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With Community's Generous Support, YWCA Program Benefited 40 Families

JILL JACHERA
Project Chair, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
EILEEN CONWAY
Executive Director, YWCA Princeton

Golden Maple Boughs Arching Overhead May Soon Be Missed on Snowden Lane

FAIRFAX HUTTER
Van Dyke Road

Sponsors Thanked for Contributing To Grazefest Princeton Festivities

WENDY RICKARD
FRAN McMANUS
Eating Fresh Publications
Hopewell

Township Committeeman Is Owed Thanks For New Post Office at Shopping Center

EVELYN SALDICK
Randall Road

Rights of Undocumented Immigrants Spelled Out by Immigration Attorney

SALLY L. STEINBERG
Witherspoon Street

History of Witherspoon Neighborhood Recounted by a Longtime Tour Guide

JACQUI SWAIN
Lytle Street

With Community's Generous Support, YWCA Program Benefited 40 Families

To the Editor:

"Thank you" from the bottom of our hearts to all those wonderful and generous community members, individuals, and businesses alike, who supported the YWCA Princeton's St. Nicholas Project this year. You "made the season bright" for more than 40 families by providing gifts for both children and parents – in many cases, the only presents these families will receive – as well as gift certificates for food at local grocery stores.

Now in its fourth year, the St. Nicholas Project has continually grown through the caring and sharing of neighbors. We saw the smiles and excitement on the faces of the recipients, and we are so grateful to you all.

JILL JACHERA
Project Chair, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
EILEEN CONWAY
Executive Director, YWCA Princeton

Golden Maple Boughs Arching Overhead May Soon Be Missed on Snowden Lane

To the Editor:

I am extremely distressed to read about the proposed sidewalks for the stretch of Snowden Lane between Franklin Avenue and Hamilton/Rollingmead. Although I am not a Snowden Lane resident, I have lived the better part of 50 years just around the corner on Van Dyke Road. Every day I walk my dog across Snowden, and every workday I drive to and from work through this stretch of Snowden as children go to school. I want to dispel the myth that that all of us who live nearby are in favor of these sidewalks.

Most people don't realize that these sidewalks would offer no benefit to school children, and minimal benefit to pedestrians. Children won't use this stretch to walk to the Littlebrook School. If they come from neighborhoods on the western side such as Franklin, Leabrook, and Braeburn, the shortest route is via the side-walked stretch of Snowden between Franklin and Overbrook, and then straight to school via Abernathy. If they come from Nassau Street or Hamilton on the east, they cross Snowden onto Rollingmead to get to Littlebrook. Thus they bypass the contested stretch of Snowden entirely. Older children go the opposite way to the High School. The only children for whom the sidewalk would be useful are the residents' children, and none of their parents want it.

For those wishing to walk to Nassau Street via Snowden Lane, there is a far safer and convenient alternative via the parallel streets of Leavitt Lane and Harriet Drive. Leavitt, only a block away, has virtually no traffic. Leavitt links to traffic-free Harriet Drive via Hamilton. The Harriet-Nassau Street intersection is closer to downtown and far safer than Snowden and Nassau. Though there's a traffic light at Snowden and Nassau, the light is only briefly green and the intersection blind on two sides. This spares pedestrians on Snowden being hit by motorists who routinely run the stop signs as they cross from Hamilton to Rolllingmead.

This narrow stretch of modest houses is most unsuited to sidewalks. Sidewalks would consume 25 to 30 percent of the diminutive front yards, destroy all the trees on the southwest side of the road, and necessitate a retaining wall on one lot. When I drive home from work on a dark fall or winter night I relish passing through this stretch – a tunnel of golden or snowy maple boughs arching overhead, past perky houses with lamps aglow. The descent beyond over Harry's Brook into an ascending corridor of spruces with Windy Top in the distance reassures me that all is not yet the tract housing of the Windsors, nor the Belgian-blocked McMansions of Brooks Bend.

Sidewalks aren't problem-free. As a dog walker, I see the changes that the new Smoyer Park bike path brings to Van Dyke. Motorists drive faster now. Trees with poison ivy lie fallen and uncut for weeks. Ice flows and the failure to clear snowplow heaps make them unusable much of the winter.

