February 22, 2023

Hun Students and Staff Reach Out To Teach Young Women in Afghanistan

TEACHING YOUNG WOMEN: Zahra Y., co-founder of the Afghan Education Student Outreach Project at the Hun School.

By Donald Gilpin

Every Thursday night from 9:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Seth Holm, chair of the Modern Languages and Classics Department at The Hun School of Princeton, logs onto the internet to teach a class for about 30 young women who are just waking up in Afghanistan, eager for schooling that has been forbidden to them in their home country.

Holm and his team of Hun students are helping these Afghan students to learn English so they can pursue further education outside of Afghanistan. Since its inception in June of last year, this initiative at Hun, the Afghan Education Student Outreach Project, has grown rapidly. Now, in addition to the Thursday night sessions, it also includes a “phone buddy” program, with Hun students talking with Afghan counterparts once a week; a one-on-one mentoring program; collaboration with the nonprofit New Jersey-based Afghan Girls Financial Assistance Fund (AGFAF); and the Hun School’s offering of two scholarships for one young Afghan woman to arrive on campus this spring and another by next fall.

Hun Head of School Jon Brougham emphasized the importance of the project, praising Holm and the student initiators. “The work that our students are doing, led by Zahra, Hanan, Steven, and Dr. Holm, is incredible,” he said. “This is a passion project with real meaning for the Afghan girls they are working with, but also for them and the Hun community as a whole. The right to learn, grow, and share a human connection should be universal.” more

February 15, 2023

PPS Prepares to Meet Rising Enrollments

By Donald Gilpin

Enrollment at Princeton Public Schools (PPS) is growing, with an increase of 324 students or 9.5 percent over the past 10 years and an anticipated increase of 433 students, from 3,721 to 4,154, by the 2027-28 school year.

At the February 8 PPS  Board of Education (BOE) meeting, Michael Zuba, a certified professional planner and the director of public education master planning for SLAM, a planning firm for educational entities, presented a report on the anticipated impact on enrollment of new housing in Princeton. His report included information about housing developments that are planned or in progress, the largest of which is Avalon Princeton Circle on Thanet Road, which will consist of 221 apartments and townhouses.

There was an enrollment peak of 3,855 students in the 2019-20 school year, followed by two years of declining enrollment during the pandemic. The data presented at the meeting was consistent  with the two most recent demographic studies in 2020 and 2021.

BOE President Dafna Kendal reflected on the impact of the growing student population and discussed steps the BOE might be taking to address that growth. “We will proceed thoughtfully and deliberately,” she said.

The updated demographic report will be the focus of the March 21 BOE meeting, she added, and in the meantime, “We’re waiting for recommendations from the administration, which we expect to get in early March, and those recommendations will inform our decisions.” more

Eisgruber Highlights PU Accomplishments, Technology Challenges

By Donald Gilpin

In his annual State of the University letter to faculty, students, and staff on January 31, Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber celebrated an abundance of University accomplishments and emphasized the profound impacts of rapidly developing technology.

In addition to a slew of prestigious faculty, student, and alumni awards; an impressive picture of the University’s finances, with record sums raised and significant increases in graduate stipends and undergraduate financial aid, as well as dramatic progress on “the most ambitious building program in the University’s history”; Eisgruber highlighted the Princeton University community’s full return to campus in person for academic, extracurricular, and athletic activities three years after the initial appearance of COVID-19.

“Our campus again pulses with vital energy, personal interaction, and creative inspiration,” he wrote. “Classes are meeting without the restrictions needed last year. Workshops, lectures, and colloquia are well attended. Crowds are welcome at performances, sporting events, and other gatherings.”

Most of his 16-page letter, however, he devoted to discussion of the changing current world of technology and “what these changes mean for Princeton as a University steadfastly committed to the ideals of liberal arts education and curiosity-driven research.”

“Computer science, data science, online media, and machine learning are rapidly changing how we read, write, learn, think, communicate, and socialize,” he wrote. “They are affecting what students want to study, how research is conducted, and what topics scholars can explore. They are altering the world’s capacities and problems, and, with those, the issues that universities must address to prepare students for the future and deliver the research that our society needs.” more

Council Backs Ordinance to Acquire Land on Franklin Avenue for Development of Mixed-Rate Housing

By Anne Levin

Princeton Council introduced an ordinance at its meeting on Monday night seeking to acquire land on Franklin Avenue from the Princeton Housing Authority for the development of affordable and market-rate housing, at a price of $1,720,000.

