To the Editor:

I would like to thank all the voters of Princeton who took the time to turn out and cast a ballot last Tuesday, exercising one of our most important rights and responsibilities in a democracy. I and my co-candidate Leticia are proud to be part of a strong Democratic Party ticket headed into the fall, and many of the races in November will be hotly contested, providing an opportunity for voters throughout Princeton, Mercer County, Legislative District 16, and all of New Jersey to express their commitment to each other and to the cause of responsible, caring, effective government for our community.

We will not take your support for granted, and intend to be active throughout the summer and fall, getting to know as many voters as we can, and making ourselves available to hear what issues are of greatest concern to the people of Princeton. We will continue to regularly show up at Bon Appetit on Wednesday mornings from 8-9 a.m., and McCaffrey’s on Monday afternoons from 5-6 p.m. in the upstairs seating area. Please do stop by and introduce yourselves, and/or share your views. Also look for us at the farmers market in Hinds Plaza on Thursday afternoons, and keep your ears open about house parties coming to your neighborhood, where we hope to engage with neighbors in every voting district in town.

To learn more about my priorities as a candidate, and to learn about upcoming house parties, please visit my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/DECPrinceton. Princeton faces many challenges in the coming years, planning for change and preserving the wonderful character of our community, as we experience constant pressure for growth and development. We are blessed to reside in a highly desirable place to live, but in the wise words of the Jewish folk hero Nasrudin, “sometimes what seems like a blessing may be a curse, and what seems like a curse may be a blessing.” Let’s all pitch in together to make sure our blessings stay blessings.

David E. Cohen, AIA

Democratic Candidate for Princeton Council, 

Terhune Road

To the Editor:

The June 7 community conversation on race and equity was a much-needed step toward improving race relations in Princeton Public Schools. Thanks are owed to the event organizers as well as to the panelists who shared their time and points of view. And to the Princeton High School students who spoke: your comments deeply affected us. Thank you for your courage and for speaking truth to power; and please know that there are many parents and community members who want to work together to make Princeton Public Schools more equitable and just for all.

Jennifer Jang

Russell Road

To the Editor:

Every day, the United States alone uses or imports about 42 million pounds of synthetic chemicals. There are more than 84,000 compounds approved for commercial use in the U.S., most of which have never been tested for toxicity. A 2011 Policy Statement issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics acknowledges that the large quantities of chemicals that enter commerce could be harmful to children’s health and development. The contribution of many of these chemicals to human illnesses, such as cancer and asthma, as well as in breast cancer, obesity, and hormone disruption, is now being studied in the scientific community with great interest and concern. Many studies now show increasing levels of common household chemicals in blood samples (bio-monitoring) collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as in breast milk and other bodily fluids. According to umbilical cord blood samples tested, nearly all babies in the U.S. are born with synthetic chemicals already in their blood streams.

Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are an intensely studied area in the scientific community. Some have been strongly linked to effects on hormone signaling and adverse developmental outcomes in children. Many of these endocrine-disrupting chemicals surround us every day in the air we breathe, food we eat, and cosmetics we apply to our skin. Pre-teen and teenagers are among the largest groups of consumers of cosmetics and personal care products in the U.S. This raises concern due to rapid development during puberty and risk for future health issues. Cell phone and radiation exposure is also an area of growing concern for young people. Education in the area of environmental health is a needed tool in the ongoing efforts to grow healthy children in the U.S.

Over the past six weeks, I have had the pleasure of speaking with hundreds of students at Princeton High School about the potential health effects of various environmental exposures, and sharing with them vetted, practical, and highly relevant information and resources to reduce environmental exposures. These students were bright, inquisitive, and self-aware, and I have no doubt that they will make us all very proud as they mature into healthy young adults.

I would like to thank Ed Cohen EdD (no relation!), Supervisor of Science preK-12 for Princeton Public Schools, for his ongoing support of this program, and Whole Earth Center for their generous financial backing. Community support is essential for making positive changes, and I am grateful to the Princeton community for embracing this important work. Knowledge is power!

Aly Cohen, MD, FACR, FABoIM

Applegarth Road, Monroe Township

To the Editor:

“Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white: that the union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing the new constellation.” —The Second Continental Congress, on the passage of the Flag Act, June 14, 1777.

With this resolution, the Congress not only authorized a new flag, but engrained in our collective mindset an unshakable truth — that we are one nation, united and free. And just five months before our American flag was formally created, General George Washington stood on the fields of Princeton, New Jersey, and made this vision a reality.

