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Assistant Editor Bids Farewell to Princeton

DAVID MCNUTT
Assistant Editor, Town Topics

Architecture of Leigh Avenue House Should Be Preserved During Renovation

MINNIE CRAIG
Witherspoon Street

There Is No Warrant for Building Garage While Group's Lawsuit Is Still Pending

ELOISE K. GOREAU
Nassau Street

Readers Warn of Danger From Two Dogs Who Attacked Their Dog in Hilltop Park

JEANNINE HUMMEL
LAURIE ALTMAN
Campbell Woods Way

People Were Duped in Allowing Library to Be Built at Its Downtown Location

BOB LEVINE and DIANE LEVINE
Linwood Circle

Size of the Sarnoff Lands Should Permit an Environmentally Sensitive Bypass

WILLIAM WOLFE, Architect
Hawthorne Avenue

Residents Supporting Concerned Citizens Clearly Want Princeton to Remain a Town

MIRIAM L. YEVICK
Pelham Street

Main Reason for Building Millstone Bypass Is to Rid Route 1 of Three Traffic Signals

SIDNEY I. WILLIS
Washington Road

Roughly five years ago, I left my home state of California on a cross-country trip to an unfamiliar destination.

Thankfully, that excursion led me to Princeton: a town that forever changed my perception of New Jersey, contributed to my personal and professional formation, and found a place in my heart.

While I came to Princeton primarily for graduate study at Princeton Theological Seminary, I was pleasantly surprised to find a town steeped in history and culture with residents who seemed keenly aware of the incredible community they called home.

After completing my degree, I was afforded the opportunity to write for the Town Topics. While I have learned more about Princeton than I thought possible during my time at the paper, what I have truly gained is an understanding of the responsibility of a writer to his or her readers, the value of reliability, and the importance of honesty.

Princeton will forever hold a special place in my memory. For not only did I benefit from my theological studies and sharpen my writing skills while here, but I met the woman who recently became my wife.

During our time in Princeton, we have enjoyed seemingly innumerable, wonderful moments: a Sunday afternoon stroll through the University, shows at McCarter Theatre, flag football games with seminary friends, ice cream trips to Halo Pub, and jogs through the Institute grounds, to name a few.

As my wife and I move on to other opportunities, we would like to thank all those who have made our stay in Princeton such a pleasure and an inspiration. In due time, we hope that our path will bring us through Princeton once again.

While I am certain that much will inevitably change here, I am equally certain that Princeton will always remain an unparalleled town that exhibits the meaning of 'community.'

DAVID MCNUTT
Assistant Editor, Town Topics

Architecture of Leigh Avenue House Should Be Preserved During Renovation

To the Editor:

It's good to see that Princeton Borough has finally started renovating their Leigh Avenue house, which was definitely an eyesore to the neighborhood with its boarded-up windows.

I hope they will preserve the architectural design of the house with its scrollwork style on the columns and the beautiful crown molding.

MINNIE CRAIG
Witherspoon Street

There Is No Warrant for Building Garage While Group's Lawsuit Is Still Pending

To the Editor:

Our mayor (soon to be former, thank heaven) appears to be no better at sentence structure than he is at governing: "Easy access to the NJ Transit bus routes should make this location much less auto-dependent, easing the way for those who must still be." What in the world does that participial phrase mean?

As far as the mayor's message is concerned, I infer that he intends to employ an old trick of developers here–beginning a project without warrant, presuming that the Borough will prefer an illegal building to an unsightly construction site. Surely there is no warrant for beginning the infamous parking garage while the Concerned Citizens' case is still pending.

When next I vote for mayor, I want hard evidence that the candidate is not a bully.

ELOISE K. GOREAU
Nassau Street

Readers Warn of Danger From Two Dogs Who Attacked Their Dog in Hilltop Park

To the Editor:

On Wednesday morning, July 23, at about 6:30, our dog was viciously attacked without provocation and almost killed in Hilltop Park (across from Princeton Community Village on Bunn Drive) by two medium-sized black or dark gray dogs. At least one of them had white markings. They were unleashed and totally out of control. The owners did not try to help and didn't even care.

Please be careful if you walk your dog in the park or let your child play in the playground. If you see these dogs, please report it to the animal control officer who has been notified of the incident, as have the police. We need to prevent injury or even death to you, your pet, or a little child. This is not only about our dog's pain and suffering but also concerns parents whose children play in the playground and in the Little League at Hilltop Park.

