By Anne Levin

For the year 2020, Mercer County has been rated among the top five New Jersey counties for most documented instances of antisemitism. According to the nonprofit Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks, that’s a 93 percent increase from the previous year.

The trend continues all over New Jersey. Last week, unidentified assailants are reported to have thrown eggs at a Jewish fraternity house at Rutgers University as members were commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day by reading out the names of Holocaust victims over a 24-hour period. And that’s just one isolated example.

Enough is enough, say members of the Jewish Federation, which has announced a campaign to try to combat antisemitism locally and help create a safer environment for Jewish individuals living in the region. A billboard on Route 1, signage on buses, and a Jewish American Heritage Festival on Sunday, May 15 in Palmer Square are all part of the effort. The festival, from 2-5 p.m., will feature kosher food trucks and musical performances by The Maccabeats and Princeton University’s Jewish a cappella group, Koleinu.

“Last year, we held a rally for combating antisemitism and hate in Hinds Plaza, and we had a really great showing,” said Daniel Herscovici, president of the organization. “As we saw the continued rise in incidents around us, we wanted to perhaps come forward with a different voice. That voice is centered around being proud of your heritage, and not being fearful of showing who you are as an individual.”

Herscovici and colleagues began to look for a campaign that could do just that. They have decided to partner with the organization JewBelong, which has been fighting growing antisemitism with brightly colored billboards in New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Orlando, Miami, and other cities expressing sentiments such as: “Let’s ask everyone who’s wondering if Jew hate is real to wear a yarmulke for a week and then report back” and “I promise to love being Jewish 10x more than anyone hates me for it.” more

LOOK AND LISTEN: Early May is prime birdwatching season, and there are several opportunities to see and hear them on walks led by experts. The redstart warbler is among the species likely to make an appearance.

By Anne Levin

Looking out her window this past Monday morning, Barbara Dawson was thrilled to spy a redstart warbler in her hemlock tree. Black with orange trim, the eye-catching bird was a welcome visitor, “a wonderful way to start the day,” said Dawson, who lives in New Brunswick with her husband and fellow birding enthusiast. “It was beautiful, just beautiful.”

The Dawsons will lead a bird walk along the D&R Canal in Franklin Township this Sunday morning. The trek is one of several being held this month, locally and in neighboring regions. Each is focused on spotting birds and listening to their songs as they stop on their way to migrate north.

Local events include a bird walk at the Institute Woods, and a bilingual introduction to birdwatching at Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve, held in English and Mandarin. Across the Delaware River in Bucks County, Pa., there are events at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve and the grounds of the Bucks County Audubon Society, among other locations.

“It’s addicting and it’s pleasurable,” said Dawson. “There is the beauty of being out in nature, particularly in early May when nature is revealing its wonders. There is the thrill of seeing birds that we don’t often see — warblers and vireos — as they come through, most on their way to New England and Canada.” more

FRONT TO BACK: This duplex on Lytle Street, built by volunteers led by Habitat for Humanity of South Central New Jersey, is now home to two new owners as part of an affordable housing project that has been underway since 2015.

By Anne Levin

It has taken seven years, but a slender lot on Lytle Street in the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood is now the site of a front-to-back duplex, housing two income-qualified families.

Owners of the two homes on Lytle Street, next to the Mary Moss Playground, were officially handed the keys at a ceremony last week, attended by local government officials as well as representatives from Princeton University and Habitat for Humanity of South Central New Jersey (Habitat SCNJ), which built the homes.

“We had quite a big turnout,” said Annie Fox, chief development officer for Habitat SCNJ. “As a matter of fact, it was so big that we had to move it outside. I know it sounds cliché, but you could really see and feel all the love. Everyone was so happy to see this happen.”

In March 2015, Princeton Council voted to set aside funds to acquire the two lots at 31-33 Lytle Street. Three years later, the property was named as a potential site where housing would be built in order to meet the municipality’s affordable housing obligation. Many neighbors wanted to see the house
be rehabilitated rather than razed, but it was determined that it could not be saved.

The Collingswood-based firm OSK Design Partners designed the project, which is on an exceptionally narrow lot. Plans to use the old porch were abandoned when it could not be salvaged, but it was replicated. “There was a lot of concern about the look and the historic aspect,” said Fox. “The lot being so skinny, we were really worried at first about how we would fit two houses. But the architect did a fantastic job of doing a front-to-back design.”

One of the houses has two bedrooms; the other has three. Each are equipped with new appliances and have both on- and off-street parking.

