Volume LXXV, Number 16
www.towntopics.com
Princeton COVID Cases Trend Down; Vaccines At Hand for 16 and Up
Earth Week Events Are In-Person and Online . . . 5 I Am Trenton Awards Grants to Nonprofits . . 10 Sounding the Oscars From Riz Ahmed to Susan Hayward . . . . . . 18 Boheme Opera NJ Continues Virtual Concert Series . . . . . . . 19 PHS Girls’ Wrestler Ayres Going to PU, Aiming to Grow Sport at Next Level . . . . . . . . 30 Causing Perfect Storm, PHS Swimming Teams Go Undefeated . . . . . 32
All in a Day’s Work with James Demetriades, CEO of Penn Medicine Princeton Health . . . . . 13 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 25 Classified Ads . . . . . . 40 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 15 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 29 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 38 Performing Arts . . . . . 20 Police Blotter . . . . . . . 14 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 40 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
With COVID-19 case numbers locally continuing to trend down and vaccination numbers climbing, health officials are expressing some guarded optimism, and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is talking about lifting restrictions, at least “incrementally,” in the coming weeks and months. “It has taken a few months of vaccinations, but I believe our data is beginning to reflect vaccinations in our community,” said Princeton Health Officer Jeff Grosser. “Despite the increase in vaccinations in New Jersey, the pandemic is not over yet.” Grosser went on to point out that those who are testing positive — five in the previous seven days, 15 in the previous 14 days, according to the Princeton Health Department’s April 19 report — are on average less than 30 years old and unvaccinated because they were previously not eligible. With everyone 16 and older who lives, works, or studies in New Jersey eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine as of April 19, health officials expect the average age of positive cases to continue to decline. About 36 percent of New Jersey adults, about 2.5 million, have already been vaccinated, and more than one-half, about 3.8 million, have received at least one dose. It is New Jersey’s goal to vaccinate about 4.7 million people, about 70 percent of the state’s adults, by the end of June. The Princeton Health Department has provided vaccinations offsite at senior congregate housing sites over the past two months. “Many of our Princeton residents were seeking ‘local’ shots because of a myriad of barriers to get to regional/ mega or other vaccine sites for a shot,” said Grosser. Health officials will provide vaccines at another community location beginning next week and will continue to work to contact those who have not been able to find vaccinations. Grosser stated that he has seen “a bit of a slowdown in demand for the vaccine,” but he pointed out that the expansion of eligibility to those 16 and older, along with increased community education on the importance of vaccinations, should increase demand.” The health department is once again receiving regular shipments of Moderna vaccine and will continue to have appointments available to the Continued on Page 12
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Wednesday, April 21, 2021
Planning Board to Consider Redevelopment Study Is the North Harrison Redevelopment Study Area, which includes Princeton Shopping Center, an “area in need of redevelopment?” The Princeton Planning Board will take on the question at a special virtual meeting Thursday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m. Their recommendation then goes to Princeton Council, which will consider the issue at its meeting on April 26. Visit princetonnj. gov for the links. The 42.2-acre area in question includes the wooded lot to the north of the shopping center on the corner of Terhune Road and Harrison Street, the shopping center itself, Grover Park, and the three buildings that were formerly occupied by Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad. Zoning has already been decided for the two affordable housing sites located within this parcel — one at Harrison Street and Terhune Road; the other on the south side of the shopping center, currently a parking lot bordering the Clearview Avenue neighborhood. AvalonBay has been selected by Edens, which owns the shopping center, to develop the latter. Should the properties be designated as a non-condemnation redevelopment area, the municipality would be able to choose a redeveloper, allowing input on
design, parking, circulation, sustainability, and other aspects. The redevelopment authority can also provide tax abatements on improvements and create a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) program for the area, with the PILOT money going to the municipality. Some members of the public have expressed concerns that the designation is not the right path for Princeton to follow. Council members Mia Sacks and David Cohen, who have been working on the
issue along with Councilwoman Michelle Pirone Lambros, said Monday that they believe there is a misconception that redevelopment is only a response to blight, and can translate to higher property taxes. “An area in need of redevelopment doesn’t necessarily mean there is blight,” said Sacks. “That was originally what the statute was for, but there is another alternative, which is redevelopment in noncondemnation. We feel strongly that we need to think of this area holistically. The Continued on Page 8
PCDO Panelists Say It’s Time For Investment in Public Goods, Services “Investment vs. Austerity: Government Response to Economic Downturns” was the issue on the table Sunday night, April 18, at a Princeton Community Democratic Organization (PCDO) Zoom meeting, but the discussion quickly focused not on whether to spend the money, but how to spend the money effectively to help people most in need of government services. With the federal government making investments in public goods and services on a scale not seen in decades, the panelists — Sheila Reynertson, New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) senior
policy analyst; Deborah Cornavaca, Gov. Phil Murphy’s deputy chief of staff; and Nedia Morsy, organizing director at Make the Road New Jersey — seemed to join forces in exploring ways to combat the unequal impact of the pandemic and to break down barriers and put prosperity within everyone’s reach. Acknowledging the meeting’s bias towards the need for New Jersey to invest its way out of the crisis rather than go the route of austerity, Cornavaca emphasized, “But how we do it is the really important Continued on Page 14
CAMPUS IN BLOOM: Weeping cherry trees adorn Henry Hall at Princeton University in time for Earth Day . Area Earth Week events run through April 30, see page 5 . (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)
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