JEANNINE HUMMEL
LAURIE ALTMAN
Campbell Woods Way

People Were Duped in Allowing Library to Be Built at Its Downtown Location

This is a copy of a letter sent to Mayor Phyllis Marchand and Township Committee

The small inexperienced committee which has been circulating the petition requesting that the Township put a referendum on the Fall election ballot to establish a branch to the Princeton library is well on its way to obtaining the required signatures. This is not surprising given what we now know about library use since it has moved to the Shopping Center. More people are now using it than when it was downtown. It is clear that we were duped into allowing the library to be built at its old location rather than here in the Township where it is more accessible. That battle has been lost but let us not now lose the present one to keep a branch at the Shopping Center.

We the undersigned ask you to now show your leadership and support the referendum without waiting for the petition to be presented. Given the usage figures it is certain that the referendum will succeed and we can then insist that the Library Committee include a Shopping Center Branch in their present planning.

How will it be supported? From the library budget of course. Although it will require some readjustment of the budget it will certainly be far less than the library's estimate of over one million dollars per year. The whole Pennington Library costs less than half of this amount. Let's not let the Library Committee raise another smokescreen to try to block the branch. We must demand that an outside expert be asked to prepare an overall realistic budget for the library and branch.

It is too early to try to decide just what the branch library should include, but with the advent of the internet where library stacks can be searched online and books reserved using a computer, it lessens the need for the branch to house a large collection of books. The listing of movies and CDs should be likewise cataloged and made available online. One thing is very clear just from observing who is using the library, even during the summer – it must be child friendly.

Don't wait to be led by the community – act now to ensure that the petition is placed on the ballot. All we are asking for is the right to show the Library Committee that we in the Township who are paying over two thirds of the cost get some small compensation.

BOB LEVINE and DIANE LEVINE
Linwood Circle

The following Township residents also signed the letter via e-mail:

LOUISE WITONSKY
Terhune Road

CAROL JACOBS
Valley Road

BORIS and NICOLE KATZ
Leabrook Lane

GINA WILSON
Ewing Street

SHIRLEY DWORK
Philip Drive

BERNIE and PHYLLIS CARAS
Leabrook Lane

MARILYN and ALBERT MEDWIN
Castle Howard Court

DORIS PESKIN
Walnut Lane

GLORIA ERLICH
Littlebrook Road

JORDAN and DIONIR YOUNG
Meadowbrook Drive

LEN and RUBY NEWTON
Dempsey Avenue

Size of the Sarnoff Lands Should Permit an Environmentally Sensitive Bypass

To the Editor:

There's more common ground than first meets the eye in the many "Millstone Bypass" letters to the editor. Hidden within the welter of alignment proposals in the "Penns Neck Area Draft Environmental Impact Statement" is a possible design solution that addresses everyone's concerns.

Because none of the alignments for the East Side Connector (ESC) drawn by the NJDOT show sufficient buffer between the road and the natural and historical resources of the Millstone River, a credible coalition of environmental groups has endorsed Alternative D2 (which shows no ESC).

But Alternative D2 keeps all traffic turning on and off U.S. 1, both north and south, on this stretch of Washington Road, along with all the east-west traffic in and out of Princeton. Without the ESC there can be no relief to the traffic jams on Washington Road that currently plague Penns Neck residents. West Windsor cannot be expected to agree to this.

Given the size of the Sarnoff property, it should still be possible to design an environmentally acceptable alignment. If such an ESC can be designed, a traffic solution is possible that works much better for West Windsor and for Princeton as well.

By crossing over U.S. 1 without any connection, Washington Road could easily carry the traffic that connects Princeton's downtown, University, and regional medical center with its neighbors to the east. A new extension of Harrison Street to the ESC intersection with U.S. 1 on the north, and the current intersection of Alexander Road with U.S. 1 on the south, could equally split the other two thirds of the traffic coming in and out of Princeton from these directions. This appears to be the best way to achieve the equal three-way distribution endorsed by both Borough and Township governing bodies.

I believe a well-designed Penns Neck Bypass would join the Harrison Street extension at a full diamond or cloverleaf intersection about where shown on the D alternatives. No frontage roads would connect it to Washington Road. Staying far from the Millstone River, the bypass would cross Little Bear Brook further south and curve into alignment with a Vaughn Drive Connector to Alexander Road, leaving room between it and the railroad station for the station parking. A full interchange would connect it smoothly with Route 571 just west of the railroad overpass.

