To the Editor:

One goal of the 2023 Princeton Master Plan is: “Balance historic preservation efforts with the public interest in smart growth, greater housing choice, sustainability, equity, and economic development.” The Historic Preservation Commission and the Planning Board now have an opportunity to do just that, balance important public interests raised by the pending application for a four-story, 21,000±square-foot addition to the 3,600±square-foot, two-story historic Hornor House in the Jugtown Historic District, at the northeast corner of Nassau and Harrison Streets. more

To the Editor:

Many thanks to Town Topics for highlighting The Watershed Institute and the organization’s dedication to preserving the environment [“Watershed Institute Celebrates a Milestone,” April 3, page 1]. The Princeton community is especially fortunate for “the shed” and many other environmental organizations in our area. Their presence, expertise, and support enables many of us to entrust the care of our environment to them. more

To the Editor:

I am writing to express my deep concern regarding Princeton University’s recent decision to close Nassau Swim Club. As a member of the community who has cherished Nassau Swim Club for years, I cannot help but feel disheartened by what seems to be a disregard for the needs of the local families and children.

Nassau Swim Club holds a special place in the hearts of many as a beloved pool that has served as a valuable learning ground for numerous children in our community. It is a hidden gem, exuding the charm of old Princeton that is slowly fading in today’s ever-changing world. For many of us, Nassau has been a refuge where we could cling to the traditions of the past. more

To the Editor:

On Monday, April 15 at 4 p.m., the Princeton Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) will meet to discuss the application for 344 Nassau Street, which is a proposed massive, four-story, modern apartment building on top and behind the historic home on the corner of Harrison Street and Nassau Street. more

To the Editor:

I am shocked and surprised that Princeton University doesn›t see the value of Nassau Swim Club. The club was my home away from home every summer growing up. My siblings and I lived there and swam all day. We learned valuable lifelong skills and I still use them today. Nassau taught me how to swim (a lifesaving skill); how to socialize with peers, coaches, and parents (a skill that is slowly being lost today); responsibility; organization; and it brought joy.  more

To the Editor:
I am saddened to write that Princeton will be losing a resource that contributed greatly to the character and vibrancy of the town with the closure of the Nassau Swim Club (NSC).

NSC is humble in comparison to Community Park Pool, but it checked all my boxes by offering a peaceful setting in the woods, a rare place to swim in the shade and sun, and a friendly community. It offered young and inexperienced swimmers the opportunity to join a welcoming and spirited swim/dive team. And its full day aquatics program gave kids the freedom to play with new friends and with minimal adult interference. A safe local gathering spot where kids can be kids and play freely outside all day is rare these days. NSC was a true hidden gem. I deeply regret that my family and I were only able to enjoy the pool as members for just one year. more

To the Editor:

The board of the Bryn Mawr-Wellesley Book Sale thanks the many hundreds of people who made the 92nd annual sale a resounding success. We exist to raise funds for college scholarships, helping lessen the financial load of young women from central New Jersey. Every year, we give 100 percent of the sale’s proceeds for that purpose.

Thanks to our 145 enthusiastic volunteers and to area book lovers of all backgrounds, whether they donated their literary treasures or found new ones to take home. Special thanks also to Stuart Country Day School where we held the sale, our partner in educating young women.

Kathryn Morris
President, Bryn Mawr-Wellesley Book Sale
State Road

To the Editor:

I want to thank everyone who has written in support of the Nassau Swim Club. I have been a member of Nassau for almost four decades, and my children and grandchildren (and some of their cousins) have spent many magical summers there.

I am writing to mention another service to the community that Nassau has been offering for years at a very affordable cost. Designed for children of working parents, a full day aquatics program runs daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and is open to children age 6 to 12. In the morning, children who are able to swim a full lane join the swim team practices, while the others receive swim lessons until ready to join.  more

To the Editor:

On March 25, Princeton’s Council introduced an ordinance to permit the acquisition of 90 acres on Herrontown Road, to preserve the property in perpetuity for passive open space. This important project is supported by Friends of Princeton Open Space, the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, the Ridgeview Conservancy, and The Watershed Institute, all nonprofits that are donating grant funding towards the purchase. The state, through its competitive Green Acres grant program and the County Open Space Advisory Board, has also deemed the purchase worthy of funding. $1,830,000 has been raised from private donors. The town will ultimately pay between 20 percent and 25 percent of the purchase price, depending on the county’s contribution, which has not been finalized. Princeton will initially advance more than that amount, and will be reimbursed as funding from other sources arrives, as has been done in the past.  more

To the Editor:

As I sit with Princeton University’s decision to terminate Nassau Swim Club’s lease, I find myself overwhelmed with feelings of grief knowing that the magic of Nassau is being killed. A core part of Nassau Swim Club has always been its swim and dive teams. Since the 1960s, Nassau has given children the opportunity to explore themselves through its low pressure competitive teams through participation in the Princeton Area Swimming and Diving Association (PASDA) league.  more

To the Editor:

When I drive down Route 27 from Kingston, I arrive in a neighborhood of lovely and varied 19th and 18th century homes and commercial buildings and I know I have reached Princeton. Jugtown wasn’t always part of Princeton, though. In the 18th century it was its own place, also known as Queenston. Since the 1980s, Jugtown has been recognized locally, statewide, and nationally as an historic place. While change is inevitable, historic preservation ordinances were put in place to help manage change in historic neighborhoods such as Jugtown.  more

To the Editor:

As longtime residents of Princeton (we moved here 20 years ago), we are writing to indicate our profound concern over the proposed 16,000-square-foot, four-story addition to 344 Nassau Street, on the NE corner of Harrison Street. The developer’s application proposes 15 residential units, of which three would be affordable. The proposal also includes 15 parking spaces, six for commercial use, in an area where the adjacent streets have no on-street parking. Further, the proposal reduces commercial space in the existing building.  more

To the Editor:

Shame on Princeton University. For more than 50 years, Nassau Swim Club has provided Princeton-area residents, Institute for Advanced Study faculty and staff and the University community with a diverse, peaceful, sylvan escape from the heat and hustle and bustle of a New Jersey summer. Nassau, too, provides local kids, exercise, activity, and community engagement unparalleled in today’s screen-centric culture.

