Volume LXIX, Number 42
Love at First Sight: Cézanne, Van Gogh at University Art Museum . . . . . . . . . . . 13 The Art of Video Games Featured in College of NJ Exhibit . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 McCarter Production of Ken Ludwig’s Comedy of Tenors at Matthews Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Richardson Chamber Players Bring Dark Period of History to Life . . . . 21 Emphasizing Overall Toughness, Consistency, PU Women’s Hockey Excited for 2015-16 Season . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Harla Providing Scoring Punch Along With Defense As Undefeated PHS Boys’ Soccer Aiming for Titles . . . . . . . . . . 31
Mikaela Symanovich Helps PU Women’s Soccer to 9th Straight Win . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 24 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Classified Ads . . . . . . . 38 Home Improvement . . . 37 Music/Theater . . . . . . 18 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 36 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 38 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 27
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Merwick Stanworth Gives a New Look To Bayard Lane The ongoing construction of a residential community for Princeton University faculty and staff at the corner of Bayard and Cleveland lanes is not quite in the home stretch. But the complex, on the former site of the Merwick rehabilitation center and the Stanworth apartments, is well along the way toward its projected goal of fall 2016 completion. The newly constructed, multi-story apartments that make up the Merwick side are finished and occupied. The second phase is focused on the neighboring Stanworth units, which have housed University families for more than 60 years. The compact houses are currently in the process of being taken down and rebuilt, where possible, on their original foundations. The buildings are being stripped of their bricks before being demolished, and they look a bit forlorn in their naked state. “As best practice when the University is undertaking any construction project, we look to recycle material wherever we can,” said Kristin Appelget, the University’s director of Community and Regional Affairs. “The bricks won’t be used again on the site, but they will be recycled.” Of the 326 residences in total, 56 are designated affordable housing COAH (Council on Affordable Housing) units, available to the public and managed for the University by Princeton Community Housing. Sixteen became available when Merwick opened, and the Stanworth site will include 40. Torti Gallas and Partners of Maryland are the architects for the complex. Once demolition is complete, the Stanworth residences will be rebuilt as two-story townhouse-style units. “They will look like what is already on the Merwick site. They all have pitched roofs. There are one-story sections and porches that are incorporated into the design,” said Ms. Appelget. “A key element of the planning is that the streets were left where they were previously located. This, along with leaving the buildings on their original foundations, means that many mature trees on the site are not being disturbed. So the beautiful tree canopy is preserved.” The University built the Stanworth homes in the late 1940s to house faculty and staff. The adjacent Merwick site was Continued on Page 4
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Wednesday, October 21, 2015
PU Safety Officers Will Have Access to Arms
In the change of a longstanding policy, Princeton University Department of Public Safety (PUDPS) Executive Director Paul Ominsky last week announced that sworn department officers will have access to rifles in the event of “two specific situations — an active shooter or someone brandishing a firearm on campus.” Mr. Ominsky emphasized the importance of rapid response time in cases of threats of a violent nature and the current thinking that getting an armed officer to the scene as quickly as possible is the safest, most effective response to the presence of an active shooter. Under the current policy, the PUDPS would have to call on the Princeton Police Department (PPD) to provide an armed response to an active shooter on campus.
While the announcement followed shootings on October 8 and 9 at Umpqua College near Roseburg, Oregon, Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff and Texas Southern University in Houston, Mr. Ominsky said that Princeton University has been discussing this change in policy for many months. “This is something that has been under consideration for a while,” he said. “The proposal was made based on Princeton’s circumstances and law enforcement best practices.” The new policy will be implemented in the coming months, after the 32 sworn officers in the department (there are 65 members of the Department of Public Safety who are not sworn officers and will not have access to firearms in any circumstance), have received additional
training with the firearms they would have access to in the specific emergency situations. Mr. Ominsky elaborated, “We are fortunate to be in a very safe town and we have a safe campus,” but “we have to be prepared even for the unthinkable. We hope that there will never be a need for our sworn officers to use the rifles.” Princeton Police Department Chief Nicholas Sutter expressed his strong support for the change in University policy, stating, “I see this as a positive and effective step in addressing response time to critical incidents like an active shooter on the campus. Through our joint training with PUDPS we realize that our goal is to stop an active armed threat on campus as Continued on Page 4
Princeton Organization Helps Families in Need Stay Local and Thrive
IN THE BOOK TENT: Siblings Linden (left) and Rowan O’Byrne of Princeton doing what comes naturally Saturday at the Friends of the Princeton Public Library Book Sale . In this week’s Town Talk, their father Sean talks about the books he found, including one about ballerinas for his daughter . (Photo by Emily Reeves)
Howard and Liverman for Princeton Council Vote Democratic, Tues. Nov. 3rd See our Ad on page 3
When Jane Okoth was promoted 14 years ago from her job at the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Lewisburg, Pa. to a position with the regional office in Philadelphia, she knew her children were not going to be happy about leaving their schools. So she told them they could select the school system they wanted to attend and the community in which they wanted to live, within reasonable distance of Philadelphia. “They went online and picked Princeton, which reminded them of the schools they were in because Lewisburg is home to Bucknell University, another university town. I told them they’d have to do without a lot if we moved to Princeton, but they were willing,” Ms. Okoth said. The family made the move and the children enrolled in Princeton’s public schools. But Ms. Okoth’s husband had trouble finding work. “It was a shock, because the cost of living was much higher than what we were used to,” she said. “It got to a point where things were really difficult.” That’s when Housing Initiatives of Princeton (HIP), a non-profit organization funded by representatives of Princeton’s largest religious organizations and based at Trinity Episcopal Church, stepped in. The family was offered temporary accommodation in a house the organization owns at 11 Mercer Street. They were given assistance with their finances. Continued on Page 26
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