To the Editor:

I would like to propose some original thinking about Jugtown. The proposal that came before the Historic Preservation Commission was a huge building on a tiny lot. It looked as if the developer told the architect, “What is the most floor area we can jam into this lot and make the most money?” This four-story building is out of proportion in Jugtown.

I have a suggestion. There are several properties in the immediate vicinity of this proposed construction with odd layouts, strange parking arrangements, and unused buildings. It might be prudent for the developer to approach several of the adjacent property owners and work to consolidate several lots and build something that would improve the whole neighborhood. Right now, there are several tiny parking areas, each with its own access driveways and walls, barriers, curbs, and a variety of other features that make the parking arrangement inefficient. Whole Earth Center’s parking is terribly wasteful. If the developer had a larger footprint encompassing several lots there arises the possibility of making a building that worked better for the whole area.  more

To the Editor:

A great pleasure during my life in the Princeton area has been membership in the Princeton Bookies. For several years we have met every month in each other’s homes but now, of course, we meet online. My husband of 68 years is at home with hospice care. Every week for two months, a book club member has come by with dinner. Usually, she stays for a chat and we get to know each other outside of book discussions.

My heartfelt thanks go out to all of you: Ferris, Marlaine, Alice, Audrey, Nicky, Sandy, Jane, the other Sandy, Judit, and Lee — you all know who you are. I love you and could not possibly be more grateful. Bless you for your generosity and, not least, for your excellent cooking!

Liz Hagen
Sayre Drive

To the Editor:

The Guyot Walk had another volunteer-powered cleanup on Saturday, April 1, its second planting of native shrubs and wildflowers. The path is named for a former Princeton resident who taught geology at Princeton University (he was French, name pronounced ghee-YO). It shelters a dose of unrestrained greenery and has long provided a shortcut to school for biking children, a break for families, nannies (and thus toddlers), and dog walkers.

About 20 residents, directed by neighbors familiar with Garden State wildflowers, dug out the yellow lesser celandine that is overwhelming natives (e.g. violets, and perhaps your lawn, too?) to set in viburnum, bluebells (now flowering), and more, all native to Mercer County. Watch for the windflowers at the junction of Harris and the Walk — they should bloom in early summer. All species are hardy and chosen for their potential to out-compete the celandine. more

To the Editor:

“Any organization that uses literature to … reflect and connect, is an organization I’m honored to support.”

These words from Jennifer Egan were one of many highlights of a warm, entertaining, and moving afternoon in support of People & Stories/Gente y Cuentos. “Notable Words 2023: An Afternoon with Jennifer Egan” was held on March 19 in the Mackay Lounge on the campus of the Princeton Theological Seminary, and was our highest attended benefit to date.

We are extremely grateful to our community of ticket buyers, and individual and corporate sponsors including Stark & Stark; Lear & Pannepacker, LLP; Bernuth & Williamson; MJ Sagan Architecture; Songbird Capital; Taft Communications; and ThriveWise Solutions, LLC for their generosity. more

To the Editor:

By now, many Princeton residents have heard about the chaos at Princeton Public Schools (PPS). If you have not, I hope you start to pay attention: On top of a deteriorating school district, the schools are literally in chaos. This will eventually hit everyone’s property value if not controlled.

One of the big reasons for this chaos is the Board of Education’s (BOE) agenda: We just don’t know if it has one. The BOE keeps saying that they don’t have an agenda. But do they, and should they? I think they should have at least one: be good to kids, and that should be a given. Besides that, here are a few other things I would like the BOE and PPS administration to have, or consider having, aside from being nice to our kids in school:  more

To the Editor:

The Board of Education (BOE) should function as the community’s voice in public education. Those serving on the Board do so because voters entrusted them with that task. But that trust is conditional. It can be lost, broken, or squandered, particularly if the BOE, after taking a questionable action with which a large majority of the community in Princeton disagrees, continues to turn a deaf ear to the uproar it has caused. This is, unfortunately, where we are now.

