To the Editor: Thanksgiving is a very special day in many ways. It is not a religious, patriotic, or commercial holiday, but rather a time for families to gather over a special meal and count the blessings in their lives. While this year looked different for so many, the families that HomeFront serves that are homeless or very low-income were especially thankful. Thankful to have a safe place to sleep at night, to have food on their table — and grateful for our caring community. For the past 30 years HomeFront has called on all of you to provide these families with “baskets” filled with all the ingredients for a wonderful celebration. The response has been overwhelming, and this year was no exception! Donors even included gift cards for turkeys, Thanksgiving decorations, and groceries for the following week. On behalf of all the families who were blessed with a very special meal we thank all the individuals, congregations, and corporations who made it possible, and hope their Thanksgivings were equally special. KELSEY ESPADA Volunteer Coordinator, HomeFront MEGHAN CUBANO Director of Community Engagement, Homefront Princeton Avenue, Lawrenceville
Behrend Thanks Voters, Looks Forward To Continued Dialogue, Collaboration
To the Editor: I write to express gratitude to Princeton voters for reelecting me to a second term on the Princeton Board of Education. We have important work ahead, as a Board of Education and as a community, as we navigate through the pandemic and chart a path forward. I look forward to continuing, together with my dedicated Board colleagues, the work of securing a permanent superintendent, providing focused and impactful oversight, and ensuring that all of our children receive an equitable and effective education. I’ve been inspired and touched by those who have supported my past service, provided frank feedback about what we can do better for our kids, and encouraged me to run again. You supported my candidacy in so many ways — hosting Zoom calls, writing letters, speaking with friends and colleagues, and spreading the word about what the Board has accomplished so far and the importance of experience for the challenges ahead. Thank you. It will be an honor to continue serving the 32,000 residents of Princeton. We are all in this together, and I look forward to continued dialogue and collaboration as we work together to prepare our children and our community for the future. BETH BEHREND Riverside Drive
Beware of Traffic Studies When Considering Witherspoon Pedestrian Zone
To the Editor: I’m writing to express my support for Princeton opening Witherspoon Street to walkers and shoppers to create a distinctive and vibrant place that benefits merchants and local residents alike. I offer two thoughts for Princetonians to consider about this. First, other communities in New Jersey have overcome their nervousness to create just such places, and have learned that direct experience is the best teacher. Just before Thanksgiving, I spoke with the town administrator of Red Bank, New Jersey, about his experience converting two full blocks of Broad Street to a fully pedestrian-focused plaza through the summer and fall. Red Bank’s first steps pedestrianizing Broad Street were tentative, experimental, and time-limited, and all town communications emphasized this. But as merchants and residents gained direct experience, positive reviews came thick and fast. Now Red Bank is gearing up to make even more pedestrian-supporting changes. Next year, the town plans to expand the pedestrian plaza one block more, and will also make physical improvements to calm traffic and create a better pedestrian environment on nearby streets. Direct experience, and learning from that, has been the most important factor in making progress.
