7-20 TD by Community News Service

downtowner Trenton’s City Paper

July 2020 |

communitynews.org

It’s All History: Trenton Now & Then

Abraham Lincoln’s day in Trenton, page 4; Trenton’s new Cass Street coffee roaster, 8.

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2Trenton Downtowner July 2020

UP fRoNt To the editor: Resiliency of Carteret Avenue

The owner was a respected matriarch of her family as well as the street. After passing, her descendants particit was an eerily quiet, hot Sunday pated in a host of illegal activities that mid-afternoon. Worshippers were terrorized the neighborhood. The result was that upkeep of propreturning from church. I greeted a erties ceased; a vacant lot became a neighbor and her four little children. receptacle for trash; several properCarteret Avenue is a two-block, oneties were vacant for years; and propway street. Then erty values plumsuddenly, I heard meted. rapid gun shots Carteret Avenue is The residents and bullets hithad enough. Cadnow turning around. ting where I just walader Place departed. Civic Association Windows can be opened The “pow, pow, was revived. The pow” was comwithout the sound of initial focus was ing from a vehicle safety issues. gunshots. People are screeching the However, the wrong direction. meetings shifted enjoying their front The gun shots to rehabilitation porches. Children are and screams of abandoned made it sound properties, conriding their bicycles up like Carteret Avverting the vaenue was under and down the sidewalks. cant lot into a siege. community garSome neighden, and street bors cried, some improvements. looked up and down the street, and After countless visits to city hall, others pointed at bullet holes in the being a fixture at city council meetparked vehicles next to the “problem” ings, and after a host of meetings with house on the street. This is what my Mayor Douglas Palmer and his adminstreet has turned into. istration the Carteret Avenue Action Starting in 2009 Carteret Avenue Agenda was implemented. experienced more than 35 shootings The formal relationship with the — on separate occasions two people Palmer Administration started in 2000 were shot. This was in addition to with a series of Civic Association-sponopen drug dealings, porch and side- sored neighborhood walk-through inwalk gambling, as well as other ille- spections. gal activities — all coming from one The walk-throughs and meetings house. were followed by a series of actions:

DOWNTOWNER Phone: (609) 396-1511 Fax: (609) 844-0180 Website: communitynews.org SENIOR EDITOR Dan Aubrey MANAGING EDITOR Sara Hastings SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Jennifer Steﬀen (Ext. 113) ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Mark Nebbia

CO-PUBLISHER Tom Valeri

MANAGING EDITOR, METRO DIVISION Sara Hastings

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Thomas Fritts

MANAGING EDITOR, COMMUNITY DIVISION Rob Anthes

PRODUCTION MANAGER Stacey Micallef DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL INITIATIVES Joe Emanski

Community News Service 15 Princess Road, Suite K Lawrence, NJ 08648 Phone: (609) 396-1511 News & Letters: dan@princetoninfo.com Events: events@communitynews.org Website: communitynews.org Facebook: facebook.com/trentondowntowner Twitter: twitter.com/mercerspace 3,000 copies of the Trenton Downtowner are bulk distributed in Trenton 12 times a year.

TO ADVERTISE call (609) 396-1511, ext. 110 or e-mail advertise@communitynews.org A proud member of:

(1) $2 million grant to rehabilitate eight buildings into 11 tax-paying apartments; (2) $157,332 grant to repave the street and rebuild sidewalks; (3) $10,000 grant for tear drop street lighting; and (4) conversion of the vacant lot into a community garden. The total investment into Carteret Avenue was $2,171,070.35 as well as untold hours of sweat equity. These development activities continued into the administration of Mayor Walter Reed Gusciora. In 2018, after years of illegal activities, the occupants in the house that terrorized the neighborhood were sent packing on their merry way. Carteret Avenue is now turning around. Redevelopment activities are encouraging our homeowners to invest in their properties and banks to

approve home improvement loans. Land values are increasing. Just as importantly, windows can be opened without the sound of gunshots. People are enjoying their front porches. Children are riding their bicycles up and down the sidewalks. Thanks to Cadwalader Place Civic Association for their vision, belief, strength, hard work, and tenacity; thanks to former Mayor Douglas Harold Palmer for your counsel, encouragement, and administrative support; and thanks to Mayor Walter Reed Gusciora for faith in the work our association is doing. A special thanks to Carol Jane Atherton Cogsville, my mother, for doing the research to designate Carteret Avenue a historic street. Rachel Cogsville-Lattimer President, Cadwalader Place Civic Association

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www.gregorygjohnsonlaw.com July 2020 | Trenton Downtowner3