On the legal pretext that nothing can be said, the BOE has persisted in its silence. In response to repeated, loud, perplexed calls to do or say something to justify its puzzling action — or to reverse its unfortunate decision — it has steadfastly refused to engage the public. At two public meetings, the BOE has sat through hours of public comment, confident, apparently, that simply listening, would be enough to satisfy the formal demands of democracy, and that citing legal concerns would be enough to justify its silence. It did ask that the public show civility, and rightly so, but it forgot that incivility can take countless forms — including the persistent refusal to respond. more

To the Editor:

A number of letters have been written opposing the proposed residential project at the intersection of Harrison and Nassau streets in the historic Jugtown district.

I am a strong believer in our private enterprise system. Real estate developers are part of that system and well-done residential housing projects can be a real blessing to a community. The goal of the ordinance allowing for a relaxation of standards for such projects in historic districts is understandable given the need for affordable housing.  more

To the Editor:

Freedom of speech is sacrosanct, without it the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights would be meaningless, and we could have become a dictatorship.

Yelling FIRE in a crowded movie house does not come under freedom of speech — it is a criminal act.

Abolishing the independence of the Supreme Court, in any state or any country, like Mr. Netanyahu, the current prime minister of Israel, is trying to do is worse than yelling fire in a crowded movie house, it the first step in abolishing democratic Israel and eventually creating another Middle East dictatorship. more

To the Editor:

In 2014 Princeton was proud to join the WHO (World Health Organization) Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities. This recognition noted the particular “walkability” of our downtown for senior citizens.

One wonders how we would fare in a similar assessment today, with the obstacle course that passes for Witherspoon Street, and multiple side streets tied up by various construction projects. It’s a challenge to reach the library, and each day seems to bring new, curiously situated obstructions. It seems unending; is there a schedule?

On a related note, bravo to the citizens of Paris who recently came out in force to vote against rental scooters. I’m constantly amazed at Nassau Street sidewalk scooter riders’ obliviousness to pedestrians, but I must be getting old.

Ellen Gilbert
Stuart Road East

To the Editor:

Not in Our Town Princeton supports Superintendent Carol Kelley’s and the Princeton Public Schools Board of Education’s commitment to racial and educational equity and their development of programs to help eliminate opportunity gaps.

We strongly repudiate any racist remarks and attacks that have come in the wake of the change in leadership at the high school. Based on our collective experience of Dr. Kelley’s and the current BOE members’ leadership, we believe that Dr. Kelley and the Board of Education have made challenging decisions in good faith. As the BOE has stated, “Absent a public employee providing the Board with a written waiver of his or her privacy rights, the Board cannot say more.” more

To the Editor:

After sorting through all of the noise and red herrings from last week’s Board of Education (BOE) meeting, I’m left with one question: Why won’t Frank Chmiel waive his right to privacy? To be certain, he doesn’t “owe” anyone that but if there’s no “there” there this seems like the best and most transparent course of action. This would free the BOE to put their cards on the table and for better or worse, we (the community) could judge their reasoning in plain sight.

What I heard from Mr. Chmiel’s supporters on Tuesday night was that they wanted TRANSPARENCY. They can get it pretty easily if Mr. Chmiel waives his right to privacy in this instance. Frankly I wonder why his supporters aren’t encouraging him to do so — instead of demonizing the BOE and Dr. Kelley. Shrug…

Allan Williams
Crooked Tree Lane

To the Editor:

I attended the recent Princeton Board of Education (BOE) meeting as the parent of a recent PHS graduate and a concerned community member. I left the meeting shaken by the level of vitriol and invective that was directed at our superintendent and BOE members.

In the legally-mandated absence of details about what led to the Board’s unanimous decision, many supporters of Mr. Chmiel seemed incapable of imagining a situation in which an employee could be generally highly regarded (and even well-loved) and yet also be someone whose conduct made it clear to the BOE and superintendent that they need to immediately seek new leadership.

I, on the other hand, am quite capable of imagining multiple such scenarios.

Shelley Krause
Western Way

To the Editor,

It is Sunday, 3 p.m., a brilliant, sunny day, inviting me to go and take my daily walk. I live on Balsam Lane, a short street, no traffic, but long enough for my deteriorating heart. I breathe eagerly the fresh air, a nice wind. And then suddenly find myself in a cloud of wood smoke! The wind blows from Cedar Lane, from where time and again the poisonous smell comes.