In the latter half of 1776, just months after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, our liberty was far from assured. Washington’s novice army endured a series of brutal defeats in New York, which led to the British capture of New York City. In the words of Thomas Paine that winter, “These are the times that try men’s souls … tyranny, like, hell, is not easily conquered.”

Washington realized that only he and his dwindling fighting force could revive the flickering flame of American independence. Embarking on an audacious campaign easily decried as foolish, Washington secured surprising victories at both Trenton and Assunpink Creek, New Jersey. Eager to capitalize on the momentum begun by his improbable Christmas night crossing of the Delaware River, Washington then dared to confront seasoned British soldiers at nearby Princeton.

In the frigid morning hours of January 3, 1777, citizen soldiers faced trained British regulars and engaged in furious fighting. Many American patriots fell. But, it was at that moment that “a tall man on a white horse could be seen galloping towards the scene of battle.” George Washington had arrived. Rallying his troops, Washington ordered the advance, driving the British from the field and securing a greatly-needed victory.

The valor witnessed at Princeton is a testament to the symbolism of the flag colors themselves: white for purity and innocence, red for hardiness and valor, and blue for vigilance, perseverance, and justice.

Today, we have an opportunity to save the land where Washington secured this victory at Princeton and honor the resolute American flag. In 2016, the Civil War Trust, through its Campaign 1776 initiative to preserve Revolutionary War and War of 1812 battlefields, signed a landmark agreement with the Institute for Advanced Study to preserve 15 acres where Washington’s storied counterattack occurred.

This agreement allows the State of New Jersey and the Trust to transform this property into an outdoor classroom that can inspire all Americans to learn more about Washington and the purity, valor and vigilance of the American flag. Saving the Princeton battlefield – what better way to commemorate Flag Day?

ROGER WILLIAMS

Secretary of the board for the Princeton Battlefield 

Society, Committee member of TenCrucialDays.org and The Spirit of Princeton

To the Editor:

I am writing in response to Anne Levin’s excellent article entitled “Quieting Noisy Leaf Blowers” in your June 7th issue. The increased cost of using rakes rather than leaf blowers is the reason residents are reluctant to change to “quiet landscaping,” say the two area landscapers interviewed. This has not been my experience but I am not looking to remove every single leaf. My landscaper worked with me to eliminate leaf blowing last fall by mowing over light leaf accumulations and directing them onto the beds. In heavier areas he simply used the mower to direct leaves into a pile, rake onto a tarp and haul to the curb. No more mulch blown away and no cost increase!

Quiet Princeton, of which I am a member, is dedicated to improving our quality of life by removing and controlling sources of noise. We hope that reducing or eliminating the use of noisy polluting leaf blowers will gain momentum.

Carol Rothberg

Winant Road

To the Editor:

I am on the faculty of Westminster Conservatory, and a parent of two children in the Princeton Public Schools. It has become clear to me in my discussions with students and friends that for some, there is confusion about the difference between the two music schools on the Westminster Choir College campus.

There are two significant programs connected with Westminster: the college and the community music school. These are distinct operations, having differing relationships with the Princeton community.

Westminster Choir College, is the home of a world-renowned choir program. The symphonic choir sings regularly with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Great choral directors, opera singers, pianists, organists, school music educators, composers, and ministers of music have studied there. Many graduates teach and perform in schools, universities, religious institutions, and professional and community organizations throughout the country and the world. Initially founded in Dayton, Ohio in 1920, the college established its home in Princeton in 1932, clearly motivated by the desire to be close to metropolitan centers and great orchestras. Westminster merged with Rider University in 1991.

Graduates from Westminster Choir College regularly teach in our local schools and institutions. Currently these include, among others, Princeton’s Littlebrook and Riverside elementary schools, Princeton High School, The Chapin School, Westminster Conservatory, as well as independent music studios.

Westminster Conservatory is the community music school in Princeton where about 2,000 students of all ages from Princeton as well as from surrounding towns, come for private lessons in all instruments, chamber music, music theory, choir, early childhood music education, musical theater, jazz, a community orchestra, and several summer music camps. It also hosts the Honors Music Program, an enrichment program that meets on Saturdays throughout the school year. Westminster Conservatory is a member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts.

Since 1970, Westminster Conservatory has served as a musical home for students and for faculty. The school’s mission is to, “provide excellence in music instruction to a broad constituency of amateur and professional musicians and to promote the appreciation and performance of music within the community at large.”