I know my mother, who was a former member of Princeton Township Committee, a member of the Planning Board, and past president of the Friends of Princeton Open Space, now not well enough to express herself, would be most disturbed to hear of the changes and conformity being foisted upon Snowden by those having nothing to lose.

FAIRFAX HUTTER
Van Dyke Road

Sponsors Thanked for Contributing To Grazefest Princeton Festivities

To the Editor:

We are writing to thank the local restaurants, food retailers, and farmers who participated in Grazefest Princeton 2004: A Celebration of Pasture-raised Foods from America's Small Farms. Over the past month, through store sampling, special menu items, and a five-course wine dinner, area residents learned about the culinary, environmental, and animal-welfare benefits of raising animals outdoors on grass. They tasted cheeses, meats, and dairy products from pasture-raised animals, and got to know their local pasture-based farmers, who contribute to the quality of life in our community.

Many thanks to Bent Spoon, Cherry Grove Farm, Mediterra, Simply Grazin' Organic Farm, small world coffee, and the Whole Earth Center, for taking part in this year's festivities and for their year-round contribution to the culinary life of our town. Thanks, too, to the Princeton Public Library for hosting the Grazefest Princeton film, Old Pig, New Pig, Happy Pig, Blue Pig: The Life, Death, and Rebirth of Free Roaming Pigs on America's Farms. Finally, we extend a special thanks to the sponsors of Grazefest Princeton – Natural by Nature Organic Dairy, The Nature Conservancy in New Jersey, and the Whole Earth Center.

We are very lucky to have several pasture-based farms within a short drive of Princeton as well as a number of retailers and chefs who put these farms' products in their stores and on their menus. We hope they will receive ongoing support from the community for their commitment to healthier foods, a cleaner environment, and a better quality of life for farm animals.

WENDY RICKARD
FRAN McMANUS
Eating Fresh Publications
Hopewell

Township Committeeman Is Owed Thanks For New Post Office at Shopping Center

To the Editor:

We are all so happy to have a U.S. Post Office at the book store in the Princeton Shopping Center.

It was Bernie Miller, our Township Committee person, who cut through the red tape and made it happen. Hurrah to Bernie!

EVELYN SALDICK
Randall Road

Rights of Undocumented Immigrants Spelled Out by Immigration Attorney

To the Editor:

As an immigration lawyer, I was gratified by the Princeton Borough's recent vote that the police should not assist the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (formerly the I.N.S.) in conducting its raids.

I am concerned about undocumented workers not knowing their rights, and therefore request that you reprint the following list of rights in English and Spanish, as you did a few years ago in response to a request from the Latin American Task Force.

Know Your Rights

You can protect yourself and your family against abuses by the Immigration Service (CIS) and the police by knowing your rights. Remember, you have the following rights;

(1) If you are questioned by CIS agents or the police, you have the right to remain silent. CIS agents cannot detain you unless they have a reason to believe you are illegally present in the U.S. They cannot detain you simply for refusing to answer their questions or for the color of your skin.

(2) If you are arrested by the CIS, you have: (a) the right to remain silent; (b) the right to consult a lawyer before making any statements or signing any documents; (c) the right to be released on bond and the right to a bond reduction hearing to lower your bond or obtain release without bond; (d) the right to a hearing before you are forced to leave the U.S., and the right to at least seven days to prepare for your hearing; and (e) the right to a continuance of any hearing to enable you to obtain a lawyer.

(3) All persons have the right to refuse searches of their homes unless the CIS or the police have a court order (search warrant).

(4) If you receive a letter asking you to report to an immigration office you should first contact an attorney or an accredited immigration counselor for advice.

For more information about your rights, contact your nearest legal aid office or Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Ministries, or the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.