I know that there are people who continue to smoke cigarettes. But the difference is that the law forbids them to expose their neighbors to the toxic smell. Not true for the equally toxic wood smoke. And anyone educated and concerned for their health knows that breathing wood smoke is very bad — as bad as cigarette smoking. But it seems that Princetonians are not only unconcerned for their health, but also for the health of their neighbors and children, so selfish that they cannot make the rational decision and forbid it.

Please, google “wood smoke and health” and you will get enough information to stop burning wood!

Ludmilla Wightman
Balsam Lane

To the Editor:
The Princeton High School Cross Country-Track and Field (PHSCCTF) Booster Club would like to thank many in the community for supporting the Princeton 5K that was held on Saturday, March 18. The Princeton 5K is the largest annual fundraiser for the PHSCCTF Booster Club, a 501(c)(3). All donations directly support the Princeton High School boys’ and girls’ cross-country and track and field teams.

First we would like to thank our race manager, Hilary Biggs, who brought a wealth of expertise to our event. We also thank the Princeton Public Schools district and its facilities staff for providing us use of the Princeton Middle School, and the Princeton Police Department for keeping our participants safe on the course. We also appreciate the many people who volunteered their time to help put on this event — before, during, and after race day. more

To the Editor:
Thank you Stuart Country Day School (especially Anne Pierpont) and the community (donors, buyers, and volunteers) for making the 2023 Bryn Mawr-Wellesley Book Sale one of the most successful sales in our 92-year history.

In addition to providing scholarships to the two colleges, the sale also provides a second home for books that may have ended up in landfills and provides an opportunity for nonprofits in the area to gather up books at the end of the sale for free. more

To the Editor:
The Executive Board of Princeton Parents for Black Children (PPBC) expresses its support of and trust in Princeton Public Schools (PPS) Superintendent Dr. Carol Kelley and the Board of Education in its recent personnel decisions regarding Princeton High School (PHS). We also condemn and share our disappointment in efforts by a small, but vocal, group of parents to use these decisions as a pretext to mount a vicious and disrespectful misinformation campaign against Dr. Carol Kelley and other Black women leaders in the district.

The latest attacks against Dr. Kelley started with two widely distributed inaccurate and inflammatory emails. These emails claimed to alert the community about the supposedly unjust “firing” of the PHS principal, the superintendent’s alleged ignoring of the Police Department’s recommendation — actually never made —  to place armed police in schools, and the decline in students’ mental health, all supposedly attributable to actions by the superintendent. Despite the unanimity of the Board of Education in supporting the PHS personnel decision, Dr. Kelley and her efforts to improve the schools have become the main target of anti-equity parents. more

To the Editor:

Like many parents of PHS students, I was stunned when Frank Chmiel was removed from his job. The fact and manner of his removal raises serious questions about Superintendent Dr. Carol Kelley and the Princeton Board of Education.

When my family moved to this area in August 2021, we carefully researched the schools. PHS — like most schools — had been through the wringer during the pandemic. However, parents and students also expressed optimism, and many mentioned Frank Chmiel as a reason for it. I soon understood why. Here, it seemed, was a remarkable principal: genuinely caring and deeply committed to the PHS community. The following year and a half only confirmed my initial impression, as Mr. Chmiel earned the trust of students, staff, and parents.  more

To the Editor:
Several letters have addressed the continuing saga of affordable housing in Princeton. I too agree that affordable housing is an important issue as Princeton expands its boundaries. After living in the Butler Tract as a graduate student, I returned to the Jugtown area to buy a home on Cedar Lane. For years now, I continue to walk on Route 27 into town, past the Post Office, and then into the heart of Princeton and the University. I often shop at Whole Earth and have even walked to the medical services past Princeton Shopping Center. I’m happy to take the New York bus at the stop following the busy intersection of Harrison Street and Route 27, where the proposal to construct a four-story building has now caused major consternation.  more

To the Editor:

I love our town. I do not love our new garbage system. I don’t understand how Princeton expects a larger family (4+ family members) to be able to fit a week’s worth of garbage into one can. Many other municipalities have twice-a-week collection, which would make one garbage can feasible for a family of my size. Once-a-week collection results in overfilled cans which spill into the street.

It’s also quite ridiculous to expect us to pay an annual leasing fee of $150-$300 per additional can. If this were a one-time purchase fee, it’s understandable, but annually? Come on.