REFINED INTERIORS
HELPING FAMILIES AT HOME SINCE 1991 eastridgedesign.com | (609) 921-2827 342 Nassau Street Princeton, NJ
Second, beware of “traffic studies.” A family that improves a kitchen or bathroom in their home does so because of the benefits they expect and the enjoyment they will experience. They know there will be costs over time — just as they know there will be disruption during construction. But they also know the cost and disruption are part of the process. Think of traffic studies as the precise quantification of disruption; and as the elevation of disruption as the most important issue to consider, rather than the creation of desirable places to live, shop, and recreate. Traffic studies turn our reasoning upside down, making us ask if we can we get the benefits we want without any disruption to the experience of one narrow slice of people, those who drive cars through our downtown. The reason Princeton is contemplating a pedestrian zone for Witherspoon Street is to create a safe, desirable, distinctive place for residents, visitors, and local merchants to thrive. A traffic study of pedestrianizing Witherspoon Street will almost certainly show that drivers will be slowed down somewhat, and there will be precise measurements of that slowing down. But what there won’t be is any measurement of the pleasure that residents will get in exchange, the business that merchants will get, or any of the myriad other benefits. Direct experience for ourselves is what we need to move forward; confidence gained from the experience of others who have made the same journey; and firmness to reject the nervousness that traffic studies dignify with quantitative, but narrow, analysis. NAT BOTTIGHEIMER White Pine Lane
Witherspoon Street Should Be Open to Two-Way Traffic, Parking
To the Editor: I‘m a longtime resident. I’m in town at least three times a day. I walk in at least once and I drive in. I drink coffee here. I buy lunch here. I buy clothes here. I buy lottery tickets here. I eat dinner here. You get the point. I’ve been doing this for 25 years. I use town. I really use town. I don’t wish it was somewhere else, I use it, I know it, I like it. I’ve also led large projects, deployed computer technology globally, and developed urban planning concepts that are still in use by the state of New Jersey. I have a feel for how things work and how things don’t work. Princeton is at its worst when solving problems with a “known” solution. Think about this time last year when we couldn’t park because of our new parking solution. We don’t seem to know how it happened, it just appeared and it didn’t work—really didn’t work. Now we are getting ready to apply the “known” solution to the Witherspoon Street problem. I’ve never quite understood “the Witherspoon Street problem” but nonetheless, we have a solution. The “known” solution is Witherspoon Street should have no cars and be for pedestrians only. I know there are other alternates, but that’s the “known” answer. Plans for projects as complex and strategic as changing a north south arterial road require significant planning. It’s hard. Planning during a pandemic is fraught with problems. It’s harder. You’re measuring an artificial construct. Through traffic is off. Pedestrian traffic is off. University traffic is off. Everything is off. But wait, I’m falling into a trap, the trap of defending against the “known” solution. I’ve seen suggestions that we follow the lead of other towns. Other towns strive to be a place like Princeton. We got here organically. It took centuries. We shouldn’t be so anxious to fix Witherspoon Street. Have you turned left on to Nassau from Chambers? We‘ve eliminated a north-south arterial road. Where will traffic go? Have you seen those poor devils on Witherspoon trying to unload trucks during the day? We’re a vibrant town because our shops and restaurants have in-town and further-from-town visitors. People drive to Princeton, park and walk. Princeton is already a walkable town. There is even an EPA walkability designation. What do we really need? We need to keep parking. We need to keep Witherspoon two way. We need to make the most of what we have. The COVID configuration is empty during most weekday mornings and afternoons. It certainly needs to be prettier and cleaner. Let’s not make Witherspoon Street a place of privilege that can only be used if you are lucky enough to be able to walk or cycle into town. Princeton should be open to everyone. Importantly, we need to keep our remaining merchants whole and attract new merchants to join them. Closing the main shopping street is not in their or our best interest. LOU VALENTE Hunter Road
Princeton Area Community Foundation Offers Guidance for Giving This Holiday Season
To the Editor: So many of you continue to generously support your favorite nonprofits as they navigate unprecedented challenges. You continue to help feed our neighbors, support childcare services, and fund many other important causes, including the arts and the environment. Thank you. As we approach the season of giving, and you think about supporting the charitable organizations that mean so much to you, my organization, the Princeton Area Community Foundation wants to provide you with the expert giving guidance that we have already offered to so many of our Donor Advised Fundholders: For COVID relief in particular, support organizations that serve vulnerable populations that were disproportionately