In October the University informed the Nassau Swim Club Board of Directors that Princeton would terminate the club’s lease in April 2024. The University, which owns the land on which the pool sits cited the pool’s failure to pay taxes owed as the reason for the closure. more

To the Editor:

On behalf of the entire 101: Fund Executive Board, we extend our most heartfelt gratitude to Princeton University and the incredibly generous contribution of $500,000 to the 101: Fund over the next five years. This transformative gift will make a profound difference in the lives of countless Princeton High School graduates and families in the community. Such meaningful support will enable us to provide essential tuition assistance for college. more

To the Editor:

Last week, one month after you published the devastating news “Nassau Swim Club Lease Terminated,” I was again dismayed to hear from those fighting to save this community pool that Princeton University had again refused to grant them the three-year extension for which they have pleaded for months, to give them a more reasonable amount of time in which to organize “members who expressed willingness to support the club with a range of volunteer tasks as well as financial contributions; plans for a capital fundraising campaign among current members and NSC alumni; optimistic plans for a strengthened 2024 budget; extensive plans for increasing membership in the University and IAS communities and in the larger Princeton area; and innovative programs for children” [February 21, page 1]. more

To the Editor:

Last week Princeton University told the Nassau Swim Club (NSC) that its lease for the property where the pool is located would not be reconsidered, and would be terminated, in April. Nassau Swim Club is a valuable, much-loved, and important asset for the Princeton community.

Earlier this month Nassau Swim Club’s Board of Directors presented a well-considered five-year business plan to Princeton University administrators to address the NSC’s financial challenges. The board laid out its plan to re-establish its commercial viability, including facility repairs, revenue growth, and fundraising, while maintaining its very successful swim and dive teams, swim lessons, and daily aquatic programs. more

To the Editor:

Princeton has a unique sense of place, and amidst the current wave of new housing and commercial development, let’s ensure that new buildings in historic districts meet the goal in the 2014 Historic Preservation Ordinance to “preserve, enhance, and safeguard the heritage of Princeton by preserving the resources in the community that reflect elements of its historic significance.”

The HP Ordinance specifies maintaining and developing “harmonious settings within historic sites and historic preservation districts,” and managing change in them by “encouraging sensitive alteration and/or new construction.” An addition to a historic structure must be “visually compatible with the structures and places within the district to which it is visually related, and act as a backdrop to and not visually intrude upon such structures and places.” Height, size, mass, roof shape, windows, etc., “shall be visually compatible with structures and places within the district to which they are visually related.” more

To the Editor:

On behalf of the Princeton Housing Authority (PHA) Board of Commissioners, staff, and the tenants affected by the recent fire incident at Redding Circle Family, I want to express my sincerest gratitude to all of the people and agencies who responded and lent their invaluable support during this challenging time.

The prompt response and exceptional service provided by Princeton Fire Department, Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad, Princeton Plasma Physics Lab (Mercer County Station 66), Plainsboro Fire Department, Hamilton Fire Department, Kingston Fire Department, and West Windsor Emergency Services were instrumental in extinguishing the fire swiftly and limiting further damage. I deeply appreciate the bravery and dedication demonstrated by all of the first responders in ensuring the safety of our residents and the preservation of their homes as well as the follow up with tenants to ensure they comply with fire safety strategies and protocols moving forward. more

To the Editor:

As I read a recent issue of Town Topics, I was struck by the incredibly diverse array of summer camps and enrichment programs available in our community. As a parent deeply invested in the well-being and growth of my own children, I was reminded of the invaluable benefits that high-quality summer enrichment programs afforded our family.

Young people participating in these programs gain not only new skills but also a heightened sense of self-awareness, increased confidence, and enhanced social-emotional skills. These experiences, often away from screens and electronic devices, contribute significantly to the development of resilience and independence. more

To the Editor:

This past week we just barely escaped a very expensive scam — it is so common that there is a name for it: the grandchild scam. The callers were very clever and I am now ashamed to have been taken in. They required $18,000 in cash.

We were saved by Samantha, the PNC bank manager, who patiently persisted until we discovered the ruse. Thank you, Samantha!

Carol Haag
Ridgeview Circle

To the Editor:

I write in response to the recent letter to the editor by Maria Juega about Princeton University’s voluntary contribution to the community and the municipality [“Renters Should Be Included in PU Plan for Tax Relief Payments,” Mailbox, February 14].

When my colleagues and I began our discussions with University representatives, a priority in those conversations was addressing affordability and social equity, goals shared by both town and gown. Together, we explored a variety of possibilities, which ultimately led to an unprecedented increase in University support for a broad range of meaningful services that aid the most vulnerable in our community.   more