Town Topics Newspaper by Witherspoon Media Group

Volume LXVI, Number 49 Board Adds School Days Lost to Sandy . . . . . . . . 7 Sight Unseen, 1991 Obie-Winning Drama, at Theatre Intime . . . . . . 20 Led by Ruth Ochs, Community Orchestra Performs Mozart and Brahms in Tribute to Westminster’s Phyllis Alpert Lehrer . . . . . . . 23 Sparked by Superb Efforts from Polansky, Helmstetter, PU Women’s Basketball Finally Breaks Rutgers Hex . . . . . . . . 37 PHS Girls’ Soccer Fights Hard to the End but Falls to Moorestown in Group III Semis . . . . . . . . . . 42

Two Surviving Beatles Share a Magical Blu-Ray Holiday With John and George . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 34 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Classified Ads. . . . . . . 49 Music/Theater . . . . . . 20 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 14 New to Us. . . . . . . . . . 32 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 47 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 49 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Topics of the Town . . . . 5

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Planning Board Hears Testimony, Discussion Of Arts and Transit Plan Arguments for and against Princeton University’s plan to move the Dinky station as part of its $300 million Arts and Transit plan continued at a meeting of the Regional Planning Board last Thursday. The board is hoping to wrap up discussions of the final site plan for the project before consolidation goes into effect on January 1. Opposition has been expressed not so much for the plan itself, which would bring a complex of performance, rehearsal, and other spaces to the campus, but for the relocation of the train station some 480 feet south of its present location. The Lewis Center for the Arts project would turn the existing station buildings, opposite McCarter Theatre, into a restaurant and cafe. Attorney Bruce Afran, who represents a group of citizens opposed to the move, spent much of the meeting questioning officials about such issues as pedestrian safety and traffic impact. The opposition maintains that the University does not have the legal right to move the station because of an easement that allows public transportation access over its land, and that the plans for pedestrian crossings in the area are unsafe. But Board member Peter Madison said it was not the Board’s job to rule on those points. “We have an application here that is in full compliance with the legal zoning,” he said. “If it is, I don’t see that I have an alternative to turning this application down.” Mr. Afran disagreed, saying the Board was not limited to the question of zoning compliance, and could deny approval if they feel public safety is at risk. Among those testifying against the proposal were planner and University transportation professor Alain Kornhauser and local architect Michael Landau. Mr. Kornhauser delivered a power point presentation in which he said the project could proceed without moving the Dinky terminus. “Princeton University can even extend Blair Walk without moving the Dinky station or the tracks,” he said, adding that traffic flow and pedestrian safety would be compromised by the proposed plan. Mr. Landau said that the design for the new Dinky station by architect Rick Joy keeps it “hidden from the public.” He cited New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s decision to give in to public pressure and cancel the New York Marathon after Continued on Page 10

   

The Lewis School

   39th   Annual      

Tree of Light  

   See page 22.      

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Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Princeton Task Force Prepares for “Day One”

With “day one” of consolidation fast approaching, the Princeton Transition Task Force hosted an informational “town hall” meeting on Monday evening at the Princeton Public Library. Center for Governmental Research (CGR) President Joe Stefko presented an overview of the 100-plus page document described by Chairman Mark Freda as the Task Force’s “almost final” report. The current version, in its entirety, is available online at cgr.org/princeton; a final report is due to be completed by the end of this year. Mr. Stefko has been a project manager and consultant on consolidation and transition since 2010 (“I still love to come to Princeton,” he joked on Monday). The report, he noted, includes “a process overview” detailing the identification of priority tasks and subsequent recommendations by Task Force subcommittees. The report will serve as “an informational resource” for residents, other stakeholders, and the new governing body as they go forward with consolidation, observed Mr. Stefko. “So much of Task Force’s work was focused on the immediate, but January 1 is just day one of a new era.” By

detailing each subcommittee’s responsibilities, recommendations, and the processes through which they reached their recommendations, the report provides a basis for “what should be on participants’ radar screens” after January 1. Transition Task Force subcommittees included Boards, Commissions and Committees; Communications; Facilities and other Assets; Infrastructure and Operations; In-

formational Technology; Personnel; and Public Safety. Future consolidation efforts by other communities also stand to profit from the report, suggested Mr. Tefko. “When they go through this process, there’s a lot that they can learn.” A “Guide to Municipal Offices” distributed at the Monday meeting listed the Continued on Page 8

PHS Boys’ Soccer Shares State Title

It didn’t look like Chase Ealy was going to be able to help the Princeton High boys’ soccer team last week as it pursued the Group III state title. The sophomore midfielder’s temperature spiked to 104 as he was hit with a viral illness and woke up in the hospital on Wednesday, the day PHS was facing Moorestown in the Group III state semis. Ealy did get released and was a spectator that evening as PHS topped Moorestown 2-0 to earn its first trip to the state championship game since winning the title in 2009. On Saturday afternoon, Ealy was in

uniform as PHS took on defending state champion and undefeated Ramapo in the championship game at The College of New Jersey. Looking pale and wan as he warmed up, Ealy was hoping to come off the bench. “I came into the game with the expectation of playing as much as coach would play me,” said Ealy. “I couldn’t handle as much as I normally could but I was going to give it my all. I just did what I could. I couldn’t run as much as I usually do.” With PHS trailing Ramapo 1-0 early in the second half, Ealy was subbed into the Continued on Page 40

SHARED LEADERSHIP: Members of the Princeton High boys’ soccer team celebrate after tying Ramapo 1-1 in the Group III state championship game last Saturday at The College of New Jersey to earn a share of the title. PHS ended the season with an 18-3-1 record as it earned its first state crown since 2009. For more details on the game, see the front page story as well as pages 40 and 41. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

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