To the Editor:

As Dan Chamby’s rebuttal to “Historians in Defense of Historic Princeton,” rehashes some of the flimsiest arguments favoring the massive luxury project proposed for the former Tennent-Roberts site [“Writing Rebuttal to Message in Advertisement Placed by Ad Hoc Committee of Historians,” Mailbox, May 14”], I’m delighted, as one of the historians he upbraids, to respond.

His letter calls the severe shortage of affordable housing in Princeton a threat to our democratic heritage. Absolutely correct. Yet the project he supports provides the absolute minimum of affordable housing, 20 percent of all units. more

To the Editor:
Seconding the letter of appreciation for Stuart Mitchner by Marilyn Aronberg Lavin [“Writing in Praise of Stuart Mitchner’s Weekly Book Review in Town Topics,” Mailbox, May 7], and with May being Bike Month, I’m inspired to pay homage by writing in his style — at times reminiscent of a jazz improvisation.

I’ll riff on a theme offered by Buzz Stenn’s recent letter about traffic and pedestrian/bicycle safety [“Noting That Pedestrian-Vehicular Safety Depends on Appreciation for Sensitivities of All Involved,” Mailbox April 23], and his earlier suggestion to enhance crosswalk visibility by using chartreuse instead of white for zebra stripes [Mailbox, Aug 7, 2019]. more

To the Editor:

I am a 20+ year resident of Princeton. I am very sympathetic with recent Town Topics letters advocating for the retention and enhancement of the historic character of our lovely town. The economics of this Stockton Street development “deal” suggest long-term problems for all town residents which should be equally considered. As I understand it, the Princeton Municipal government has agreed to provide a substantial “gift” to the developer in the form of a PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes), which is usually offered to develop challenged or blighted areas offering long-term tax reductions and forgiveness.

There are many ways to calculate the long-term impact on the town, but importantly, according to the town’s numbers, the PILOT offers a huge tax break of $30 million (see the town’s memorandum posted online and dated December 6, 2024). Over the last five years, average rent inflation has significantly exceeded 4 percent. If we use a more modest number averaging the last 10 years of 3.8 percent rent inflation (tradingeconomics.com/united-states/rent-inflation), the value of the tax break is even higher at roughly $40 million. more

To the Editor:

“History, education, and beautiful old buildings are intrinsic parts of Princeton,” wrote Bobbie and Laura Bennett in a letter to the Editor of Town Topics [“Proposed Development would Degrade Area Well-Known and Beloved for its Historical Value,” Mailbox, May 7]. They continued, “(they are) distinguishing and irreplaceable features that make this town so special, so desirable. Who wouldn’t want to live here?” Exactly. But Princeton cannot be home to everyone; the infrastructure is indeed already overloaded. And to build a huge residential project on land partially within the Mercer Hill Historic District would be a travesty.

It has been pointed out often that the 238 apartments and 250+ vehicle garage would only provide the bare minimum of affordable housing units mandated by law. Other plans, more appropriate to the site, offering more lower-income housing were hopefully presented and rejected. The chosen project, to which the municipality has committed a $40 million tax break for the developer, begs the simple question: “Why?”

“Why this one?” is being asked by many Princetonians, in all of our neighborhoods, who oppose this choice. It is the wrong project in the wrong place at the wrong time or anytime.  more

To the Editor:

This is a rebuttal to a paid advertisement “Historians In Defense Of Historic Princeton,” published in Town Topics on April 23 by the Ad Hoc Committee of Historians in Defense of Historic Princeton.

I write as a citizen and resident of Princeton to express deep concern with the severe decline in housing affordability, an attendant decline in socio-economic diversity, the absence of constructive discourse, and the acutely polarizing politics these have all helped to engender throughout our nation.