Conozca Sus Derechos

Puede protejerse a usted mismo y su familia contra los abusos de La Migra y la policia por conociendo sus derechos. Recuerde que tiene los siguientes derechos:

(1) Si usted es interrogado por un agente de La Migra o por la policia, usted tiene el derecho a permanecer silencioso. Los agentes de La Migra no pueden detenerlo sin tener razon para creer que usted es ilegalmente en los Estados Unidos. Los agentes de La Migra no le pueden detener simplemente porque usted se niega a contestar preguntas o por su raza.

(2) Si usted sera arrestado por La Migra, usted tiene los siquientes derechos: (a) el derecho a permanecer silencioso; (b) el derecho a consultar con abogado antes de hacer declaraciones o de firmar cualquier documento; (c) el derecho a ser liberado por fianza y el derecho a una audiencia para reduccion de su fianza o obtener la libertad sin fianza; (d) el derecho a una audiencia antes de que sera forzado a salir de los Estados Unidos y el derecho a tener por lo menos siete dias para prepararse para su audiencia; (e) el derecho a aplazar cualquier audiencia para permitirle obtener un abogado.

(3) Todas las personas tienen el derecho a negar el permiso de inspecionar sus habitaciones sin una orden de la corte (search warrant).

(4) Si usted recibe una carta pidiendole a su presencia en una oficina de La Migra, primero consulte con un abogado o un consejero autorizado.

Si necesita informacion sobre sus derechos, contacta la oficina de ayuda legal, Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Ministries, o el Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.

SALLY L. STEINBERG
Witherspoon Street

History of Witherspoon Neighborhood Recounted by a Longtime Tour Guide

To the Editor:

Well before the Master Plan, Princeton Future, Palmer Square and others, there was Witherspoon Street.

Bounded by John Street and Witherspoon Street, the J-W community once began at Nassau Street. When Edgar Palmer constructed Palmer Square in the 1930s the tenements housing Princeton's colored labor force were displaced. Nassau Alley (Nassau Inn's stables) and Baker Street were torn down. Some of those houses were moved to Birch Avenue, the lower boundary of the J-W community, where they still stand. Jackson Street came down later. The J-W community shrank considerably. Of note, Caesar Trent was the first Princeton African-American to own property, on the corner of Witherspoon and Nassau Streets in 1795.

A "colored owned" newspaper was in the vicinity of Lahiere's, as was a black-owned shoe shop. In the next block Mr. Sport Moore owned the corner which now houses the silver shop and several other businesses from the corner to the new garage. Gale's Dry Cleaners, Rex Gorleigh Studio, and Christine's Beauty Parlor were all there along with the town utilities sitting right where the new garage is today.

Directly across the street from the new library sat Griggs' Restaurant (blacks were not welcome at The Balt), though Mr. Griggs' biggest business came from University students for legendary giant hamburgers. Virginia Mills Beauty Salon and Toto's Market were also in that block. The Arts Council was once the Colored Y. The segregated graveyard (1757) took up much of the other side of the street. Paul Robeson was born in 1898 in the house on the corner of Witherspoon and Green. When his father was removed as pastor of Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church, the family moved to a house on Green Street. Mack's Barbershop and a speak-easy called the "Bend Low" once stood where a new Mexican restaurant now stands. That block also housed black owned businesses. Miss Vann's Ice Cream Parlor was across from Forer Pharmacy. Mt. Pisgah AME Church is on the corner of Witherspoon and McLean. The colored section of the graveyard began in that block; it was low, wet, and if not for loved ones, not in the maintenance plan. The apartment house on the corner opposite Mt. Pisgah was once the School for Colored Children (1851). Just a few doors down was another colored restaurant in the Jefferson Plumbing building. There were grocery stores on the corner of Witherspoon and Lytle, as well as on the corner of Witherspoon and Witherspoon Lane. The hospital was once located between Clay and Lytle Streets on the other side of street. The ice house, owned by my uncle George Barclay and Andrew Teague, sheltered a cul-de-sac which housed many colored families on old Clay Street. The neighborhood was replete with black owned businesses in the ten blocks sandwiched between Witherspoon and John Streets. They were necessary to serve a community poorly served or not served at all by other Princeton establishments.

Witherspoon Street has a vibrant history. Let us not forget it in our planning for the future.

JACQUI SWAIN
Lytle Street