I graduated with my masters in piano performance from Westminster Choir College and my mother, Phyllis Lehrer, has been a professor in the piano department for 45 years. I am hoping that this gem of a music school will stay in Princeton. However, the future of the college is unclear and therefore the community music school, made up of local students, needs a contingency plan.

Let us be certain that Westminster Conservatory, a community treasure that benefits us all, continues to have a home in Princeton. This will help to preserve Princeton’s preeminent reputation as a regional cultural center.

Suzanne Lehrer

Piano Faculty, Westminster Conservatory

To the Editor:

Four years in Princeton and 82,000 delivered supplemental meals later and Send Hunger Packing Princeton (SHUPP) is even more passionate, enthusiastic, creative, and driven to continue to grow the program. It started as part of a national movement to provide weekend meals to kids who live in a food insecure home. The requirements to participate were minimal, a simple request to participate was the sole qualification. There were and are three main partners: Princeton Human Services’ offspring Send Hunger Packing Princeton, Mercer Street Friends, and the Princeton School System. And for the same reasons the program started, the program has grown.

Today, in addition to the regularly delivered food bags consisting of two kid-friendly breakfasts and lunches, SHUPP has expanded the program to better meet the needs of our constituents. We now provide an additional, more robust package of food each month for the whole family. Summer break, which is more logistically challenging, is now a large part of the SHUPP mission. For some kids that means meals throughout the summers Monday through Friday. For others it means the continuation of weekend meal packs. And for those we can reach, it means the addition of fresh produce. And starting this summer, a brand new breakfast program is being launched for the benefit of all kids under the age of 18, a free meal at the Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church.

This Send Hunger Packing Princeton Initiative could not exist without the generosity of the Princeton Community. Each year, in September, at Hinds Plaza, community members gather to celebrate and raise money to enable the program to not only continue but to grow. This year, as last year, the theme will be Fill the Bowls. The event features the work of local potter, Adam Welch, who will once again create custom bowls for the event. All who participate will receive one.

The benefits are clear. No one argues the point that “a child should be hungry for knowledge and not hungry for breakfast.” That’s SHUPP’s mission and thanks to our community, that’s what SHUPP’s been able to do.

Robert Rabner For The SHUPP Family

Christopher Drive

To the Editor:

Princetonians should be proud to accept responsibility for doing as a municipality what the federal government has spurned: the Paris Accord of 2015. “Climate Mayors,” including our Mayor Liz Lempert, are now 187 mayors representing 52 million Americans. They have all stated a commitment to “adopt, honor, and uphold the commitments to the goals enshrined in the Paris Agreement.”

This group is spearheaded by Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles. The governors of California, Washington, and New York have initiated a separate but parallel group, all of them aiming to hold global warming to not more than 1.5 degrees Celsius annually and to reduce carbon emissions annually as well.

At least nine states have joined with these cities to resist the follies at the top of the federal heap. These states include Massachusetts, California, Oregon, New York, Colorado, Washington, Connecticut, Virginia, and Rhode Island as, night by night, more officials choose to oppose by bathing their capital buildings in green, as Paris did on the first night of this massive failure for the planet.

We ask Princetonians to follow Mayor Lempert’s lead and commitment to slowing the speed of disastrous climate change and global warming. As the noted anthropologist Jane Goodall has recently said, we must have time to invent solutions to the problems we have haplessly made since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. We live in what has been called “the Anthropocene Epoch”: as homo sapiens we have the power to destroy ourselves and everything else on our globe; as Elizabeth Kolbert has written in The Sixth Extinction (2014), no living creature before us has ever had that power. To the fullest extent possible, Princetonians must heed the strictures of the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the World Wildlife Fund, and many other comparable groups in the U.S.

We have great confidence in Mayor Lempert, Princeton Council, and Sustainable Princeton to lead us all in understanding what we must do next, and all the time.

Sophie Glovier,

Drakes Corner Road 

Heidi Fictenbaum,

Carnahan Place 

Daniel A. Harris,

Dodds Lane 

Grace L. Sinden,

Ridgeview Circle

Matthew Wasserman,

Meadowbrook Drive

To the Editor:

Leticia Fraga will bring a sharp, focused, and independent mind to Princeton Council. In a town largely Democratic it is important that issues both large and small be vetted honestly and with great transparency. How easy it can be at times when there is lack of opposition to rubber stamp ideas and policies without really taking time to fully understand their impact and implications. Leticia’s unique understanding of community partnerships will serve her well by allowing more voices to be heard and greater inclusion in a town that desperately needs it.

