Jan 19 TD

DOWNTOWNER TRENTON’S CITY PAPER

JANUARY 2019 |

COMMUNITYNEWS.ORG

Let’s Do It In 2019

New Year’s Resolution: Put Plans Into Action Richard K. Rein reports, page 4

Arts events in the new year, 2 • What’s happening in January, 12 ACCEPTING MOST INSURANCES, ALL NJ STATE EMPLOYEE INSURANCES, such as Aetna, Cigna, Horizon and more...

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t may be January but the Trenton arts community is springing into life with art, theater, and music events — including a free April concert featuring one of classical music’s major superstars.

On the walls

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rtworks Trenton is presenting two exhibitions, running from January 22 through February 21. “Beyond Mark Making — Star Wheel Printers” features work of the Philadelphiabased collective of professional printmakers “who aim to support, promote and share printmaking with other artists and communities in the Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York City” areas. This exhibition “celebrates the individual’s use of mark marking to create a visual impact.”

And “People in Geometry,” by noted area architect and photographer John Clarke, is an international look at the relationship between people living in geometric surroundings. An opening for both is Saturday, January 26, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Future exhibitions include “High and Soft” by Pennsylvania based artists Peggy and Gene Hracho and “Distance and Happiness, Dreams and

Time — Group Exhibition,” curated

by Trenton artist Jeff Evans, March 12 through April 13. And “The Shared Meal” group exhibition curated by regional artist Lora Durr and “All in the Family,” another group exhibition and coordinated by Ewing artist Laura Beard, running from April 30 to June 1.

Dudamel to the Trenton War Memorial to lead a free concert with the Princeton University Orchestra and Glee Club on Saturday, April 27, at 4 p.m. The celebrated conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Dudamel comes to Trenton to bring attention to the importance of music education in the Trenton Public Schools, especially the Trenton Music Maker’s El Sistema Program — the program in which the famed conductor participated as a student in his native Venezuela.

Princeton University Concerts, In the air Trenton War Memorial. 609-258-2800. renton’s orchestra starts the year www.princetonuniversityconcerts.org with something new: a “Youth Orchestra Festival” consisting of 30-minute performances by three On stage renton’s only professional theater young performing groups. The concompany continues its annual solo cert, which combines musicians from several area youth orchestras, is Sat- flight, single person, productions with urday, January 26. American com- “To My Unborn Child: A Letter from poser Florence Price’s “First Violin Fred Hampton,” about a Black PanConcerto” is on the bill for February ther murdered by the Chicago police 24; a concert featuring harpist Cheryl (February 8 through 10), and “BicyCunningham is set for March 9; and cle Face,” a look at a feminist theory young violinist Joseph Hsia and mem- class taught 150 years in the future bers of area youth orchestras will par- (February 15 to 17).The look for the ticipate in the season finale on Satur- main stage production “Morir Sonynado,” where a mother and daughter day, May 4.

Capital Philharmonic, Trenton confront long-buried pain when the War Memorial. 609-558-2292. www. mother is released from prison. It runs May 2 through 19. capitalphilharmonic.org Passage Theater Company, Mill rinceton University Concerts Hill Playhouse, 205 East Front Street. brings internationally known 609-392-0766. www.passagetheatre. orchestra conductor Gustavo org.

ary 6; a “Painting from Photos” artist talk led by award winning artist Richard Hoffman and another “Framing Your Work” by award winning artists and exhibition juror James Toogood, Sunday, January 13; and a artist demonstration led by participating artist Marilyn Rose on Sunday, January 20.

Admission to the museum is free.

Artworks Trenton, 19 Everett Trenton City Museum at Alley. 609-394-9436. www.artwork- Ellarslie Mansion, Cadwalader Park. strenton.org.

609-989-3632. www.ellarslie.org.

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main floor and an upstairs gallery are highlight the art of collecting. One focuses on the Museum Foundation — formerly the Friends of the Museum — and the objects that acquired for the museum through fundraising. The other is from various acquisitions and community gifts. No matter, both show off some unusual treasures from New Jersey, ranging from fossils to Colonial-era silver to Davy Crockett lunchboxes, ceramic dolls, and artwork and more artwork.

New Jersey State Museum, 205 West State Street. 609-292-5420. www. statemuseumnj.gov.

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he Garden State Watercolor Society 49th Annual Juried Show featuring artists from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York continues through Sunday, January 20.

Related programs include live painting demonstrations on Sunday, Janu-

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downtowner Phone: (609) 396-1511 Fax: (609) 844-0180 Website: communitynews.org METRO Editor Dan Aubrey

Co-Publishers Jamie Griswold and Tom Valeri

Senior Assistant Editor Sara Hastings

Editorial Director Richard K. Rein

Calendar Editor Samantha Sciarrotta

Administrative COORDINATOR Megan Durelli

Photographers Suzette J. Lucas

© 2019 by Community News Service, LLC. All rights reserved.

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January 2019 | Trenton Downtowner3

2019 – All signs point toward progress in Trenton

By Richard K. Rein

On the cover: The spirit of optimism shines at the downtown Starbucks, where murals by James Kelewa and Jonathan Conner depict a lively and colorful capital city — a dream many feel is about to become reality.

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hat will it take to turn Trenton around in 2019? By now you have heard the story: Cities large and small that were once down on their luck are being rediscovered by a new generation that wants to live and work in an urban setting. Joining them are seniors who also want to live in a place where they can meet friends, attend a public event, or buy a quart of milk without having to get in the car and drive.

What kind of New Year’s wish list would ignite this flame in Trenton? Would it be a well established restaurateur, someone like the Momo operation in Princeton, reopening the dramatic space on South Warren Street that used to house Maxine’s? Would it be an adventurous entrepreneur buying the building on East Front Street that was the site of Settimo Cielo and reviving that dining venue?

Would it be another business owner, buying a building and locating his or her business there, as Kamal Bathla did recently at 1 West State Street?

Or another housing developer, re-purposing an intown site as Dan Brenna of Ajax Management is currently doing with the old Commonwealth Building at 150 East State Street — and as HHG Development has already done with the Roebling Lofts?

Or will it be all of those things and a lot of other things as well? We know for sure it won’t be one deus ex machina gesture by the state government.

With the state, in fact, a victory would be if the new Murphy administration halts the plans of its predecessor and merely does no harm to the city.

We know for sure it won’t be Amazon locating its

HQ2 in the capital city — Amazon on the Delaware won’t happen. But we do know, thanks to the HQ2 proposal developed by Greater Trenton, the private nonprofit economic improvement advocate, that the city has more assets than it might think in appealing to workers and residents who seek a sustainable, urban lifestyle.

To take some points from the Greater Trenton response to Amazon HQ2, the capital city has a transit center that serves AMTRAK, NJ Transit’s Northeast

Corridor and River Line, and SEPTA within walking distance of downtown; a plethora of buildings worthy of adaptive reuse; a compact downtown in a city that is concentrated in just 7.65 square miles; and a thriving arts community.

Any city competing for the new generation workforce would covet the scene at the Mill Hill House Tour in December. I spent more than two hours there, and managed to visit only five of the 22 houses. In Princeton the Historical Society tour features a small fraction of the number of houses. Over the years I have seen many fine homes on the Princeton tour, but only one that reflects the level of architectural and interior design creativity that I saw in several Mill Hill homes in my limited sample. That was the former stone warehouse converted into a residence by architect Michael Graves. At the end of the Trenton tour I found myself jotting down the number of a house for sale — and I am not even in the market.

So what will it take to turn all this Trenton glitter into gold? And who am I to ask and attempt to answer these questions? I live in Princeton and am a part-owner of a group of 10 community newspapers, including U.S. 1 newspaper and the Trenton Downtowner, all of which are edited in a suburban office park.

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So I am outsider, hoping that the outside perspective will highlight some things overlooked by longtime residents. After a dozen reporting forays into Trenton over the past year, I offer several immediate observations.

1.) There’s an understandable wariness of outsiders — compounded by the reams of reports issued about the city and its prospects, many of them written by professional planners and architects who are in business to create those reports, not to convert them into reality.

On October 10 U.S. 1 newspaper printed a story I wrote on “How Trenton ‘Won’ the Amazon HQ2 Proposal.”

