Volume LXXVIII, Number 28
Kean University Launches Revitalization Project in Trenton . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Bastille Day Celebrated With Talk on Joseph Bonaparte . . . . . . . . . 8 MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki To Speak at PPL . . . . 10 Princeton Summer Chamber Concerts Presents Saxophone Quartet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Overcoming Back Injuries To Make Olympic Debut, PU Grad Kallfelz Rowing for U.S. at Paris Games . . . 23 Making Debut for Carnegie Mellon Men’s Tennis, Former PHS Tennis Star Gu Fueled by Team Spirit . . . . . . . . . 25
Walt Whitman Joins Thoreau And Lawrence In This Week’s Book Review . . . . . . . . . . 15 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . 20, 21 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 22 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 29 Hot for Summer . . . 16, 17 Luxury Living . . . . . . 3, 7 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Performing Arts . . . . . 19 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 8 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 29 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
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Registration Open for ASP; “Advisor of the Year” Recognized at PMS Registration is open for the YWCA After-School Program (ASP) for the 2024-2025 school year at Community Park, Johnson Park, Littlebrook, and Riverside elementary schools, and also for students who attend Pre-K at Y locations. The program is available for students from Pre-K through grade 5, with teachers from the Y providing services on school days from 3 to 6 p.m. To secure a space in the program, parents are encouraged to register before mid-August. Applications are approved on a first-come, first-served basis with some schools filling up faster than others. The ASP includes 30 minutes of outdoor play, weather permitting, and indoor activities such as gym time, crafting, storytelling, games, and dancing. Students will also be provided with homework help and a nutritious afternoon snack. For more information, contact AfterSchool Program Manager Patricia Acosta at pacosta@ywcaprinceton.org. Registration is available on the YWCA website at ywcaprinceton.org under “What We Do, Programs.” In other Princeton Public Schools news, Princeton Middle School (PMS) design and engineering teacher Matthew Halfacre was recently named New Jersey Middle School “Advisor of the Year” by the national Technology Student Association (TSA). Halfacre, who is one of the TSA Club advisors at PMS, works with his students in helping them to prepare for competition in STEM-related areas at the New Jersey State TSA conference. This year 40 PMS students attended the conference held at The College of New Jersey, and Yochin Chang brought home first place in microcontroller design; Angela Cao, Amelia Huang, and Fei-Fei Wang second place in biotechnology; Temu De Los Santos, Fransisco Vozone, and Daniel Wong second place in mechanical engineering; Amelia Huang, Aryahi Pimple, Jasmine Shah, Elena Shen, and Fei-Fei Wang second place in website design; Katy Burns, Julian Bird, and Ethan Robinson third place in construction challenge; and Milla Petrecca third place in children’s stories. “I am proud of the creativity and the fortitude of our students,” said PMS Principal Jason Burr. “It is also an opportunity Continued on Page 8
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Wednesday, July 10, 2024
Council Introduces Ordinance for Seminary Properties At a meeting Monday evening, July 8, Princeton Council introduced an ordinance to adopt the redevelopment plan for properties at Princeton Theological Seminary. A public hearing on the plan, which calls for construction of 238 apartments, 20 percent of which would be designated affordable, is scheduled for the next meeting of Council on July 22. As outlined in the 41-page proposal prepared by Kyle McManus Associates of Hopewell, the plan’s aims include utilizing smart growth principles “to achieve better planning outcomes for the community,” providing “higher density, compact development in close proximity to downtown and transit to reduce auto dependence and support greenhouse gas reductions consistent with the Princeton Climate Action Plan,” establishing a multi-family development within walking distance of downtown, providing better on-site stormwater management, and improved safety for drivers, among additional goals. Since owner Jamie Herring of Herring Properties presented a concept plan at a public meeting last fall, there has been some opposition from a group called the Princeton Coalition for Responsible Development based on density, traffic, and other issues. A full reading of the redevelopment plan is available in the
agenda packet from Monday’s meeting at princetonnj.gov. In additional actions at the meeting, Council voted to adopt a budget of $454,163 for Experience Princeton, the town’s Special Improvement District. The budget, which is for the fiscal year 2024-25, was adopted by the Princeton Business Partnership, the legal entity for Experience Princeton, on June 4. Following a presentation by Executive Director Isaac Kremer, Councilwoman Michelle
Pirone Lambros, the liaison to the Princeton Business Partnership, noted that the organization has reached the two-year mark. “We have accomplished a great deal that is on the work plan, but there’s more to come,” she said. Councilmember Leighton Newlin said he would like to see more women-owned and minority-owned businesses in town. Councilwoman Eve Niedergang asked Kremer whether businesses that leave Princeton are given exit Continued on Page 11
Joint Effort 2024 Kicks Off August 2, Offers Celebration and Contemplation
Reflections on Paul Robeson, the Witherspoon-Jackson (W-J) neighborhood, and the future of Princeton, along with community gatherings and sports, will highlight this year’s Joint Effort Safe Streets Summer Program, starting on August 2 and continuing through August 11. “It’s always important for the community to come together,” said Joint Effort (JE) founder and organizer John Bailey. “And it’s even more important now because we have lost our way. On the national level and on the local level we have lost our way.” The annual program will include social,
athletic, and cultural events; the presentation of numerous awards; and three discussions with community leaders on hot topics facing Princeton. Bailey noted the connection between “the chaos and contradiction and confusion in the world and the legacy of Robeson, a Princeton world citizen.” He explained, “The theme of the 2024 Joint Effort Princeton Witherspoon-Jackson Community Safe Streets Summer Program is ‘Reflections on Paul Robeson and the Witherspoon-Jackson Community.’” Robeson, In addition to his fame as a Continued on Page 11
FARM FRESH: A representative from Cedarville Farms in East Windsor assists a customer at the Trenton Farmers Market in Lawrence Township on Sunday. Founded in 1939, it is New Jersey’s oldest continuously run farmers market. Shoppers discuss their favorite summer produce in this week’s Town Talk on page 6. (Photo by Grace Roberts)
Photo Credit: A.Skye Photo
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