As Princeton goes from a town to a small city, managing its growth will become crucial. Our schools, our traffic issues, our affordable housing and our affordability, our diversity, our accountability, our law enforcement will all be challenged to respond to a variety of needs in the days ahead.

Leticia’s fresh perspective, her background in outreach and education, her sensitivity to human concerns, and her understanding of the application of civil rights will round out our panel of municipal leadership to provide across the board accountability.

Serving on council requires commitment and dedication and concern for others. It is time consuming and at times full of stress. Leticia has demonstrated the unique ability to remain cool under pressure and takes the necessary time to both examine and look deeply at issues with regard to causes and effects. She will exhibit great care and thoughtfulness when making decisions and will speak truth to power when necessary. I expect her to be a strong voice for what is right in our town and also a strong voice against what she believes is wrong.

It is with great confidence that I endorse her candidacy, her commitment, her knowledge, and her level of expertise and understanding. The time is right for her and she is right for the time.

Leighton Newlin

Birch Avenue

To the Editor:

After several months of planning and discussions, we are pleased to announce the commencement of a new and free breakfast program that will begin on Tuesday, June 27, at the Witherspoon Presbyterian Street Church. The collaborators of this new initiative includes Princeton Cornerstone Community Kitchen, Princeton Human Services and Send Hunger Packing Princeton, the Witherspoon Presbyterian Street Church, and the Trenton Department of Parks and Recreation. First, we’d like to acknowledge our gratefulness to the Church for their enthusiastic willingness to host the breakfast all summer long. And second, we’d like to thank Trenton’s Fiah Gussin, Trenton Parks and Recreation, for the support she has provided in helping us get the program approved by the USDA.

The meals will be available from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Monday through Friday throughout the summer. They are available for youths 18 years of age and younger. The meals need to be consumed on the premises. The address is 124 Witherspoon Street, the corner of Witherspoon and Quarry Streets. Children will be greeted at the door.

This new program is an exciting addition to the already robust and growing sources of food and meals in our Princeton Community. More information can be obtained by calling the Human Services office at (609) 688-2055.

Larry Apperson

Cornerstone Kitchen

Ross Wisnick

Send Hunger Packing Princeton

To the Editor:

On May 10, Dress for Success Mercer County held its second annual Women’s Empowerment Breakfast at Trenton Country Club. Rosalyn Taylor O’Neale, author, corporate leader, consultant, and educator served as our keynote speaker. Ms. O’Neale’s address “Discovering Courage in the Midst of Change,” was an inspiration and perfectly in line with the principles we hope to instill in our clients.

Celebrating 10 years, we are delighted to have served 5,000 women since opening our doors in 2007. Our organization may have started with a suit, but over the past decade we have grown into so much more. We are support, we are encouragement, and we are an opportunity for women to learn, grow, and create a better future for themselves and their families.

At DFSMC, we understand the challenges faced by low-income, underserved, and underrepresented women seeking to break the cycle of poverty. Through our personalized career development programs, we support women through every stage of their professional development, starting with their job search and leading to sustained employment. We are the only community program that responds to the career development needs of this vulnerable population.

Our Women’s Empowerment Breakfast was a remarkable success and I would like to acknowledge this year’s sponsors which include Bloomberg, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Saul Ewing, Victory, Wawa, Capital Health, Fox Rothschild, LLP, investorsBank, PNC, PSE&G, Robert Half, Stark & Stark, and Royal Bank.

The services we provide would not be possible without the generous support of the community. My heartfelt thanks to all of our sponsors, in-kind donors, guests, and volunteers. Your contributions help Dress for Success Mercer County continue its legacy of providing quality programming and support to women who are ready to enter and thrive in the workforce.

Melissa Tenzer

Executive Director

To the Editor:

I write following yet another racist event within our schools recently. An 8th grade student from John Witherspoon was caught by his parent after indulging in “pot brownies” with friends. When questioned where they got the illegal substance, the young man without hesitation named a black boy he goes to school with. A phone call from the parent alerted the black young man’s mother. The black student had had nothing to do with the event at all and texted the young man who named him asking him why. His answer was “_______ told me to, he said they wouldn’t ask any questions bc ur black”.

PHS senior Jamaica Ponder wrote a blog post on the situation and stated “Princeton, listen to me, we have a race problem.” She is unequivocally correct!