It had not won, of course, but the city gained some valuable awareness by taking stock of the attributes that a company like Amazon would find appealing. In that article I wrote that the last thing Trenton needs is another report. The Trenton250 master plan is comprehensive enough, and it builds on a 2014 City Profile Report, prepared by the Office of Housing and Economic Development, a 2014 Trenton City Wide Economic Market Study, a 2015 Rutgers-Newark study, and the 2016 “Downtown Trenton Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan,” a 144-page report that in turn referenced at least four other studies and reports.

That was October 10. On October 23, New Jersey Future, in conjunction with a half dozen other organizations, released, yes, another plan — this one a “blueprint” for transforming the neighborhood around the Trenton Transit Center and improving the

Time for an New Year’s update? A deal is in the works to re-open the two-story restaurant on South Warren Street. The Momo brothers, who run several successful restaurants in Princeton and central New Jersey, are said to be interested in the venue. walkability between the center and the rest of the area, particularly the Market Street area. I read the plan, liked it, and even walked from the train station to Starbucks and back to get a feel for the experience. We will have more about that plan later, but in the meantime it’s one more plan.

2.) A lot of negativity infects the movers and shakers of Trenton. I call it the Trenton Blues. In fact, as you advance any single idea that might make Trenton a better place to live or work be prepared to be greeted with a consistent first reaction: “Well that’s never going to fix Trenton.” And that

To exploit its ‘marginal edge,’ a city has to tend to the details, such as signage to guide visitors and lighting to make them feel safe. will be true. There is indeed no silver bullet for the city of Trenton. As Mercer County Community College president Jianping Wang said recently, this is a propitious moment for Trenton —

“we have all the stars lined up.” But, she added, “we don’t need to wait for a big event. When everyone does a little bit, then it becomes a movement.”

3.) Trenton insiders underestimate the deleterious impact of seemingly trivial annoyances. In the early days of U.S. 1 I wrote an article about Trenton and commented to the economic development director at the time that the city could use some better signage, particularly showing visitors from Princeton how to get back to Route 1 north. It’s no better today.

Of course if you have a case of the Trenton Blues, you might say that a handful of visitors from Princeton won’t make a bit of difference to Trenton. Possibly so, but if you can’t get an outsider into town for lunch or dinner, how are you going to get an outsider to relocate a business or a home there?

Trenton can be viewed in the context of the great flight from the cities to the suburbs in the mid-20th century, and the eventual reversal of that trend in the first decades of the 21st century. This great swing of the urban pendulum so far has barely touched Trenton.

The phenomenon was described in William H. Whyte’s 1988 book, “City: Rediscovering the Center.”

Whyte asked corporate CEOs why

they were leaving the big city for the suburbs. Their answers, as summarized by Whyte: “’Environment’ is the umbrella term. Shorn of euphemism, here is what executives mean by it: (1) The center city is a bad place: crime, dirt, noise, blacks, Puerto Ricans, and so on. (2) Even if it isn’t a bad place, middle Americans think it is and they don’t want to be transferred here. (3) To attract and hold good people we have to give them a better environment. (4) We have to move to suburbia.”

But, Whyte pointed out even in the late 1980s, cities have been “reasserting” their role as “a place where people come together, face-to-face. More than ever, the center is the place for news and gossip, for the creation of ideas, for marketing them and swiping them, for hatching deals, for starting parades. This is the stuff of the public life of the city — by no means wholly admirable, often abrasive, noisy, contentious, without apparent purpose.

“But this human congress is the genius of the place, its reason for being, its great marginal edge. This is the engine, the city’s true export. Whatever makes this congress easier, more spontaneous, more enjoyable is not at all a frill. It is the heart of the center of the city.”

To exploit its “marginal edge,” a city not only has to take care of the big ticket items like housing and transportation, it also has to tend to the details, as well, signage to guide visitors around town, lighting to make them See ACTION PLAN, Page 6

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PLAN, continued from page 5 TOPICS AND TRENDS IN ACTION EDUCATION

ChWITH INTEREST

ing lots are out of sight. What’s worse is that you eventually discover that feel safe, and a healthy variety of acmeter enforcement is practically nontivities in close proximity.

The Lewis School of Princeton and the Center for Educational Testing Planning So and hereAcademic are some ideas that present could existent, allowing people in the know somewho newlearn life todifferently. the “Trenton to park scot-free for hours at a time. monthly neuroscience-based seminars on topics that impactbring children Tom Gilmour, the executive direcMakes” sign. We will start with some Please join us in a panel discussion. tor of the Trenton Downtown AssociaTOPICS AND TRENDS IN EDUCATION relatively small items that possibly TOPICS AND TRENDS INTRENDS EDUCATION TOPICS AND IN EDUCATION could November be done quickly and relatively tion, experienced a similar problem in 14, 2018 The Lewis School of Princeton and the Center for Educational Testing and Academic Planning present cheaply and signal some real progress his last job, as development director The Lewis School of Princeton and the Center for Educational Planning The Lewis School of Princeton and theTesting Centerand for Academic Educational Testingpresent and Academic Planning Processing present Auditory and Attention monthly neuroscience-based seminars on topics that impact children who learn differently.

—differently. as opposed to continuing down the in Asbury Park. Installation of new monthly neuroscience-based seminars on topics that impact children whothat learn differently. monthly neuroscience-based seminars on topics impact children who learn Please join us in a panel discussion.

December 5, 2018 Please join us in a panel discussion.

Please join us in a panel discussion. path of good intentions. Then we will smart meters there resulted in $4 milNovember 14, 2018 assess of the bigger projects lion a year in parking revenues. GilmNovember 14, 2018 Dyslexia: Unwrapping the Gift November 14, 2018 some Auditory Processing and Attention our is urging the city to acquire smart Upcoming Session: Auditory Processing and Attention areJanuary within the grasp.

Auditory Processingthat and Attention Upcoming Session: Upcoming Session: December 5, 2018 16,city’s 2019 meters.

December 5, 2018 December 5, 2018 Wednesday, 5, Unwrapping the Gift Wednesday, December December 5, 2018 2018 Wednesday, DecemberDyslexia: 5, 2018 Dyslexia: Unwrapping theDyslexia: Gift Unwrapping theNumerical Gift Cognition Lighting. On any night drive down January 16, 2019 things20, first: 1:00pm-2:30pm January 16, 2019 January 16,Small 2019 1:00pm-2:30pm1:00pm-2:30pm Numerical Cognition February 2019 any street in any city and measure Numerical Cognition Numerical Cognition February 20, 2019 rentoniansand should keep doing your sense of security relative to the February 20, 2019 February 20, 2019 Memory Attention Memory and Attention what they are already doing: The number of street lights. The more the Memory and Attention Memory and Attention March 13, 2019 March 13, 2019 The Lewis School of Princeton and the Center for Educational Testing and13, Academic Planning March 2019 Marchpresent 13,summer 2019 concerts, the first Friday better; every burned out light is a negThe Multilingual Child Unwrapping the Gift.

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Thelike Multilingual Child at Base Unwrapping the Gift.

Unwrapping the Gift.April events the open houses 24, 2019 ative sign for the April 24, 2019 April 24, 2019 Please join us in a panel discussion.

Trends in Education Past and Present TOPICS TRENDS IN EDUCATION Camp Trenton, April 24, 2019 Please call (609) AND 924-8120 to register.

Trends in Education Past Trends and Present city. in Education Past and Present Please call (609) 924-8120 to register.

Please call (609) 924-8120 to register.May 16, 2019 November May 16, 2019 14, 2018MayTrends openings at Art- Past and Present 16, 2019 in Education Conversation and Language S ig n ag e.

Please (609) 924-8120 toConversation register. andPlanning Language The Lewis School of Princeton call and the Center for Educational Testing and Academic present Conversation and Language and Auditory Processing and Attention A lot of people now works the May 16, 2019 Yes, the city has monthly neuroscience-based seminars on topics that impact children who learn differently.

