Ridgewood Village Manager Abruptly Resigns Tuesday

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. — Former Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld resigned from the office she held for more than two years Tuesday.

Mayor Susan Knudsen said Sonenfeld alone made the decision to resign and that she did not force her to vacant her position, not did any other village council person.

Sonenfeld, a 20-year village resident, said in a report by The Record, that Knudsen forced her from her office Tuesday after she sent a resignation letter to the Village Council describing an "increasingly contentious" work environment as the reason she left.

According to the report, Sonenfeld said that the decision to leave was "hard," but that her work environment made it, "impossible... to continue managing the government effectively and efficiently."

According to Sonenfeld, Knudsen demanded "that I immediately leave the office," after she sent the letter.

Before taking the manager's position, Sonenfeld was a human resources consultant with the United Nations in both New York City and Denmark and was a manager director of Deutsche Bank, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Village Clerk Heather Mailander will assume the role of acting village manager Wednesday. Mailander served in this capacity before, Knudsen said.

Knudsen said Mailander, "is quite capable and the village will be in good hands."

Knudsen said the council would issue a statement on the matter after its work Wednesday work session. It is not clear if the council would formally appoint Mailander to the position at the work session.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Photo: Former Ridgewood Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld — LinkedIn