Let's urge the NJDOT to concentrate on how to design the East Side Connector to best preserve the natural lands surrounding the Millstone River. Then we can likely agree on how to best mitigate the traffic.

WILLIAM WOLFE, Architect
Hawthorne Avenue

Residents Supporting Concerned Citizens Clearly Want Princeton to Remain a Town

To the Editor:

Mr. [J. Robert] Hillier, describing Princeton as "the best little city in the world," recently articulated his vision of our town's future development. He presented the happy prospect of it becoming "a major city" together with the surrounding areas and acquiring "an address as good as or better than Manhattan." Our major streets would be lined with six-story apartment and office buildings with plenty of retail stores (upscale or chain?) at street level. Mr. Hillier considers traffic "a good thing, bringing energy, interest and texture." Is he then planning to move his operation and residence into the noise and pollution created by traffic?

The tone of Mr. Hillier's remarks is reminiscent of the sense of "ownership" of Princeton conveyed by the Princeton Future lobby in collaboration with the Borough Council. The project to build a five-story garage and two equally tall apartment buildings was rammed through while suppressing the request for a referendum by a large fraction of the electorate.

The citizens of Princeton Borough represented by Concerned Citizens and others have made it abundantly clear that they want Princeton to remain a town and not a city. The glass and metal building of the new library is in complete disharmony with its small town surroundings. (Note, by the way, that the food concession has been granted to a very upscale firm, making it unlikely that the neighborhood kids will long linger in the library.)

Mr. Hillier does not show any concern with preserving the historic face of our "jewel." One need only look at what happened to the town of Oxford in England. The historic campus is surrounded and intersected by major roads. Oxford is a city overwhelmed with the noise and pollution of heavy traffic. Many a faculty member has told me of a desperate desire to "de-urbanize" the city of Oxford.

Mr. Hillier refers disdainfully to our "immigrant population." Should we not rather enforce the law and prosecute absentee landlords for not maintaining their properties for the benefit of its residents? Mr. Hillier suggests a gentrification of the area. Who will do the menial jobs when our hardworking current residents will be driven out of town? Princeton is out of land after our "smart growth" developers have chewed up all the surrounding open space. Let's keep them out, let us leave Princeton the way it is. Mr. Hillier may not thrive as much as his disinterested vision projects, but the people of Princeton and the future generations who will live in this unique town will be the gainers.

Vote for Firestone and Alexandridis for Princeton Borough Council.

MIRIAM L. YEVICK
Pelham Street

Main Reason for Building Millstone Bypass Is to Rid Route 1 of Three Traffic Signals

To the Editor:

This is regarding the letters from Patrick Lyons and Sarah Hollister (Town Topics, July 30) concerning the Millstone Bypass.

I would like to remind Patrick Lyon and Sarah Hollister and the collection of Coalition organizations attached to the end of Mr. Lyons' letter, of the following facts.

The main reasons and the dire necessity for building the Millstone Bypass is to rid Route 1 of the three traffic signals at Washington Road, Fisher Place and Harrison Street intersections.

Also, and more importantly, it is to relieve the residents of Washington Road, Penn's Neck from the continuously spewing exhaust and noise pollution and the 24/7 traffic nightmare. Let's not forget the trash that is thrown out of passing vehicles that we have to clean up daily.

Not once in Mr. Lyons' or Ms. Hollister's letters were the residents of Penn's Neck's health or welfare considered (a N.I.M.B.Y. thread runs through both).

I'd like to point out to the interested readers of this article that the majority of the residents of Washington Road have lived at their properties since this road was nothing more than a country lane that one could walk the dog, cross the street to get our mail, and stroll along, to chat to our neighbors.

Our property values are such that we are penalized $100,000 (in the event that we wish to sell our property) for the pleasure of living on this highway.

Finally, I think it is quite obvious that the residents of Washington Road take great pride in the upkeep and beauty they present to all who pass by and each of the residents could quite easily be an asset to any of the organizations quoted at the end of Mr. Lyons' letter.

We have put up with your stalling tactics for the last 25 years. Build the Millstone Bypass now.

SIDNEY I. WILLIS
Washington Road