Our historians’ plea in defending historic Princeton describes the targeted development as “destructive,” inciting fear. I believe otherwise: Nothing is to be eliminated or even obscured. Indeed, the project is additive, even palliative, as I describe further below. more

To the Editor:

During my regular visits to Princeton, it is impossible not to notice all the new homes under construction near the Princeton Junction train station. This transit-oriented redevelopment, which alone will provide 132 affordable homes for families in the region, is due in large part to the fair share housing process that has delivered over 20,000 affordable homes across New Jersey since 2015. The housing shortage facing New Jersey — over 200,000 units at least — can sometimes feel overwhelming, but at this train station and all around Princeton, we have visible signs of progress.

There’s Avalon Princeton on Harrison which has brought 200 new homes to Princeton, 36 of which are now included in the municipality’s stock of affordable housing, all on what used to be a perpetually empty surface parking lot. more

To the Editor:

On April 23, I had the honor of testifying before the New Jersey Assembly’s Environment and Solid Waste Committee on behalf of Share My Meals and the growing coalition behind meal recovery in our state. We were there to support a trio of legislative proposals that could transform how New Jersey handles surplus food — by making meal recovery, not composting, the first choice for food that is still safe, nourishing, and untouched.

It’s a conversation we’ve long needed to have. Every day, institutions across New Jersey — corporate cafeterias, universities, hospitals — discard millions of pounds of perfectly good food. At the same time, right here in our own Princeton community and beyond, too many families are unsure where their next meal will come from. more

To the Editor:
I write in the hope that everyone in Princeton knows what a gem we have in Stuart Mitchner’s perfectly shaped, weekly article on books in the Town Topics. His annual structure based on the birthdays of authors, mostly corresponding to current publications, allows his broad talents in description, analysis, comparison, and evaluation to operate on the highest level.

At the same time, his writing style, so personal and friendly, invites the reader to join him in his unending recollections and new experiences. He keeps us informed about what’s going on in Princeton literary circles, and takes us with him on his new informational sojourns.  more

To the Editor:

A third dog off leash in two weeks has prompted me to write a letter to Town Topics.

Early on in our relationship, my guide dog was attacked by two dogs who were off leash. It has taken a lot of hard work, and several visits from Seeing Eye instructors, to rebuild her confidence. I especially want to thank my many neighbors, who wanted to see us succeed. They have gone out of their way and are extremely careful not to let their pets interfere with my guide dog, who is essential for my mobility and safety.

Walking with my dog and a friend, we recently witnessed a really scary incident on Jefferson Road. A dog raced out of a driveway to attack another dog who was on a leash and doing nothing offensive. The barks and yelps were terrifying. Only by luck were we not directly involved. I don’t know if that dog was injured, but very likely traumatized.   more

To the Editor:

I’m disheartened that the debate over the proposed high-rise luxury apartment complex on Stockton Street has reduced some community members to name-calling, specifically accusing the residents who opposed this development of being NIMBYs. This is a facile and generic epithet, and in this case it is also patently false. Far from opposing affordable housing in our backyard, we want more of it. It’s the proposed project that will worsen the imbalance.

Our immediate community of neighbors worked with architects to draft a vision for the plot that would entail less density and 100 percent affordable housing units, as opposed to the minimal 20 percent required by law in the proposed luxury project. The neighborhood plan, while including more total affordable units, intended those units as a path to home ownership. The plan included state-of-the art environmental and green technology to address 21st century climate change.  more

To the Editor:

We are writing in support of an ad placed in the April 23 issue of Town Topics by six of this nation’s leading historians — Ken Burns, Harold Holzer, Jon Meacham, James McPherson, Sean Wilentz, and Brenda Wineapple — an ad expressing opposition to the current development plans for a site on Stockton Street sold several years ago by the Princeton Theological Seminary. We also oppose this proposed development, both from an historic preservation and present-day quality of life perspective.