Since 1973, the leading, research-based education December 5, 2018 Since 1973,Lewis the leading, education Ellarslie Museum; 1973,students the leading, research-based education at The School research-based has Since prepared Please join5, us in a panel discussion. are ready for a dining signs that direct at The Lewis School has prepared students Wednesday, December 2018 Conversation and Language at The Lewis School has prepared students November 14, 2018 March 13, 2019 Dyslexia: Unwrapping the Gift impacted by Dyslexia, Language-based Learning the Jersey Jam impacted

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U racycle; the Punk December December 5, 2018 April 24,5, 2018 2019 toward major culat The Lewis School has prepared students dining scene 20, 2019 Please Join Us forFebruary Our 46 Annual evolving Wednesday, December 5, 2018 Please Join UsUnwrapping for Our 46 Annual Dyslexia: the GiftJoin Us for Our 46Rock Please Annual Flea MarTree of Light Memory and Attention tural attractions.

by Dyslexia, Language-based Learning Dyslexia: Unwrapping the Gift Trends in Educati on January 16, 2019 impacted Tree of Light Tree of Light kets; ongoing art In Recognition of the Gifts and Great Promise of 1:00pm-2:30pm in Chambersburg is a March 13, 2019 In Recognition of Who the Gifts and Great Promise of Differences™ and ADHDAPY to achieve academic In Recognition of the Gifts and Great Promise of But they aren’t Numerical Cognition *** Children Learn Differently January 16, 2019 Past and Present Children Who Learn Differently Children Who Learn Differently exhibitions in Enjoy Holiday Fare, Music, and the The Multilingual February 20,Lighting 2019of the TreeChild independence and a path to success. enough.

PeoEnjoy Holiday Fare, Music, and the Lighting of the Tree place to start.

Enjoy Holiday Fare, Music, and the Lighting of the Tree Memory and Attention Numerical Cognition May 16, 2019 Friday, December 7, 2018 from 6:00pm-9:00pm April 24,December 2019 7, 2018 fromthe OBroad StreetA Friday, December 7, 2018 fromto6:00pm-9:00pm ple who are not Friday, 6:00pm-9:00pm The Lewis School Champions the Gifts of Learning Differently *This event is free and open the public.

R Building; 13, to2019 The Lewis School Champions theThe Gifts of Learning Differently the Gifts of Learning *ThisTrends event isMarch freein andEducation open the public.

Lewis School Champions Differently Bank *This event and is free and open to the public. O YE Past Present theFebruary Value of Thinking Outside of the Box™ 20, 2019 Conversati on familiar with the Pleaseand call 924-8120 to and the (609) Value of Thinking Outside of theregister.

Box™of Thinking Outside of the Box™ Please Join UsN forE Our 46th Annual and the Value The Multilingual Child Unwrapping the Gift. the farmers’ marMay 16, 2019 AprilLanguage 24, 2019 city need signs to get from the War For Admissions, Pre-K through High School and and Post-Graduate Memory and Att enti on Light For Admissions, Pre-K through High School and Post-Graduate For Admissions, Pre-K through High School and Post-Graduate Conversation and Language ketsTree at Millof Hill Park and Greenwood Trends in Education Past and Present Open Houses (Dec 1, Dec 12, Jan 9, Jan 19, Feb 9, Feb 23) Memorial or any other landmark to Please call (609) 924-8120 to register.

Open Houses (Dec 1, Dec 12, Jan 9, Jan 19, Feb 9, Feb 23) Open Houses (Dec 1, Dec 12, Jan 19, Feb 9, FebIn23) Recognition of the and Great Promise of Social MayJan 16,9,2019 Avenue; theGifts occasional Trenton Contact (609) 924-8120 53 Bayard Lane, Princeton, Since 1973,NJ thelewisschool.org leading, research-based education Children Who Learn Differently Since 1973, the leading, the major highway just three or four Contact (609) 924-8120 Contact 53 Bayard Lane, Princeton, NJ lewisschool.org (609) 924-8120 53Conversation Bayard Lane, Princeton, NJ lewisschool.org and Language at The Lewis School has prepared students bike rides through town; and, yes, blocks away. Good signage would be research-based education Enjoy Holiday Fare, Music, and the Lighting of the Tree

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Differences™ and students ADHD to achieve academic at the crazy intersections where one-way independence and a path to success. and the Value of Thinking Outside of the Box™

by Dyslexia, Language-based Please Join Us for Our 46th Annual But measures can be taken to make streets run into two-way traffic. Even Tree Light the city more inviting to visitors (who Please Join Us for Our 46ofAnnual Learning Differences™ when armed with GPS, the visitor is In Recognition the Gifts and Great Promise of For Admissions, Pre-K through High School and Post-Graduate Tree of ofLight may also be potential residents): and ADHD toLearn achieve Children Who Differently In Recognition of the Gifts and Great Promise of Open Houses academic (Dec 1,WhoDec 12,andJan 9, ofJan 19, Feb 9, FebWhat’s 23) wrong with this reassured by the physical signs. And Children Learn Differently Parking.

Enjoy Holiday Fare, Music, the Lighting the Tree independence Trenton is home to the accomplished Enjoy Holiday Fare, Music, and the Lighting of the Tree Friday, December 7, 2018 from 6:00pm-9:00pm picture? Drive into a downtown with and a path toand success.

Zienowicz Sign company.

Friday, December 7, 2018 from 6:00pm-9:00pm (609) 924-8120 53 Bayard Lane, NJ lewisschool.org The Lewis School Champions theContact Gifts of Learning Differently *This event is free open to the Princeton, public.

The Lewis School Champions the Gifts of Learning Differently *This event is free and open to the public. little retail and the biggest restauand and the the Value ofofThinking the Box™ There are other problems. On my Value Thinking Outside Outside ofofthe Box™ rants closed and yet it is still not easy recent trips I saw several downtown ForAdmissions, Admissions, Pre-K High School and Post-Graduate For Pre-Kthrough through High School and Post-Graduate to find street parking. It’s also difficult intersections with not one of the four Open Houses (Jan 9, 12, Jan 19, Feb 9, Feb 23) OpenHouses Houses (Dec Dec 12, JanJan 9, Jan 19, Feb 9, 23)Feb 23) Open (Dec1,1, Dec 9, Jan 19,9, Feb to readily determine the time limits corners having a simple street sign.

Contact (609) 924-8120 53 53 Bayard Lane, Princeton, NJ NJ www.lewisschool.org Contact (609) 924-8120 Lane, Princeton, lewisschool.org Contact (609) 924-8120 53Bayard Bayard Lane, Princeton, NJ lewisschool.org and costs for the meters, and the parkHere is an example of*a real cost as-

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ST

sociated with poor signage that many people in town would never appreciate. Almost every week several hundred jurors are summoned to hang out in Trenton for as long as a week as cases unfold. The jurors are instructed to drive into town on Route 129, take a right on Hamilton, and then a quick right into a parking lot across from the CURE Arena. Then they are loaded onto buses that look like prisoner transports and taken, via a circuitous route, to the two courthouses in town.

I was on jury duty several years ago, waited for a second bus when the first one did not have room, and then took the dizzying ride, only recalling the big circular sign for Griffith Electric Supply along the way. I reached my destination an hour after parking the car.

At lunchtime I ventured out of the courthouse. Where was I? Looking down Broad Street I saw a familiar sign — Griffith Electric. I walked from the courthouse to the car and back in about 15 minutes. I could have walked just as easily in the morning and I could have walked to a restaurant at lunchtime. Good signage could introduced me and several hundred other visitors to some Trenton restaurants and businesses. The old adage still applies: Make it easy for people to do what you want them to do. Make it hard and visitors won’t come back.

People follow food

I

n “City: Rediscovering the Center,” William H. Whyte wrote that “if you want to seed a place with activity, the first thing to do is to put out food.”

Restaurant rows attract more people than a single standalone restaurant.

That used to be the scene in Trenton’s Chambersburg section, but all the Italian restaurateurs have vanished. They are slowly being replaced by recent Hispanic immigrants.

Trenton-born artist Will ‘Kasso’ Condry took only about two hours to create this mural in 2017 on North Olden Avenue. Some urbanists would argue that gentrification of public spaces can be achieved without losing the artists and small businesses that are the soul of the community.

The new immigrants’ restaurants have not yet become destinations for fussy suburban gourmands. But they are getting close. If William H. Whyte is my virtual guide on my forays into Trenton, Clifford Zink is my actual guide, leading me on several personalized and highly informative dining tours of the capital city. Zink knows Trenton. An architectural historian, Zink became involved in Trenton in 1984 while enrolled in Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation and studied the old factory buildings of the Roebling Wire Works for a term project on urban revitalization. Zink came up with a plan that attracted the attention of city and county officials, as well as private investors, and led to the formation of the Trenton Roebling Redevelopment Corporation, with Zink serving as executive director from 1985 to 1997.