Off the presses: Lincoln visits Trenton, aiming to save the Union By Dan Aubrey

lavery had divided the nation, and the Southern states were threatening to leave the Union. Now in 1861 Abraham Lincoln — who had won the presidency with the lowest popular vote in history — was stopping in Trenton as he headed to Washington, D.C., to take the oath of office and face unprecedented moral, political, and physical battles. The visit, according to historian Ted Widmer’s recently released book “Lincoln on the Verge,” was one of the stops on Lincoln’s 13-day, 1,900-mile multi-city train journey from his home in Springfield, Illinois, to the nation’s capital. It was also part of Lincoln’s own spiritual journey, one inspired by his early reading of John Bunyan’s “The Pilgrim’s Progress.” In addition to the recounting of a thwarted a Lincoln assassination plan, detected by Trenton Psychiatric Hospital founder Dorothea Dix, the section describing Lincoln’s February 21 visit to New Jersey’s Capital City is of historical interest. It is where a transformation in both the president-elect and the public occurs. Part of it, notes the historian, is connected to Trenton’s history as the site of George Washington’s victory that turned the tide of the American Revolution and Washington’s impact on Lincoln’s imagination. Widmer then sets the scene. “New Jersey’s legislature was housed in an attractive structure that, like most of them, did its best to project the grandeur of Greece. That grandeur had been elusive in Trenton’s early years; to save money, the first version of the state capitol used stucco painted to resemble granite. But if Lincoln was looking for George Washington, Trenton was good place to find him. No state saw more revolutionary battles fought than New Jersey, and it was in Trenton that the tide had turned when he crossed the Delaware in December 1776, in the scene captured so dramatically by the famous painting. Washington had secured an unexpected victory with his tactical action, surprising an encampment of Hessians, who surrendered. “ Lincoln understood that it was more than just a battle victory. “It was a moral victory as well as a military victory. By taking action, Washington had altered the story of a war that was going badly and given his fellow Americans a new reason to believe in their country.” And since Washington had treated his Hessian prisoners humanely, “Trenton had shown the world that a new kind of country was coming into existence, determined to earn a decent respect form the world for its

4Trenton Downtowner July 2020

ideals as well as it determination to de- ‘Washington Entering Trenton’ by N.C. Wyeth at Thomas Edison State fend itself. It was only after the victory University, left, and the Abraham Lincoln maquette at the State Museum. that Congress sent out copies of the Declaration to the states.” were also passing inane resolutions: But on this day, Lincoln would soar.” Widmer then uses the occasion of after Republicans proposed a bill asHe gave two speeches to overflowWashington’s 1789 inaugural journey serting that Abraham Lincoln was ‘a ing audiences in the senate and assemand visit to Trenton to show a contrast man six foot four inches in height,’ bly chambers, but, as the writer notes, of mood. Democrats responded with one de- rather than resorting to a few written Using references from early Wash- claring the official policy that ‘when down platitudes Lincoln “found fresh ington biographies, Widmer notes this House shall have seen Abraham words about the predicament they that the former commander and chief Lincoln, They will have seen the ugli- faced. Each speech said something of the Continental Army made his est man in the country.’” genuinely new, as he reached to find journey from the south and “came The account continues by noting meaningful words in a setting that through a ‘triumph arch’ made of lau- that while Lincoln usually engaged mattered.” rel and evergreen, supported by 13 such humor to offset his own awkBefore the senate, Lincoln talked columns. A large artificial sunflower wardness and connect with audiences, about Washington in Trenton, “but as was placed near him, as if he were the he now “paid no attention to the soph- he vented his feelings, he spoke about sun. Other flowers were strewn in his omoric high jinks himself as well and allowed more light path by a small of the legislators to shine into the dark spaces of childarmy of ‘little and the jokes hood than was the norm. He told the Before the senate, girls, dressed that were flying suddenly hushed room that in ‘the in snow-white around the cham- earliest days of being able to read,’ he Lincoln talked about robes,’ and ‘low ber. He had come had found ‘a small book’: the famous rows of young Washington in Trenton, to Trenton with a biography of Washington by Mason virgins,’ tilling a higher purpose: Weems. At the dawn of his literacy, but ‘he spoke about song to the new to strengthen the this book had registered deeply. He president as he sinews of Union. remembered all the stories Weems himself as well and passes through It was a request told, but Washington’s heroism ‘here allowed more light this surreal that carried the at Trenton’ stood out in particular: scene. ‘The crossing of the river; the conimplicit demand to shine into the dark “Lincoln’s apfor young men test with the Hessians; the great hardproach from the spaces of childhood than to fight, and pre- ship endured at the time, all fixed north was less sumably die, in themselves on my memory, more was the norm.’ regal. Another order to make than any single revolutionary event, large crowd had their country and you all know, for you have been gathered, and boys, how these early impressions whole again. inside, the legislators were not be“The president-elect, dressed again last longer than any others. I recollect having well. John Hay described the in funeral black, seemed to understand thinking then, boy even though I was, chaos and crowing inside the New the nature of sacrifice better than the that there must have been something Jersey State House, where ‘there was others in the room. Something inside more than common that these men rather more tumult than would gener- him was expanding on this day, as if struggled for.’” ally be considered consistent with the anticipating Washington’s birthday. Widmer says the legislators “reowl-like gravity of a legislative assem- He had already given more than 50 mained rapt as Lincoln continued his bly.’ Hay gave the exact words these speeches on his journey. In a few of surprisingly personal foray into his would-be owls screeched at one anoth- them, he had misspoken. In a great memories. An important thought was er: ‘Down in front!’ and ‘Hats off!’ They many others, he had said very little. struggling to come out — it would