The owner of the smaller home is moving from Camden, where she lived in an unsafe neighborhood. Princeton is closer to her job as a supervisor with the New Jersey Turnpike, Fox said. The family next door has been renting locally for more than 16 years “and have long desired to become homeowners,” according to a press release. “With the rising cost of rent and the competitive housing market, they were unsure if they were ever going to own their own home. The family felt extremely fortunate to be selected for an affordable home in Princeton, viewing it as a step towards stability for their family.”

As Habitat homeowners, the residents will pay no more than 30 percent of their income on principal, taxes, and homeowner insurance.

Funding partners for the project included the municipality, Princeton University, The McAlpin Foundation, the late Betty Wold Johnson, Wells Fargo, Nassau Presbyterian Church, Trinity Church, and the Merancas Foundation.

“The most rewarding part of this is having the opportunity for someone to live in such an amazing community, with access to great schools, a downtown, and a wonderful neighborhood,” said Fox. “Seeing the community support from the town, the neighbors, and the University, has been amazing to us. This is a true example of how communities should come together to build.”

By Anne Levin

Since Rider University moved Westminster Choir College (WCC) from its longtime Princeton location to Rider’s Lawrenceville campus two years ago, Westminster’s dwindling student body has watched the 96-year-old school’s traditions fade. The latest to be headed for extinction is Westminster’s commencement ceremony, a much-anticipated event held each spring at Princeton University Chapel.

Westminster’s May 13 commencement will be its final one at the chapel. Next year, according to Rider Associate Vice President of University Marketing and Communications Kristine Brown, the Westminster students will become part of Rider’s regular graduation ceremonies on the Lawrenceville campus.

“There are many reasons for this, including factors such as the overall number of WCC students graduating and cost, but mostly it is to incorporate all that is special about WCC’s commencement into the overall university commencement for everyone to experience,” Brown said in an email this week.

This doesn’t sit well with alumni, students, and supporters of the choir college, which merged with Rider in 1992 but maintained its identity as a top training ground for musicians and music educators until Rider attempted to sell the 22-acre Princeton campus four years ago. When those efforts proved unsuccessful, Westminster was moved to the Rider campus. The future of the Princeton campus has yet to be decided.

The ceremony at Princeton University Chapel is more than an awarding of diplomas. “This is the final straw for many Westminster Choir College students, and definitely for the alumni,” wrote Barbara Calvert Freund, Class of 1973, in an email. “Many of us would return every year to participate in this glorious celebration of music, and welcome the new WCC graduates into the greater family of alumni who share an ageless and eternal bond.”

In an article in The Rider News, Westminster Professor Joel Phillips called the decision “another attempt by this administration to eradicate something valuable and irreplaceable.”

On May 16, oral arguments are scheduled to take place regarding lawsuits by students and alumni seeking to block Rider’s relocation of Westminster. While the lawsuits were dismissed two years ago by Judge Robert Lougy of New Jersey’s Superior Court Chancery Division, in favor of Rider, appeals were filed on behalf of the alumni and students. The May 16 arguments will be heard by the State Appellate Division of Superior Court. more

By Anne Levin

When developers of the Graduate Hotel planned for 20 Nassau Street came to Princeton Council a month ago with the news that Chambers Street would most likely not be kept open to two-way traffic during the extensive construction process, members of the governing body were not happy.

Council asked the developers and builder Hunter Roberts Construction Group which had previously indicated that the road might stay open both ways, to take another look, and see if there was any way to keep the traffic flowing in both directions. On Monday night, at another work session on the project, they got the disappointing news that there was not.

“We’ve all come to the conclusion that Chambers will have to be one-way northbound,” said James Purcell, Princeton’s assistant municipal engineer. Christopher DeGrezia, attorney for Graduate Hotel, added, “We did a deep dive into the construction and the tasks we are doing along Chambers so we can evaluate what equipment will be there, what space we’ll need, and what minimum distance we’ll need during various stages.”

The fact that Witherspoon Street, where another project is underway, has also been made one-way northbound caused concern among Council members. Councilwoman Michelle Pirone Lambros asked if Chambers Street could be directed southbound instead. “From a traffic standpoint, southbound is the way to go. The only way out will be Vandeventer Avenue and Palmer Square. So at the very least, it should be southbound.” more

By Anne Levin

After graduating from Princeton University in 1969 and working for Time magazine, Richard K. Rein took a job with a landscape architecture firm in Pittsburgh, Pa. It wasn’t a good fit — he was fired after 9 months.

But while he was there, Rein happened upon The Last Landscape, a book by American urbanist, journalist, author, and 1939 Princeton University graduate William Hollingsworth “Holly” Whyte. He never forgot it.

Rein is familiar to local readers as the founder and longtime editor of the weekly newspaper U.S.1, from which he retired two years ago. A Princeton resident, he currently edits the community news site TAPinto Princeton, and serves on the council of the nonprofit Princeton Future.