Minda Alena
Christopher Drive, Ettl Farm

To the Editor:

Did anyone “live” in Princeton before 1683, either Indigenous or European? This question is raised by a letter in Mailbox, March 15 [“Welcome to Princeton’ Signs Should Recognize Lenni Lenape as Initial Inhabitants”]. Although I am not a historian by profession, I enjoy history and enjoy it even more when it is accurate. Having grown up on the other side of the Sourland Mountains, I have had an interest in the Lenape people since childhood.

The people commonly referred to as Lenni Lenape were also known as the Delawares, and for good reason. They controlled a large area including parts of what are now Delaware, Pennsylvania, Southern New York, Staten Island, and, of course, New Jersey. According to available information, their settlements were primarily in the Delaware Valley, coming eastward seasonally only to hunt and fish. Archaeologic findings as close to Princeton as Plainsboro are thought to be indications of a camp rather than settlement. It appears that no evidence has yet been found in Princeton to indicate that a Lenape settlement was ever established here. more

To the Editor:

We are not just owners of a business in Princeton, we live here too. The reason our beautiful town and many others across the country and the world have cafes is because they are the modern day meeting place for all walks of life. A refreshing place to have a conversation, meet new people, and learn new things. Our goal is to be as additive to the community as feasible. We see our new cafe at 300 Witherspoon as the best way to both serve a cup of coffee and bring our community closer to the source — the bean — and the process — the roast.

Last week’s letter to the editor [“Zoning Board Meeting Will Address Application for Coffee Roasting Variance,” Mailbox, March 15] notes a NIOSH bulletin that is in reference to exposure by employees directly responsible for roasting at commercial roasting plants (not people downwind from the exhaust vent). The detailed NIOSH reports actually go on to further say that there is less exposure at roasting facilities than at traditional cafes (where the coffee is ground). more

To the Editor:

As I was bicycling to the local Princeton Shopping Center last week, I saw that the scrub pine and trash on the corner of Terhune and Harrison had been cleared. Finally, after years of discussion, housing will be built — where it can do the most good.

I admit mixed feelings about losing trees, but there are hundreds of acres of trees preserved 1/2 mile north in Autumn Hill Reserve and Herrontown Woods. more

To the Editor:

I am writing is regards to the proposed development at Nassau and Harrison streets.

Wake up, Princeton, and stop allowing greed to masquerade as affordable housing. The development at Princeton Shopping Center, the planned destruction of buildings on Nassau Street (near St. Paul’s Church) with new construction of multi-story units in their place, and now the proposed huge structure at the corner of Nassau and Harrison streets are being touted as affordable housing done right. The truth is that 80 percent of these projects are intended to generate profits for the developers while only 20 percent will be affordable units. These corporations grab their money and move to other locations, leaving our community to deal with the traffic, safety issues and increased burdens on our school system they create.

Princeton deserves better.

Maryann Witalec Keyes
Franklin Avenue

To the Editor:

I’m writing to alert residents of the Witherspoon-Jackson and Community Park neighborhoods to an upcoming meeting of the Princeton Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) next Wednesday, March 22 at 7:30 p.m.

At that meeting, the ZBA will continue hearing an application for a zoning variance to operate a coffee roasting facility at 300 Witherspoon Street (the old Packet building).

In case readers don’t know, coffee “roasting” is not the same thing as “brewing.” Roasting removes (and puts into the air) various unpleasant smelling chemicals, so that what we brew in our kitchens can smell and taste good.

According to the Centers for Disease Control National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) bulletin on coffee roasting, the process “naturally releases diacetyl, 2,3-pentanedione, other volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), and gases such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.” The bulletin goes on to discuss the impacts of airborne coffee dust on persons with asthma.  more

To the Editor:

At a time when our community increasingly acknowledges that the lands we live on were the ancestral home of the Lenni Lenape, it was disappointing to see a front page photo in the March 8 Town Topics of a sign that perpetuates the idea that no one lived in Princeton until Europeans arrived in 1683.

“Welcome to Princeton, Settled in 1683” are the words on the seven signs greeting residents and visitors on the major roadways leading into Princeton, but the Lenni Lenape lived here long before that. more