Zink also has witnessed the series of steps forward and backward at the Roebling complex. He is well aware of the preponderance of unemployed, under-employed, and impoverished people in the city. Last fall Zink made a presentation to the Princeton Chamber of Commerce on “Trenton Today: Challenges, Transitions, and Opportunities.” It was sobering. One comparison really struck home: The endowment of the Princeton Public Library: About $15 million. The endowment of the Trenton Free Public Library: $0.

But Zink also has an eye for the occasional glimmer of hope in Trenton.

One Thursday evening we go into town for a brief walking tour and dinner. We start at the Roebling complex, where we visit a practice session for the Trenton Circus Squad. We take

a walk through the lobby of the Roebling Lofts. Outside, on Clark Street, Zink points out a carefully maintained single family home, owned by a longtime resident. To the left of it are two row homes, in need of repair. The word is that the Roebling Lofts developers are about to do just that. Glimmers of hope could be turning into a little gold on this block.

We walk a few blocks over to the Italian People’s Bakery, still going strong and a vestige of the old Italian Chambersburg. We stop in at the Panorama Musicale for espressos. By now it’s dark, but the streets are alive with pedestrians, including parents out with kids — a good indicator of a safe neighborhood. Most streets are well lit.

Later we stop for dinner at Chencha y Chole, in a triangular building at the corner of South Broad and Cass streets. The place serves “authentic” Mexican food in a casual, BYOB atmosphere. The clientele includes a family with three or four kids and some young men wearing shirts from a Pennsylvania construction company.

Dinner for two is less than $40. The tablecloths are not white linen, but something better: colorful fabric with Mexican designs (covered with clear plastic so you don’t feel guilty if you spill something).

A few weeks later we make another foray: This time the dinner spot is Casa de Luna Restaurant & Bar, 800 Chestnut Avenue. Old timers might remember the place as Tattoni’s. Now it offers food from Central America and Venezuela. Casa de Luna’s menu is described as “Latino fusion” by the Hidden Trenton website, www.hiddentrenton.com, which may be guilty

of some hometown booster-ism as it heaps praise on fledgling restaurants.

But it is a useful guide to the many new restaurants dotting the city landscape, especially in the old ‘Burg.

These restaurants are a far cry from the glory days of the Chambersburg dining scene, when out-of-towners would arrive in limousines for special events, and dining rooms had framed photos of celebrity diners. Zink likens the Hispanic restaurants to what the ‘Burg might have been like a century ago, when they catered to the working men at the nearby factories and their families.

Nowadays a lot of people are as ready for a dining adventure as they are for an expensive gourmet meal.

One way capitalize on that would be for the Trenton Council of Civic Associations to resume and strengthen its annual “Taste Trenton” event.

Another way would be for someone to organize a sidewalk food festival that brings the Chambersburg restaurants to a central location to showcase authentic dishes from the old country, wherever that may be. Since outsiders may be wary of venturing into an as-yet undiscovered immigrant community, the first one could be held on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon in a visible public space with ample parking. One candidate could be the Roebling Mill Yard park on South Clinton Avenue, next to the Roebling Market and a few blocks from the heart of the ‘Burg.

If it happens, it would need temporary signage leading to parking and to the event itself, and then back to north and southbound ramps for Route 1 when people leave the event.

Pedestrian and bicycling networks. This may not seem like an important item in the grand scheme of things, but many workers employed by the kinds of companies Trenton hopes to attract place a high value on See ACTION PLAN, Page 8

January 2019 | Trenton Downtowner7

ACTION PLAN, continued from page 7

these sorts of recreational activities.

Trenton’s trails, once restored, will link to a vast network that goes up to Lambertville, New Hope, and beyond.

The 144-page report on pedestrian and biking trails offers comprehensive view of what already exists in Trenton and what should be done first to enhance this network and increase its usability. One troubling pathway for pedestrians: The route from the train station through the Route 1 interchange to the Market Street area. As the report notes, “This interchange is unfriendly for bicyclists and pedestrians, despite being near the train station and downtown Trenton and at the intersection of many proposed bicycle and pedestrian facilities.” The trail report concluded that further study was needed before it could offer any recommendations for improvements.

Now New Jersey Future has a plan, including a comprehensive list of actions that need to be taken to make the plan a reality, for revitalizing the Trenton Transit Center neighborhood and the paths leading to it.

The blueprint of the transit neighborhood shows potential uses for the land surrounding the station, with an emphasis on multi-use buildings that will help create a lively streetscape during the day and in the evening. It even calls for some subtle changes to the Mercer Cemetery directly across

Built in 1895, this Queen Anne gem at 418 Greenwood Avenue is a visual reminder of Trenton’s past. But the current plan for revitalizing the train station calls for tearing it down. Does that make sense? the street from the station that will make the cemetery a place people might want to pass through on their walks in the neighborhood. History buffs might be especially interested — the cemetery was opened in about 1842.

On one of our excursions into Trenton Zink and I take a close look at the redevelopment plans around the sta-

Wishing You A Happy New Year

&

tion. Most of it makes sense. But Zink and I are both struck by the grandeur of two existing homes on Greenwood Avenue, with backyards overlooking the station and the tracks. Number 418 Greenwood is particularly appealing from the curb. No one is home so Zink and I walk the grounds, check out the carriage house in the back of the property, and then take turns climbing up

on a window sill to get a glimpse into the interior. It has a grand staircase with wood paneling reminiscent of a Princeton University eating club.

It’s a valuable piece of land, of course, so close to the station. But the house is also an irreplaceable reminder of the streetscape from a bygone era. Maybe no action is better in this case and hope that an owner returns the house to its glorious past.

As the Hippocratic Oath says, first do no harm.

A month or so after the Trenton train station report was issued, Zenon Tech-Czarny, an urban planner working on the staff of Isles, presented a concept for a low-cost plan to increase pedestrian and bicycling access to the Trenton riverfront. The access point would be under Route 29 along the Assunpink Creek. Right now the underpass is fenced off, Tech-Czarny says, but if the city and the DOT removed the fencing, added a ramp and a flashing pedestrian crossing signal across the off-ramp, people could easily get to the river from behind the War Memorial. “The underpass could have some art, creative lighting, and could be a really amazing space,” he says.

As Tech-Czarny also points out, the access under Route 29 could also connect to Mill Hill Park, the train station, and the Assunpink Greenway Park.

That will be an increasingly important corridor now that the Army Corps of

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Engineers is down the homestretch of its project “daylighting” one section of the Assunpink that had been covered over for decades.

Safety, safety, safety. Even though safety is most important, I list it last because all the items above will contribute to the overall perception of safety. As Whyte wrote in “City,” “The best way to handle the problem of undesirables is to make the place attractive to everyone else.” To do that you have to make it easy to park, easy to get where you need to go, and easy to get back to where you came from.

But what about security for largescale events like Art All Night, which was the site of a gang shooting last summer? And how could you guarantee the safety of out-of-towners visiting a food festival in a neighborhood like Chambersburg? In the Art All Night case the technology is readily available to screen crowds just as they do at sports and concert venues. As for an event like a street fair, other cities have empowered neighborhood associations or business improvement districts to set up checkpoints at entrances to street fairs.

On one visit at night to Roebling Center, Zink and I pass by the busy Food Bazaar supermarket. The first thing you see when you enter are large screen security monitors. You are being watched (and so is everyone else).

Big-ticket changes

O

ther items that could help a Trenton turnaround are still in the planning phases and will take time to fully execute. But the city should keep moving ahead and hope that the smaller achievements listed above will serve as reminders that the city is moving forward, not backward.

Among the big-ticket items: Developing partnerships. As the much celebrated Princeton-Route 1 corridor grows, urban planning advocates see it as part of a larger region that also includes Trenton. The city can offer a pool of potential workers for the wealthy suburb to the north and it can be the site of affordable housing, a commodity hard to come by in Princeton.

Mercer County Community College is already partnering with the city in various ways. The fashion design and merchandising department is based in Trenton, as is the Security Systems Technology program, which has partnered with an industry association that donates equipment and flies in an instructor once a week.