This swath of land, which sits partially within the Mercer Hill Historic District, is in Princeton’s oldest continuously inhabited, by non-Indigenous persons, neighborhood, and is in one of the most historically important parts of town, an area that, for 300 years, has been characterized by low density, charming and historic dwellings — the kinds of old houses and buildings, of local, regional, and national historical significance, that have drawn people to this renowned university town for decades upon decades. It sits adjacent to the oldest house in Princeton, built around 1684, and is a stone’s throw from Morven, built in the 1750s by Richard Stockton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. It is just up the road from the battlefield on Mercer Street, site of the Battle of Princeton, January 3, 1777, and is just west of Nassau Hall, built in 1756 and damaged by fighting between the British and Continental Army during this engagement. British troops surrendered Nassau Hall to General Washington, a turning point in the American Revolutionary War. The Hun School was formerly located on this site, and more recently it served as part of the campus of the Princeton Theological Seminary, founded in 1812. Of other historical note, Thomas Mann’s brick Georgian house on Stockton Street is a close neighbor, as is Einstein’s former house around the corner on Mercer Street.  more

To the Editor:

This past Saturday, the Arts Council of Princeton proudly presented the fourth annual Princeton Porchfest. In a time in which we feel it’s needed most, Porchfest celebrated community, creativity, and togetherness, and we couldn’t have done it without our Porch hosts’ generosity and the performers’ outstanding skills.

To all the music enthusiasts: your energy and enthusiasm brought Porchfest to life. We can’t thank you enough for showing up and bringing the good vibes, even with cloudy skies.

We’re especially grateful to the Municipality of Princeton, Mayor Freda, Princeton Council, Princeton Police, Princeton University, porch hosts, musicians, our generous sponsors, and YOU. The Arts Council strives to create a space where locals and visitors alike feel welcomed and inspired through the arts. Today, we feel inspired by all of you.  more

To the Editor:

I read with keen interest the statement in the full-page advertisement entitled “Historians in Defense of Historic Princeton” in your April 23 issue. I encourage everyone to read the ad.

Expressing “deep concern about the preservation of historic Princeton,” six nationally prominent historians — Ken Burns, Harold Holzer, James M. McPherson, Jon Meacham, Sean Wilentz, and Brenda Wineapple — have singled out a massive luxury high-rise development project in the Mercer Hill neighborhood as “destructive and self-destructive.”

The development sits partially within the Mercer Hill Historic District, adjacent to the Barracks at 32 Edgehill Street — the oldest structure in Princeton, dating to 1684 — and close to two National Historic Landmarks, Morven, and Einstein’s house. more

To the Editor:
I want to express my appreciation to Buzz Stenn for his intellectual approach to understanding the safety issues in and around town [“Noting That Pedestrian-Vehicular Safety Depends on Appreciation for Sensitivities of All Involved,” Mailbox, April 23].  His approach was comprehensive — he included every user group. If safety is to be improved, we have to all be in this together.

I am frustrated by all the times I have seen my fellow bicycle club riders (a) ride three abreast and (b) not respond when someone calls “car back!”  I am frustrated by cyclists riding in pedestrian spaces. I admit to doing this on rare occasions. I am aggravated by seeing people cycle against traffic.  I even see people, including a former town Council candidate, ride against traffic on Spring Street!  I am upset when I see people drive or cycle through red lights. I am aggravated by impatient drivers whether I am driving or bicycling.

Just on Sunday, I was out of town biking, and someone stopped to let me turn left from Route 526 and then as I was making the turn a motorist passed the motorist giving me the signal on the right! more

To the Editor:

Late morning on a sunny summer day in August 2019 a truck driver looked right, turned left, and lethally crashed into my friend who was crossing the street on the walkway just in front of Princeton University Library.

According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, in 2023, 7,318 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes nationwide, 171 of those in New Jersey. But what drives this plot? And who is perpetuating the problem?

There are four mutually antagonist actors. more

To the Editor:

Congratulations and thank you to Town Council for the courage and clever implementation of eminent domain to bring resolution to the Choir College acquisition. Like many other residents, we wonder and have thoughts about the reuse of this site. Too often, outside consultants with little knowledge of Princeton and the values of its residents are retained at considerable cost with less than ideal results.

Princeton is fortunate in having many bright, creative and successful residents that are available or can be retained to advise on this opportunity. The involvement of Princeton Future and volunteer resources is representative of how community planning can be accomplished that is satisfactory to its residents. The Choir College site could provide a location for mixed and affordable housing, reuse of the existing academic buildings by the PPS or other entities, and providing open space at the existing front lawn.