Rein’s interest in Whyte has recently come full-circle. Early this year, his book American Urbanist: How William H. Whyte’s Unconventional Wisdom Reshaped Public Life was published by Island Press.

It was a few years before leaving U.S.1 that Rein started to consider writing a book about Whyte. “He just fascinated me,” Rein said. “He was this early icon of planning, preservation, and environmentalism. He said that in order to save the countryside, you’ve got to do better in the cities. So much of what he wrote about is still so relevant today.”

After graduating from Princeton, Whyte served as a U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer in World War II, and later wrote the bestselling book The Organization Man, which warned about the dangers of what he called “groupthink.” He was a key influence in the revitalization of New York City’s Bryant Park, among other projects, and he helped shape the rising environmental movement. He died in 1999 at the age of 82. more

By Anne Levin

With some 60 bands and musical attractions on 11 front porches in town, the inaugural Princeton Porchfest this Saturday, April 23, is shaping up to be the all-encompassing community event that its planners had in mind.

Barring a severe weather event, homes on Murray Place, Linden Lane, Maple Street, Willow Street, Wiggins Street, Mt. Lucas Road, Birch Avenue, Witherspoon Street, and Leigh Avenue; along with the Princeton University building that fronts 185 Nassau Street and the Paul Robeson Center for the Arts at 102 Witherspoon Street, will be the stages for musical attractions from across the spectrum.

An eclectic-sounding list of names, including Mimosa Watusi, Ophelia’s Lover, Lemon Glaze Band, Cousin Oven, Hot Jupiter, and Circle Round the Sun, are on the schedule. More traditional-sounding attractions on the list include Westrick Music Academy, Princeton High School Around 8, the Princeton University Band, Wildcats A Cappella, the Princeton Pianists Ensemble, and the Sourland String Band. For a full roster, visit Artscouncilofprinceton.org.

Princeton Porchfest is the one of the highlights of the April ARTS Festival of Arts and Culture, which was inaugurated April 1 to reimagine the annual Communiversity street fair, which has drawn crowds in the range of 30,000 to Princeton in recent, pre-pandemic years. The Arts

Council of Princeton is behind the event, with support from Princeton University and the municipality. more

WHEN TROLLEYS RAN THE RAILS: This 1929 photo of a trolley car on the route between Trenton and New Brunswick is included among the West Windsor Historical Society’s remembrances of the historic Trolley Line Trail.

By Anne Levin

Back in the early days of the last century, trolley lines were key links in local transportation systems. The line that ran from Trenton to New Brunswick from 1902 to 1937 spanned 27.5 miles, stopping along the way in West Windsor.

West Windsor Township happens to be in the midst of celebrating its 225th birthday this year, and recognizing the route is part of the schedule. This Saturday, April 23, at 10 a.m. and 12 and 2 p.m., bicycle tours of the old trolley line trail — now a pedestrian walking trail — are being offered by the West Windsor Historical Society and the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance.

Departing from West Windsor Community Park Pavilion, the tours will run along the PSE&G power lines, the route once taken by the trolleys. The 10 a.m. tour includes a ribbon-cutting for a recently constructed extension to the trail. All three tours will explore the story of the trolley line, touching on other West Windsor history topics along the way.

“What used to be the trolley line is now a pedestrian walking path, and not many people know about its history,” said Paul Ligeti, who is vice president of the historical society. “We thought people would like to know.”

Saturday’s tours are just one part of a year-long series of events commemorating West Windsor’s history. They began in January with a lecture by author and historian Larry Kidder on “Ten Crucial Days,” about West Windsor’s role in the Revolutionary War; and conclude in December at the West Windsor History Museum. Numerous events are planned for this summer, including a cemetery tour and lecture, an antique car show, a cricket tournament, a history and culture parade, a Revolutionary War Colonial reenactment, open space tours, and more.

“The historical society, local government, and other municipal groups are collaborating on a whole variety of events,” said Ligeti. “There are ongoing projects, including the installation of historic markers in different historic villages; and beautifying the cemetery at Princeton Baptist Church [on Route 1], on which we are working a bit with Princeton University.” more

FACES THAT SPEAK: Artist Debra Kapnek’s painting of Holocaust survivors, titled “18 Enduring Voices,” is the subject of a short film followed by a talk at The Jewish Center Princeton.

By Anne Levin

It has been 77 years since the end of the Holocaust. Like numerous other religious organizations throughout the world, The Jewish Center Princeton will memorialize the six million Jews who were murdered, and honor those who survived, to mark Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) on Wednesday, April 27 starting at 6 p.m.

The program begins with a short film about 18 Enduring Voices, a painting of Holocaust survivors by Philadelphia area artist Debra Kapnek. Marcel Groen, son of one of the survivors in the painting, will speak, and Kapnek will talk about her experiences painting her subjects. A Q&A and evening service will follow.

