By Anne Levin

Following a May 25 work session on the details of an improvement project for Witherspoon Street between Nassau Street and Paul Robeson Place, Princeton Council gave the go-ahead for municipal staff to try and come up with a final design. A major motivation is $600,000 in state funding, which must be applied for, with a plan in place, by August 3.

There was considerable discussion among members of Council, members of the public, and local business owners on different aspects of the plan. Acting Municipal Administrator Bob Bruschi and Municipal Engineer Deanna Stockton said they will work on a final proposal and come back to Council within two weeks at a meeting, during which comments by the public can still be made and considered.

“Pushing us is a schedule we have to adhere to, to get to the finish line,” said Bruschi. “In the next few months, we hope to award a contract, but there are a lot of hoops we have to jump through to get the state funding we’ve looked to get, and get our project lined up to begin it later this year or next year.”

While it was decided earlier to keep the roadway one way going north, as it has been during the pandemic, there were some from the public who expressed hope that it could be closed to vehicular traffic. As it stands, the one-way design will be maintained, with the ability built in to close it to vehicles for certain events.

Business owners from Hamilton Jewelers, Labyrinth Books, Small World Coffee, and Jammin’ Crepes spoke against the redesign, saying traffic jams and parking issues caused by the one-way design have caused a drop in business. They urged Council to reconsider the plan after the town returns to normal, post-pandemic operations.

“The overwhelming feedback this year has been that even during a pandemic, Princeton is now harder to get to that it was before COVID,” said Jessica Durrie, owner of Small World Coffee, in an email read aloud at the meeting. “Why not see what happens so we can all be better informed with our decisions?” more

By Anne Levin

A work session led by the Permit Parking Task Force at a meeting of Princeton Council Monday evening, May 24, drew numerous expressions of concern, particularly from residents of the Western Section, one of several neighborhoods where regulatory changes are recommended.

The task force, which has been working on the issue for the past two years, recently held its first meeting with the Western Section residents. The group’s initial focus was on the Witherspoon-Jackson and Tree Streets neighborhoods, where parking is especially tight.

The goal is to offer parking for essential workers in Princeton’s commercial areas, and to harmonize different parking rules from the pre-consolidation days, when Princeton was divided into Township and Borough. The plan strives to assure that residents with no driveway, or limited driveway, will have priority to purchase on-street parking permits allowing 24-hour parking, which is currently unavailable in most zones, for $10 a month. Those who are economically disadvantaged could have free permits. Another goal is to make overnight parking, currently unavailable in most zones, available to all residents and guests.

Councilman David Cohen, who is on the task force along with Council President Leticia Fraga, Councilwoman Michelle Pirone Lambros, some residents, and representatives from local businesses, said that if given the go-ahead to proceed, the next step would be to enter an agreement with the vendor Passport, which would provide license plate reading technology mounted on enforcement vehicles and online applications for permits. more

URBAN BLOOMS: The enthusiastic gardeners of Trenton’s Mill Hill neighborhood are reopening their gates following a virtual Mill Hill Garden Tour last year. Some 22 are on the map for the Saturday, June 12 event.

By Anne Levin

Tucked behind the brownstone facades of the capital city’s historic Mill Hill district, homeowners are hard at work getting their gardens ready for the annual Mill Hill Garden Tour on Saturday, June 12 from 12-5 p.m.

Held virtually last year due to the pandemic, the live tour is back — with reserved, timed visits at the top of the hour, and walk-ins on the half-hour. Faithful visitors who return each year will find some more expansive yards this time, as well as some lushly planted more intimate spaces.

“This year, we have our first-ever sidewalk garden, which the owner describes as an urban rainforest with lush, tropical plantings,” said Mercer Street resident Amanda Chevalier, who is co-chairing the event with neighbor Ed Wengryn. “There is a popular garden with chickens named after Jane Austen characters and Mrs. Patmore from Downton Abbey. Ed has a double garden, and he is also a beekeeper. Jean Bickal, who has been on the tour for several years, has a new garden out back.”