the state of the CITY It’s all history – now & then

pandemic sweeping our state, a growing economic crisis that threatens our futures, social uprisings related to racial inequality and police brutality, communities splintering into factions, and weak political leaders indulging in political theater may all seem like a 2020 phenomenon, but it isn’t. Plagues and disease are ongoing around the world and up until recent times affected our region — in fact future U.S. President John Adams escaped to Trenton from Philadelphia to avoid a cholera epidemic in 1777. We’ve just been lucky to have escaped them for decades. The Revolutionary War that saw a decisive battle in Trenton grew from a desire for liberty, equality, and justice — yes, only for some. The war also divided the loyalties and visions of neighbors and families. And while the current electorate’s

growing lack of interest in monitoring and curtailing such antics through elections has become alarming, political theater has had a long run — especially here in the capital city. So as suggested in this issue’s cover headline, it is all history. But the headline also contains several other ideas. The first is that with the cover photo taken during the Black Lives Matter protest on the afternoon of May 31, we can use “history” for what it was: an historic moment launched by the police murder of George Floyd. It is the history of “now.” found no justice, there was no peace. “Then” is also found in this issue’s renton’s history of “Then” can be account of President-elect Abraham found in this month’s Fourth of Lincoln’s 1861 visit to Trenton. OccurJuly-related story about the physical ring during another era of social and presence of buildings built during the political tension, this time over race time when New Jersey was ruled by and slavery, the account shows how the King of England. Those buildings an unpopular, unattractive, and flawed today stand as silent reminders of the individual stepped forward to supupheavals that occurred when citizens port freedom and human dignity and grew tired of having their rights and changed the nation. dignity thwarted by a distant and dis“It’s History” can also suggest movinterested authority. And when they ing beyond something, such as the

emerge fully formed at Gettysburg. The cause of the democracy mattered to all people on earth. Something more than common had untied Americans when they threw off the yoke of British rule. This yearning for self-determination had given courage to other peoples. A remarkable catalogue of rights had been woven into the country’s founding document, suggesting that human beings were capable of governing themselves, humanely. Winning the war was important; but it was even more important that they articulated ‘something that held out a great promise to all the people of the world to all time come.’ This ‘great promise’ had made a difference. If the Confederacy succeeded in starting a new country based on slavery, it would destroy the special hope that the world’s millions had vested in America. “Lincoln then made a promise of his own: that the Union would be ‘perpetuated’ in accordance with ‘the original idea’ of the Revolution. In other words, he would not consent to the dismemberment, the way that so many were urging him. He would not become the president of a half country, or even worse, a country with a half-baked understanding of its history. On the contrary, he would insist that the original idea be remembered. He would do all that he could to uphold the principles of republican self-government and the Declaration’s thundering chorus of equality. Lyrically, he added, ‘I shall be most happy indeed if I shall be a humble instrument in the hands of the Almighty; and of this, his almost chosen people.’ Almost chosen — a carefully chosen phrase spoken by a craftsman who did little by accident.”

