TINA CLEMENT
"Night Out With NAMI" Chair
JERRY LINDAUER
NAMI Executive Director
MARY FUREY GERARD
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Talbot Lane
JOHN L. POWELL
Snowden Lane
KEVIN WILKES
Maclean Street
To the Editor:
More than 300 people came to The College of New Jersey on January 8 to hear pianist/psychiatrist Dr. Richard Kogan discuss Beethoven's life and play his music. Every seat was filled!
The recital/reception was a fund-raiser for NAMI Mercer, the Mercer County affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. NAMI Mercer is a non-profit organization of families and individuals working to improve the lives of those affected by mental illness through education, advocacy, and mutual support. NAMI offers essential support through NAMI helpline, professional courses, support groups, speaker programs, anti-stigma presentations, and fellowship activities for people in recovery. Its services are delivered free of charge by volunteers and professionals who have experienced the same challenges as those who seek their help.
Beethoven suffered from depression, paranoia and psychotic episodes, but his immortal music is evidence of the contributions people with mental illness have made, and continue to make, to our civilization.
We at NAMI wish to thank all of our sponsors and supporters, and especially the many volunteers who helped us organize the evening. In 2005 NAMI programs touched and served over 2000 families and individuals in Mercer County. With community support, NAMI continues to reach out and to build programs to help those in need. Thank you.
TINA CLEMENT
"Night Out With NAMI" Chair
JERRY LINDAUER
NAMI Executive Director
To the Editor:
The students and staff of Saint Paul's School in Princeton have raised more than $500,000 through the sale of "65 Roses" Bears for Cystic Fibrosis research. They used their Christmas money to purchase these small bears to benefit the children afflicted with the number one fatal genetic disease, Cystic Fibrosis. The students learned about genetic disease, used their savings to contribute to the research effort, and will make a difference in the longevity of the children suffering with Cystic Fibrosis.
The "65 Roses" Bears get their name from the way children with Cystic Fibrosis pronounce the name of their disease.
With this kind of commitment from students, we are confident that we will be able to write a letter someday announcing an effective treatment or cure of Cystic Fibrosis.
MARY FUREY GERARD
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Talbot Lane
To the Editor:
The time has come for the Planning Board to makes its decision on the zoning for the hospital site. Further delay is in no one's interest — not the community's, not the neighbors', not the hospital's.
The Planning Board should be credited for taking pains to make its processes beyond reproach, for listening carefully to everyone, for not wanting to shift to others what it should decide, and for striving for consensus. But after eight meetings (six public), there is no justification for further meetings beyond the one scheduled for January 19.
When the arguments on all sides have been presented, anything more moves away from reasoned consideration, inflaming emotions on all sides, damaging everyone. Though my preferences may not prevail, I am satisfied they have been heard by intelligent and dedicated individuals, our properly constituted authority.
Make a decision. Do your job. We will all adjust. Or, like Jonah when he saw that shirking his duty was creating a storm that threatened the whole ship, have the decency to ask to be thrown overboard.
JOHN L. POWELL
Snowden Lane
To the Editor:
The Regional Planning Board of Princeton is in the final stages of rewriting the Master Plan for our community and they have done an admirable job so far. Density, height, and streetscape are the final issues that prevent this Master Plan language from becoming a truly visionary statement.
Let's imagine for a moment that we concede on the density issue. Maybe there is enough public good to be gained by having this much new housing in Princeton. What do the existing residents gain in return for accepting this imposition? Why can't the John-Witherspoon and Harris areas have new housing that enhances their neighborhood and makes it friendlier, more livable, more attractive, more in scale with their present residences? Why do they have to accept the double imposition of a dense development that is so tall that it looms over their present houses?
Why can't we agree, "OK, we will accept greater density," but in return we will get improvements to the design of our neighborhood, improved streetscapes, improved scale and quality of street life, better neighborhood stores, better public spaces, and a place for kids to play?
If we grandfather the existing density, the new developer should be required to employ it in a manner that is in keeping with the best design interests of the existing neighborhoods. The tall tower at the hospital should be reduced by two floors (remember the new sixth and seventh floors of the building were added in 1991); they can be removed in the same fashion leaving a more appropriately scaled tower block that does not loom over Princeton. A public street of some sort should be added through the site so all residents of both towns can walk freely through the new neighborhood, so children and adults and police can travel up and down a safe street. Do not allow the new development to remove itself from the fabric of the existing community but rather weave it carefully into the existing neighborhoods with sensitivity. Show enlightenment and compassion to the existing residents, not concession to the bottom line goals of a real estate developer from out of state.
The African-American community of John-Witherspoon has been pushed and pulled by interests frequently imposed from outside of their own. The original Palmer Square development and the re-routing of Paul Robeson Place are two prime examples of this. This hospital project can be a step in the right direction; instead of healing people, we can now heal our neighborhoods. We can start the long process of repairing our central neighborhood with an understanding of its history, compassion for its present residents and an eye toward the bright future of a racially, ethnically, and economically diverse community. This will only come about if the new project replacing the hospital is designed in a manner that reflects the wonderful texture and character of the existing community fabric.
This is my version of an ideal Master Plan. I urge everyone to join me in support of the ongoing improvement of the Master Plan language.
KEVIN WILKES
Maclean Street