Mercer Street resident Bickal also has a new mural painted on her alley wall, by well-known local artist and muralist Leon Rainbow. Other outdoor spaces on the tour combine nature and urban living with residents’ distinctive styles. Visitors are often surprised to discover what is behind these houses, which on Bickal’s block go down to the Assunpink Creek and the leafy park across the stream. more

By Anne Levin

You can boat and fish on Rosedale Lake this summer. Just don’t eat the fish that you catch.

That’s the word from The Watershed Institute, which has begun a project to stop toxic algae blooms and improve water quality at the Mercer County lake. Rosedale is among several New Jersey waterways that have been closed to swimming, fishing, and other activities for the past few summers because of the persistent problem.

Blame pesticides, fertilizers, and other pollutants flowing into the water from tributaries and nearby lands. Climate change, too, is thought to be a culprit. “According to the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the warmer days caused by climate change may result in more harmful algal blooms (HABs),” reads a press release from The Watershed Institute.

Steve Tuorto, The Watershed’s director of science, said the combination of no rain and the warm temperature of streams are perfect conditions for the HABs. “There’s a lot of algae in the water,” he said. “The harmful blooms are actually a bacteria, and when they grow to high levels they can be toxic.” more

By Anne Levin

With a relaxing of the rules on gathering and mask-wearing, Princeton is opening up again. Municipal buildings, public spaces, and various venues around town are welcoming people back — all with some restrictions.

The municipal building at 400 Witherspoon Street is now open to the public on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. for all routine services. Plans are to fully reopen some time next month. The Princeton Recreation Department has a separate schedule, and is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For all services in the building, wear masks and maintain social distancing.

Community Park Pool will welcome back the public on Saturday, May 29, and be open weekends and holidays until June 19, when the schedule moves to seven days a week.  As of current requirements from the New Jersey Department of Health, there will be a range of pandemic protocols in place, including how many swimmers can be there at a time. The pool’s staff has the right to limit entry on busy days, and temporarily close the gate if necessary.

Public swim hours are 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. weekends and holidays, and 12:30-7:30 p.m. on weekdays. For adult lap swimming, “senior dip” and the kiddie pool, hours are 9-11 a.m. weekends and holidays beginning June 5, and 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. weekdays. You must have a membership to enter the pool complex for these programs. more

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND AND MORE: The Princeton Battlefield Society will recognize Memorial Day on Sunday, May 30. At an event last January commemorating the Battle of Princeton, the Color Guard of the New Jersey Society of the Sons of the American Revolution appeared in support of the Battlefield Society. (Photo by Weronika A. Plohn)

By Anne Levin

The Princeton Battlefield Society (PBS) turned 50 this year. The organization’s upcoming celebration of Memorial Day weekend on Sunday, May 30, is among a series of events that not only mark that milestone, but lead up to the 250^th birthday of America in 2026.

“Especially as we come up to the 250^th year, we’re expanding our role in education and outreach to the public,” said Todd Quackenbush, a board member of PBS. “We’re hoping to be at a crescendo of activity by the time that comes around.”

In the meantime, history buffs have the events of May 30 to anticipate. From 1 to 3 p.m. at Princeton Battlefield State Park — site of the Battle of Princeton, the Ten Crucial Days, and the American Revolution — a roster of activities is planned to appeal to different interests.

“We have been able to put together items for a range of people,” said Quackenbush. “There is the musket firing demonstration, which is always popular. And for people who are bibliophiles and haven’t been able to get out to book sales lately because of the pandemic, we have a sale of used American history books.”