The college has acquired 101 North Broad Street and plans to convert that now boarded up space into a wellness and health education center, offering training for entry level workers who can become employable in a matter

of months. Wang said the college was hoping to bring in a hospital as a partner in that program. She talks about the possibility of linking some of its students in early childhood education with a child care center.

Mercer Community College already has workforce development agreements in place at various companies,

The governor talks about Trenton attracting more workers who also live in the city. Maybe the governor could lead by example. including Maestro Technologies in Trenton and, as Wang pointed out in a letter that accompanied the city’s HQ2 proposal, with Amazon for its fulfillment center in Robbinsville. “No urban center is without some form of higher education as a catalyst,” said Mercer County Community College president Jianping Wang at a recent forum sponsored by Passage Theater and held at Mercer’s James Kerney campus on North Broad Street.

Other partnerships are already in place. The Trenton Rotary Club

launched its Trenton Digital Initiative (now being run by the Mid-Jersey Center for Economic Development), which places computers with internet access in homes throughout the city.

More could be done. The old Trenton Chamber of Commerce was subsumed into the Mercer County Chamber and later the Mid-Jersey Chamber.

But that entity is essentially defunct, through no fault of Trenton. Businesses from Trenton could petition the Princeton Chamber to form a Trenton division. It can’t hurt to ask.

Similarly the Trenton Free Public Library might consider reaching out to the Princeton Public Library, if for no other reason to establish an informal networking relationship. The library (which notably did not avail itself of Andrew Carnegie’s largesse when he was funding more than 2,500 libraries across the country from 1883 to 1929) values its independence, which may account for it not being part of the Mercer County library system. Princeton is in a similar position, but with many more resources at its disposal.

Programs for kids. Trenton has several outstanding programs beginning at the elementary schools level, including the Trenton Music Makers.

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January 2019 | Trenton Downtowner9

2020 employees will have to pay if they park on campus, or they will receive a bonus if they use mass transit or participate in a van or car pooling group.

ACTION PLAN, continued from page 9

Central High School initiated a program to introduce high school students to “ architecture, urbanism, and integrated design studio practices.” The program is part of the daily class program for the students, not an extracurricular activity.

Greater Trenton has just created a scholarship fund for aspiring journalists at Trenton Central High School. Selected students will be invited to work with Greater Trenton’s online publication, Trenton Daily. A call for applicants is expected to be made in January and award recipients announced in the spring.

And the Trenton Downtowner is seeking to participate with the high school to engage students who would serve as freelance correspondents, reporting on issues of relevance to students and their parents. For information contact editor Dan Aubrey via e-mail: dan@princetoninfo.com.

As kids become involved in civic issues, parents are bound to follow.

Reopening the hotel. For about 16 years Trenton was a state capital without a hotel. Then came the Lafayette Yard Marriott, a 197-room hotel that opened in 2002 on West Lafayette Street, next to the War Memorial. It has gone through a succession of owners, including a panel of mayoral appointees, and several suspensions of operations. At the moment it is closed. The word is that the most recent owner died unexpectedly — his family is wrestling with the disposition of the property.

A small thing to consider: Trenton-based nonprofits should be urged to hold their galas at the hotel (or some other venue in city) rather than the Hyatt or Westin in Princeton. Remember the need for specific signage to direct people to the event. Once there donors from Princeton and other suburban locales might appreciate the change of scenery. Galas can become very predictable.

A bigger idea: To turn half of the rooms in the hotel into rental apartment units, and to reopen the other half as a much smaller, less ambitious hotel.

Tightening building codes. As former Trenton city planner Alan Mallach reports in his new book, “The Divided City,” real estate values in some neighborhoods are being driven down to zero by absentee landlords who collect their rents but ignore the property’s maintenance. “Milkers,” as Mallach calls them, “are a disaster for a neighborhood, and in many cases they are aided and abetted by sloppy or nonexistent code enforcement.”

Increasing code enforcement is probably easier said than done in a city that is strapped for resources. Bringing houses up to code in a way that does not penalize owner occupants of less-than-perfect houses makes it an even greater challenge. But it has to be on the to-do list.

The state can also play a role. On December 6 Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced lawsuits against the owners of eight derelict properties in the state, including a site at 323 North Olden Avenue. The lawsuit charged the property owners with failure to comply with an order to remove and properly dispose of solid waste deposited on the property, purportedly purchased in 2014 for $50,000. To make matters worse, the new owner, according to the court filing, has not paid any property taxes on the property since purchasing it.

Increase the presence of state workers in the city. One approach being pursued by Greater Trenton and the state government is to offer state employees an incentive to live in Trenton by underwriting a portion of their rental costs for the first 18 months of their residency in the city. The goal, says

10Trenton Downtowner | January 2019

Convert Route 29 into a boulevard. Here is another big ticket item for change that would require all sorts of governmental initiative and cooperation, as well as huge amounts of money. But in fact elevated and limited access highways in cities across the country are being “downsized” to allow neighborhoods to flourish instead of being cut off.

Amazon’s plan for its HQ2 in Arlington, Virginia, includes turning that section of Route 1 into a city boulevard. The 1989 “Renaissance Plan,” created for the Capital City Redevelopment Corporation by noted architects and urbanists Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, advanced the then-radical idea of turning the limited access Route 29 into a city boulevard with traffic lights, intersections, and pedestrian crosswalks. The plan also called for converting some of the parking lots for state workers into parcels of land for private investors; some state employees would end up paying for spaces in parking decks.

That plan has been revisited since then. While costs remains an issue, the concept has been viewed favorably, even by the Department of Transportation.

The stuff of the public life of the city is often without apparent purpose, wrote William H. Whyte in ‘City.’ Case in point, the abandoned water tower on Olden Avenue, which has found new life as a base for cell phone transponders.

George Sowa, executive director of Greater Trenton, is to get up to 5 percent of the state’s workforce to live and work in downtown Trenton.

Another approach could be to ban onsite cafeterias in state and corporate office buildings. In San Francisco, for example, where the big, high tech office centers have full service cafeterias, a proposed law would ban corporate cafeterias in future office buildings. The restaurant and food stores in the surrounding community would be able to reap some of the benefits of the nearby offices.

Abolish free parking for state workers. One tenet of modern day urban thinking is that there is a very high cost associated with free parking — the use of acres of land that add nothing to the vitality of the city; the separation of one neighborhood from another; the unfair competition with mass transit; and more.

But what if state workers were charged to park in those sprawling lots by the river? It would be about as popular as asking state employees to give up their defined benefit pension plans and accept what is now the standard for most employees in the private sector — IRAs, 401Ks, etc., that rise or fall with the market and how much we choose to contribute during our working days. “It would be political suicide,” says one urban-minded city official, who is sympathetic but realistic about the idea.

But what if the charges were coupled with an incentive? If you work at the state and don’t seek a permit to park your car, you receive a subsidy for mass transit use (or to buy a bike, or to use any other way you see fit). If you want to have your car close by in a parking lot, then you pay a small monthly fee, which ideally could pay for the non-parkers’ subsidies and help make some of the streetscape improvements mentioned above. The idea is not farfetched. Prince­ton University has announced come

A proposal for the governor: Go big and go home — to Trenton

E

arly in December Greater Trenton holds a ceremony to present the first of what it hopes will be annual awards in honor of one of its founders, the late Caren Franzini, former CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. It’s a chance for some self-congratulation, lots of networking with the corporate sponsors (most whom come in from surrounding cities), and, of course, a few words from the governor. The event is at the New Jersey State Museum. No doubt mindful of the comfort level of people driving into the capital city, Greater Trenton has arranged for valet parking virtually at the front door of the museum.

I attend and find myself falling into Trenton Think — it’s all very nice but this event is not going to make a bit of difference for Trenton.

Kamal Bathla, CEO of Maestro Technologies, has made a bit of a difference in downtown Trenton. As the lead sponsor of the event he shares the decision-making that caused him to move his company from Edison to Trenton (rather than to Delaware, the initial front-runner in the relocation process).

To add some outside perspective, Bathla presents the recent findings from an IT trade association, CompTIA, which has listed the top 20 tech cities in the U.S., based on job opportunities for IT professionals, average income levels, and cost of living.