post-peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstration mixed-race destruction that saw broken windows and looted buildings. In a way, that’s what Trenton street artist Leon Rainbow was doing when he created images for the shuttered building after the rioting. And by doing so, he said what many in Trenton feel: “Spread Love — It’s the Trenton Way.” And make some important history while doing it. — Dan Aubrey

ut what about Dix and the assassination? Noted mental health reformer Dix had come to Washington and heard rumors about a Southern plot to assassinate the pro-Union anti-Slavery president during his inaugural. With knowledge of Southern militias drilling along the rail lines, she used her analytic mind to examine the tracks and found key points where Lincoln’s train needed to pass into the capital. She then consulted Samuel Felton, the president of the railroad line Lincoln was traveling. Dix had realized a conspiracy that would stop railroad traffic and isolate Lincoln’s car and, according to Widner’s account, the conspirators would disguise themselves as Negroes and “pour combustible material over a bridge near Baltimore as Lincoln’s train was approaching. In the chaos that ensued, they would kill him with whatever weapons were handy.” Felton took Dix’s information seriously and dispatched 200 observers disguised as bridge whitewashers to monitor the militia movements. He also involved the Pinkerton Detective Agency, which had developed a specialty in train-related crimes. Pinkerton involved “the captivating, quite vivacious, and brilliant conversationalist” agent Kate Warne, who was able to infiltrate the conspirators’ circle and provide information. Their collective actions diluted the plans and remained secret until Felton wrote about it 20 years later. Dix never mentioned it. “Lincoln on the Verge: 13 Days to Dorothea Dix, the founder of Trenton Psychiatric Hospital, alerted Washington” by Ted Widmer, $35, 607 authorities to a conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln as his train came pages, Simon and Schuster.

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July 2020 | Trenton Downtowner5

Trenton’s Revolutionary War-era homes provide windows to history By Dan Aubrey

ith a sense of revolutionary change in the air this Fourth of July, it is important to remember that Trenton’s history is forever linked to the spirit of independence and that several city buildings were witnesses to the American Revolution. These legacy buildings provide the opportunity to reflect on the ideals — both realized and overlooked — that shape and stir our nation. And while some are privately was the slave trade. owned, most are open to the public The house with 11 rooms, indoor and offer an opportunity to step into basement kitchen, and cupola was history when the COVID-19 restricTrent’s home for several years and tions are lifted. then passed on to his eldest son and then to a series of owners includThe William Trent House ing a supreme court justice, generals, governors, mayors, doctors, and (1719) merchants. Its last private owner was he American-Georgian-style Edward A. Stokes, a lawyer and writer building was ultra-modern when who in 1929 donated it to the City of wealthy Scottish immigrant and busi- Trenton to be used as a library, art galnessman William Trent had it built lery, or museum. Today it is operated near the shores of the Delaware River in partnership with the city and the in 1719. Here the formerly Philadel- Trent House Association. A National Historic Landmark phia-based merchant, slave trader, and William Penn partner laid out what (NHL) building, its NHL application was to be then called Trent’s Town — calls it “a distinguished example of now known as Trenton. Incidentally, the William and Mary or Queen Anne one of Trent’s successful enterprises style. “Of red brick with white trim,

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From left, the 1719 William Trent House on Market Street; the Friends Meeting House on East Hanover Street; and St. Michael’s Episcopal Church on North Warren Street. the house has a handsome simplicity of straight lines, accentuated by bare arched windows (the shutters are inside) the bold cornice, and the absence of classically enriched doorways.” The NHL also notes that during the Battle of Trenton “the house was occupied by Dr. William Bryant, a Loyalist who ministered to both the American and Hessian troops. In 1778 he sold the property to Colonel John Cox, Assistant Quartermaster General of the Army, who occupied it for 14 years. During that time many Revolutionary War figures, including Generals Washington and Greene, were entertained by the Coxes, who gave the name ‘Bloomsbury Court’ to the property.” (Bloomsbury is a London district historically connected to culture.) During the Revolutionary War, French troops under the command of Count Rochambeau set up camp across from the Trent house. 1719 William Trent House Museum, 15 Market Street. Wednesdays through Sundays, 12:30 to 4 p.m. $4 to $5. 609-989-3027 or www. williamtrenthouse.org.

The Friends Meeting House (1739)

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s the Trenton Historical Society notes, the Friends Meeting House is “one of the few buildings still standing in Trenton whose history goes back to the years 1746-1750, when Trenton was a free borough town, exercising its powers and privileges under a Royal Charter of Incorporation granted by His Majesty, King George the Second.” Constructed in 1739 and modified in the 19th century, it “stands today on its original site at the northwest corner of Hanover and Montgomery streets.” Still a functioning meeting house, it was used during the Revolutionary War by both British and Continental forces. Its cemetery contains the body of George Clymer, a signer of

the Declaration of Independence. Friends Meeting House, 142 East Hanover Street. Sundays, 10 a.m. 609278-4551 or www.fgcquaker.org/ cloud/trenton-friends-meeting.