The municipality already owns two other lots on the street, across from the AvalonBay community. The town proposes to develop the new apartment complex of 160 units with a private developer. A public hearing on the matter is set for February 27.

As part of the public hearing portion of the meeting, Council voted unanimously in favor of an ordinance authorizing the acquisition for $1 of more than 34 acres of open space between Ridgeview Road and Cherry Valley Road. The property forms part of Princeton’s “Emerald Necklace,” and will be added to its preserved open spaces “to be used by the general public for passive recreation and conservation uses, including walking, birdwatching, bike-riding, the study of plants, and similar activities,” according to the meeting agenda.

“I’m very excited to see this gift to the town of private open space finally come to fruition,” said Wendy Mager, president of Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS), before the vote. “It’s going to be a lovely asset for the community. I encourage you to vote yes.”

A scheduled vote on an ordinance extending refuse collection hours was tabled until March 13 to allow time for more public input. Also postponed was a resolution authorizing an agreement with the Princeton Housing Authority to administer Community Development Block Grant 2022 capital improvements.  more

American Repertory Ballet’s “Giselle” Makes the Classic Work More Relatable

RETELLING A CLASSIC: Dancers from American Repertory Ballet rehearse a scene from “Giselle” in which Albrecht, played here by Aldeir Monteiro, collapses after having been forced to dance nearly to death. Ryoko Tanaka, facing away from Monteiro, plays the ghostly Giselle.

By Anne Levin

When Ethan Stiefel was artistic director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet, he asked his friend and fellow dance star Johan Kobborg to collaborate with him on a production of the 19th century classic Giselle. Now, a decade later, Stiefel is staging the work for American Repertory Ballet (ARB), which he has headed since July 2021.

Kobborg, who lives in London, was right beside Stiefel last week at a recent rehearsal in a roomy space at Talbott Library, on the mostly-empty Princeton campus of Westminster Choir College. The two-act, 19th century ballet comes to the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center for four performances March 3-5.

Stiefel and Kobborg, both 50, worked in tandem with the dancers on details of their portrayals. “Feel the purpose, don’t just do the steps,” Kobborg said to Aldeir Monteiro, cast as the nobleman whose infatuation with a young peasant girl leads to heartbreak, grief, and vengeance. “You need to realize that she’s gone.”

Giselle is widely considered to be the perfect Romantic era ballet. Its timeless story of love gone wrong has kept it in the repertories of ballet companies across the world. A year after it premiered in New Zealand, Stiefel and Kobborg’s version was made into a feature film, which has been screened at several international film festivals. The ballet has also been performed by Opera National Bucharest, which Kobborg headed from 2013-2016. more

Annual Oxtail Fest Celebration Raises Funds for Black History Museum

By Anne Levin

The expression “high on the hog” refers to the choicest cuts of meat. Not surprisingly, enslaved people ate “low on the hog,” cast-off cuts that would otherwise be fed to the animals or discarded while the enslavers tucked into what was considered the good stuff.

Oxtail, literally the meat from the tail of a cow, was not among the fancy offerings. But it turns out that those who shunned it didn’t know what they were missing.

“Here’s the thing about oxtail,” said Donnetta Johnson, executive director of the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum (SSAAM) of Skillman, which will hold its second annual Oxtail Fest at Put’s Tavern in Hillsborough on Sunday, February 26 at 3 p.m. “The enslaved people got all the cast-offs, and oxtail was considered one of them. But what the enslavers didn’t understand was that this is a delicious, succulent, flavorful piece of the animal. So the enslaved took this and created wonderful meals with rice, vegetables, okra, collard greens, and more. The irony is that it is now considered fancy food. It has undergone gentrification. It has  done the lobster thing.”

SSAAM’s winter Black history fundraiser, first held in 2021, is back by popular demand. It will feature an African American/Caribbean fusion oxtail preparation as well as Cuban-style and Haitian preparations. Guests can choose between Johnson’s Southern/Jamaican oxtail derived from her mother’s recipe from Selma, Ala.; and her father’s Jamaican family recipe. The Afro-Cuban oxtail is derived from board member Jackie Fay’s mother’s Cubano family recipe. A guest chef will prepare Haitian oxtail.