affected by the pandemic, including low-income families, seniors, and people of color. Support existing funds that pool gifts for great impact and quickly distribute grants, such as our COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund and our New Jersey Arts and Culture Recovery Fund. Learn more at www.pacf.org. Give unrestricted support because that allows nonprofits to cover their most urgent expenses, enabling them to pivot quickly when needs change. Continue to support your favorite charities. Many nonprofits are struggling economically because of the pandemic. From food pantries and social service agencies to arts and environmental organizations, these nonprofits continue to do work that makes our communities stronger. Plan for the long-term, ensuring support for future needs. While the pandemic has brought about many immediate needs, also consider your mid- and long-term giving goals. Find your personal balance between short- and longer-term philanthropy. As the cases of COVID-19 continue to increase in our region, many more of our neighbors need your support, putting a strain on local nonprofits as they struggle to provide the help that is so desperately needed. We believe that thriving philanthropy leads to thriving communities. This holiday season, please consider making a gift to one of the many charitable organizations or pooled funds working to help make sure our region thrives. JEFFREY M. VEGA President and CEO, Princeton Area Community Foundation
13 • TOWN TOPICS, PRINCETON, N.J., WEdNESday, dECEmbER 2, 2020
Offering Thanks to Caring Community for Thanksgiving Baskets for HomeFront Families
Books Peter Singer is professor of LALDEF Sponsors Event With Acclaimed Author bioethics at Princeton Univer-
Donna Barba Higuera will read from her new novel Lupe Wong Won’t Dance and participate in a Q&A session on December 8 at 4 p.m. in a free online event sponsored by the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund (LALDEF). “This book is very important for our communities because it shows characters of color with whom our youth can identify,” wrote LALDEF Development and Communications Associate Jhasmany Saavedra in an email. In commenting on her new book, Higuera noted, “I realized with Lupe how important it is for readers to have books with characters and families in which they can see bits of themselves. I didn’t have this [kind of book] as a child.” Lupe Wong, like Higuera’s other Young Adult and Middle Grade books, features “characters drawn into creep situations, melding history, folklore, and her own life experiences into reinvented storylines,” according to a LALDEF press release. The book is the story of a determined middle school girl who needs an A in all her classes in order to meet her favorite pitcher, Fu Li Hernandez, “who’s Chinacan/ Mexinese, just like she is,” the press release states. But square dancing as part of the P.E. curriculum is something that Lupe just can’t relate to. Participants in the event should register attfaforms. com/4862645.
Peter Singer Discusses “Why Vegan” Dec. 8
Peter Singer will be discussing his new book, Why Vegan? Eating Ethically (Liveright $15.95) with Andrew Chignell in a Labyrinth and Library Livestream program at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, December 8. From his 1973 manifesto for Animal Liberation to his personal account of becoming a vegetarian in The Oxford Vegetarians, Singer traces the historical arc of the animal rights, vegetarian, and vegan movements from their embryonic days to the present, when climate change and global pandemics threaten the very existence of humans and animals alike.
sity. The best-selling author of Animal Liberation and The Ethics of What We Eat, among other works, he also teaches at the University of Melbourne. Andrew Chignell is a professor at Princeton University with appointments in religion, philosophy, and the University Center for Human Values. Co-editor of Philosophy Comes to Dinner, he teaches a course at Princeton on “The Ethics of Eating.” This event is presented in partnership with the Princeton Public Library, Princeton University’s Center for Human Values; the Princeton University Humanities Council; the High Meadows Environmental Institute at Princeton University; and the Food, Ethics, Psychology Conference.
Fund for Irish Studies Hosts Poetry Reading
Princeton University’s Fund for Irish Studies will present a reading by Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, award-winning poet and translator, Ireland Professor of Poetry 2016-19, and Professor emeritus in the School of English at Trinity College Dublin, on December 4 at 4:30 p.m. online via Zoom Webinar. The reading is free and open to the public. Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin is the author of numerous poetry collections including The Mother House (2020); The Boys of Bluehill (2015), which was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection; The Sun-fish (2010), which won the International Griffin Poetry Prize; Selected Poems (2009); The Magdalene Sermon (1989), which was selected as one of the three best poetry volumes of the year by the Irish Times/Aer Lingus Poetry Book Prize Committee; and Acts and Monuments (1966), which won the Patrick Kavanagh Award. Since 1975 she has edited the literary magazine Cyphers, and she has also edited Poetry Ireland Review. Born in Cork in 1942, educated at University College, Cork, and at Oxford, she is a fellow and professor emeritus in the School of English, Trinity College, Dublin. Information about the Fund for Irish Studies series virtual events can be found at fis. princeton.edu.
