Volume LXXIV, Number 27
Hopewell High School Alumni Start “Helpers” Business . . . . . . . . . . 5 Princeton Small Business Resiliency Fund Launches . . . . . . . . . . 8 PU Removes Wilson’s Name From Public Affairs School . . . . . . 10 Driving With Mr . Dylan: A Rough and Rowdy Ride . . 14 McCarter Presents “In Conversation with Lucy Simon” . . . . . . . . . . 15 Former PU Men’s Hoops Coach Scott Headed Back to Air Force . . . . . . . . .24 Hun Boys’ Lax Showed Potential Before Season Canceled . . . . . . . . . . .26
Romus Broadway, Chronicler of the Witherspoon-Jackson Community, Dies . . . . . 29 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .18, 19 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Classified Ads . . . . . . 32 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 12 New to Us . . . . . . . . . . 21 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 29 Performing Arts . . . . . 16 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 6 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 32 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 31 School Matters . . . . . . 10 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
www.towntopics.com
Two Council Seats Up for Grabs in Primary; Freda Runs Unopposed for Mayor With the July 7 Democratic primary election less than a week away, incumbents David Cohen and Leticia Fraga and challenger Dina Shaw are vying for two spots on the November ballot for Princeton Council. Mark Freda is running unopposed for a four-year term as Princeton mayor. No Republicans have filed for nomination in the Council and mayoral races. The primary election is being conducted primarily by mail, in accordance with Gov. Phil Murphy’s May 15 executive order #144. A limited number of polling places will be available to voters on Election Day, with provisional paper ballots provided. Vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked no later than 8 p.m. on July 7 or placed in one of five secure election ballot drop boxes located at the Princeton Municipal Building and four other locations throughout the county. Town Topics has given the candidates the opportunity to briefly sum up their particular qualifications for the job, their view of top priorities going forward, and how the Council or mayor can best address those priorities. They all would have liked more space to explain their ideas. The three Council candidates were restricted to about 200 words.
75¢ at newsstands
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
NJ, Princeton Travel the Bumpy Road Back Now in the third week of Phase 2 locally and statewide, progress in flattening the COVID-19 curve is evident. Announcements of new openings and the lifting of restrictions appear daily, but “The Road Back,” Gov. Phil Murphy’s plan for combating the pandemic and returning to “normal,” is not all smooth traveling. Though coronavirus cases have surged elsewhere in the country and 16 states — mostly in the South and West — are on New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut’s list calling for a 14-day quarantine for visitors, active case numbers in New Jersey have fallen significantly since their peak in April. And, with state testing expanded, new cases have remained flat for several weeks. The statistics in Princeton look even more favorable than those statewide, with the Princeton Health Department reporting on Monday only three new cases in the past week and 10 in the past two weeks, compared to totals four times that high in late April and early May. The current two-week average is 0.36 cases per day, down from 3.29 per day two months ago. Princeton reported 33 active cases
Monday, with 132 recovered, 18 confirmed COVID-19 deaths, and 12 additional probable COVID-19 deaths. The challenges ahead, however, and inevitable bumps in the “road back,” have become evident in the past week. Outdoor dining and indoor, non-essential retail opened two weeks ago; outdoor pools (Community Park pool is set to open July 13), barber shops, hair salons, and other personal care service facilities were permitted to open last week; and
indoor shopping malls and state Motor Vehicle Commission inspections are open this week. Looking forward to the July 4th holiday weekend, Atlantic City casinos, amusement parks, water parks, boardwalk rides, arcades, and playgrounds are all scheduled to reopen on Thursday, with social distancing restrictions and capacity limits. On Monday, June 29, however, Murphy stepped on the brakes, announcing that Continued on Page 7
Graffiti Expressing Racial Slurs Is Found on Two Local Bridges Two incidences of graffiti with racial slurs have been reported in Princeton during the past week. The graffiti, which contained racially-motivated hate speech against African Americans, was discovered on the bridge at Poe Road, and the NJ Transit Railroad bridge along the D&R Canal State Park Towpath. Princeton Police are treating these incidents as Bias Intimidation and Criminal Mischief. “This type of racially-motivated
hate speech will not be tolerated in our community and we will work diligently to identify those responsible,” said Chief Nicholas Sutter. At the meeting of Princeton Council on June 29, Councilwoman Leticia Fraga spoke about the incidents. “It is disgusting,” she said. “An attack on some members of our community is an attack on all of us. We will not tolerate racism in any Continued on Page 7
David Cohen
The timetable for meeting our affordable housing obligation mandates over 700 new housing units, both affordable and market-rate, in the next five years. All the while, major institutions in town continue to thrive and grow, and the changing nature of commercial activity, shifting to online retail and telecommuting, puts pressure on our tax base and will change the face of our business districts. This pace of change will challenge our planning capacity. It will impact all aspects of municipal government – efforts to reduce and respond to climate change, transportation systems and infrastructure, practices to ensure equity for all our residents, and budgeting. We need representatives on the governing body who have the knowledge and experience to help us through this change. I have been deeply involved with developing the Climate Action Plan; worked on alternative transportation in town for over a decade; served on the Planning Board for over six years; served Continued on Page 11
RENAMING: Visitors view the “Double Sights” installation, presenting both positive and negative views of Woodrow Wilson, with The Princeton (formerly Woodrow Wilson) School of Public and International Affairs in the background . On June 26 Princeton University’s Board of Trustees decided to remove Wilson’s name from campus buildings because of his racism and segregationist policies . See the story on page 10 . (Photo by Erica M. Cardenas)
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