St. Michael’s Episcopal Church (portion built in 1748)

t. Michael’s Church on the corner of Warren and Perry streets in Trenton was first built in 1748 but has been the subject of expansions and reconfigurations over the centuries. During the American Revolution, its Anglican — or Church of England — services were suspended because of tensions between congregants loyal to the crown or to the colonies. In addition to being used by troops on both sides (with the British using the building as a stable), the church and its property figured prominently in the First Battle of Trenton. According to New Jersey Church scape, the church “reached its current dimensions and shape in 1870, when the nave was extended for the last time and the Warren Street towers, the current recessed chancel, and the north transept, were added. The crenellated towers were designed in honor of the Archbishop of Canterbury, whose residence, Lambeth Palace in London, sports a very similar facade. Fantasy Gothic is the term usually applied to this style.” The cemetery reflects the region’s democratic and royalist roots: among the buried are David Brearley, a signer of the United States Constitution, and Pauline Savage, daughter of Annette Savage and Joseph Bonaparte, who, as brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, served as King of Spain and Naples and later became a resident of Bordentown. St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 140 North Warren Street. Services Sundays at 10:15 a.m. www.stmichaelstrenton.org.

Clockwise from above, the Old Barracks; the Eagle Tavern; Douglass House; and the Hermitage.

The Old Barracks (1758-59)

tours by appointment. The Old Barracks, 101 Barrack he Old Barracks is one of the most Street. Monday through Saturdays, significant structures still stand10 a.m. to 5 p.m. $6 to $8. 609-396ing associated with the December 26, 1776 or www.barracks.org. 1776, Battle of Trenton. It was erected between 1758 and 1759 to serve as the winter quarters for British Troops Eagle Tavern (1765) during the French and Indian War and he Eagle Tavern at 431-433 South is the only survivor among five similar Broad Street was built in 1765 as structures built in Burlington, Eliza- a private residence by the owner of bethtown, Perth Amboy, and New the mills previously established by Brunswick to alleviate the practice of Mahlon Stacy and William Trent. It the British military taking possession operated as a tavern through most of of private homes for shelter. the 19th century and was nominally In addition to housing the 300 Hes- connected to the nearby Eagle Race sian soldiers who were either killed Track. It became a boarding house in or captured in the Trenton battle, the 1890 and continued operating as such barracks also served as a hospital for until 1947. American soldiers during the war, inThe building was vacant from that cluding 600 transported to Trenton time to 1965, when the City of Trenton after the 1781 Battle of Yorktown in purchased the property and leased Virginia. it to the Trenton Historical Society, When the Revolutionary War was which launched an unsustainable over, the legislature in 1782 elected reopening of the tavern. It was then to sell the barracks, and in 1786 it was shuttered by the city and was the subsubdivided into multiple dwellings. ject of a federal feasibility study for In 1813 a 40-foot section was demol- future use. ished to extend Front Street to the The tavern has been the site of at State House. And in 1855 the southern least two creative works: nationally section was purchased and used as a known Trenton-born playwright Wilhome for elderly women. liam Mastrosimone’s 1977 RevoluIn 1899 the Daughters of the Ameri- tionary War-era play “Devil Take the can Revolution created a public sub- Hindmost” and Trenton writers John scription to purchase the southern Calu and David Hart’s 2010 “Trenton: L-shaped portion of the property and A Novel.” save it from demolition. Three years The building is closed. later the same group formed the Old The Eagle Tavern, 431-433 South Barracks Association to preserve and Broad Street. restore that property. The State of New Jersey followed by purchasing the remaining and private- Douglass House (1766) ly occupied northern portion. The Old uilt around 1766 and purchased Barracks Association then deeded its in 1769 by Alexander Douglass, section to the state with the stipulaa quartermaster in the Revolutionary tion that the Barracks be restored and managed by the association. The re- Army, this building now in Mill Hill construction of the central section and Park in Trenton was where General building restorations were completed Washington held a Council of War on the night of January 2, 1777, after the in 1917. Today the Old Barracks Museum Second Battle of Trenton and decided offers a gallery with rotating exhib- to march to Princeton. At least one historian has called the its that relate to Colonial New Jersey and the American Revolution. The house, originally located at 191 South museum offers walk-in tours for small Broad Street, “an excellent example of groups and individuals and group the small 18th century dwelling of the

