman, a 28-year-old Westwood resident, was jogging south on Kinderkamack Road and the officer was driving east through a green light on Westwood Avenue when the incident occured. Regino said the woman hit the side of the car and remained conscious afterward.

Objection Chases Golden Age Theater Out of Westwood

A man who wanted to open a "golden age" movie theater in Westwood said he is going to start looking for other towns to open his business because of an objection from the owner of the Westwood Theater.

Ray Walsh, a retired employee of the New York Giants, had planned to open a 96-seat theater at 312 Kinderkamack Road which would have played movies from the 1930s and '40s. The business is a "bucket list" item for Walsh, who previously told Patch he once co-owned a similar business in Ridgewood.

The Westwood Theater's attorney, John Lamb of Beattie Padovano, LLC, told Patch the parking demand created by the proposed theater could "cause vehicles to unreasonably utilize the surrounding roadways and municipal parking lots."

The owner of the Washington Town Center has no plans to build condominiums at the site, despite rumors to the contrary, according to Alex DiChiara, the owner's son.

As many of the center's storefronts have remained vacant, rumors have circulated among Washington Township residents that the owner, Adele DiChiara, planned to replace the strip mall with a condo development.

Alex DiChiara and John Azarian, the mall's leasing agent, both told Patch that there are no plans to build condos or sell it to another developer.

Football Teams Using Memorial Field For Games

Washington Township's youth football teams will not be playing their home games on the high school's turf field as previously considered, according to Coach Scott Spezial.

Spezial told Patch that the teams will not be using the high school's field for several reasons, including scheduling problems — the school does not have enough time available for all the teams — and the cost, which Spezial said would be $2,150 for four dates. At this point, there does not seem to be any possible solution, according to Spezial.

Westwood Faces Taxes on Flood-Prone Properties

Westwood officials are hoping to convince the state to create tax relief legislation which will release the borough, and other New Jersey towns, from having to pay county and school taxes for properties purchased with flood relief grant money.

The borough received more than $2 million in aidfrom FEMA and the state Department of Environmental Protection to buy and demolish flood-prone homes. The grants cannot be used to pay school and county taxes for the properties, but Westwood is responsible for paying the taxes in the year the homes are purchased, officials said during their meeting this week.

Fireshaper Yoga Celebrating 10th Anniversary

Fireshaper, the Westwood-based yoga studio which specializes in heated classes, is celebrating its 10th anniversary next week and offering free classes as part of the occasion.

The studio was opened in 2002 by chiropractor John Surie and his wife, Natalie, who are both yoga teachers. The studio initially offered Bikram Yoga-style classes in their heated room, which is typically kept at a temperature between 100 and 105 degress with humidity ranging from 40 to 50 percent. They have since expanded the number of classes offered, including their unique "Ignite" series.

Board Votes to Continue Hearing CVS Application

The Washington Township Zoning Board voted 5-2 this week against voting on a proposed 14,500-square-foot CVS before the application is complete.

Tendai Richards, an attorney representing the Northgate Condominum Association's objection to the plan, said that the board should vote to deny the application because a ruling from the state Department of Environmental Protectionprevents construction on the property, which is located on the corner of Washington Avenue and Pascack Road and has a Category One stream running along it.

The DEP requires a 300-foot buffer between Category One waterways and "major developments" comprising an acre or more.

Carmine Alampi, the attorney representing the application, said that the board did not have the authority to vote on the plan before they finished presenting it, even with the DEP's decision.

Have a question or news tip? Contact editor Jim Leggate at Jim.Leggate@patch.com, or find us on Facebook and Twitter. For news straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.