VISION FOR THE FUTURE: A rendering from Ikon5 Architects of the new Museum and Visitors Center that is among Washington Crossing Park Association’s preparations for the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. (Rendering courtesy of WCPA)

By Anne Levin

With the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence less than two years away, parks, museums, and historic sites related to the 1776 proclamation are busy planning for celebratory events. Among them is the Washington Crossing Park Association (WCPA), which has some major capital improvements on the drawing board, including a new Museum and Visitors center.

A presentation on those plans is part of “Table Talk Histories,” taking place Sunday, July 28 starting at 1 p.m. at the Park’s Sullivan Grove Pavilion, near the current Visitors Center Museum, in Titusville. Preceding the talk about the museum, local historians and reenactors will be at different tables, each with images and objects focused on a different topic. Among them: Black soldiers during the Revolution, the integrated unit known as the Marbleheaders, smallpox inoculation and treatment in the 1700s, ferry boat operations on the Delaware River, and the Swan Historical Foundation’s collection of Revolutionary War artifacts. more

BUDDING AUTEURS: Films such as “Tomorrow & Forever” by Justin O’Neill are among the entries at the 2024 Princeton Student Film Festival, taking place at Princeton Public Library on July 31.

By Anne Levin

It has been just over two decades since Princeton Public Library debuted its Princeton Student Film Festival (PSFF), screening the works of high school and college students from across the local area, throughout the U.S., and abroad. In that time, entries have gotten increasingly creative and sophisticated.

“This year, we’ve definitely seen some budding auteurs,” said Megan McCafferty, the youth services library associate and the coordinator of the festival, which takes place on Wednesday, July 31 at 6 p.m. “These are films that demonstrate such a strong artistic vision, from the opening title card to the closing credits. I think these young filmmakers are already thinking of branding themselves as creative people, which is really smart to do.” more

By Anne Levin

Jonathan Bucchere, Princeton’s police chief for the past two years, will retire at the end of this month. Subject to approval by the mayor and Council — likely at the July 22 Council meeting — his replacement will be current Captain Christopher Tash, who, like Bucchere is a longtime member of the Princeton Police Department (PPD).

“I’ve worked my entire career with Chris Tash, and I absolutely know he is going to do a spectacular job as chief,” said Bucchere. “It gives me great joy that he is going to take over and continue to do special things for this town, his way.” more

NEW MUSIC: The 10th annual Cone Composition Institute Concert brings the music of four emerging composers, played by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, to Richardson Auditorium on Saturday, July 20. Pictured here are the participants in a past Institute program.

By Anne Levin

In the first year of the Edward T. Cone Composition Institute’s one-week summer program pairing promising composers with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO) at Princeton University’s Richardson Auditorium, 30 people applied for the four available slots.

That was a decade ago. Applications for this year’s session, which is underway and will culminate in a concert on Saturday evening at 8 p.m., numbered more than 200. The reputation of the Institute, which is presented in collaboration with the University’s music department, has clearly grown.  more

By Anne Levin

At a meeting Monday evening, July 8, Princeton Council introduced an ordinance to adopt the redevelopment plan for properties at Princeton Theological Seminary. A public hearing on the plan, which calls for construction of 238 apartments, 20 percent of which would be designated affordable, is scheduled for the next meeting of Council on July 22.

As outlined in the 41-page proposal prepared by Kyle McManus Associates of Hopewell, the plan’s aims include utilizing smart growth principles “to achieve better planning outcomes for the community,” providing “higher density, compact development in close proximity to downtown and transit to reduce auto dependence and support greenhouse gas reductions consistent with the Princeton Climate Action Plan,” establishing a multi-family development within walking distance of downtown, providing better on-site stormwater management, and improved safety for drivers, among additional goals.  more

REVIVING A NEIGHBORHOOD: Led by Kean University, the Coalport Neighborhood Revitalization Planning Project will work to revive the Coalport section of Trenton. (Photo courtesy of Kean University)

By Anne Levin

A new project to revitalize a once-thriving section of Trenton has been launched by Kean University. The Coalport Neighborhood Revitalization Planning Project, focused on an area in the capital city’s North Ward, is funded by a two-year $750,000 federal grant, and is led by the university’s John S. Watson Institute for Urban Policy and Research and Michael Graves College School of Public Architecture.

As the project develops, teams from the two entities will engage with local residents of the neighborhood to gather input and guide the plan. Coalport “became distressed after factors such as redlining drove investment away from the area, leaving behind abandoned buildings and an underserved community,” reads a release from Kean University. “Along with addressing housing and economic opportunities for residents, the Coalport project aims to increase access to improved public spaces and build connections to adjacent communities for additional opportunities.” more

By Anne Levin

Richard Veit

As the home of Napoleon’s brother Joseph Bonaparte, the Point Breeze estate in Bordentown has been a local point of interest since Bonaparte, the exiled King of Spain, lived there from 1816 to 1839. The 60-acre property, which once included some 2,200 acres, was preserved by D&R Greenway Land Trust, the State of New Jersey, and the City of Bordentown in 2020.