“He’s actually Puerto Rican,” said Johnson. “So we will have oxtail from three traditions to celebrate with our larger community. There will also be okra, collard greens, appetizers, and treats, plus a whole array of pies and cakes. Our guests should definitely wear elastic.”

A special drink at the festival will features “peaches and spirits,” described in a release as “a nod to enslaved and freed African Americans who worked in the Sourland Mountain peach orchards, which were among four million trees throughout the state. Before the 1899 San Jose scale blight, half of these orchards were located in Hunterdon County.” more

Jeff Lucker, 53 Years at PHS: “It’s Amazing What Can Be Done”

TEACHING WITH PASSION: Princeton High School history teacher Jeff Lucker is surrounded by a couple dozen of the many thousands of students he taught and inspired in a career that spanned more than five decades. He retired on February 1. (Photo courtesy of Jeff Lucker)

By Donald Gilpin

Princeton High School (PHS) students, teachers, administrators, and staff continue to go about their business, but, over the past two weeks — for the first time since 1968 —Jeff Lucker has not been present in the halls, meeting rooms, and the history classroom where he taught for 53 years. He retired on February 1.

After teaching more than 12,000 students, presiding over some 48,000 classes, and delivering who knows how many assignments, quizzes, tests, provocative discussion questions, and words of wisdom, Lucker decided it was time to move on.

Widely celebrated over the years and particularly in his final month at PHS, Lucker has been variously described by students, alumni, colleagues, and others as “a great teacher,” “awesomeness personified,” “the best of the best,” “beloved,” “funny,” “flipping hilarious,” “dedicated with a zest for learning,” “incredibly popular and incredibly talented,” and in many other laudatory terms.

In an early afternoon interview on February 10 in the Princeton Public Library, Lucker, relaxed, feeling a bit like he was playing hooky, reflected on his career and the state of high school education. more

February 8, 2023

COVID Wanes, Tripledemic Fears Fade

By Donald Gilpin

In December, as winter approached, health officials braced for a harrowing combination of spiking COVID-19 variants, an early flu season, and more patients with RSV and other respiratory illnesses than they had seen in recent memory. Media and others warned that the three years of the COVID-19 pandemic would be followed by a “tripledemic.”

But no such surge has come to pass. COVID-19 numbers continue to decline. The flu season seems to have peaked. And the early RSV wave has abated.

“Good news,” said Penn Medicine Princeton Health (PMPH) Chief Medical Officer Dr. Craig Gronczewski in a February 6 phone conversation. “New Jersey was hit particularly hard with a COVID uptick in December, but in the past four weeks hospitalizations and ER visits have gone down significantly.”

He continued, “It also looks like influenza as a disease peaked in early December in New Jersey, and serious illnesses and hospitalizations from RSV have trended down as well. From a respiratory illness standpoint things have been tracking very well in the past four weeks as far as the emergency department is concerned.”

But the news is not all good at PMPH. “We had many fewer COVID cases and hospitalizations than in the previous year, but the number of patients coming to the ER requiring hospitalization actually increased,” said Gronczewski. “I was surprised by the volume of ER visits. The number of patients requiring admission and hospitalization with non-respiratory illnesses was much higher than in years past. It has been a busier winter than ever. We had to use more hallways for patients than ever before.”

Gronczewski suggested that one reason for the influx of hospital patients might be “deferred care,” perhaps an unanticipated consequence of the pandemic. “That’s a lot of what I’m hearing from patients and staff — difficulty in getting access to care or getting diagnostic tests or getting appointments with primary care physicians or with specialists,” he said. more

Food Donation Act Has Support From Princeton Nonprofit

FIGHTING FOOD INSECURITY: Active in the recent passage of the Food Donation Improvement Act were Share My Meals board members, from left, Stan Berteloot, Isabelle Lambotte, and Victoire Cleren. (Photo courtesy of Share My Meals Inc.)

By Anne Levin

Early last month, President Biden signed the Food Donation Improvement Act (FDIA), legislation to reduce food insecurity and food waste, into law. Among the organizations supporting the bill was Share My Meals, which was founded in Princeton in January 2020 and has since delivered more than 175,000 meals to people in need.

Share My Meals was part of a coalition of more than 70 nonprofit and corporate leaders, including WeightWatchers, Grubhub, Food Tank, and Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic, to push the bill forward. The nonprofit’s involvement came through a family connection.

