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Police & Fire
Pre-Dawn Thanksgiving Blaze Damages Hillsdale Home Pre-Dawn Thanksgiving Blaze Damages Hillsdale Home
Pre-Dawn Thanksgiving Blaze Damages Hillsdale Home Firefighters doused a pre-dawn Thanksgiving Day blaze in a Hillsdale home. The fire broke out just after 2 a.m. in the second-floor bedroom of the Lincoln Avenue home and quickly went to two alarms, borough fire officials said. All of the occupants got out OK, they said. The fire was contained to the bedroom and declared under control around 3 a.m., less than an hour after the call came in, fire officials said. Mutual aid was provided by firefighters from Park Ridge, River Vale, Westwood and Woodcliff Lake.

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
ICE, NYPD: 'Money-Sucking' Crew With Bergen, Hudson Members Scammed Elderly 2X ICE, NYPD: 'Money-Sucking' Crew With Bergen, Hudson Members Scammed Elderly 2X
ICE, Nypd: 'Money-Sucking' Crew With Bergen, Hudson Members Scammed Elderly 2X Ten people -- six of them from Bergen and Hudson counties -- were charged by federal authorities with convincing unwitting elderly victims to invest their money in various businesses, pushing them into debt, and then scamming them again with a bogus debt-relief program. Those charged include two Hillsdale residents, identified as Joseph Ciaccio and Joseph Depaola, both 30; two Elmwood Park residents, identified as Derrek Larkin, 36, and Mattie Cirilo, 28; and one from Washington Township, Joseph Minetto, 32. Also charged were Anthony Cheedie, 34, of Jersey City, two people from Arizona, ano…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Business
NEW EATS: Restaurant Openings In Bergen, Passaic Counties NEW EATS: Restaurant Openings In Bergen, Passaic Counties
NEW Eats: Restaurant Openings In Bergen, Passaic Counties A steakhouse. A doughnut shop. Several cafes.  Get ready for the litany of new eateries opening soon in Bergen and Passaic counties. Here are some new places to try. These openings were originally reported by BoozyBurbs.com. Brisket from Reilly's rib cage, opening in Hillsdale's former Starbucks location.Reilly's Rib Cage Reilly's Rib Cage, Hillsdale: A year after announcing the closing its Bergenfield location, this locally-owned BBQ joint will open in the shuttered Starbucks in Hillsdale. Opening will be sometime in 2020. 126 Broadway, Hillsdale The Bodega Deli & Grill, Hackens…

