Web Edition

NEWS

FEATURES

ENTERTAINMENT

COLUMNS

CONTACT US

"Committee of Nine" Is Congratulated For Their Effort on Arts Council Project

ROBERT GEDDES
Co-Chair, Princeton Future
SHELDON STURGES
Co-Chair, Princeton Future

Many Community Leaders Contributed To Passage of PHS Parking Ordinance

SUSAN JEFFERIES
Jefferson Road

A Township Committee Candidate Asks: Can We Discuss Issues Over Coffee?

PAUL KAPP
Snowden Lane

Proposed Jazz Club on Bayard Lane Belongs in Trenton or New Brunswick

JULIAN MOYNAHAN
Bayard Lane

"Committee of Nine" Is Congratulated For Their Effort on Arts Council Project

To the Editor:

Last spring, Princeton Future set up a new process to help resolve the Arts Council expansion issues. It invited three representatives each from the Arts Council, the Witherspoon-Jackson Neighborhood Association, and Princeton Future, a "Committee of Nine," to work together. The new process worked.

We write to say "thank you" to the hardworking members of that Committee – Wendy Mager, Doretta Galucci, and Janet Stern of the Arts Council; Hendricks Davis, Joanna Kendig, and Willie Mae Tadlock of the Witherspoon-Jackson Neighborhood Association; and Susan Hockaday Jones, Nicholas Katzenbach, and Yina Moore of Princeton Future. They have set a model for this town.

As a result, Princeton Future declared in June: "We support the Regional Planning Board's approval of the application of the Arts Council. Princeton Future is very pleased that the Arts Council produced a re-designed building which is much more responsive to the concerns of the neighborhood."

The final wording of the conditions, expected before the end of the summer, is still critical, as it will outline and facilitate the management of the impact mitigation measures.

We encourage the Arts Council and the Witherspoon-Jackson Neighborhood Association to continue to work together on these conditions and on the implementation of the agreements reached through the Princeton Future process.

Now, because there remain areas of no agreement between the Witherspoon-Jackson Neighborhood Association and the Arts Council that pertain to better ways to address impacts, we urge the Regional Planning Board, as it spells out the conditions of its approval, to pay careful attention to what has been so well initiated by the Committee of Nine.

The role of Princeton Future has been to facilitate the conversation. The Committee of Nine succeeded. The results are historic.

ROBERT GEDDES
Co-Chair, Princeton Future
SHELDON STURGES
Co-Chair, Princeton Future

Many Community Leaders Contributed To Passage of PHS Parking Ordinance

To the Editor:

Both the Township and Borough recently passed the High School Neighborhood Parking Ordinance. Many worked tirelessly and contributed much to the success of this ordinance and I would like to thank, in alphabetical order, the following for all they have done:

Wendy Benchley, Borough Council, for leading the Ad Hoc Committee on High School Student Parking, for her concern for all constituencies affected by this issue, and for ushering the ordinance through the political process with a sureness of purpose and characteristic grace.

Walter Bliss, School Board and Ad Hoc Committee, for successfully leading the initiative to protect the High School green and for his willingness to support practical solutions that also protect neighborhood streets.

Anne Burns, Ad Hoc Committee and president of the School Board, for her clear voice, fearless leadership, and willingness to work on this issue year after year.

Arch Davis, Ad Hoc Committee, for his considerable engineering expertise and for his creative ideas that substantially shaped the designation of non-residential streets for student parking.

Beth Healey, Ad Hoc Committee, for her flexibility and sense of fun, for her political savvy, and for her 25-plus year commitment to the well-being of the High School neighborhood.

Bill Hearon, Township Committee, for his eloquence, for his ability to build consensus among people with diverse points of view, and for his clear understanding of what it means to live and be in a community.

Casey Hegener, Township Committee and Ad Hoc Committee, for her early optimism and support, for her infectious high level of focused energy, and for her quick grasp of complex issues and ability to think strategically about solutions.

Holly Holcombe, PTO: although Ms. Holcombe is not wholly supportive of this ordinance, I want to acknowledge that her articulation of student and parental concerns significantly shaped and strengthened the support for designated student parking in the Ad Hoc Committee's proposal.

Rachel Howard, Ad Hoc Committee, for her quick intelligence and lively Powerpoint presentation, for her willingness to negotiate, and for her deeply rooted concern for people, community, and the integrity of the political process.

Mayor Phyllis Marchand of Princeton Township, for her devotion and numerous contributions to our community, for her steady leadership in the successful introduction and passing of this ordinance, and for the wisdom she has exercised in assuring its review.

Mayor Joseph O'Neill of Princeton Borough, for his ability to listen well, for his appreciation of the inherent value of neighborhoods, and for his strong leadership at Borough Council.

Phyllis Teitelbaum, Ad Hoc Committee, for her willingness to take on gritty, complex issues that seem irresolvable, for her resiliency and fair mindedness, for her superb writing and organizational skills, and for her lively and generous spirit.

Many thanks to all.

I look forward to continuing our cooperative work together as we move into the implementation and refinement phase of the High School Neighborhood Parking Ordinance.

SUSAN JEFFERIES
Jefferson Road

A Township Committee Candidate Asks: Can We Discuss Issues Over Coffee?

To the Editor:

My name is Paul Kapp and I, along with Irene White, am a Republican candidate for Township Committee. As candidates for Township Committee one of our goals is to meet residents and understand their concerns about our home, Princeton Township.

I would like to invite every Township resident regardless of political predisposition to meet us and discover whether we are the type of people you will vote into office in November. The added benefit is that we will gain an understanding of what issues and concerns are most important to the majority of Township residents. Please join Irene and me for coffee in the Café of Bon Appetit in the Princeton Shopping Center on Tuesday mornings at 9 a.m. If this time proves inconvenient, or if evenings are more appropriate for you, Irene and I are open to other times and other places.

If we are fortunate enough to be elected to the Township Committee, we are willing to continue these meetings throughout our term in office. What better way to make sure your concerns are known and heard?

If you are unable to attend any of these get-togethers but are still interested in learning more about Irene or me as candidates, please call Irene at (609) 924-8832 or me at (609) 683-9679, or e-mail me at kkllct@patmedia.net.

PAUL KAPP
Snowden Lane

Proposed Jazz Club on Bayard Lane Belongs in Trenton or New Brunswick

To the Editor:

Since my wife and I live within 200 feet of the proposed "jazz club" construction and like many others were not notified about it, I should like to make two observations.

First, jazz died an unhappy death about 1960. Whatever would be pounding out of the proposed "club" in the small hours would not be jazz.

Second, the developer's comment that the larger community needs a "jazz club" located halfway between Philadelphia and New York City is absurd in light of Princeton's status as a very small town. The "club" needs to go into a city – Trenton or New Brunswick – if it has to go anywhere.

Mr. Tracey's letter (Town Topics, August 18) was first-class. He sticks to the facts and his points are unanswerable.

JULIAN MOYNAHAN
Bayard Lane