Volume LXXVIII, Number 49
FOPOS Hosts Photo Exhibition and Holiday Open Houses . . . . . . . . 5 Center for Modern Aging Awarded Two Grants . . 8 PU Ramps Up Indigenous Studies with New Programs. . . . . . . . . . 12 Centenary Musings On Franz Kafka (1924-2024) . . . . . . 23 Goalie Smith Comes Up Big with 2 Stellar Efforts, Helping PU Men’s Hockey Sweep No. 12 Ohio State . . . . . . . 30 Stuart Volleyball Produced Historic Season as Young Squad Made Memorable Playoff Run . . . . . . . 34
Kristóf Kovács and PU Men’s Water Polo Primed for NCAA Tourney Run . . . . . 29 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . 25, 26 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 27 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 38 Gift of Experience . . 14, 16 Holiday Magic . . . . . . . 3 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 18 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 28 Nonprofit Spotlight . . 20, 21 Obituaries . . . . . . . 36, 37 Performing Arts . . . . . . . .24 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . .12 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 38 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
www.towntopics.com
Municipal Aid Grant Awarded to Municipality For Harrison Street Plan Princeton has received $818,256 from the State of New Jersey for pedestrian safety between Nassau Street and Franklin Avenue, part of the North Harrison Street Improvements Project. On November 14, Gov. Phil Murphy announced $150 million in fiscal year 2025 Municipal Aid grants. Princeton is one of 540 cities and towns across the state to be granted funds for advancing road, bridge, safety, and quality-of-life improvements. Though the grants are competitive, every municipality that applied for funding received one, according to Murphy’s office. A total of 595 applications requested $375 million in aid. “Municipal Aid allows our communities to undertake transportation projects that significantly improve the quality of life for New Jersey residents,” said Murphy. “Under our administration’s stewardship, the state is doing its part to help municipalities improve local infrastructure, so we have a safe and efficient transportation system throughout the state.” In Mercer County, amounts ranged from $272,500 for Hopewell Borough to $969,105 for Trenton. More than 41 percent, or $61.9 million, is going to municipalities with Complete Streets policies. Another $22.2 million is being awarded to 56 communities where the project meets equity criteria to benefit low income and minority populations. Princeton’s North Harrison Street Improvements Project covers a 2.5-mile stretch of the Harrison Street corridor. At a meeting of Princeton Council on November 18, the consulting firm Michael Baker Inc. provided a first look at a study of the roadway, which runs from Harrison Street’s southern border to Route 206. At the meeting, Municipal Engineer/ Deputy Administrator Deanna Stockton said the town was waiting to hear about the grant. News of the grant was delivered soon after. “It is going to be the first project out of the Harrison Street Corridor Study, so we’re pleased we were able to get so much money from the state,” Stockton said this week. “It’s competitive with other towns in Mercer County.” Eight project categories are eligible for funding in the Municipal Aid grant program: roadway preservation,
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Wednesday, December 4, 2024
Council Approves Resolution for Firehouse Renovation A resolution to pay for a study of the Princeton Fire Department’s headquarters at 363 Nassau Street was approved by Princeton Council at its meeting on November 25. Baltimore-based architectural firm Manns Woodward Studios Inc. (MW), a specialist in firehouses, will receive up to $58,800 to come up with a conceptual design for renovating and possibly enlarging the building. Among the items on the list are future space needs; environmental issues; HVAC and ADA-compliance issues; and accommodations for staff, vehicles, and memorabilia. “A couple of things have happened since that firehouse was built in 1992,” said Mayor Mark Freda, after Councilman David Cohen noted that the list was extensive. “One thing is that the roof continues to leak, no matter what we’ve done to it. We’re hoping to find someone that can actually solve that problem.” Freda noted that six full-time, paid firefighters have been hired in recent years, and they are in the building 24 hours a day. “It wasn’t designed for that,” he said. “Additionally, we recently took our fire inspectors and made them fire inspectors/ firefighters, so they now spend all their
time in that building. We hired a paid fire chief. We have a new, paid fire official. They are all in a firehouse that was never designed for them all to be there.” All of the mechanical systems are at their end of life, Freda added. “The electrical system probably needs an update. We’re looking for someone to come in and research the entire building and figure out how we’re going to put all these uses into a building that was never designed for pretty much anything that we now want to do.”
Even though the fire department no longer has trucks at the smaller Chestnut Street firehouse, it still operates there to some degree. Two fire department staff members are based at Monument Hall. Councilwoman Michelle Pirone Lambros, who is the town’s fire commissioner, said there is a lot of under-utilized space in the Witherspoon Street firehouse. “To retain and attract volunteers, you want to have a more comfortable place,” she said. “So it’s really important that we upgrade.”
In the face of widespread anxiety over increasing anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric and action following the November election, the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice (BRCSJ) will be hosting major holiday events on upcoming weekends: a Holiday Drag Show featuring Cissy Walken, Miss Stonewall Inn, on Saturday, December 7 at 7 p.m. and “Handmade for the Holidays Crafternoon” with Kyle the Craftivist on December 14 at 1 p.m. Also, on Friday, December 6, there will be a Welcoming the Community
Breakfast from 8-10 a.m. and in the evening at 7 p.m. a post-Thanksgiving folk concert featuring David Brahinsky and friends — all at the BRCSJ headquarters, 12 Stockton Street. The BRCSJ, a dedicated queer safe space, offers many programs and events in person and online throughout the year, serving more than 10,000 area residents according to a recent BRCSJ email. On Christmas Day it will also be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. or later, welcoming anybody
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Rustin Center Expands Programming, Support In Wake of Post-Election Needs and Concerns
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PRINCETON HOLIDAY TRADITION CONTINUES: The Annual Palmer Square Tree Lighting festivities on Friday evening included musical entertainment on the patio of the Nassau Inn. Attendees share what they are looking forward to this holiday season in this week’s Town Talk on page 6. (Photo by Thomas Hedges)
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Linda Twining, Sales Associate RECOGNIZED BY REALTRENDS AS IN THE TOP 1.5% OF INDIVIDUAL AGENTS BY SALES VOLUME NATIONWIDE IN 2023 c 609.439.2282 ltwining@callawayhenderson.com lindatwining.com o 609.921.1050 4 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ 08542 Each office is independently owned and operated.