On that list, at number 18, is Trenton. As the award citation reads, “New Jersey has a longstanding tradition of cultivating scientific leaders. From Edison to Einstein, the Garden State’s commitment to investment, collaboration, and talent development supports growth in technology clusters that drive economic expansion. That’s why Trenton makes an appearance on our list.”

That’s a great endorsement but, I discover later after drilling into the CompTIA website, the glowing statistics belong to the Trenton metropolitan area, not just Trenton. The IT companies hiring in the area include Bank of America, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton University, and Covance, among others, none of which have any visible presence in Trenton.

Then comes the governor, who in 10 minutes or

so offers more encouragement to Trenton than his predecessor did in eight years. The governor talks about revitalizing the city without penalizing those who “stayed and fought” for the city. And he refers to the 15,000 state workers who come into the city every day and asks why there shouldn’t be an equal number of private sector workers coming in every day. And then, Murphy, asks, why don’t some of those workers not just work here, but also live here?

Applause-worthy rhetoric, for sure, I think, but it won’t make a bit of difference for Trenton.

I try to shake off my lingering case of the Trenton Blues. I ask myself what would make a difference.

How about if, instead of just calling for workers in Trenton to also live in Trenton, Murphy himself led the charge and moved the governor’s official residence from Drumthwacket in Princeton’s leafy western section to, say, State Street in Trenton?

It’s not so crazy. Back in 1929 the mansion at 191 West State Street, which had been the home of Washington and Emily Roebling, was offered to the state for use as the governor’s mansion. It was refused by Governor Harry Moore, who preferred to live in Jersey City. The house was torn down to make way for the State Library. But Zink, the architectural

for cultural events, social occasions, art exhibits, and educational purposes. And the Murphys have said they would consider making it their official residence, as well.

Before that money is spent in Princeton, how about continuing to use Drumthwacket as it has been used to date, with the Drumthwacket Foundation continuing to maintain it? How about using some of that money, along with the first lady’s efforts, to instead create a governor’s house in Trenton, suitable for social events, dinners, receptions, and even living quarters if the governor so desires?

Such a move, even if it is only symbolic, would make a big difference for Trenton. And, trust the The Roebling mansion was offered to the state outsider here, the loss of the governor’s mansion for use as a governor’s residence in 1929. The designation for Drumthwacket won’t make a bit of governor declined. This photo from 1892 is from difference for Princeton. the Rutgers University Special Collections.

Happy New Year, Trentonians, including you, Governor Murphy. Let’s get together soon for a historian, says there are still a few grand residences drink at Maxine’s. on West State Street near Trinity Cathedral.

Richard K. Rein, the editorial director of CommuAnd the timing is not bad. No governor has lived nity News Service, parent company of the Trenton in Drumthwacket since Jim McGreevey in 2004. Downtowner, is writing a biography of William H. First Lady Tammy Murphy has expressed an inter- Whyte. est in making better use of the 183-year-old mansion

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House Tour, John Abbott II House, 2200 Kuser Road, Hamilton. www.hamiltontownshiphistory.org. Tour the John Abbott House, built in 1730. Noon.

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Achieve Your Dream in 2019, RWJ Fitness and Wellness Center, 3100 Quakerbridge Road, Hamilton, 609-584-5900. www.rwjbh.org.

Discuss losing weight to gain a new lease on life. Free. Register. 5:30 p.m.

New You

CONSULTATION DAY save the date, lose the fat January 16th from 8am-5pm in office

Hosted by Wendy Myers, MD

FREE CoolSculpting Consultation Day with Dr. Myers. Call 609-443-4500 to RSVP

see a slimmer you

*Actual Windsor Dermatology patients*

Eliminate unwanted fat without surgery or downtime.

59 One Mile Road Extension, East Windsor, NJ 08520 www.windsordermatolgy.com 12Trenton Downtowner | January 2019

BEFORE

9 WEEKS AFTER

BEFORE

9 WEEKS AFTER

215•295•4402

OPEN 24 HOURS

THE LARGEST LAUNDRIES IN THE AREA WE FEATURE A WASH DRY AND FOLD SERVICE FOR THOSE TOO BUSY TO DO THEIR OWN WASH. RELAX, WE’VE GOT IT HANDLED. WE HAVE THE LARGEST FACILITIES IN THE BUCKS/ MERCER AREA. THEY’RE BIG, THEY’RE BEAUTIFUL AND YOU’LL LOVE THEM.

TO 1/12



Sinkovics EdE’s ‘Washington Crossing Collage’ at BSB Gallery.

Adult Children Caring for Parents, RWJ Fitness and Wellness Center, 3100 Quakerbridge Road, Hamilton, 609-584-5900. www.rwjbh. org. Learn about the seven stages of dementia. Free. Register. 5:30 p.m.

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Open Mic Night, Trenton Social, 449 South Broad Street, Trenton. www.facebook.com/ trentonsocial. 8 p.m.

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A Great American Pilgrimage: Five Months along the Appalchian Trail, Trenton Free Public Library, 120 Academy Street, Trenton, 609-392-7188. www.trentonlib.org.

Kevin Fox presents. Free. 6 p.m.

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Kids in the Kitchen, RWJ Fitness and Wellness Center, 3100 Quakerbridge Road, Hamilton, 609-584-5900. www.rwjbh.org. Celebrate National Pizza Week with healthy varieties of pizza. $5. Register. 6:30 p.m.

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Noises Off, Kelsey Theatre, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, 609-570-3333. www. kelseytheatre.net. $18. Through January 20.

8 p.m.

The Niceties, McCarter Theater, 91 University Place, Princeton, 609-258-2787. www. mccarter.org. Zoe, a black student at an Ivy League University, is called into her white professor’s office to discuss her thesis about slavery’s effect on the American Revolution.

A polite clash in perspectives explodes into an urgent and dangerous contemporary debate. Through February 10. 8 p.m.

Winter Songs XII, Capital Singers of Trenton, St. Paul’s Church, 216 Nassau Street, Princ-

eton. www.capitalsingers.org. Songs of the season. 4 p.m.

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BUY 10 pounds of WASH-DRY-FOLD.

GET a second 10 pounds FREE

One coupon per person.

Not to be combined with any other offer. No cash value.

Expires 1-31-19.

322 WEST TRENTON AVENUE, MORRISVILLE, PA

BUY ONE WASH, GET $2.75 WASH FREE 24 NORTH STATE ST., NEWTOWN, PA 65 DURHAM RD. , PENNDEL,PA 1128 SUNSET RD., BURLINGTON, NJ

One coupon per person.

Not to be combined with any other offer. No cash value.

Expires 1-31-19.

LAUNDRY-DEPOT.COM 322 WEST TRENTON AVENUE, MORRISVILLE, PA 19067

Frost and Flames, Grounds for Sculpture, 80 Sculptors Way, Hamilton, 609-586-0616. www.groundsforsculpture.org. Ice block and hot metal artists stationed throughout the park demonstrate their processes. 11 a.m.  Winard Harper, Candlelight Lounge, 24 Passaic Street, Trenton, 609-695-9612. www. jazztrenton.com. $10. 3:30 p.m.

Open Mic Night, Starbucks, 102 South Warren Street, Trenton. Music, spoken word, poetry, comedy, storytelling, and more. 3 p.m.

Stop the Wrecking Ball, BSB Gallery, 143 East State Street, Trenton. www.trentonhistory. org. Hors d’ouvres, open bar, live music, silent auction of Trentoniana, and more. $100 and up. Register. 6 p.m.  Revolutionary Resolve, BSB Gallery 143 Eats State Street, Trenton. www.bsbgallery.

January - 9 am & 7 pm com. Last day for exhibit of modern30, and 2019 hisJanuary 30, 2019 - 9 am & 7 pm toric works commemorati ng the Revoluti onAve. Lawrenceville ary 34 WarRossa era and American patriotism.NJ 11 08648 - www.saintannschool.org a.m.34 to Rossa 5 p.m. Ave. Lawrenceville NJ 08648 - www.saintannschool.org open for grades PreK-8. After school care available 16th StopRegistration the Wrecking Ball, Trenton Historical Registration open for grades PreK-8. After school care available Society, BSB Gallery, 143 East State Street, Trenton. www.trentonhistory.org. Kick off THS’s Centennial with hors d’oeuvres, open bar, live music, a silent auction of Trentoniana and support for Restore Trenton. $120 to $150. 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Rotary College Possibilities, Brower Student Center, The College of New Jersey, 2000 Pennington Road, Ewing, 609-818-9354. www.community.tcnj.edu. Combination college fair and admissions/financial aid primer featuring a number of presenters. Register.