type common in Trenton during the Revolutionary War.” It is also “has a long and complicated history that is intertwined with the development of Trenton, the Revolutionary War, and the renewed interest in the history of the United States of America that grew during the Colonial Revival period in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.” That history is reflected in the house’s ownership. Douglass lived in it until his death. Nephew Joseph Douglass inherited the property and in turn left to his daughter. She sold it 1852 to Augustus Geissenhainer, who sold it to the Lutheran Church to use as a rectory until 1876. When the church decided to use the house property to build a new church, the building was sold to J.J. Strasser, who moved it to Centre Street, where it was resold and occupied by tenants. Interest in the house began after the Trenton Evening Times published a December 26, 1901, article on the 125th anniversary of Washington crossing the Delaware River. The result was that various civic-minded individuals took an option on the building, partnered with a Trenton church group to raise funds, and moved the building to city property near the Old Barracks and then to Mill Hill Park. The “small frame building with beaded siding and pitch roof covered with slate” is being renovated. The building is open during special events including Patriots Week.

Douglass House, Front and Montgomery streets. www.destinationtrenton.com/listings/ the-douglass-house/113/

The Hermitage

he Hermitage on Colonial Avenue began, as the Trenton Historical Society explains, as a mansion “built and occupied by the Rutherford family previous to the American Revolution. It was purchased by General Philemon Dickinson in 1776, shortly before the Battle of Trenton, and housed about 50 Hessian mercenaries prior to the battle. “The Dickinson family occupied the house for many years after the Revolution and during that time, such famous persons as John Adams, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, William Livingston, Benjamin Franklin, George Clymer, General Lafayette, Baron von Steuben, Count Rochambeau, (future King of France) Louis Phillippe, and Joseph Bonaparte were entertained there. “In 1850, Philemon Dickinson sold the mansion to Edward J. C. Atterbury who largely rebuilt the house.” It was again sold in 1904 and subjected to substantial alterations that turned the mansion into the apartment house that still stands. The privately owned property is listed on both the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The Hermitage, 46 Colonial Avenue.

July 2020 | Trenton Downtowner7

New Trenton coffee roaster heating up and delivering a very down-to-earth approach to specialty coffee. It can be elitist and pretentious. I want to attract anyone who likes coffee — from snobs or someone who gets it at the gas station.” The goal of specialty coffee, he says, is to benefit everyone from farmer to processor to consumer. He says in order to supplement his Lambertville experiences he took classes through the roaster’s guild, talked to other roasters, read books and blogs, and stayed active making small batches. “I’m a roaster first and foremost,” he says. “I want to supply high quality roasted coffee for people to take home. We’ll also have a cafe that has batched brew and filter pour overs. They also serve pastries from Factory Girl in New Hope, provide teas from the Trenton-based Tea For All Company, sell a variety of home coffee making supplies, and have a coffee club.

By Dan Aubrey

he first thing Vince Camiolo does when he steps into his One Up One Down Roastery and Caffe at 750 Cass Street, Trenton, is to check the orders to be filled by the shop he runs with his wife, Natalie Rockwell. Then the long-time coffee drinker and experienced roaster makes his first cup of java and turns on the roaster — and turns on the business. While the shop had a soft opening in early June, it has been a work in progress. “We signed the lease on October 7,” Camiolo says during a recent interview about his venture. “The majority of the time has been remodeling.” Located in the former Polish Falcons Club building now owned by Trenton artists and arts coordinators Lauren Otis and Andrew Wilkinson, the shop site was the former home of Abdul Quadir Wiswall’s Trenton Coffeehouse Roaster — a city coffee destination and a place for artists and musicians to gather. Currently providing only take-out, One Up One Down is open Sundays through Wednesdays. The schedule allows the couple to have a presence on the weekend and on Monday when the nearby Finca Cafe is closed. Finca is a coffee client and is partnering with One Up to strengthen the coffee shop scene in the South Broad Street neighborhood. Camiolo says the business’s name — printed on a logo based on the couple’s dog’s up and down ears — represents two different ideas. One relates to their main product and their commitment to producing balanced tasting coffee. The other reflects Camiolo’s interest in living a balanced life. “It’s influenced by Greek philosophy, stoicism. Moving forward no matter what is in front of you, to have the balance to overcome any obstacle or not seeing something as an obstacle to begin with,” he says. The couple is also incorporating a Spartan business approach. “We’re doing it debt free. We’re doing this with mostly savings. We haven’t taken any loans or investors. We want to stay lean for now,” he says. To help keep the coffee steaming Rockwell continues to work as a specialty food representative, and Camiolo continues to work for BikeFlights, the bicycle shipping company that he joined several years ago. They also renovated and staff the place, along with the efforts of partner Erik Hischmann, a friend and Langhorne-based drummer. Camiolo says coffee as a business has been on his mind for some time.