“A board member of ours is related to a person from WeightWatchers, which is the organization that really set this up,” said Helene Lanctuit, vice president of Share My Meals’ board, who is in charge of food safety protocols, and a consultant for advocacy and sustainability. “So we found out by chance and got in touch, and they were happy to have us. We went to [Washington] D.C. to support it, and it was enacted in December last year.”

According to Share My Meals’ website, more than 1.2 million New Jersey residents are food-insecure. At the same time, 1.5 million tons of food are wasted each year across the state, which raises greenhouse gas emissions. The legislation is actually not new — it amends the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act of 1996, broadening and clarifying protections for food donors who might be hesitant about liability for food once it leaves their facility. more

HomeFront Will Celebrate Week of Hope with Many Service, Education Opportunities

By Donald Gilpin

As HomeFront prepares to celebrate its sixth annual Week of Hope February 13-19, HomeFront CEO Sarah Steward reflected on the growing organization’s work in helping local families break the cycle of poverty. “Hope” is a constant theme.

“I see reasons for hope,” she said. “I see challenges, but I do see reasons for hope, and part of that is based on the HomeFront philosophy, which is working family by family. Even when there are big social challenges, I can walk into our waiting room or into our Family Campus any day and meet dozens of families whose lives are being changed, whose lives are being improved. And that gives me hope that we can tackle this in a big way.”

She went on to emphasize the importance of support from the Central New Jersey community. “We know that our community cares deeply for families that have found themselves in difficult times,” she said. “We find so much hope in the volunteers and supporters that give so generously of their time and energy to support our neighbors during this week and throughout the year.”

This year’s Week of Hope will include in-person opportunities to work with HomeFront’s staff in delivering meals to families living at local area motels, sorting clothes and stocking shelves at HomeFront’s Free Store in Trenton, and working at HomeFront’s Diaper Resource Center.  more

Annual Series at Morven Explores a Different Theme This Year

“TRAILBLAZERS AND TRENDSETTERS”: Villa Lewaro, home of the country’s first self-made female Black millionaire, is among the “Grand Homes and Gardens” being explored at Morven starting February 22.

By Anne Levin

For this year’s “Grand Homes and Gardens” speaker series, Morven Museum & Garden is venturing into some new territory — literally and figuratively. “Trailblazers and Trendsetters” takes participants beyond the usual palatial mansions and landscapes to some previously unexplored locations, styles, and time periods.

“This year is a little bit of a departure in that we’ve been focusing on Gilded Age homes a great deal,” said Morven Executive Director Jill Barry of the upcoming series, which begins February 22 and continues March 1, 8, and 15. “By throwing in Manitoga, which is from the 1960s, and Bartram’s Garden, from the 1700s and older than the places we usually feature, we’re pushing the borders on both ends.”

Located in Garrison, N.Y., Manitoga was the home of mid-century designer Russel Wright. On February 22, Vivian Linares, Manitoga’s director of collections, interpretation, and preservation, will speak about the property, which “stands alone as an iconic and idiosyncratic example of eco-sensitive modernist architecture,” according to a release. “The home’s 75-acre woodland garden, a reclaimed quarry restored to its ‘natural setting,’ is a key illustration of the ecological aesthetic in landscape architecture.”

The Italianate Villa Lewaro in Irvington, New York, was the home of Madam C.J. Walker, America’s first self-made female millionaire. Walker, a cosmetics and business pioneer, is the subject of a talk by her great-granddaughter A’Lelia Bundles, author of the book On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker, on March 1. Bundles will bring along copies of her book for signing. Villa Lewaro was designed by architect Vertner Woodson Tandy in 1918 for Walker, who entertained notable leaders of the Harlem Renaissance at the estate. more

Princeton Business Partnership Unveils New Name, Design, and Progress

By Anne Levin

On January 26, the nonprofit Princeton Business Partnership introduced a new name, new logo, and new website at the first of its monthly “meet-ups.” Some 50 business community members and municipal officials gathered at the Arts Council of Princeton to officially usher in what is now known as Experience Princeton.

On the new website, the organization’s president Aubrey Haines said, “The Experience Princeton brand was developed with many purposes in mind: to welcome visitors from around the world, to uphold Princeton’s reputation for excellence, and to be a responsible, engaged, and forward-thinking ambassador for local business.”