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saint Ann School Open House Saint Ann School Open House

Saint Saint Ann Ann School School O O

Saint Ann School Open January House 30, 2019 - 9 January 30, 2019 - 9

January 30, 2019 - 34 9Rossa amAve. &Lawrenceville 7 pm NJ 08648 34 Rossa Ave. Lawrenceville NJ 08648

See EvEnTS, Page 14

hideous hoMes WANTed FOR TELEVISION PROGRAM IN THIS AREA

Registration open for grades PreK-8.

Registration open for grades PreK-8.

34 Rossa Ave. Lawrenceville NJ 08648 www.saintannschool.org Registration open for grades PreK-8 care available

We need 30 ugly homes with ugly kitchens, bathrooms, siding, windows, After school etc., inside or outside that need fixing or remodeling. We will repair and remodel them and shoot video for training film and future TV show on home remodeling work.

Presentation at the FDC with tour of the school to follow - Register for Open House at www.saintannschiool.org Presentation at the FDC with be tour of school to follow - Register for Open House at www.saintannschiool.org MUST SIGN RELEASE for purpose of filming job! This must a the complete remodeling job, not just patch up work. This remodeling is to be specially priced out of work, with compensation back to the homeowner for signed release.

Presentation at the FDC with tour of the school to follow - Regi Presentation at the FDC with tour of the school to follow - Regi

CALL 1-800-281-1582

Ask for TV Project Department, for job evaluation & estimate of cost & compensations! seRious iNQuiRies PLeAse!

NJ LIC# 13VH05824000 Mid Atlantic Home Remodeling

Presentation at the FDC with tour of the school to follow Register for Open House at www.saintannschool.org January 2019 | Trenton Downtowner13

1/15 1/22 1/29 

EvEnTS, continued from page 13

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House Tour, John Abbott II House, 2200 Kuser Road, Hamilton. www.hamiltontownshiphistory.org. Tour the John Abbott House, built in 1730. Noon.

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Hearing Screening, RWJ Fitness and Wellness Center, 3100 Quakerbridge Road, Hamilton, 609-245-7390. www.rwjbh.org. Free. Call Lorraine Sgarlato to register. 9:30 a.m.

Ask About Lung Health, RWJ Fitness and Wellness Center, 3100 Quakerbridge Road, Hamilton, 609-584-5900. www.rwjbh.org. Speak with a nurse practitioner about how to protect your lungs. Free. Register. 10 a.m.

Adult Children Caring for Parents, RWJ Fitness and Wellness Center, 3100 Quakerbridge Road, Hamilton, 609-584-5900. www.rwjbh. org. Learn about the first steps for caregivers. Free. Register. 5:30 p.m.

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Open Mic Night, Trenton Social, 449 South Broad Street, Trenton. www.facebook.com/ trentonsocial. 8 p.m.

Discovering Your Golden Years, RWJ Fitness and Wellness Center, 3100 Quakerbridge Road, Hamilton, 609-584-5900. www.rwjbh. org. Discussing enjoying life in 2019. Free.

Register. 1:30 p.m.

Sheltered Yoga, Trenton Free Public Library, 120 Academy Street, Trenton, 609-3927188. www.trentonlib.org. Free. 6 p.m.

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Learn to Play the Ukulele, Trenton Free Public Library, 120 Academy Street, Trenton, 609-392-7188. www.trentonlib.org. Jim Gaven leads instruction for children 6 to 12.

Free. 4:30 p.m.

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HealthRhythms Drumming Winter Solstice Celebration, RWJ Fitness and Wellness Center, 3100 Quakerbridge Road, Hamilton, 609584-5900. www.rwjbh.org. Drums provided or bring your own. $15. Register. 8 p.m.

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 Pop-Up Poetry Cafe, Trenton Public Library,

120 Academy Street, Trenton. www.taacf. com. Open mic event for all ages, plus music

by DJ Say Whaat. Light snacks and beverages provided. Todd Evans and Giovanni Williams host. Free. 5 p.m.

Maternity Tour, Capital Health Medical Center Hopewell, 1 Capital Way, Pennington. www. capitalhealth.org. Maternity unit tour for expecting parents. Free. Register. 6:30 p.m.

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Landham Brothers, Candlelight Lounge, 24 Passaic Street, Trenton, 609-695-9612. www.jazztrenton.com. $10. 3:30 p.m.

Open Mic Night, Starbucks, 102 South Warren Street, Trenton. Music, spoken word, poetry, comedy, storytelling, and more. 3 p.m.

Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Plainsboro Public Library, 9 Van Doren Street, Plainsboro, 609-275-2897. www.plainsborolibrary.org. Princeton University-based Doc-

Can You Deliver?

Can You Deliver?

Every Wednesday we deliver 19,000 copies of U.S. 1 newspaper to 4,500 business locations Every Wednesday we deliver 19,000 in the greater Princeton area. Every copies ofother U.S. 1 newspaper 4,500 Friday we deliver the to West & Plainsboro News to homes businessWindsor locations in those towns. We welcome people in the greater Princeton area. Every with common sense, curiosity, and a other Friday reliable car to help us do the we job. deliver the West

Can You Deliver?

Earn up to $100 per day!

Windsor Plainsboro Newswe to homes Every &Wednesday deliver 19,000 copies of U.S.1 Newspaper to 4,500 business locations in the greater Princeton area.

Earn $100 per day! Plus Mileage!

in those towns. welcome people Plus Bonuses for information youWe provide our editors!

Mail or fax uswith a note.

We hope to hear from you. common sense, curiosity, and a

le car to help us do the job.

Tell us about yourself and why you are free to deliver on Wednesdays.

n $100 day!Team, Plus Mileage!

Mail U.S. 1 Delivery 12 Roszel Road, Wetoper welcome energetic people with common sense, curiosity,

Princeton 08540; or faxyou to 609-452-0033our editors!

Bonuses for information and aprovide reliable car to or fax us a note. We hope to hear from you.

1/26



help us do the job.

us about yourself and why you ee to deliver on Wednesdays.

o U.S. 1 Delivery Team, 12 Roszel Road, Tell us about yourself eton 08540; or fax to 609-452-0033

and why you are free to deliver on Wednesdays.

Email Megan Durelli at mdurelli@communitynews.org or call (609) 396-1511 ext. 105 for more information 14Trenton Downtowner | January 2019

 umentary filmmaker Purcell Carson presents excerpts from her film on Trenton teenager Harlan Joseph, who was killed by police in the aftermath of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, followed by a discussion. Free.

2 p.m.

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House Tour, John Abbott II House, 2200 Kuser Road, Hamilton. www.hamiltontownshiphistory.org. Tour the John Abbott House, built in 1730. Noon.

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On Golden Pond, Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, 215-785-6664. www.brtstage.org. After an unexpected relationship blooms, a family reunites during an unforgettable summer. $10-$50. Through February 10. 7:30 p.m.

Open Mic Night, Trenton Social, 449 South Broad Street, Trenton. www.facebook.com/ trentonsocial. 8 p.m.

Sheltered Yoga, Trenton Free Public Library, 120 Academy Street, Trenton, 609-3927188. www.trentonlib.org. Free. 6 p.m.  Learn to Play the Ukulele, Trenton Free Public Library, 120 Academy Street, Trenton, 609-392-7188. www.trentonlib.org. Jim Gaven leads instruction for children 6 to 12.

Free. 4:30 p.m.

W�������� 1/ 23

Crossroads of the Revolution, Ewing Library, 61 Scotch Road, Ewing, 609-882-3148. www. mcl.org. Presentation by Larry Kidder about how the events of the Revolution affected people of what was then Trenton Township.

Register. 7 p.m.

T������� 1/ 24

How to Stay Motivated with Your New Year’s Resolution, RWJ Fitness and Wellness Center, 3100 Quakerbridge Road, Hamilton, 609-584-5900. www.rwjbh.org. Free. Register. 6 p.m.