8Trenton Downtowner July 2020

‘Over the past four years I traveled the country for bicycling-related work, so I visited coffee shops. So it was four years of research for this cafe,’ Camiolo says.

Vince Camiolo has been a long-time coffee aficionado. In June he held a soft opening for his One Up One Down Roastery on Cass Street, in the space formerly occupied by Trenton Coffeehouse Roaster. “I’ve been roasting coffee overall for probably close to 10 years. About six years ago I worked for roaster in Lambertville — Rojo’s Roastery (on Union Street). I was there for about a year and half. I was a roaster apprentice and then production roaster.” Although he left to pursue photography and has had work in various trade publications, including the publication for the company he joined, BikeFlights, he says he continued to roast. “I bought a small roaster and started a subscription. I did that for about five years. It was like a side hustle. I was always keeping my eyes and ears out for the perfect space because I enjoyed it.

But it didn’t come up. So I was continuing the cycling business.” He says it was a chance meeting with Wilkinson at a party where he heard that Wiswall was moving out. “I had been to (Wiswall’s) shop once,” says Camiolo. “We talked coffee. My wife had been there a few times. It was our kind of place, down to earth. It had an oasis kind of vibe. I didn’t know Andrew was the owner. He and I talked, and it seemed a good fit for both of us.” Talking a broad look at his business, Camiolo says, “There are a lot of specialty coffee roasters that seem to be popping up in the area. I try to take

He says his coffee is sourced through different specialty coffee importers with a strong focus on sustainability and fair pricing. It is mostly delivered, though on occasion he will pick it up at a warehouse in South Amboy. A Raven Rock resident, Camiolo grew up in Warminster, Bucks County. His father worked for a telephone company first as an installer and then as a computer programmer. His mother worked in telecommunications for Bell Telephone and then Temple University. When he graduated from high school in 1998 he enrolled at Temple University but dropped out to work with and start a sign company. After a few years he returned to Temple and graduated with a degree in photojournalism and anthropology in 2007. He credits his father’s habit of drinking coffee black for developing his tastes. “I always drink it black and notice different qualities and origins.” It also helped him to determine the factors that make a “good” cup of coffee. “Balance is important. I don’t want to taste any elements of smokiness or char. I’m not a dark roast kind of guy and don’t roast anything dark. I want some citrus. But if it is going to be floral or fruity, citrus, and acidic I

want it balanced with base notes like was a challenge that helped us focus chocolate — milk or dark chocolate. I and be more methodical.” Since signing the lease, Camiolo like the idea the idea of coffee tasting sessions and not getting fatigued by says one of the biggest and most interesting learning curves has been takan overwhelming flavor.” He adds that another feature of the ing in Trenton’s history and “the way shop is that “the majority of what we the city has evolved and the issues it serve is animal-product free. The only has been facing over time and what thing we have in the shop that has ani- people envision for the future. The mal products is half and half. All our community is really impressive.” Currently the community showing other products are oat milk and Macedonian milk for espresso drinks. And up at his shop consists of several segments. “We’re getting a lot of people our pastries are all vegan.” The reason, he says, is “That’s how who were customers of Abdul. He laid I live. I eat a plant-based diet. I was the groundwork for people who like in a coffee shop in Omaha that was specialty coffee, so we appreciate it.” Others include the followers of vegan and I didn’t notice. So I saw that it could work without being in some- Camiolo’s roasting blog and those one’s face, that it was easy to have a the couple met while participating in Trenton Punk coffee shop withRock Flea Marout animal prodket events. ucts. ‘I was in a coffee shop in L o o k i n g “Over the past ahead, he shares four years I travOmaha that was vegan some personal eled the country information: He for bicyclingand I didn’t notice. and Rockwell are related work, so So I saw that it could expecting their I visited coffee first child in Sepshops. So it was work without being in tember, with Hisfour years of rechmann and his search for this someone’s face, that wife expecting cafe,” he says. theirs in October. However, he it was easy to have a He then talks could not recoffee shop without about business search what was re-openings. waiting ahead. animal products.’ “We’re going to “We were makbe cautious. If we ing a lot of big don’t feel safe, mistakes that seemed overwhelming at first, but we we’re not going to do it, even if the have the slogan, so I had to keep ap- governor says it’s okay. We may have plying it in my head. The first roaster to get creative on how we can sell our was a used one and wasn’t working cafe products. We’re taking it one step out. So I had to cut my losses. Other at a time.” But that’s the future, Camiolo says. equipment I had purchased wasn’t what it was advertised as. And we did Lately, at the end of day — after turnnot expect to take six months to get to ing off the gas and back flushing the Langhorne-based drummer Erick Hischmann has partnered with Camiolo the place where we wanted it — but espresso machine — “I just stop at the door and look and be amazed by all and his wife, Natalie Rockwell, to help open and operate One Up One that’s what happens.” Then there was the surprise that the work we did the last six months. Down. took the nation. “The pandemic just We did it all by hand. It was quite an kind of put the brakes on our prog- undertaking,” he says. ress, for sure. We thought we were One Up One Down Roaster y 215•295•4402 OPEN 24 HOURS ready to start welcoming people into and Caffe, 750 Cass Street. Sunday the cafe. But it caused us to pivot a through Wednesday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. bit and look at different aspects of the www.oneuponedowncoffee.com. business — roasting and products. It

