"Sen. Menendez's legislation would be good for New Jersey and good for Ridgewood's commuters," Aronsohn said.

Democrats always wished they could defeat Rep. Scott Garrett. This year, they say they might actually be able to do it.

In the wake of two separate emergency situations in the village over the past six months, the Ridgewood Community Access Network (CAN) indentified methods of improving resident awareness to reduce risk during future floods and power outages.

"This is a priority. This is something we talk about on a regular basis," said Ridgewood Councilman Paul Aronsohn, who helped organize the event. "What we hope to do today is to really start a community-wide conversation, an opportunity to share lessons learned, things that work and don't work."