For example, a 40-year land lease for the vacant rear property to a developer who would pay the bond interest cost apportioned to that part of the site over 40 years could financially provide an incentive for a greater number of affordable units than the typical 20 percent currently required. The developer receives the IRS tax benefits of depreciating his entire construction cost without the expensive initial land cost, while the town ultimately benefits from the land and asset reversion after 40 years.  more

To the Editor:

Once again, Council has demonstrated its disrespect for the residents who elected them and the property owners who pay taxes by rushing to burden us with a large expenditure for the former Westminster Choir College campus, without ascertaining our opinions.

The litigation among Rider University, Princeton Theological Seminary, and the Westminster Alumni group has been dragging on for years and was unlikely to conclude soon. There was no need to hurry. The Council had sufficient time to solicit and listen to our opinions before undertaking condemnation.

Their stated plans for the property are extremely vague. We all deserve a detailed explanation of their plans, ample opportunity for public comment, and a means to approve future expenditures before any further decisions are made.

Maryann Witalec Keyes
Franklin Avenue

To the Editor:

Blooming now in a yard near you, and probably in your own yard, is a pretty little flower that is big trouble. Lesser celandine, with its low mound of roundish leaves and yellow flowers, may look harmless when it first arrives in your yard, but be forewarned. Unless you remove or spot-spray those first few that show up, they will quickly spread to pave your lawn and garden beds, then spread into your neighbors’ yards as well. Unlike dandelions, which also begin blooming now, lesser celandine poses a serious threat to local nature preserves. Thriving in shade or sun, its poisonous leaves coat natural areas, displacing native wildflowers and cheating wildlife of food.

When I moved to Princeton 22 years ago, I first noticed lesser celandine (Ficaria verna) coating Pettoranello Gardens, then watched as it spread downstream into Mountain Lakes, turning a once diverse spring landscape into a monotonous yellow declaration of Me! Me! Me! Ever since, I’ve been sounding the warning on my PrincetonNatureNotes blog. People mistakenly called it marsh marigold — a native that is larger and exceedingly rare. More recently, lesser celandine has begun popping up in yards in the Little Brook neighborhood and just about everywhere else. It can spread via seeds and tubers, but primarily through bulblets that grow on its stem. These likely hitchhike from yard to yard on lawnmower equipment.  more

To the Editor:

To the many tributes to Dorothea [“Colleagues Offer Tributes to Labyrinth’s Dorothea von Moltke,” April 2, page 7], I would like to add one more.

In the course of an illustrative presidency of Princeton University, molecular biologist Shirley Tilghman advanced the mission of a great research university on several fronts. She also invited Dorothea to create a bookstore for the University and town. The University submitted a plan for the Lewis Arts Complex to the town for approval.   more

To the Editor:

Last May 2024, Ron Berlin went to Princeton Council in person and asked for the Princeton Planning Board to resume in-person meetings with a Zoom option, or a hybrid meeting. Mr. Berlin later submitted the statement he presented to Council to local media.  A few weeks later in June 2024, Planning Board Chair Louise Wilson wrote in response, “With substantial technical improvements that guarantee equity in the broadest sense — a truly level playing field — the Planning Board might one day transition to a hybrid meeting format provided it allows for every participant, in person or remote, to see and hear equally well, to be seen and be heard equally well, at every meeting.”

It’s now April 2025, the pandemic is over, technology has improved, and I would respectively ask the Princeton Planning Board to resume in-person/Zoom hybrid meetings.  As Mr. Berlin well noted last May, in-person meetings allow the community to take the temperature of the room, to see who shows up, and to interact face-to-face. The Zoom format has its benefits for anyone unable to attend, or too shy to speak in a large group or many other reasons, but the Zoom format is also impersonal and a loss for the community to gather and meet people who share a community interest, whether for or against.