Since Princeton Council passed an ordinance last February creating a Special Improvement District (SID) meant to help revitalize businesses in town, board members and volunteers have been working to develop the brand. A SID is a self-governed and managed nonprofit that constitutes a coalition of businesses and property owners in town, with a goal of helping those businesses. It assists with marketing and acts as a liaison to local government. Each property pays an assessment.

“It’s an interesting time for the organization,” Isaac Kremer, executive director of Experience Princeton, said this week. “We’re in very early phases. Our four teams — streetscape, economic development, administration, and marketing — are meeting regularly and utilizing what we call the strategic doing model, which teaches people how to form collaborations quickly. We prioritize action in the next 30 days, breaking down the work into bite-sized pieces that the teams can really coalesce around.” more

PHS Research Team Competes for Top Prizes in Samsung STEM Competition

SOLVING FOR TOMORROW: Princeton High School’s research team has been chosen as one of eight New Jersey finalists in the 2023 Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM competition. PHS researchers, from left, are Matias da Costa, Nicholas Akey, Yangwenbo (William) Yao, Daniela Gonzalez, Courtney Weber, Sabine Ristad, Luisa Buss, and William Ponder. (Photo courtesy of Mark Eastburn)

By Donald Gilpin

A Princeton High School (PHS) team of student scientists has for the second year in a row been named one of eight New Jersey finalists in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM Competition, and PHS is one of 300 public schools in the country to be selected.

The school district has been awarded a $2,500 package for technology and school supplies and the team will find out later this month whether it will be named the state winner and receive an additional $20,000 in technology equipment. Last year’s PHS research team went all the way to win Samsung’s national competition, bringing home a prize of $110,000 for its black soldier fly project to process food waste into animal feed and soap, reducing both food waste and greenhouse emissions in the process.

The Samsung competition challenges students in grades 6 to 12 to explore the role science, technology, engineering, and math can play in addressing some of the biggest issues in their local communities. “The competition is designed to engage students in active, hands-on learning that can be applied to real-world problems —making STEM more tangible and showcasing its value beyond the classroom,” according to a Samsung press release.

This year’s PHS entry in the Samsung competition is a framework for saltwater aquaponics, growing plants in salt water where shrimp waste is used as fertilizer to help the plants grow. “It’s a really interesting project because both the plants and the fish benefit from it,” said 10th grade team member Sabine Ristad in a February 6 Zoom interview. “The nutrients that the fish put into the water help the plants grow. I think it’s cool how they both work together for a greater benefit. I learned a lot from the project about how to build these systems and work with other people.”

The award-winning PHS research program, led by PHS science teacher Mark Eastburn, seems to generate an abundance of groundbreaking, interesting projects.  more

School Matters 2/8/23

Updated Demographic Report for PPS

Five-year projections for Princeton Public Schools (PPS) predict the schools’ enrollment will increase from its current level of 3,721 to a peak of 4,154 by the 2027-28 school year, according to a February 8 PPS press release.

The data, which was to be presented at the Tuesday, February 7 Board of Education (BOE) meeting, which took place after press time, noted that total PPS enrollment has increased by 324 students, or 9.5 percent, over the past 10 years. The most recent enrollment peak of 3,855 students was in the 2019-20 school year, followed by two years of declining enrollment during the pandemic.

The projected enrollment numbers for the next five years reflect a continued expansion of the PPS pre-K program, but do not include children who attend pre-K off-site at partner provider locations.

 more

Art at Labyrinth

Paintings by artist Cliff Tisdell honoring Southern writer Carson McCullers are on exhibit at Labyrinth Books, 122 Nassau Street, through February 28. Labyrinth owner Dorothea von Moltke and Tisdell, shown here, hope to stir interest in McCullers’ work with young readers who may not be familiar with her.

February 1, 2023

Court Clubhouse Almost Ready for Move

READY TO ROLL: The former Court Clubhouse, hoisted onto steel beams, will be rotated 180 degrees and rolled across Prospect Avenue the week of February 13 to be set on its new foundation. A section of Prospect Avenue between Olden Street and Murray Place will be closed to traffic for about four weeks starting February 1.  (Photo courtesy of Clifford Zink)

By Donald Gilpin

The former Court Clubhouse has been hoisted from its current location at 91 Prospect Avenue, with steel beams and hydraulic jacks inserted below the first floor. Dollies are ready to be placed below the steel beams so the building can rotate 180 degrees and roll across Prospect Avenue to its new location.