A tour of the Battlefield is planned for 1:30 p.m., and a memorial wreath will be placed by the flagpole at 3 p.m. In between, there is the sale of hand-painted miniature soldiers, maps, PBS apparel, and mementoes from the 300-year-old Mercer Oak that stood in the park until a storm took it down in 2000. The tree is associated with the memory of General Hugh Mercer, who died from his injuries after being bayonetted in the Battle of Princeton. more

By Anne Levin

Thanks to new technology, the parking woes that plague different neighborhoods of Princeton could soon be eased. The Permit Parking Task Force has been working on coming up with a better system for residents, employees, and customers of local businesses in areas where spaces are at a premium.

At a meeting of the Princeton Merchants Association last week, Councilman David Cohen gave an update on proposed changes to help  with permit parking. Cohen and fellow Council members Leticia Fraga and Michelle Pirone Lambros are on the task force, along with local residents and business owners.

The Council members plan to hold a work session on the issue at the next Council meeting on May 24. A gathering with residents of the town’s Western Section is being planned for sometime next week. The task force, which is preparing a draft proposal, has already met with residents and businesses in the Tree Streets and Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhoods.

“We’re working to create a system that is fairly consistent town-wide,” said Cohen, “making the rules responsive to varying needs for parking at different hours of the day and days of the week. We also want to put a lot of emphasis on customer parking as well as employee parking. We’re planning to create three hours of shared parking on every street in the permit zones, except for Bank Street, for residents and visitors. We chose the three-hour duration to align with the fact that the meters are [already] for that duration.”

The problem is particularly acute in the Tree Streets neighborhood, where there currently is all-day parking that fills up with employees of nearby Nassau Street businesses and University-affiliated users. “We want to free up some of those spots there, and also in the high school zones,” Cohen said. more

17 YEARS LATER: Billions of cicadas from the Brood X group are ready to emerge from their underground homes for the first time in 17 years. They will be buzzing or singing loudly and mating for the next month or six weeks before they die and their larvae return to the ground to begin the next cycle. Princeton is a prime location for this emergence. (Photo by Mulin Huan)

By Donald Gilpin

Coming soon to Princeton, almost certainly by the end of this month, will be a massive emergence of Brood X cicadas, one of the largest of the 17-year cicada broods — and it’s going to be noisy.

There will be billions of them, about 1.5 million per acre, now ready to appear from out of the ground, climb into the trees, shed their skins, and begin their mating song. After mating and reproducing, the cicadas will live only about six more weeks, and the larvae will return to the earth to carry out the next 17-year cycle.

Princeton High School science teacher Mark Eastburn and his student research team are ready for the emergence. “We’re looking forward to it, but at the same time we want to raise some awareness about it because a lot of people are concerned,” he said in a May 10 Zoom conference, which included four PHS students from his research team. “Someone I was talking to said ‘I hate this. It’s going to be terrible.’ But this is their prom. They’ve been looking forward to this for 17 years. Give them their chance for the next six weeks.”

Pointing out that these insects are harmless, Eastburn said that they provide food for birds and mammals and even humans.

He referred to his group’s opportunities for research and to the role of his student, junior Matthew Livingston, as leader of the PHS Insect-Eating Club. “You know we’ll eat some. We’ll grab some for studies. I have a freezer to fill, and so does Matthew. Beyond that we’re trying to get people to appreciate this spectacle of nature, which won’t be around again for another 17 years. We won’t hear these sounds again for another 17 years.” more

By Anne Levin

When Lenora Keel began her career in social work at Deborah Heart and Lung Center some four decades ago, she never expected she would be spending 28 of those years counseling students at Princeton High School (PHS).

“I said I would never go into the school system. Little did I know, God had a path for me,” said Keel, who is retiring from her job as PHS social worker, guidance counselor, and mentor at the end of this term. “It turns out that it was meant to be. Everything I’d been training for was right here, and that includes parents as well as kids.”

Next Saturday, May 22, Keel will be celebrated by the school and surrounding community with a special Zoom event, “Afternoon Tea with the Queen,” from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Witherspoon-Jackson Neighborhood Association, the Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Society, and Princeton Public Library are co-sponsoring.