In April of last year, we were shocked with the revelation that some of our high school students thought that playing a game called Jews vs. Nazi’s was an acceptable pastime. Then this past March we were blindsided by a young woman in PHS posting on Snapchat “I’m on the bus with a bunch of n——s, help”. Now this latest event in our middle school. My question to my fellow Princetonians is WHAT IS GOING ON?

In a town of over 30,000 people where 78 percent are college graduates and 37 percent work in education, a town where we have always prided ourselves on and welcomed a very eclectic mix, where exactly have we lost our way?

I read the statement Superintendent Cochrane put out and I thought his message was a good one, quickly exonerating the innocent black young man and saying the other children that lied had had consequences imposed upon them. What still concerns me though is the collective, district-wide follow through. Words on paper are a good first step, but completely useless if not put to constant use.

Racism in our schools and our town is not to be tolerated. Allowing our youth to use hateful words or actions is shameful and appalling. And not taking a hard stance collectively to eradicate this behavior is completely unacceptable.

We, as parents, should know our job is to raise our children to be strong, capable and evolved. That includes raising them to be kind, tolerant, ready to be a productive adult able to move about in a world made up of many different shades, languages, religions, and cultures.

I beseech each and every one of us to look deep within ourselves to be sure we are part of the solution — not the problem. We, as adults, have an example to set — at home, at work, at school, on the practice field, in every facet of our daily lives. I truly hope we do not continue to fail!

Kelly Ryan

Bayard Lane

To the Editor:

What a fabuleuse soirée à Paris we had at the May 5 Spring Formal for adults and teens with special needs!

Our DJ Steven Knox was awesome, as was our forever friend and photographer Jaime Escarpeta. McCaffrey’s provided a lovely dinner and PSS (Princeton Special Sports) parent Ashley Oppenheimer-Fink of A Touch of Magic blew us away with her gorgeous cakes.

This event has grown a lot from the small alternative “teen prom” it was when we started, which would not have happened without our partners at the Princeton Recreation Department. Special thanks to Joe Marrolli and Stacie Ryan. So much of what they do is behind the scenes, but they make everything possible.

This year’s theme was an ambitious one that we could not have accomplished without Abitha Ravichander, Hana Oresky, Katerina Bubnovsky, Radha Iyer, Rhea Ravichander, Sethu Iyer, and Valerie Walker. The unprecedented amount of time these already busy people spent this year enabled us to transform the Suzanne Patterson Center into a real City of Lights! Thank you, too, to the other adult volunteers who helped us set up, chaperone, and get everything cleaned up after: Eileen Bitterly, Stephanie Corrado, Liz Cutler, John Groeger, Sethu Iyer, Kevin Kane, Tom Kreutz, Andrea Lobo, Joe Marrolli, Joan Morelli, Alex Oppenheimer-Fink, Trudy Sugiura, Yasuo Sugiura, Wendy Vasquez, and Chiemi York.

It is always our student volunteers who make the Formal such a fabulous evening; we can’t convey adequately how important these kids are to our participants. Thank you to Matt Ams, Maddie Bitterly, Olivia Browndorf, Phoebe Elias, Talia Fiester, Abe Koffman, Ella Kotsen, Grace Lynch, Jack Lynch, Lauren Morelli, Cami Poniz, Gracie Poston, Rhea Ravinchander, Marli Siciliano, Declan Rourke, May Kotsen, and Charlotte Walker.

Our heartfelt thanks and au revoir to Ann Diver who has managed the PSS student volunteer program for the last 13 years, and to Joe Marrolli whose commitment to special needs programming has been extraordinary. We miss you both already! And une gracieuse bienvenue to Valerie Walker and John Groeger, who are taking over for Ann and Joe.

Our last dance of the season will be our annual pool party, dance, and BBQ at the Princeton Community Pool on June 2. Swimming will be from 6:30 to 7:30 (weather permitting), followed by BBQ and dancing. For more information or to register, go to princetonrecreation.com or princetonspecialsports.com.

People with special needs are our friends, our relatives, and our neighbors. Like the rest of us, they have varied skills, personalities, and interests. Yet there are still too few opportunities for them to contribute, and to interact and socialize with each other and with us. If you’re part of a community organization, if you have a job to offer, or if you just have an idea like the one that led to PSS 18 years ago, please consider this segment of our community. You’ll never regret it!

Deborah Martin Norcross

Co-President, Princeton Special Sports