Volume LXXIX, Number 26
Hammerstein Museum Marks His Birthday in Song . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Momos Opt to Sell Building To Local Investor . . . . . . . 8 Community Can Experience PU Summer Pre-Read. . . 9 On George Orwell’s Birthday: Bringing 1984 To Life . . . . . . . 13 Princeton Festival Pays Tribute to Baroque Era . . . . . . . 14 PHS Track Star Wilton, Tiger Girls’ Lax Standout Bornstein Are the Pick As Town Topics’ Leading Spring Performers . . . 24 With PHS Star Hamerschlag Providing A Spark, Princeton Post 218 Baseball Making Progress . . . . . . . . . . 27
Sam Rodman Ends PU Track Career by Taking 4th in NCAA 800 . . . 22 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . 18, 19 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . 29 Mailbox. . . . . . . . . 11, 12 New To Us . . . . . . . . . . 21 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . 28 Performing Arts. . . . . . . . 15 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . . 10 Real Estate . . . . . . . . . 29 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Summer Home . . . . . . . 16 Topics of the Town . . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . . 6
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Prosecutor Dismisses Charges Against Princeton University Pro-Palestinian Protesters The Princeton Municipal Court has dropped defiant trespass charges against pro-Palestinian Princeton student protesters under the condition that the students perform at least six hours of community service and write a letter of apology. On June 17, after about 14 months of legal proceedings, Prosecutor Christopher Koutsouris made a motion in Princeton Court to dismiss the charges that the 13 — five Princeton University undergraduates, six graduate students, one postdoctoral researcher, and one Princeton Theological Seminary student — had faced since their April 29, 2024 arrest at a sit-in at the University’s Clio Hall. Calling for the University’s divestment from companies with ties to the Israeli military as part of a demonstration that took up residence in the University’s McCosh Courtyard and then Cannon Green for a total of about two weeks, the 13 students occupied University administrative offices at Clio Hall for less than two hours on the afternoon of their arrest. In their apology to the staff working in Clio Hall, the students said that they had been acting on a long-standing tradition of protest. Judge John McCarthy III requested that they submit a revised letter of apology that did not sound like a “political manifesto with references to our constitutional rights.” Once the revised letter was received, the judge said, the dismissal would be granted “with prejudice,” meaning the case cannot be retried. Also, the students’ records will be expunged, the judge added. The original letter, which the students read aloud in court, stated, “In the course of proceedings before this court as a result of our arrest, it has been brought to our attention that our sit-in caused undue and unintended emotional harm to the staff of Clio Hall. We write this letter to extend our apologies to the staff of Clio Hall for any anxiety and stress caused by our acts of protest against the ongoing war and genocide in Gaza.” Selaedin Maksut, executive director of the New Jersey Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ), expressed his approval of the judge’s decision. “CAIR-New Jersey applauds the court’s decision to drop the charges against these students, who were Continued on Page 7
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Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Town Tackles Next Round of Affordable Housing Princeton’s proposed plan for its fourth round of affordable housing is the topic of two special sessions being held this week. A public hearing is scheduled for the Planning Board on Wednesday, June 25 at 7 p.m., when the draft plan is expected to be adopted. Princeton Council may endorse the plan at a special meeting on Thursday, June 26 at 4 p.m. The deadline for submission to Fair Share Housing is June 30. Princeton has an obligation to provide 276 units in the next 10 years. The 13 sites proposed in the plan, which are located both in the former Borough and Township, are generally within walking distance of amenities. Three of the sites are 100 percent affordable developments owned by the municipality. At the former firehouse on Chestnut Street, 16 units have been designated and will be built and managed by Princeton Community Housing (PCH), including a ground floor community room that will showcase the firehouse’s history. The plan also designates PCH to build and manage 35 rental units at 303 John Street, in multiple buildings. The former Harrison Street firehouse will have 34 units. Sites that have 20 percent affordable
units range from 19 on land at The Jewish Center of Princeton at 435 Nassau Street to 191 at the mostly vacant Princeton Executive Center (Niksun) at 457 Harrison Street. In between, there are 14 properties on Witherspoon Street that are part of a 69-unit project being proposed by Hillier Architecture. Five other units on Witherspoon Street are in a vacant office building in front of Princeton Cemetery. Also included in the plan for 20 percent affordable units are 26 at 360-366
North Harrison Street, 18 at 245-247 Nassau Street (across from Hoagie Haven), eight at 40-42 North Tulane Street and 32 Spring Street (the former home of Kopp’s Cycles), eight at 86-88 and 92-94 Spruce Street, 16 at 11-33 State Road and 60 Mount Lucas Road, 17 at 29 Thanet Circle, and 40 at 457 North Harrison Street (Princeton Executive Center). Details on each of these sites are in the 437-page document available on the municipal website (princetonnj.gov). Continued on Page 10
Local Solar Energy Program Gets Nod From Council at Monday Meeting
A resolution regarding Princeton’s Community Solar Renewable Energy program and an update on concept plans for Community Park South were the focus of Princeton Council’s meeting on Monday evening, June 23. Council voted to approve a resolution authorizing an agreement with the company Solar Landscape to implement a successful Community Solar Energy Program in Princeton. As explained by Christine Symington, executive director of Sustainable Princeton, the program allows lowand-moderate-income (LMI) households who otherwise would not be able to afford solar energy to take advantage of it
by being enrolled in a municipally sponsored, 100 percent LMI community solar program. The program is put in place via the installation of a solar array in places such as warehouse rooftops, landfills, or carports. Subscribers see a savings on their utility bills. Gabel Associates, the consultant for the initiative, will help the town with implementation. “We will work with them and the town, Princeton Housing Authority, Princeton Community Housing, and other organizations to do an extensive outreach Continued on Page 7
CREATIVITY AT CICLOVIA: A youth draws a chalk bicycle in the Westminster campus parking lot, which was a car-free zone for Princeton Ciclovia on Sunday morning. The event had to wrap up early due to inclement weather. (Photo by Sarah Teo)
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