Volume LXIX, Number 43
Former GCA President Katie Heins Is This Week’s Princeton Personality . . . 18 The Princeton University Orchestra Launches Its 2015-16 Season . . . . 23 Charles Coulston Gillispie, Professor Emeritus of the History of Science at Princeton Dies . . . 42 Senior U .S . District Judge Joseph Eron Irenas Dies at 75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 PU Women’s Hockey Excited for 2015-16 Season . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Undefeated PHS Boys’ Soccer Aiming for Titles . . . . 36
The Centennial of Princeton Resident Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity to Be Celebrated Next Week . . . . . . . . . . 7 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 29 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . 28
At a meeting of Princeton Council Monday night, several residents of the neighborhood surrounding the construction site where the developer AvalonBay is building an apartment complex voiced strong concerns about chemical smells. Citing migraine headaches, sore throats and other unsettling effects, they urged the governing body to take action to make the Witherspoon Street site safer as construction continues. Municipal staff members said they have been monitoring the site since strong odors were first reported on Wednesday, October 21. The smells were identified by the town’s health and engineering departments as coming from painting primer and top coat polyurethanes on the Henry Avenue parking garage, adjacent to the site. The Mercer County Division of Public Health was called in to help investigate the matter, and a Materials Safety Data Sheet was posted on the town’s website. Mayor Liz Lempert was among those who smelled the substance last week. “The list of materials was alarming,” she said of the data sheet. Town administrator Marc Dashield said that the data sheet is meant for workers at the site. But Heidi Fichtenbaum, an architect who works in the green building industry and a resident of the neighborhood, disagreed. She added that just because the odor dissipates doesn’t mean the chemicals are gone. Ms. Fichtenbaum, who lives on Carnahan Place, said she first smelled the odor last Wednesday while driving by the site in her car with the windows closed. “Even though the windows were closed, within five seconds my car was filled with
Classified Ads . . . . . . . 44 Music/Theater . . . . . . 23 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 12 New to Us . . . . . . . . . . 30 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 42 Police . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 44 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . . 6
11 10 9 8 7
12 ▲
1
6
5
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Two Newcomers In Race for Council Seats
In the upcoming election on Tuesday, November 3, Democrats Lance Liverman and Heather Howard, both Democrats, will be up for re-election to Princeton Council. Contesting them are Republicans Lynn Lu Irving and Kelly Di Tosto, both newcomers to the Princeton political arena. The incumbents cite improvements and accomplishments during their time on Council, particularly during the adjustment period to a consolidated community, as reasons for re-election to the all-Democrat governing body. Ms. Irving and Ms. Di Tosto count party diversity and keeping Princeton affordable among the reasons to cast votes their way. Mr. Liverman, who is a property manager, served on Princeton Township Committee before the town consolidated in
2012, when he became a member of the merged Council. A native of Princeton, he is often a voice of mediation during Council discussions. “I find myself as a person in the middle,” he said. “I listen to both sides. I try to be in the middle of each issue.” His love for the community, desire to serve, and longtime local affiliation are reasons to keep him on Council, he said. Among the issues that concern him are the future of the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood, where many residents feel threatened by rising prices and redevelopment. “I’m kind of mixed on this. I wish the character of the neighborhood could stay the way it is,” he said. “But I also understand when an investment such as a home is the only investment you have,
you might need to sell, for whatever you need the funds for. It’s a tough issue.” As for the fact that all of the current Council members are from the same party, Mr. Liverman said, “We’re not seven people thinking the same. People say we’re a one-party government, but you can be one party and not think the same. We all have different opinions on issues.” Ms. Howard, a health policy expert who works at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School, served on Borough Council prior to consolidation, when she was elected to the merged Council. She has focused on public safety, health, and immigration issues during her term. “There is a national debate going on about the Continued on Page 14
Ex-Triangle Club Employee Sentenced For Embezzlement
2 3 4
Daylight Saving Time ends this Sunday at 2 a.m. Turn clocks back one hour.
Help The Rescue Mission break the Help Rescue the of clothing WorldThe Record ForMission Largest break collection World Record For Largest collection of clothing for recycle/donation! for recycle/donation! Call (609) 964-0414 x 100 rmtrenton.org/100 Call (609) 964-0414 x 100 rmtrenton.org/100
75¢ at newsstands
Continued on Page 15
Clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
▲
Reading One of the Great Unreadables, William Gaddis’s The Recognitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Residents Air Worries About Noxious Fumes At AvalonBay Site
▲
Latest Attempt to Block IAS Housing Plan Is Rejected . . . . . . . . . . . 8
www.towntopics.com
OCTOBER MAGIC: Photographers, amateur and professional alike, were feasting on the last week’s stunning autumn weather, particularly in the area around Lake Carnegie and the D&R canal, where this vision of the season in its glory was captured . (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)
Howard and Liverman for Princeton Council Vote Democratic, Tues. Nov. 3rd
Thomas John Muza, 57, of Hightstown, was sentenced to state prison Friday for embezzling $240,000 from the Princeton University Triangle Club over a period of five years, 2008-2013. He was the Triangle Club’s accountant from 1993 to 2013. According to the Attorney General’s office, Mr. Muza pleaded guilty on March 27 to a charge of second degree theft by unlawful taking. In addition to his sentence, he must pay a restitution of $240,000. At the sentencing hearing he had already paid $200,000 of that sum. Mr. Muza was dismissed from his post as accountant for the historic musical comedy troupe in May 2013 after discrepancies and suspicious expenditures were discovered in the Triangle Club financial records. He had been paid a $4,000 annual salary and had been a signatory on the club’s bank account. Mr. Muza, who also served as general manager of McCarter Theatre Center, was removed from that post as a result of the theft investigation. Mr. Muza admitted that he used his position as accountant for the Triangle Club to embezzle approximately $240,000 by writing club checks to himself and cashing them or depositing them directly into his personal bank account. The former accountant, who was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Continued on Page 4
New Showroom 38 East Broad Street Hopewell, NJ (609) 333-0610
See our Ad on page 3
MMG014_SIS_AD_Strip_r1.indd 1
9/8/15 11:17 AM