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by Cecilia Levine
Obituaries
Community Mourns Hillsdale Native, Clemson Student Ryan Shoop, 20 Community Mourns Hillsdale Native, Clemson Student Ryan Shoop, 20
Community Mourns Hillsdale Native, Clemson Student Ryan Shoop, 20 Hillsdale native Ryan C. Shoop died on Oct. 31. He was 20 years old. Ryan was a 2016 graduate of Bergen Catholic, where he played lacrosse. He had been studying management at Clemson University in South Carolina. "Coming to grips with the death of a student is always difficult," said L. Christopher Miller, interim vice president of student affairs and dean of students.  "The Clemson Family extends our deepest condolences to Ryan’s family and friends as they make sense of his untimely passing." Condolences poured in. "Heart of gold man," Ricky Schmidt wrote on Facebook. "[…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
PHOTOS: 68-Year-Old Hillsdale Woman Rescued After Falling Into Well PHOTOS: 68-Year-Old Hillsdale Woman Rescued After Falling Into Well
Photos: 68-Year-Old Hillsdale Woman Rescued After Falling Into Well A 68-year-old Hillsdale woman was rescued after falling into an 8-foot dry well on Friday.  The longtime area resident sustained only minor injuries, responders said. She'd complained of head and back pain, Detective Travis Woods said. It was initially unclear why the well on Trinity Place, near the corner of Liberty Avenue, wasn't covered. Members of the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) team got the woman out safely. The team included responders from the Hackensack, Woodcliff Lake and Paterson fire departments and North Hudson Regional Rescue. Borough police also requested an Adv…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Habitual Mahwah Offenders Charged With Drugs In Glen Rock Route 208 Stop Released Again Habitual Mahwah Offenders Charged With Drugs In Glen Rock Route 208 Stop Released Again
Habitual Mahwah Offenders Charged With Drugs In Glen Rock Route 208 Stop Released Again A pair of 29-year-old habitual offenders from Mahwah were arrested by Glen Rock police on drug charges following a Route 208 stop – and then released soon after being booked into the Bergen County Jail. An officer pulled them over around 1:30 a.m. Saturday for failure to signal what became an unsafe lane change on the northbound highway, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. Che Muller and Matthew Bourgholtzer were arrested after an open alcohol container, cocaine, suboxone and pot were found, Ackermann said. Traffic summonses also were issued, he said. Both men have documented criminal histo…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Business
Bergen County Restaurant Openings, Closings 10/10/2019 Bergen County Restaurant Openings, Closings 10/10/2019
Bergen County Restaurant Openings, Closings 10/10/2019 Get ready for tacos, smoothie bowls and lots of BBQ. Reported initially by BoozyBurbs.com, here are some of the restaurants coming and going in the area. Scroll down for more. CLOSED: Blue Moon Mexican Cafe, Woodcliff Lake: After 17 years in business, the franchise sold its Kinderkamack Road spot. Locations in Englewood and Wyckoff remain open. OPENING: Kimchi Smoke, Bergenfield: After leaving for Westwood four years ago, the BBQ joint is opening a store in Foster Village, according to signage in the window. No word yet on opening date.  Kimchi Smoke is coming to Bergenfield.Kimchi…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
NJ State Police: Westchester Native Struck, Killed Walking On Garden State Parkway Overnight NJ State Police: Westchester Native Struck, Killed Walking On Garden State Parkway Overnight
NJ State Police: Westchester Native Struck, Killed Walking On Garden State Parkway Overnight An engineer from Westchester who worked on innovations in supercomputer chips was inexplicably walking in the fast lane of the Garden State Parkway before dawn Sunday when he was struck and killed near the New York State border, authorities said. Samuel E. Gottheim, 30, an Arsdley native living in California, had attended a nearby family wedding Saturday night, family members said. He was walking on the northbound parkway at milepost 169.7 in Woodcliff Lake "for an unknown reason" at 3 a.m. when he struck by an Acura driven by a 28-year-old New City man, according to NJ State Police Trooper…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Real Estate
PHOTOS: 5 Homes That $1M Can Get You In Bergen County PHOTOS: 5 Homes That $1M Can Get You In Bergen County
Photos: 5 Homes That $1M Can Get You In Bergen County Most have five bedrooms. Most are around 4,500 square feet. All of these Bergen County homes are just around $1 million. Here are some homes that a million bucks can get you in Bergen County. FORT LEE, $999,000 ($79,000 price cut), 2413 1st St., 4 beds, 4 baths, 3,350 square feet: Newly-built smart home with intercom system, electric car charging station, two gas fireplaces, surveillance system. Fort Lee, 2413 1st St.Zillow Fort Lee, 2413 1st St.Zillow RAMSEY, $970,000, 113 De Baun Ave., 5 beds, 5 baths, 5,100 square feet: Features spacious great room, master suite with walk-in cl…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Hillsdale Man, 54, Pinned By Fallen Car Pronounced Dead At Scene Hillsdale Man, 54, Pinned By Fallen Car Pronounced Dead At Scene
Hillsdale Man, 54, Pinned By Fallen Car Pronounced Dead At Scene UPDATE: A few good Samaritans helped responding police officers lift a vehicle off a 54-year-old Hillsdale man who was changing a tire when it fell, killing him, authorities said. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene soon after the 7:20 p.m. accident Wednesday on Colonial Boulevard near Maple Avenue, borough police Detective Travis Woods said. Also responding were borough detectives and EMS, as well as the Bergen County Sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Identification, which collected evidence, including the vehicle, Woods said.

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Raised Car Falls On, Kills Man In Hillsdale Raised Car Falls On, Kills Man In Hillsdale
Raised Car Falls On, Kills Man In Hillsdale A few good Samaritans helped responding police officers lift a vehicle off a 54-year-old Hillsdale man who was changing a tire when it fell, killing him, authorities said. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene soon after the 7:20 p.m. accident Wednesday on Colonial Boulevard, borough police Detective Travis Woods said. Also responding were borough detectives and EMS, as well as the Bergen County Sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Identification, which collected evidence, including the vehicle, Woods said.

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
ID Theft: $400,000 Stolen From Hillsdale Retiree, Out-Of-State Duo Charged ID Theft: $400,000 Stolen From Hillsdale Retiree, Out-Of-State Duo Charged
ID Theft: $400,000 Stolen From Hillsdale Retiree, Out-Of-State Duo Charged Two members of an interstate identity theft ring – one of them a 79-year-old old woman who lives in North Carolina -- helped steal $400,000 from a Hillsdale retiree, authorities said. Richard C. Okorie, 42, of Missouri City, TX, and Barbara Lynn Alexander of Graham, NC, were arrested following an investigation by borough police investigated, with support from the Bergen County prosecutor’s Financial Crimes Unit and several other agencies in three states, Hillsdale Police Chief Robert Francaviglia said. Some of the money stolen from the victim’s company-sponsored retirement account was recov…

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by Jerry DeMarco