The rotation is expected to take three days, currently scheduled for the week of February 13, and it will then take one day to roll the clubhouse across the street and set it on its new foundation adjacent to 114 Prospect, according to a January 20 Princeton University press release.

Constructed in 1927 as the Court Club, one of the University’s eating clubs, the building had more recently served as the home of Princeton’s Office of the Dean for Research. A University plan to move it across the street to a location occupied by three Queen Anne Victorian houses, which were to be demolished, met with resistance from the community and many University alumni until, in October 2021, the University came up with a compromise plan to preserve all three houses. One of the houses, 110 Prospect, was moved last fall to make room for the clubhouse building.

Sandy Harrison, a 1974 Princeton University graduate and board chair of the Princeton Prospect Foundation, a leading force in negotiating the University-community compromise, expressed his gratification at seeing the completion of the 91 Prospect move.

“Princeton Prospect Foundation is very pleased that the moving of the former Court Clubhouse is about to come to fruition after months of public hearings and ultimately successful negotiations with the University in 2021 to preserve it in a manner which also keeps three Victorian-era houses across the street from being demolished.” more

Events Throughout Mercer County Mark Annual Black History Month

By Anne Levin

Ever since Carter G. Woodson inaugurated Negro History Week nearly a century ago, the annual observance has had a theme. Among the first in 1928 was “Civilization: A World Achievement,” followed a year later by “Possibility of Putting Negro History in the Curriculum,” and “Significant Achievements of the Negro” two years on.

Negro History Week became Black History Month in 1976 when it was officially expanded and renamed by Congress. This year’s theme, “Black Resistance,” marking the national community’s efforts to counter ongoing oppression and racial terrorism, seems especially pertinent.

As Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes wrote in a newsletter this week, “Every February, Mercer County joins the nation in celebrating Black History Month. This year, however, the celebration feels somber in the wake of yet another case of deadly over-policing, this time in the City of Memphis where Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old father, became the latest Black man in a horrific line of abuse. Mr. Nichols’ death is a glaring reminder that efforts to reform policing have a long way to go. As we together peacefully protest this latest incident, let it spark broader conversations about the need for police reform, without losing sight of the important work done by police professionals in our communities.”

Numerous observances are planned throughout Mercer County and the surrounding area throughout the month. In Princeton, Morven Museum is offering an online exhibition, “Slavery at Morven,” highlighting the history of slavery at the historic house-turned-museum. “By not shying away from our story of enslaved people, we believe our visitors will have a better understanding of how our world evolved to where we are today,” reads a release. “Research into the men, women, and children enslaved by the Stocktons [original owners of the house] at Morven is ongoing, and this site will be updated as new information is discovered. Visit morven.org/slavery-at-morven to view the exhibition. more

Public Encouraged to Offer Feedback for New Resource Inventory

By Anne Levin

In the Environmental Resource Inventory (ERI), currently available on the Princeton Environmental Commission’s (PEC) website, there are more than 150 pages covering everything from flooding and groundwater contamination to rare animal species and soil limitations for development.

That exhaustive document was compiled in 2010. The PEC, in partnership with the town’s municipal staff and Ecotone, Inc., has recently announced plans for an update — not to replace the 2010 inventory, but to augment it. And they want input from the community, to be gathered at a Zoom meeting on Wednesday, February 22 at 7 p.m. Members of the public are encouraged to attend, pose questions, and provide feedback.

“We want people to ask questions,” said Tammy Sands, PEC chair. “We are highly recommending that people first take a look at the old inventory — at least the introduction — which will give them a background.”

The 2010 ERI was completed when Princeton was still divided into Borough and Township. “The town has changed,” said Councilwoman Eve Niedergang, who serves as liaison to the PEC. “The new ERI will look into similar aspects of the old one, like areas for natural vegetation, our animal communities, our little ecosystems, and our waterways. But this one will look at new priorities. What are they? Invasive plants, perhaps? It will be based on data we receive from the consultant.” more

Day to Lead Strategic Initiatives At Institute for Advanced Study

By Donald Gilpin

Alexandra Day
(Photo by Kevin Birch)

The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) has created a new administrative position to “enhance and expand collaborative activities” with “various intellectual communities and the broader public, including our Princeton neighbors,” according to IAS Communications and Public Relations Manager Lee Sandberg, and it has appointed Alexandra Day, who is currently deputy vice president for alumni engagement at Princeton University, to fill that position beginning February 15.