Kapnek, who earned degrees in art at Temple and George Washington universities, started painting portraits after her brother returned from working in Mali, Africa, with slides of some of the people he encountered. “He encouraged me to paint them, to try to raise money for people there who were suffering from a drought,” Kapnek said. “That was my first series of portraits from photographs.”

Trained to work from life rather than photographs, Kapnek was reluctant at first. “But it went better than I expected,” she said. “I had a show, and that led to a commission from the American Association for Ethiopian Jews to paint Jews in Ethiopia who were under house arrest at that time. That led me later to paint portraits [from photographs] of the people of Darfur. They were used to raise awareness about the genocide that was happening to them. And probably still is.” more

By Anne Levin

After considering a request from Princeton Council to further investigate whether it is possible to have a bike lane and underground utilities on Phase 2 of the Witherspoon Street redesign plan, which spans Green Street to Franklin Avenue, municipal staff has concluded that it is not.

“We looked at comments from the community, the PBAC (Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee), and Council, and compiled our findings in a 12-page design report,” the town’s Assistant Municipal Engineer Jim Purcell told the governing body at its meeting Monday night, April 11. “We simply cannot find a way to provide dedicated bike lanes within this limited corridor. It would not be safe for all of our users.”

Purcell added that after a recent meeting with PSE&G, “We now understand that undergrounding utility lines is unfeasible.” Staff is sticking with its recommendation from the Council meeting two weeks ago that a concept that doesn’t include bike lanes and underground utilities be the one to be approved.

Each of the three phases involved in the project comes with a grant from the New Jersey Department of Transportation. The deadline for the second phase funding, which is $625,000, is November 19. Purcell said staff has consulted numerous individuals and departments, including Sgt. Thomas Murray of the Princeton Police Department’s traffic safety bureau; Elizabeth Kim of the Historic Preservation Commission; Municipal Arborist Taylor Sapudar; and others. “All of us spent the last two weeks looking at all the different opportunities and alternatives that could be considered,” he said. “We request that you approve us moving forward with the design on this concept.”

The presentation was part of a work session, and no formal action was taken. The first phase of the project, from Nassau to Green streets, is currently underway. The third phase will cover Franklin Avenue to Valley Road. more

TRUE STORY: The historic farmstead that was home to the True family in Skillman will be the new headquarters of the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum and Sourland Conservancy.

By Anne Levin

A property originally owned by an African American Union army veteran after the Civil War has been saved by a partnership of the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum (SSAAM) and Sourland Conservancy.

The two nonprofits have purchased the True family farmstead in Skillman, which not only preserves the historic site, but will also provide permanent office space for both organizations.

“Everything will be together,” said Kariina Rand of Sourland Conservancy. “We’ve never really had a proper home accessible to the public.”

Spencer True was a descendant of the former slave Friday Truehart, who had gained his freedom in 1819 and became an early African American landowner in the Sourland region. Spencer and his wife, Corinda, lived on the farmstead, which originally included the land on which the National Historic Register-listed Mt. Zion AME Church stands today. The church is now home to the museum.

Descendants of the True family sold the adjoining farmstead to the Normile family in 1994. “We heard the family might be moving, and we were able to make the purchase,” said Rand. “We had a relationship with them already. It was very fortuitous timing, just as they were considering putting it on the market.” more

By Anne Levin

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 3,142 people died in the United States due to distracted driving in 2020. The statistics have only gotten more troubling as time has gone on. Princeton is no exception.

April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and the Princeton Police Department is taking the opportunity to raise awareness about the dangers of eating, drinking, fiddling with entertainment or navigation systems, talking on hand-held phones, or — worst of all — texting, while behind the wheel. Anything that takes a driver’s eyes off the road, even for a few seconds, is being addressed this month and next.

“It’s a very rapidly growing concern, especially with more people returning to the roads since COVID,” said Sgt. Thomas Murray, of the department’s traffic safety bureau. “Accident report data continues to show that people are not paying attention. And they are openly admitting it.”

Officers on foot and in cars are on alert not only for drivers, but for people texting while walking, or bicycling in an unsafe manner. “We like to educate as much, if not more, than enforce,” said Murray. “We are making an effort to be pro-active in educating people, but we’ll be a little more pro-active in issuing summonses for blatant violations.”

Approximately 80 percent of all of the crash investigation reports handled by the Princeton Police department on an annual basis identify “driver inattention” or some other type of unsafe driving behavior, such as speeding and following too closely, as contributing to crashes. Relying on rear bumper sensors when backing up isn’t always enough. And there has been a dramatic increase in people confusing the brake pedal with the accelerator.  more