To the Editor:
I write in response to Leighton Newlin [“Councilman Leighton Newlin Writes on ‘Good Trouble, Right Here in Princeton,’” Mailbox, April 1] who calls for people “especially those who know truth and stand by it to speak up, to stand up.”
The truth is that Mr. Newlin and three other members of the Council have not been acting as representatives of the entire community when, instead of deliberating openly and with equanimity, they express their own interests cloaked in this instance in what Mr. Newlin describes as defense of the future of “economic, ethnic, and cultural diversity” — without taking into account the complex diversity of those who disagree with his position.
The truth is that, absent of cogent rather than ideological arguments, Mr. Newlin again resorts to ad hominem attacks, first playing the race card, now playing the class card. (Has he read the works of the distinguished historians who have written in opposition to the development plan? Does he know their economic status, not to mention that of many others who are opposed to the Stockton development?)
The truth is that the Council has made a decision without taking into account the environmental, traffic, and density impact, and that repeated requests for such studies have been dismissed or treated with condescension.
The truth is that the decision to declare the former Seminary property as within an area in need of economic development is more than questionable, given that this is a stable settled residential area.
The truth is two members of the Council have received support in kind from the developer, have never openly acknowledged their patent conflicts of interest, and have been shamefaced in ignoring this matter when it has been made public.
The truth is that Mr. Newlin himself has opposed development in his own neighborhood, but when similar problems are raised in others, he decries them.
The truth is that in developments elsewhere in Princeton successful compromises have been reached, but advocates of the Stockton development refuse to compromise.
Yes, I would like to express my outrage. I would also like to express my outrage as a Princeton resident of 50 years at someone who lived briefly in Princeton as a graduate student (Matt Mleczko) [“Encouraging Residents to Support a More Affordable and Inclusive Princeton,” Mailbox, April 1], but is a resident of Milwaukee, advocating for Princeton’s growth and suggesting he now knows what the vitality of the Stockton neighborhood will be with a bloated and overbuilt development.
Yes, Princeton should grow, but responsibly.