Taking charge as IAS’s first associate director for strategic initiatives, programming, and partnerships, “Day will seek to engage partners and audiences in programs that convene leaders from academia, industry, governments, and external communities to support the Institute’s core activities and new initiatives,” an IAS press release stated.

The release continued, “At a time when discussions around knowledge, science, and society are increasingly politicized, the Institute — an independent science and humanities organization with a 92-year tradition of fostering discovery, protecting intellectual freedom, and providing refuge for scholars at risk — has both the reputation and experience to provide a credible harbor for free and honest intellectual exchange.”

Day, a 2002 graduate of Princeton University, has been senior alumni affairs officer and a member of the president’s cabinet at the University over the past four years, leading alumni engagement activities as well as a range of public relations, events, and fundraising programs.  Before returning to Princeton in 2019 she was vice president for public affairs at the Juilliard School and previously served as director of public relations at Lyric Opera of Chicago, director of communications for soprano Renee Fleming, and special projects manager at the Metropolitan Opera. more

Touring Film Festival Will Present Animation, Documentaries, and More

AT THE SALON: This still is from the documentary “Inside the Beauty Bubble,” among the works to be screened at the 42nd Annual Thomas Edison Film Festival’s in-person premiere at Princeton University’s James Stewart Film Theater on February 17.

By Anne Levin

Back in person after the pandemic, the Thomas Edison Film Festival (TEFF) returns to Princeton University February 17-25 with a screening, a virtual live-streamed discussion with filmmakers, and seven Stellar Award-winning films that can be watched on demand.

Formerly known as the Black Maria Film Festival and originally named for Thomas Edison’s West Orange film studio (dubbed the “Black Maria” because of its resemblance to the black-box police paddy wagons of the time), the festival is an international juried competition that has been around for more than four decades. This is the fifth year that the Thomas Edison Media Arts Consortium has collaborated with Princeton University’s Lewis Center for the Arts.

The Consortium also showcases the New Jersey Young Filmmakers Festival and the Global Insights Collection, an archive of films focusing on the environment, LGBTQ+ subjects, people with disabilities, international issues, race and class, and films with themes of social justice.  more

January 27, 2023

Police Release Composite Sketch of Burglary Suspect

Princeton Police have released a composite sketch by the New Jersey State Police of a suspect in a residential burglary which occurred on January 11 between the hours of 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. at a home on Mercer Street. The burglar allegedly entered through a rear door, which was forced open.

According to police, the residence was ransacked, and the suspect took possession of cash and jewelry. The suspect is described as a light-skinned Black male, approximately 5’11 to 6’0, weighing approximately 160 to 170 pounds, with a normal build. He was wearing a blue/black ski knit hat, a black waist-length “puffy” jacket, a black backpack, and black shoes.

Anyone who recognizes this individual or has information should contact Detective Allie at (609) 921-2100 ext. 2123, or email rallie@princetonnj.gov.

January 25, 2023

Development Along Route 1 is Far-Reaching

By Anne Levin

A lawsuit seeking to reverse approval for the Bridge Point 8 project, a 5.5 million-square-foot warehouse and distribution center in West Windsor Township, was recently filed in Mercer County Superior Court by two Township residents. The suit against the Township, its Planning Board, the developer, and the owner of the 539-acre property has focused much attention on the massive project bordered by Quakerbridge Road, the Northeast Corridor train tracks, and Route 1.

But the Bridge Point 8 development is only one of several construction projects currently underway, or awaiting final approval, along the highway. From Princeton University’s 107-acre Lake Campus in West Windsor to the site of the demolished Sleepy Hollow Motel in Lawrence Township, there is activity up and down the heavily traveled thoroughfare. Hotels, convenience stores, retail stores, condominiums, and apartments are among the projects listed on West Windsor Township’s website and confirmed by the Township’s Land Use Manager Sam Surtees.