AT YOUR SERVICE Advertise for $49 a month. For more information, call 609-396-1511 ext. 110.

SQUE A V Z JR tREE SERVicE

tREE REmoval, tRimming and stump gRinding.

FREE EstimatEs! 609-203-7821

Just for Girls, RWJ Fitness and Wellness Center, 3100 Quakerbridge Road, Hamilton, 609-584-5900. www.rwjbh.org. Introduction to puberty, body image, self esteem, and nutrition for 9- to 11-year-old girls. Includes a copy of “American Girl: The Care and Keeping of You.” $12. Register. 6 p.m.

Abraham Lincoln Visits Philadelphia, Lawrence Library, 2751 Brunswick Pike, Lawrence, 609-883-8294. www.mcl.org. Historical lecturer and tour guide Michael Jesberger discusses the president’s time in Philadelphia.

Register. 7:30 p.m.

F����� 1/ 25

Zorro: The Musical, Kelsey Theatre, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, 609-5703333. www.kelseytheatre.net. $20. Through February 3. 8 p.m.

YWCA Breast Cancer Resource Center, Trenton Free Public Library, 120 Academy Street, Trenton, 609-392-7188. www.trentonlib. org. Support group for women with breast cancer. 2 p.m.

S������� 1/ 26

James Stewart, Candlelight Lounge, 24 Passaic Street, Trenton, 609-695-9612. www.jazztrenton.com. $10. 3:30 p.m.

Open Mic Night, Starbucks, 102 South Warren Street, Trenton. Music, spoken word, poetry, comedy, storytelling, and more. 3 p.m.

North Ward CPAC, Trenton Free Public Library, 120 Academy Street, Trenton, 609-3927188. North Ward community meeting to discusses issues to be presented to the city’s council or administration. 6 p.m.  Nowhere Fast, Mill Hill Basement, 305 South Broad Street, Trenton. www.themillhill.com. With Breaklite, Minor Setback, and Sick on Sunday. 8:30 p.m.

S����� 1/ 27

House Tour, John Abbott II House, 2200 Kuser Road, Hamilton. www.hamiltontownshiphistory.org. Tour the John Abbott House, built in 1730. Noon.

T������ 1/ 29

Open Mic Night, Trenton Social, 449 South Broad Street, Trenton. www.facebook.com/ trentonsocial. 8 p.m.

Sheltered Yoga, Trenton Free Public Library, 120 Academy Street, Trenton, 609-3927188. www.trentonlib.org. Free. 6 p.m.  Learn to Play the Ukulele, Trenton Free Public Library, 120 Academy Street, Trenton, 609-392-7188. Jim Gaven leads instruction for children 6 to 12. Free. 4:30 p.m.

T������� 1/ 31

Women and Self-Care: A Balancing Act, RWJ Fitness and Wellness Center, 3100 Quakerbridge Road, Hamilton, 609-584-5900. Learn about balancing the demands of life while maintaining optimal health. Free. Register.

6 p.m.

Mercer County Curbside Recycling Information All recyclables must be in official buckets and at the curb by 7:00 a.m. • NO ITEMS IN PLASTIC BAGS WILL BE COLLECTED

2019 MERCER COUNTY Curbside Recycling Schedule MONDAY

Lawrence

Jan. 14, 28 Feb. 11, 25 March 11, 25 April 8, 22 May 6, 20 June 3, 17

July 1, 15, 29 Aug. 12, 26 Sept. 9, 23 Oct. 7, 21 Nov. 4,18 Dec. 2, 16, 30

WEDNESDAY

July 10, 24 Aug. 7, 21 Sept. 4, 18 Oct. 2, 16, 30 Nov. 13, 27 Dec. 11, 28

FRIDAY

Hamilton Zone 3 Jan. 4, 18 Feb. 1, 15 March 1, 15, 29 April 12, 26 May 10, 24 June 7, 21

Jan. 7, 21 Feb. 4, 18 March 4, 18 April 1, 15, 29 May 13 June 1, 10, 24

July 5, 19 Aug. 2, 16, 30 Sept. 13, 27 Oct. 11, 25 Nov. 8, 22 Dec. 6, 20

Jan. 2, 16, 30 Feb. 13, 27 March 13, 27 April 10, 24 May 8, 22 June 5, 19

Hopewell Township Hopewell Boro and Pennington

Ewing July 8, 22 Aug. 5, 19 Sept. 7, 16, 30 Oct. 15, 28 Nov. 11, 25 Dec. 9, 23

Hamilton Zones 1 and 4

Entire City of Trenton Jan 9, 23 Feb. 6, 20 March 6, 20 April 2, 17 May 1, 15, 29 June 12, 26

TUESDAY

Princeton

July 3, 17, 31 Aug. 14, 28 Sept. 11, 25 Oct. 9, 23 Nov. 6, 20 Dec. 4, 18

HOLIDAY COLLECTIONS If collection day falls on a holiday (Christmas, New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day and Thanksgiving) collection will be the following SATURDAY .

Jan. 5, 15, 29 Feb. 12, 26 March 12, 26 April 9, 23 May 7, 21 June 4, 18

July 2, 16, 30 Aug. 13, 27 Sept. 10, 24 Oct. 8, 22 Nov. 5, 19 Dec. 3, 17, 31

THURSDAY

July 9, 23 Aug. 6, 20 Sept. 3, 17 Oct. 1, 15, 290 Nov. 12, 26 Dec. 10, 24

West Windsor

Hamilton Zone 2 Jan. 3, 17, 31 Feb. 14, 28 March 14, 28 April 11, 25 May 9, 23 June 6, 20

Jan. 8, 22 Feb. 5, 19 March 5, 19 April 2, 16, 30 May 14, 28 June 11, 25

July 6, 18 Aug. 1, 15, 29 Sept. 12, 26 Oct. 10, 24 Nov. 7, 21 Dec. 5, 19

Jan. 10, 24 Feb. 7, 21 March 7, 21 April 4, 18 May 2, 16, 30 June 13, 27

July 11, 25 Aug. 8, 22 Sept. 5, 19 Oct. 3, 17, 31 Nov. 14, 30 Dec. 12, 26

SPECIAL RECYCLING EVENTS

OPEN TO ALL MERCER COUNTY Household Hazardous Waste Collection RESIDENTS! and Electronics Recycling Events Dempster Fire School (350 Lawrence Station Road), March 30, June 29 and September 28

Document Shredding Events Lot 4/South Broad Street (across from Mercer County Administration Bldg.), February 23 and September 28

NEW! Get the FREE ‘Recycle Coach’ APP!

NEVER MISS ANOTHER COLLECTION DAY!

Scan the code for instant access to all your recycling needs!

MUNICIPAL RECYCLING AND PUBLIC WORKS: Ewing / 882-3382 Hamilton / 890-3560 Hopewell Boro / 466-0168 Hopewell Twp / 537-0250 Lawrence Twp / 587-1894

Pennington Boro / 737-9440 Princeton / 688-2566 Trenton / 989-3151 West Windsor / 799-8370

East Windsor, Hightstown, Robbinsville: Call your Recycling / Public Works Office for your recycling schedule

Scan here or download from your favorite App Store

Mercer County Participates in SINGLE STREAM RECYCLING; ALL Recyclables EITHER Bucket!

No more separation anxiety!

MERCER COUNTY

RECYCLES Mercer County Improvement Authority / 609-278-8086 / www.mcianj.org January 2019 | Trenton Downtowner15

A RATE SO STRONG, YOU HAVE TO GRAB IT BY THE HORNS. Forget the volatility of Wall Street.

Create your own “bull” market with a guaranteed return of 2.75% APY* on our 17-month Certificate of Deposit.

Open yours online at gocunj.com, at any of our branches, or by calling (609) 538-4061. *APY = Annual Percentage Yield. Rate is effective as of October 19, 2018 and is subject to change without notice. Penalty for early withdrawal may apply. Fees could reduce the earnings. A $5 Membership Account is required for this promotion. New money only. One certificate, business certificate or IRA certificate per person with a minimum deposit of $500 and a maximum deposit of $500,000. Certificate will renew as an 18-month certificate at the end of the 17-month period.

Federally Insured by NCUA. Additional coverage up to $250,000 provided by ESI Corporation, a licensed insurance company. Equal Housing Lender.

16Trenton Downtowner | January 2019