Keel — known to many as Mama Keel, Grandma Keel, and Auntie Keel — is known for her strong connection to students and their families. She is warm and accepting, yet firm. “I’ve only had one time a kid cursed at me,” she said with a laugh. “I have told a few of them, ‘You should be glad corporal punishment isn’t legal!’ But they know I would never do that. I think they respect me. I don’t get on any kid’s case. I try to form a relationship with them. It’s all about that, and letting them know that you care.“ more

By Anne Levin

A presentation of the latest concept plan for the section of Witherspoon Street between Nassau and Green streets drew mixed reactions from Princeton Council members and the public at a meeting of the governing body Monday night, May 10.

The road, which Council voted late last year to continue one-way going north between Nassau and Spring streets, has been the subject of study as Witherspoon Street is reimagined for the coming 25 to 30 years. Municipal Engineer Deanna Stockton, who has been working with the consultants T&M Associates, said modifications are needed “for safety as well as orderliness.”

That means certain changes are recommended regarding the outdoor dining zones put in place last year as a response to the pandemic. The configuration, which took away several parking spaces to make room for tables and curbside pickup, turned out to be exceedingly popular with local residents as well as tourists and many merchants and restaurant owners.

Several expressed concerns about the future plans that were presented, which recommend removing the curbside pickup lanes to restore parking spots, and reducing the dining areas and general seating that is in place between the Alchemist & Barrister and Small World Coffee. Instead, there would be four dining zones. “We’re still working with police, emergency services, and public works to tweak this design,” Stockton said. “We presented a version to the business community last Friday.”

The goal is to enhance economic vitality, have flexible designs, and enhanced stormwater management, Stockton said. Displaying two possible designs, she said she preferred the one that is closer to the concept that was first presented. “It continues the linearity, green infrastructure, trees lining both sides of the street, and concentrated parking toward the Nassau Street end of the street,” she said. It also reduces parking at that end. more

STILL COOKING: Former local residents Emily and Lyla Allen, known in the food world as The Kitchen Twins, will lead a streamed event to benefit the Arts Council of Princeton. Emily, left, and Lyla are co-authors of the book “Teen Kitchen.”

By Anne Levin

The last we checked in with Emily and Lyla Allen, better known as The Kitchen Twins, they were 13-year-old middle school students at Princeton Day School. Already veterans of such television programs as The Today show, Chopped Junior, and The Rachael Ray Show, they were getting ready to go to the International Housewares Show in Chicago, where they would demonstrate a line of pots and pans created by Michael Graves Architecture and Design.

That was four years ago. Now 17, the twins now live in Buffalo, New York, where they are high school juniors. On Tuesday, May 11 at 7 p.m., they will return to Princeton, virtually, with a streamed “cook-along” where they will take viewers through the steps to make a gnocchi dinner topped off with a chocolate dessert.

The event is “perfect for the whole family to enjoy together,” reads a release from the Arts Council. “Emily and Lyla are experts at creating healthy and delicious recipes from home.” more

By Anne Levin

Last week, Princeton Council approved a resolution designating the North Harrison Redevelopment Study Area, which includes Princeton Shopping Center, as an area in need of redevelopment.

Council’s unanimous vote on April 27 followed a recommendation the previous week from the Planning Board. The authorization by the governing body begins a multi-step process that includes several public meetings before a final determination is made.

Council approved a resolution last December asking the Planning Board to study the area for possible designation. Consultant Carlos Rodrigues was hired to prepare a report, in which he said the area meets the criteria and should be declared a “non-condemnation” area in need of redevelopment.

The option for condemnation by the government does not apply in this case, because all of the property owners are in agreement about the designation. In addition to the shopping center, the properties include Grover Park, the three buildings that were formerly owned by Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad (PFARS) and are now owned by the town, and a vacant lot at 351 Terhune Road. more