Decades of Neglect

Despite its cinematic debut, the reality for residents is less "movie magic" and more "municipal tragedy." Currently, over 50% of the storefronts sit vacant, leaving the remaining tenants and community to deal with numerous problems:

The Roof: One local business was recently forced to launch a GoFundMe just to cover damages from the consistently leaking roof.
The Aroma: It is a frequent community complaint that the property reeks of septic —hardly the "quaint downtown" smell to keep residents and visitors returning.
The Landlord: While The Azarian Group LLC maintains other decent properties around north Jersey, it has spent decades ignoring Fieldstone. While talks of renovations occur every election cycle, nothing has started as the structural integrity of the building continues to decline.

Ringwood’s Fieldstone Shopping Center has become so outdated and depressing that it achieved Hollywood fame by serving as a filming location for the teen movie Y2K. It saved the studio a small fortune in set building since no CGI was required to capture a pre-millennium horror setting.

The Great Sign Heist

The epitome of Fieldstone’s decay was the decrepit Video MD sign. In the age of streaming services, it was a pathetic reminder of a bygone era. By 2025, it had become the symbol of our Republican-led council and manager’s inability to accomplish even the most basic of tasks.

In a move straight out of a satirical comedy , Town Manager Scott Heck attempted a PR stunt shortly before the 2025 council elections. He hired a camera crew to film him climbing a ladder and taking down the eyesore as "proof" of future progress. There was just one problem: the sign wasn't his to take since it was contractually promised to a new tenant. Months later, in a quiet walk of shame, the "missing" sign was returned.

It was a perfect metaphor for Ringwood's leadership: plenty of showmanship, but no actual solutions to our problems.

The High-Rise That Wasn’t

The Ringwood Borough Council and Town Manager wasted over a decade and nearly a million dollars in legal fees chasing their dream of a four-story high-rise housing development even though it was obvious that the Highlands Act would not allow such a development. Unfortunately, the lawsuits also led to another million dollars to pay off neighboring property owner, Pagano. Finally, in May 2023, the plan was abandoned leaving Ringwood exactly where it started - vacant stores, potholes and with a lot less money.

In a move that could only be described as peak irony, a consulting firm recently hired by the town suggested that the council should enforce stricter zoning regulations on Azarian. This is the exact strategy residents have been screaming for decades, only to be met with shrugs and "election season" promises that vanish come November.

Will A Facelift Be Enough?

True to form, the public's involvement has been limited. While neighboring towns hold numerous open Town Hall meetings for genuine dialogue on major decisions, Ringwood residents were relegated to an online survey in late 2025.

On March 10th 2026, survey results showed that the majority of residents would prefer a quaint mixed use new building with retail on the main level with one floor of residential space above….two days later the council unveiled it’s blurry plan that looks very similar to the current layout.

The plan seems to slap a new facade over the existing, rotting structure, remove a few end offices, add a new restaurant in the parking lot and a clock tower in the middle. This might end up being a wonderful update to our current shopping center, but with our town manager’s track record and lack of community input, residents are nervous it will be as poorly executed as our “new” community center.