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The art of quarantine

rtists responded to Community News Service’s invitation to share visual thoughts, feelings, and discoveries during our current health crisis. Trenton-based Fine arts photographer C.a. Shofed responded with the following statement and accompanying artwork: Most of my work is taken outdoors. As the realities of the COVID-19 shutdown became clear I first wondered what I would photograph if I did not have freedom of movement. I really should not have worried because often what I photograph is right outside my front door. However, I have taken this shut-in time to concentrate on a few specific things. First, I arranged some photography lessons with a friend and colleague in the Trenton arts community. Since I am not currently preparing for any in-person shows I figured this was a great time to hone my craft. After I had taken a few hour-long sessions with Heather Palecek (owner of the Ewing-based professional photography studio and a photography instructor), I went back to some familiar places armed with new knowledge. I really enjoy finding a subject and taking photographs of it at different times and under different conditions. Take the Trenton Makes Bridge, for example. It’s been photographed so many times, and yet I go back to

it again and again, trying to find the photograph that hasn’t been taken or the photograph that is uniquely mine. I think Heather Palecek unlocked a few secrets for me that have gotten me closer to that perfect picture I’m always chasing. Second, I have also been working on my web presence to make it easier

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for people to my purchase art. I have been working on uploading new images to both my personal photography website and my online gallery website that highlights some of my own work along with other Trenton-area artists. And third, I’ve been finding new ways to work with artists in my community. I have been engaging and pro-

moting artists in a virtual First Friday, trying to do something a little different each month. I hope that encourages some of the artists out there to be creative and keeps the wonderful group of artists on the map. Submit artwork to dan@princetoninfo.com.

LOOKING FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS? Visit our website communitynews.org to get updates about your community all month long

COMMUNITYNEWS

Free Enterprise ONLINE EXHIBITION JULY 2 - AUGUST 1, 2020

Celebrate Community

Sherri Andrews, Bruno Badaró, Stephen Barnwell, Megan Becker, Vincent Bush “VCAB,” Taylor Cacici, Bernardo Corman, CJ Hungerman, Troy Jones, Donna Conklin King, Loura Van Der Meule, Barbara Moore, Julia Muench, Laurie Pettine, Jean-Paul Picard, Chanika Svetvilas, Erhan Us, Michael Wolf 143 East State Street Suite 4, Trenton, NJ 08608 bsbgallery.com

renton Downtown Association wishes you and your loved ones a happy Fourth of July and offers a special thanks to the men and women of our military who selflessly serve to protect our nation.

Our Trenton community, resilient and strong, continues to support each other in big and small ways. We often hear from small business owners that their customers are like family to them. It’s that kind of sentiment that defines who we are as a community. And what helps us meet the challenges of today.

Over the past few weeks, a number of business owners applied for financial assistance through the TDA Community Business Grant, a one-time growth grant designed to quickly infuse much-needed funding into our district’s small businesses. We will continue to be a source of information and support for our local businesses. For more information, email us at info@trenton-downtown.com.

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will not be opening this summer out of health and safety concerns for our community during the coronavirus pandemic. Please check our website and social media pages for ways you can support our local farmers and vendors until the market can safely reopen.

BSB Gallery is operated by the Trenton Downtown Association

Business Spotlight

The Hummingbird Restaurant For more than 40 years, this familyrun business has been known for its friendly, welcoming atmosphere and amazing pizza. Their menu also features calzones, salads, subs, hoagies and hot steaks.

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12Trenton Downtowner July 2020