VOL. 233, NO. 17
Friday, May 4, 2018
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Democrats debate ahead of Princeton Council primaries By Philip Sean Curran Staff Writer
The six Democrats running for two seats on the Princeton Council are a month away from the June 5 primary, in a contest that historically has decided who eventually gets elected to the governing body. Eve Niedergang, Adam Bierman, Michelle Pirone Lambros, Alvin McGowen, Surinder Sharma and Dwaine Williamson sat side-by-side in a final candidates forum May 1 and spent about 90 minutes weighing in on topics such as affordable housing,
municipal finances, relations between the council and the Princeton school district and other local issues. In terms of bringing more revenue into the municipal budget, Williamson said he would look to what local nonprofit organizations contribute in the form of payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT). He pointed to Princeton University, which pays taxes on some of its properties and makes an annual voluntary contribution to the municipality. Williamson said the university has a “moral obligation, as a citizen of our town” to pay “their
fair share” of PILOTs. He did not specify an amount he believes the university should be giving. Bierman touched on properties the municipality owns, including the Chestnut Street firehouse and others, that could be rehabilitated, rented or sold. He also raised the prospect of exploring cutting spending from the municipal budget. Pirone Lambros said Princeton needs more retail and commercial investment, a way to add more tax revenue. Sharma, describing himself as fiscally conservative, proposed cutting taxes by 5 percent and
holding the line on the budget. This year the municipality has a $64 million budget that does not raise taxes. McGowan said a lot of people believe the middle class is “threatened” in Princeton. In terms of the local economy, Niedergang said the town needs to attract start-up companies and “sexy kinds of businesses people want to patronize.” “I think that would really revive the downtown economy and also provide additional revenue for the town,” she said. In offering his views on where new affordable housing should be
built, McGowan said those units should not be confined to one neighborhood. Niedergang echoed that view by saying affordable housing “needs to be spread throughout the community.” She gave examples of where she had in mind, such as Nassau, Harrison and Witherspoon streets, and the Riverside School section of town. “I don’t think the burden (of affordable housing) can fall solely on one community,” she said. Sharma has proposed using
See DEMOCRATS, Page 3A
Officials to establish temporary bike lanes By Philip Sean Curran Staff Writer
Princeton officials will experiment by installing temporary bicycle lanes on a half-mile stretch of Wiggins Street/Hamilton Avenue from May 19-29. The municipality will create 5-foot-wide lanes for bicyclists in each direction, leaving about 10-foot-wide lanes for vehicular traffic during the test period. The span will run from Sylvia Beach Way at the back of the Princeton Public Library to Walnut Lane, municipal engineer Deanna Stockton said on April 30. “It really is an experiment,” said Councilman Tim Quinn, the liaison to the Princeton Bicycle Advisory Committee and a bicycle rider himself. On-street parking along Wiggins Street/Hamilton Avenue will be suspended during that time, Quinn said. He estimated that about 35 parking spaces would not be available. He said officials would speak with representatives of the Kimble Funeral Home, Hamilton Avenue, a side street, about “how that’s going to work in the event they need to use the road.” Quinn touched on some of the outreach the municipality has done, and will do, with residents in the part of town where the bicycle lane experiment will take place. “The initial neighborhood reaction of people we’ve talked to has been positive,” he said. “We view this as a win-win for everyone.” The targeted section of Wiggins Street/Hamilton Avenue is seen as a key artery for a network of bicycle lanes and paths municipal officials would like to create to make it easier for people to ride a bicycle around town.
“We just felt like it would be a good idea to try to demonstrate some demand, to see if we can detect a change in ridership if we have the bike lanes,” Councilman David Cohen said on May 1. Another purpose behind the experiment, Cohen said, is to “let the community see how they feel about losing the parking on a temporary basis and see how much of a hardship it is for them.” Earlier this year, when officials raised the possibility of creating temporary bicycle lanes on Wiggins Street/Hamilton Avenue, one thought was that would encourage more Princeton High School and John Witherspoon Middle School students to ride their bicycles to school. “But without dedicated bike lanes, nervous cyclists are less likely to ride on that road,” Quinn said. Officials intend to keep track, with bicycle and pedestrian counters, of how many people use the road and sidewalks before, during and after the experiment, Quinn said. “So I think as much as whatever data we are going to get out of this from our counters,” he said, “we’re also going to be able to study people’s reactions to the idea of bike lanes and how they feel about it.” As a municipality, Princeton follows a “complete streets policy.” That means whenever the town improves a road, officials See LANES, Page 3A
Photos by Scott Friedman
Speaking for the trees Residents made their way to the D&R Canal State Park Headquarters on April 28 for some time out in the sun while commemorating Arbor Day. Visitors participated in a tree walk, the planting of an Arbor Day tree and festive dances by dance groups Handsome Molly and the Griggstown Lock Rapper Sword Dancers. Evan Connor, 3, of Princeton, and his grandfather Kevin Byrne (above) help clear a hole for a new tree. Karen Linder, president of the Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands, (right) describes a Bradford Pear Tree.
Assemblymen seek higher age to purchase long guns By Philip Sean Curran Staff Writer
New Jersey would keep young adults from buying rifles and shotguns by raising the age at which they could legally purchase such weapons, according to a bill introduced in the state Legislature by two lawmakers who represent Princeton. Assemblymen Andrew Zwicker and Roy Freiman (DMercer, Hunterdon, Middlesex and Somerset) want to increase the purchase age from 18 to 21. Their bill would allow individuals under 21 to possess such a weapon to hunt, as long as they have a hunting license, to use in a competition, or if they fall within
one of the other exceptions carved out in their legislation. “To me, this is a data-oriented bill on steps we can take to help prevent gun violence,” said Freiman, who is a gun owner, on April 30. Freiman said the state already has “common sense” gun control measures on the books and he said New Jersey has not seen the type of mass shootings witnessed in other parts of the United States. The proposal would bring the minimum age requirement to buy shotguns and rifles into line with the regulation the state already has to buy a handgun, 21. “To me, it’s common sense,” said Princeton Councilwoman Heather H. Howard, who is a
former state Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, about the bill. She said the measure would mirror what officials in Florida recently did. “It’s also a recognition that 18- to 20-year-olds commit gun violence at a higher rate,” said Howard, who is a member of the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium that will advise policy makers in New Jersey, New York, four other states and Puerto Rico. “If we know younger people are more likely to commit gun-related violence, then we should be limiting access to guns.” “Medical research does show us teenagers have a different decision process,” Freiman said. “Medical research also indicates
See GUNS, Page 3A
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teenagers use a different part of the brain to make decisions that are more emotionally based than those of (people in their) 20’s and as we get older as a part of our decision process.” He said the bill would not change hunting rules. The measure would grandfather in anyone between the ages of 18 to 20 who already has an identification card to buy a firearm. There would also be an exemption for members of law enforcement or the military. Violators would face a fourth-degree offense. Freiman said there is a companion bill in the state Senate. Legislation was introduced there
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