Volume LXXIII, Number 24
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Princeton and Mercer Are Teaming Up To Improve Biking Safety
Guo and Vulchi Accelerate Spread of Racial Literacy . . . . . . . 5 Cohen Gives Status Report on Seminary Plan . . . . 12 McCarter Alumni Score Big at Tony Awards . . . . . . 13 Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra Spring Concert . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Princeton Festival Presents She Loves Me . . . . . . 19 PHS Senior Star Brennan Wins Discus at Meet of Champions . . . . . . . . 29 Summer Men’s Hoops League Tipping Off 31st Season . . . . . . . 31
Remembering Anne Frank in This Week’s Book Review . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .20, 21 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 25 Classified Ads . . . . . . 34 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Music/Theater . . . . . . 22 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 26 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 33 Police Blotter . . . . . . . 10 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 34 School Matters . . . . . . 12 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
Elm Road and Rosedale Road, for starters, will soon be seeing improvements that will make those routes safer and more comfortable for bicycles, and for pedestrians and motorists too. Elm from Stockton Street to Rosedale is scheduled to be resurfaced this summer, with the addition of a bike lane, according to David Cohen, Council liaison to the Princeton Bicycling Advisory Committee and Planning Board member. At their Monday, June 12 meeting, Princeton Council discussed plans for the Elm Road refurbishing with a representative from the Mercer County Engineering Department. Cohen requested consideration of bike lanes on both sides of the road, but the narrowness of Elm is problematic. Cohen, however, noted that the town is also “entering into exciting plans for Rosedale.” Princeton has been awarded a $1 million federal Safe Routes to School grant for Rosedale (CR-604), General Johnson Drive intersection, and pathway improvements. Cohen reported that Mercer County is looking into extending the side paths and enhancing the traffic control at the entrance to Johnson Park Elementary School, with a pedestrian crossing and possibly a traffic light. More long-term future priorities, Cohen noted, may include bicycle-friendly improvements to Harrison Street and a plan for cyclists to cross Route 1 more safely. Cohen acknowledged “some frustration in the cycling community that the good planning we’ve done isn’t getting implemented,” but he emphasized “how much work it takes to get it right.” Cohen is also hopeful of resolving the question of bike lanes on Hamilton Avenue and Wiggins Street. Last year’s Beta Bike Lanes experiment revealed much positive feedback and support — from motorists and pedestrians, as well as cyclists — for bike lanes on Hamilton and Wiggins, but also concern about loss of parking spaces, particularly for downtown employees. Council will take up the issue after reports and complete data are published. Mercer County has announced a meeting to be scheduled for July in Princeton to allow the public to learn about the Continued on Page 10
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Wednesday, June 12, 2019
Investigation Continues Into Town Property Misuse The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and the Princeton Police Department are continuing to investigate allegations of misuse of municipal property in Princeton, specifically within the town’s Sewer Operating Division. “This is an active criminal investigation. We are, as we speak, gathering information on a number of allegations,” Police Chief Nicholas Sutter said Tuesday morning. “In our experience, this is probably the first time we’ve dealt with any allegations like this, certainly at this site.” First reported online by Planet Princeton, it is alleged that private contractors have paid municipal employees to use the town’s River Road sewer department site to dump dirt and asphalt. Among other allegations under investigation is a charge that a $300,000 jet truck, and municipal workers, have been used to help a contractor install new sewer pipes at a residence. One municipal employee was terminated last week as a result of the initial investigation. On Monday, Municipal Administrator Marc Dashield declined to release that individual’s name because of his involvement in the investigation. Mayor Liz Lempert called the allegations
“extremely upsetting,” adding, “Once we started the initial investigations internally and found there was enough credible evidence to explore further, I asked Marc (Dashield) to bring in the prosecutor’s office. It’s important to have that participation, so that the public can fully trust the outcome. Any violation of public trust is completely unacceptable.” According to the published reports, a driver employed by the town admitted that he was dumping dirt removed from the
site of the Mary Moss Playground renovation, located at John and Lytle streets. Contractors are responsible for getting rid of dirt from job sites. But it is alleged that about 40 truck loads were dumped at the River Road site in exchange for $75 a load. The municipality paid a contractor to renovate the park last year, and dirt was allegedly dumped at the River Road site last summer. It is also charged that a contractor with Continued on Page 10
Immigrants’ Needs, Concerns, and Ways to Help Highlight PCDO Forum
National and international events and policy decisions may be happening far away in Washington, D.C., or Central America, but those happenings and that news can reverberate strongly in Princeton, particularly on the issue of immigration and the lives of immigrants. “Immigration in Princeton: Community Needs and Current Policy Issues,” a panel discussion presented last Sunday by the Princeton Community Democratic Organization (PCDO), provided an overview of the needs of immigrants in Princeton, along with some personal stories and
local, state, and federal policy solutions. The speakers offered a number of ways for volunteers to help. “This is a welcoming community, yet people are frightened,” said panelist and Princeton Councilwoman Leticia Fraga. Emphasizing the importance of befriending immigrant neighbors, she urged, “Don’t assume that you know what they need. Ask how you can help.” Fraga, who is the Princeton Council liaison to Princeton Human Services and the Civil Rights Commission and the Continued on Page 11
HONORED FOR THEIR EFFORTS IN DIVERSITY: Not in Our Town Princeton honored students with Unity Awards on June 6 in a ceremony held at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton . From left, lower row, are Khalil Benjamin, Alex Leonard, Hamza Nishtar, Raisa Rubin-Stankiewicz, Vera Ebong, Bells Almodovar . Stephanie Ramirez, Salma Hashem, Kat Martin, and Daphne Lau . Top row, Akshay Adaikalavan, Mike Hollomon, Stephanie Huang, Grace Chung, and Claire Jiang . Not present, Yani Ince and Alex Zhang . Not in Our Town Princeton is a multi-racial, multi-faith group of individuals who stand together for racial justice and inclusive communities .
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