Princeton Council has in-person/Zoom hybrid meetings. I would respectfully urge the Council to ask the Planning Board to follow their example and let the public back into the Planning Board meetings, in person. It’s been too long. As Ms. Wilson said, “one day” the Planning Board would transition to hybrid meetings. That “one day” has come.

Carolyn H. Robertson
Mercer Street

To the Editor:

The Princeton Council seems to have been able to circumvent the pending lawsuits against Rider University’s plan to sell the Westminster Choir College property, thereby destroying any hope of the renowned music college being returned to the Princeton campus [“Town Finalizes Westminster Campus Acquisition,” April 2, Page 1]. While there is no specific commitment to what will become of the land and buildings, most concerning is the Council’s lack of commitment or plan for retaining the Westminster Conservatory of Music, a nonprofit community music school with no connection to Westminster Choir College.

A member of the conservatory faculty, I live in Princeton and teach private voice lessons to ages 8-78. The conservatory has rented facilities on the campus for its use since its inception in 1970. It is the premier community music school in New Jersey providing music lessons for students within a 50-mile radius. High-caliber teachers provide private and class lessons in all instruments to students of all ages, abilities, and experience. Participation in the youth programs and orchestras enrich many lives. The Saturday Honors Music Program offers immersion in music history, jazz, music theory, and chamber ensembles. Summer music camps introduce students to various opportunities. Indeed, the strong music and theater programs in elementary through high schools in surrounding towns continue to benefit from the achievements of our students.

The location, with convenient parking, is easily accessible and safe for children (many of whom walk from their homes or schools). The campus buildings are available for student recitals, concerts, and workshops, etc. Our studios are equipped with upright, studio and baby grand pianos (many with two pianos). Free performances by our faculty are offered throughout the year.

I urge everyone to spread the word that the town Council must not only give vague reference to the idea of retaining the conservatory on campus, but must declare a firm commitment and plan to not allow the fate that befell Westminster Choir College to also demolish the conservatory. View the website: Westminster Conservatory of Music.

Linda Mindlin
Valley Road

To the Editor:

As spring fast approaches, avoid these three common tree care mistakes; planting too deeply, over-mulching, and string trimmer laceration.

By far the most egregious of these three mistakes is planting too deeply. Care must be taken that the root collar, the bottom area of the trunk that flares outwards transitioning into roots, is above grade. A root collar below grade can lead to a host of problems such as constricted root respiration, stunted growth, trunk rot and splitting, increased susceptibility to disease, canopy dieback, and girdling roots. A tree that finds itself in this situation is like an animal with a tire around its neck, struggling to survive and unable to thrive. This mistake is pervasive, with more than half of the newly planted trees I come across having fallen victim. Making the effort to plant a tree at an optimal height will pay dividends for decades and in some cases centuries to come. Before planting a tree, inspect the root ball and “Find the flare.” more

To the Editor:

Last month’s article on the horrific event that took place in the Michelle Mews Apartments deserves affirmation [“Princeton Man Charged with Killing Brother in Apartment on Palmer Square,” February 26, page 1]. In the words of The New York Times, it’s paramount to publish “All the News That’s Fit to Print.” The majority of stories in other outlets included gruesome, salacious, and frankly unnecessary details about the tragic murder. The Town Topics understands how to properly execute this storied motto by using critical restraint and discretion.

As a Princeton resident of more than 60 years, and current Michelle Mews tenant, this thoughtful reporting centers the community impacted by such misfortune and our shared humanity.

Dr. Ronnie Davidson
Michelle Mews

To the Editor:

When my kids were little and enjoyed the Disney classic Bambi, one of their favorites parts was in the spring when all the forest creatures became “twitterpated.” This was a euphemism for falling in love, but our family expanded the use to include any time when someone displayed irrational exuberance.

Guess what — spring is here, and Princeton drivers are twitterpated! I would estimate those passing my crossing are driving 5 mph faster on average than they were a month ago, and many always drive 5-10 mph faster than they should, so this is a problem. They are also engaging more frequently in other risky behaviors like darting across the intersection trying to beat oncoming traffic. Please slow down! more