Plans for the Lake Campus, on a tract between Lake Carnegie and Route 1 north of Washington Road, the University’s first development in West Windsor, include housing for graduate and post-doctoral students, a racquet center with a fitness space, a softball stadium, rugby fields, a cross-country course, a central utility building, and a parking garage with more than 600 spaces. Construction is ongoing and a completion date has not been announced. more

Town Council Approves Overlay Zone for Witherspoon-Jackson

By Anne Levin

Princeton Council passed two ordinances at its Monday night meeting. One lowers speed limits on Witherspoon Street and John Street to 20 miles per hour; the other approves creation of a new affordable housing overlay zone along portions of Witherspoon Street.

Before those actions were considered, several members of the Princeton Police Department were sworn in, in front of numerous family members and colleagues. Chief Jon Bucchere and Mayor Mark Freda presided, swearing in four new officers and promoting four others to new positions. Sergeant Tom Lagomarsino is now police lieutenant. Corporal Don Mathews is now police sergeant. Patrol Officer Darwin Kieffer and Detective Eric Dawson were named police corporals.

The ordinance related to the affordable housing overlay zone was approved following several comments, some in favor and some not, by members of the community. Housing overlay zones are added layers on top of existing zoning ordinances that provide incentives for developers to build housing, particularly affordable housing, within specific districts.

Maria Juega spoke in support of the action, but expressed concerns about a possible negative impact to residents of properties along Witherspoon Street who could be displaced. “It inevitably raises the specter of urban renewal projects which are well intentioned but result in displacement of low-income ethnic minority populations,” she said.

Her concerns were echoed by Veronica Olivares, of the town’s Human Services Commission. “The neighbors have no idea this is happening,” she said. “I’d like Council to consider a plan to have additional conversations with the developers, and also have talks with residents, with a Spanish interpreter.” Resident Michael Floyd said he was worried about the 45-foot height allowance, urging Council to cap it at 35 feet. more

Town Wins $552K Climate Solutions Grant To Fund Community Park North Project

RESTORATION GRANT: The State of New Jersey has awarded $552,000 to Princeton for ecological work at Community Park North. It is one of the state’s first Natural Climate Solutions grants.

By Donald Gilpin

Princeton will be receiving $552,000, one of the state’s first Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) grants, to be used for the ecological restoration of 40 acres at Community Park North.

Wendy Mager, president of the Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS), which collaborated with the Municipality of Princeton in applying for the grant, explained why the award is so important.  “It demonstrates that Princeton is recognizing and acting on the fact that open space, which happily we have a substantial amount of, doesn’t just take care of itself,” she said. “It has to be taken care of.”

She continued, “That’s particularly true because the impacts of invasive species and deer have made it difficult or impossible for forests and other open spaces to naturally regenerate, and this area in Community Park North is a dramatic illustration of that. There are big open areas where the forest canopy is gone because of natural events like wind storms.

What happens is that they are taken over by invasive species, and the young saplings that would otherwise regenerate are either crowded out, shaded out or choked by vines. This project is going to address that in a big way, so that we don’t lose a forest that we made an effort to preserve.” more

Update on University Museum Project Is Topic of a Talk by James Steward

BIGGER IN SIZE, BROADER IN SCOPE: A rendering of the Princeton University Art Museum, which is the subject of a talk by director James Steward this week. The building designed by Adjaye Associates is currently under construction. (Design rendering by Adjaye Associates)

By Anne Levin

When the reconfigured Princeton University Art Museum opens at a date projected for late next year, the building, which has been under construction since December 2021, will have doubled in size. But the design by British-based architect David Adjaye is about more than increasing space.

Equally key to the project is the way the reimagined museum will present and interpret its collections, which range from antiquities to contemporary art. “The demands we as a society are making of our museums are changing,” said James Steward, the museum’s director since April 2009. Steward will deliver a talk on the topic at Frist Campus Center, Room 302, on Thursday, January 26 at 4:30 p.m.

“A number of other institutions are also responding to that change in ways that are perhaps different from us,” he continued. “I think our approach, in which we continue to pay serious attention to the past while focusing on issues of special importance today, is what is special and unique about this project. There are a lot of cultural institutions that are challenged to figure out how to do both of these things.”

In a conversation last weekend, Steward wasn’t revealing too much of “A New Museum for a New Age,” the title of his talk. “Now that we’re very deep into the process of curating the future galleries, I will offer some hints,” he said. “But I won’t give it all away.” more