Volume LXX, Number 45
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Zoning Task Force Prepares Proposals For Council Nov.14
Wilson School and Brookings Want Focus on Preschool . . . . . . . . . . 9 Venezuelan Violinist Teaches Trenton Kids. . 16 Passage Theatre’s Season Opens With Out of the City . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 PSO Takes Musical Journey Through Russia . . 19 Images from the Princeton Half-Marathon. . . 25 Princeton Men’s Hoops Brimming With Optimism . . . . . . . . . 27 Making More History, PHS Boys’ Cross Country Wins Sectional Title . . 30
Celebrating the Birthday of Ivan Turgenev, Author of Fathers and Sons . 10 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Classified Ads. . . . . . . . 36 Mailbox. . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Music/Theater . . . . . . . 16 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . 34 Real Estate . . . . . . . . . 36 Religion. . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Topics of the Town . . . . . 5 Town Talk. . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Thanksgiving Section On Pages 22-23
Amidst widespread calls for changes to Princeton’s current zoning regulations, the Neighborhood Character and Zoning Initiative (NC&ZI) Task Force has been hearing from different elements of the community as it prepares recommendations for both short-term and longer-term fixes. In commenting on plans for introducing a proposal for preliminary ordinances to the municipal council on November 14, task force member and Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert noted the importance of both immediate action and longer-term work on zoning regulations. “We heard from builders and architects the importance of a comprehensive review of zoning district lines and regulations to ensure that they reflect neighborhoods,” she said, referring to focus group meetings held last Thursday, “and a desire to revisit the principles in the Master Plan before tinkering with the ordinances.” The mayor continued, ”However, we heard from residents the need to move quickly to help correct some of the existing inadequacies in our current zoning that have led to out-of-character development in their neighborhoods. I believe both approaches are needed.” The goal of the NC&ZI task force, according to Ms. Lempert, is to start with a few quick fixes and also to do a comprehensive study that generates additional recommendations that will take longer to implement. Among the zoning repairs that may be considered for adoption before the end of the year, the task force, along with its consultant Mark Keener, director of Urban Design for the RBA Group of Philadelphia, has proposed: instituting a driveway setback, allowing porch encroachments, requiring a garage setback to reduce the impact of garages on the streetscape, prohibiting house repetition when a lot is subdivided, and including cathedral space when calculating FAR (floor area ratio). A third focus group will be held this Thursday, November 10, with members of Princeton boards, committees and commissions. Last week’s groups included first local professionals (builders, developers and realtors), then neighborhood residents. In addition to Ms. Lempert, NC&ZI task force members include council member Continued on Page 11
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Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Dems, Lempert, Clinton Dominate Local Vote
Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert was elected to a second four-year term in Tuesday’s race over Republican challenger Peter Marks. Ms. Lempert, a Democrat, earned 7529 votes, while Mr. Marks got 2709, according to unofficial results at press time. In addition, voters elected Democratic Councilwoman Jenny Crumiller and newcomer Tim Quinn, also a Democrat, to two Council seats. Ms. Crumiller and Mr. Quinn, who were unopposed, will serve three-year terms. In the national election, Princeton voters cast 8562 ballots in favor of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, 1579 for Republican Donald Trump, 262 for Libertarian Gary Johnson and 158 for Jill Stein of the Green Party. Ms. Crumiller was on Princeton Borough Council before being elected to Princeton Council after the 2013 consolidation, which she supported. She has served on the town’s planning board, the information technology committee, the ordinance harmonization committee, the traffic and transportation committee, and the public works committee. She is a 25-year resident of Princeton. Mr. Quinn, also a Princeton resident for 25 years, served two terms on Princeton’s school board, including one as president. He is the communications director for Princeton Public
Library. Mr. Quinn was an editor at the Trenton Times for several years before joining the library’s staff in 2000. Ms. Lempert served on the Township Committee before being elected to the office of mayor of consolidated Princeton in 2013. Elected to the three available seats on School Board for Princeton Public Schools were Debbie Bronfeld with 4753 votes, Gregory Stankiewicz with 3689 votes, and
William Hare with 3454 votes. Alex Martin received 3103 votes in his unsuccessful bid for a School Board seat. The three elected newcomers will replace outgoing board members Molly Chrein, Tom Hagedorn, and current board president Andrea Spalla, who will be stepping down when their terms expire at the end of the year. —Anne Levin —Donald Gilpin
Middle East Scholars to Discuss Impact of U.S. Election Results As the dust clears from bitterly contested U.S. elections, prominent Middle East scholars and policy experts will gather Thursday at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School (WWS) to discuss what the election results mean for the Israeli-Palestine peace process. Guest speakers at the 7 p.m. forum in Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall will include Shai Feldman, director of the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University, and Khalil Shikaki, political science professor and director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah, Palestine.
Daniel C. Kurtzer, U.S. ambassador to Israel from 2001 to 2005, U.S. ambassador to Egypt from 1997 to 2001 and currently professor of Middle Eastern Policy Studies at WWS, will introduce the topic and speakers for the discussion that will be moderated by Princeton politics professor Amaney A. Jamal, director of the Mamdouha S. Bobst Center for Peace and Justice and director of the Workshop on Arab Political Development at Princeton University. Commenting on the good fortune of getting two such well known and credible speakers, Mr. Kurtzer stated that the Continued on Page 11
CUBS BETWEEN THE LIONS: Princeton fans celebrating Chicago’s first World Championship since 1908 include, at the center of the big W, organizer of the gathering Professor of Public and International Affairs Stanley N. Katz, and next to him Princeton University President and 1988 Graduate of the University of Chicago Law School Chrisopher Eisgruber. To top it off, the big W was flown above Nassau Hall. (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)
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