Relics found at the site during multiple architectural digs are the subject of a presentation in celebration of Bastille Day on Sunday, July 14 at 2 p.m. Richard Veit, professor of anthropology at Monmouth University, will talk about the history of the site and the artifacts he has unearthed. Some of them come from the days of Lenape hunters; others are more recent, from the last century.

Veit is a member of the Archaeological Society of New Jersey. At the Bastille Day event, he will weave together the stories of two digs that connect Point Breeze to France, through the Bonaparte family. In partnership with Divine Word Missionaries — which owned the property from 1941 to 2020 — and D&R Greenway, Veit led excavations around the site of Bonaparte’s first mansion and behind the gardener’s house. Some of the artifacts he has exhumed are on display at the Discovery Center, located in the former gardener’s house.

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By Anne Levin

Subtle changes are underway at Princeton Battlefield State Park. Those familiar with the site along Mercer Road may have noticed that some trees have been removed, especially around the Thomas Clarke House.

This is just the beginning of a multi-year project to make the site of Gen. George Washington’s January 1777 “Ten Crucial Days” victory against the British more historically accurate. By the time celebrations of the nation’s 250th anniversary begin in 2026, the park should more closely resemble that wartime landscape.

It is all part of a plan called “Washington’s Legacy,” and it includes the installation of a walking path, replanting of an orchard near where the Clarke House once stood, the restoration of historic tree lines, and the recreation of the Sawmill Trace Road, which Washington and his troops traveled as they came to the battlefield. The project is a collaboration of the Princeton Battlefield Society (PBS), the American Battlefield Trust (ABT), and the State of New Jersey.  more

HOME AWAY FROM HOME: Scholars in the Homeworks Trenton program, which will soon have a permanent headquarters designed by JZA+D near the city’s Cadwalader Park. Homeworks houses girls who attend Trenton public schools during the week, providing support and structure to help them thrive.

By Anne Levin

Among the three honorees at the Women of Achievement breakfast held by the Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce on June 26 was Natalie Tung, the co-founder and executive director of Homeworks Trenton, an after-school boarding program for marginalized girls who attend the city’s public schools. Tung, a native of Hong Kong and a graduate of the Lawrenceville School and Princeton University, was nominated for the distinction by Princeton-based architect Joshua Zinder.

The two had met at a networking event during which Tung spoke of her goals for the program — to provide the students with an environment of stability, structure, and support. Fast-forward five years, and Zinder has helped Tung find a permanent home for the program in Trenton. His firm, JZA+D, has designed the repurposing of the building, which will increase its usable square footage by some two thirds, provide dormitories, a full kitchen, areas for work and study, staff apartments, and more. more

By Anne Levin

The Jasna Polana Golf Club is under a purchase/sale agreement with Concert Golf Partners to sell the club and its amenities. The transaction is expected to close on July 9. Concert Golf Partners is a property investment company in Heathrow, Fla., with more than 30 private clubs in its collection.

The 222-acre property and 18-hole golf course, bordered by Route 206 and Province Line Road, has been on the market since last September. It will remain in full use as a golf club and will not be developed, according to administration of the club.

“One hundred percent, they will keep it as is,” said Peter Angerame, Jasna Polana’s director of sales and marketing. “They didn’t buy this to develop it.” more

By Anne Levin

A comprehensive community transit program study, focused on how the routes of Princeton’s mini buses can be more effectively used, was approved by Princeton Council at a meeting on Monday, June 24. A resolution to retain Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc., which the town has utilized in the past, was unanimously approved by the governing body.

The idea has been in the works for several years. The goal is to design a program pairing Princeton’s free Muni transit with services “not currently utilized in order to maximize access for all Princeton residents,” Deputy Administrator Deanna Stockton wrote in a memo to Council on June 18. “Consideration will be given to optimize service connections with Princeton University’s Tiger Transit.” more

By Anne Levin

With July 4 falling on a Thursday this year, celebrations of the holiday are being stretched into something more substantial than the traditional three-day weekend. In fact, the lead-up to Independence Day has been building, both locally and beyond, since Juneteenth observances were held a few weeks ago.

From fireworks in Skillman on Thursday, June 26 to a public reading of the Declaration of Independence in Trenton on Monday, July 8 — the site, day, and time where it was first read in 1776 — there are many opportunities to celebrate the anniversary of the American colonies’ official separation from Great Britain 248 years ago. more

By Anne Levin

Since Princeton passed a seasonal ban on gas-powered leaf-blowers in October 2021, prohibiting their use from May 16 to September 30 and from December 16 to March 14, most residents and landscaping companies have followed the rules and made the switch to less toxic electrical equipment.

But three landscapers and one property owner were recently cited for not complying with the regulations. According to the organization Quiet Princeton, which advocated the development of the ordinance, each were fined $250 and warned that a future violation could result in a $2,000 fine.

“These people are not the majority,” said Anthony Lunn, who with Phyllis Teitelbaum founded Quiet Princeton in 2016. “On the whole, observance of the law has been very good, and we are very fortunate in having the Community Compliance Officer Sandra Garrity, who has been going around and talking to landscapers.” more