August 19, 2015

Council Wants Answers About Post Office Building

Post Office Page 1

The introduction of an ordinance that would convey easements on the property of the post office building in Palmer Square to its prospective new owners led to a spirited discussion at a recent meeting of Princeton Council. Members of the governing body said they want more information about what the California-based buyer, LCOR Ventures, is planning to put into the building that has been a fixture on the square since 1937.

Responding to Council’s request, municipal attorney Trishka W. Cecil has offered the attorney handling the sale an opportunity to either meet informally with Council members Jenny Crumiller and Heather Howard, or make a more formal presentation about plans for the building at a future meeting of the governing body.

“I have yet to hear back from him,” Ms. Cecil said Tuesday of attorney Richard Goldman, who is with the firm Drinker, Biddle, and Reath. “But a lot of the Council members had questions they need answered, so I’m waiting to hear what he says.”

It was Ms. Crumiller who was the most vocal about her concerns for the property, which the United States Postal Service is selling as part of a system-wide downsizing. The branch will be relocated to a smaller site at the rear of the former West Coast Video store on East Nassau Street. No plans have been announced for the building, though it has been suggested that it may be used for retail or a restaurant.

“I think we’re doing a disservice to the public by practically giving away those easements,” Ms. Crumiller said at the August 10 meeting. “We should put up some resistance. It will be a terrible loss if we have to give up the post office. It will probably be high end retail, and I’ve heard from so many people that they are against this. I would ask that we say no, let’s not provide the easements.”

The Postal Service has proposed paying Princeton $10,000 in return for new easements that are needed for certain features of the property including steps and window wells, which spill over onto land that is owned by the town. Easements granted back in the 1930s dictated that they would expire if the post office ever sold the property. The buyers need to have the existing easements extended, and some new ones conveyed before the sale is finalized.

Other members of Council were less inclined than Ms. Crumiller to say no to the easement requests. “I, too, mourn the loss, but the reality is that post offices are closing everywhere,” said Ms. Howard. “I don’t hold the hope that we could sweep back the ocean.” Councilman Lance Liverman commented, “I’m in favor [of the easements]. Unfortunately, the post office will be moving. It doesn’t make sense for them to stay.” Councilman Patrick Simon and Council President Bernie Miller also spoke in favor of granting the easements.

Ms. Crumiller then suggested that wording require that the building be kept for a public use rather than “a private club or a religious thing.” Councilwoman Jo Butler asked for clarification on how the historical features of the building will be preserved.

The post office was the first building to open on Palmer Square. It is listed on the state and national registers of historic places as contributing to the Princeton historic district. A 1939 mural depicting Native Americans reacting to the arrival of European colonists, a scene that has caused controversy in recent years because some consider it to be racist, is among the building’s historical points of interest.

The ordinance could be re-introduced at the next Council meeting on Monday, August 24, and a public hearing could be held at the meeting on Tuesday, September 15.