Volume LXXVI, Number 18
Mother’s Day Pages 20-21 Area Birdwatching Events Abound . . . . . 5 New Habitat Duplex on Lytle Street . . . . . . . 9 PHS Students Win Samsung Competition . . . . . . . . . 10 Unconditional Love — Jhumpa Lahiri and Translation . . . . . . 15 Musical Siblings Bring Family Artistry to PU . . . . . . . 16 Princeton University Players Present The Art of Pleasing Princes . . . 17 PU Women’s Lax Tops Yale To Win Ivy Title as it Honors Coach Sailer . . . . . . . . 26 PHS Boys’ Golf Ties for 2nd At County Tournament . . 29
Jonathan Gu Stars as PHS Boys’ Tennis Takes 2nd at MCT . . . . . . 29 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 24 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 36 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 13 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 25 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 34 Performing Arts . . . . . 18 Police Blotter . . . . . . . 12 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 36 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
www.towntopics.com
Combating Antisemitism Is Goal of Campaign Across Mercer County For the year 2020, Mercer County has been rated among the top five New Jersey counties for most documented instances of antisemitism. According to the nonprofit Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks, that’s a 93 percent increase from the previous year. The trend continues all over New Jersey. Last week, unidentified assailants are reported to have thrown eggs at a Jewish fraternity house at Rutgers University as members were commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day by reading out the names of Holocaust victims over a 24-hour period. And that’s just one isolated example. Enough is enough, say members of the Jewish Federation, which has announced a campaign to try to combat antisemitism locally and help create a safer environment for Jewish individuals living in the region. A billboard on Route 1, signage on buses, and a Jewish American Heritage Festival on Sunday, May 15 in Palmer Square are all part of the effort. The festival, from 2-5 p.m., will feature kosher food trucks and musical performances by The Maccabeats and Princeton University’s Jewish a cappella group, Koleinu. “Last year, we held a rally for combating antisemitism and hate in Hinds Plaza, and we had a really great showing,” said Daniel Herscovici, president of the organization. “As we saw the continued rise in incidents around us, we wanted to perhaps come forward with a different voice. That voice is centered around being proud of your heritage, and not being fearful of showing who you are as an individual.” Herscovici and colleagues began to look for a campaign that could do just that. They have decided to partner with the organization JewBelong, which has been fighting growing antisemitism with brightly colored billboards in New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Orlando, Miami, and other cities expressing sentiments such as: “Let’s ask everyone who’s wondering if Jew hate is real to wear a yarmulke for a week and then report back” and “I promise to love being Jewish 10x more than anyone hates me for it.” “Antisemitism has become tolerated and normalized in far too many circles Continued on Page 11
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COVID Cases Decline Locally, Rise in NJ The Princeton Health Department on May 2 reported 60 new cases of COVID-19 in the previous seven days, an 8.5 daily average, and 109 cases in the previous 14 days. “Princeton has begun to see a decrease in COVID-19 infections after four weeks of sustained increases,” said Jeff Grosser, princeton deputy administrator and director of health. The New Jersey statewide transmission rate was 1.18 on May 3, with any number over 1 indicating that the outbreak is expanding, with each new case leading to least one additional case. Hospitalizations remain far below peaks reached during this past January’s Omicron surge. Mercer County and seven other counties out of New Jersey’s 21 counties were recently raised from “low” to “medium” transmission rate level, according to the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We continue to monitor these scores as well as hospitalization rates from COVID-19 to assess COVID-19 severity level,” said Grosser. “As we have now seen multiple case surges with mostly mild cases, this helps to guide us forward in the pandemic, allowing normal activities to continue through the summer months.” Grosser noted that the health department is tracking clustered outbreaks in
Princeton schools. The Princeton Public Schools saw an uptick in cases, with 48 new cases for the week ending April 29. The previous week there had been just 18 cases reported, 26 and 31 in the weeks before that. “In situations where we identify clustered cases and/or linked outbreaks, such as a particular grade level in a school, we have advised schools and other organizations to strongly recommend masking to assist in breaking the chain of infection in
particular cohorts,” Grosser added. For the week ended May 2, Princeton University reported 133 new COVID cases with a positivity rate of 2.8 percent and campus case severity level of “mild.” The health department is continuing to monitor COVID-19 cases in order to identify clustered outbreaks. “Depending on the community transmission, we will continue to advise residents of additional precautions they can take,” said Grosser. Continued on Page 8
Cyclists Coming to Princeton May 14-15, Stop on Greenway Ride from NYC to Philly
May is National Bike Month, and on May 14-15 Princeton will be hosting nearly 300 participants (riders and volunteers) in the second New York City-to-Philadelphia Greenway Ride. The cyclists, from ages 17 to 80 — with an average age of 48.7 — come from 17 different states and Washington, D.C., with the most riders coming from New York (64), New Jersey (54), and Pennsylvania (42). Sponsored by the East Coast Greenway Alliance (ECGA), the 125-mile, two-day ride supports the ECGA with fundraising for development of the ECGA route in New York City, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The event has raised more than $450,000 in the past year.
After setting out from Liberty State Park in Jersey City on Saturday morning, May 14, the riders will arrive at the YMCA in Princeton in the afternoon and collect their gear for the night. Some will camp at the YMCA, and others will stay at local hotels. On Sunday they will ride on to their destination at the Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia. Sophie Penkrat, who cycled on the D&R Canal Path into Princeton when she was a student at Rutgers University in the 1990s and participated in the inaugural New York City-to-Philadelphia Greenway Ride last August, is looking forward to this year’s ride with her Greenway Grinder Guys and Dolls team. Continued on Page 8
GREENING TOGETHER: The Mercer County Sustainability Coalition’s weeklong environmental celebration included a Green Get Together and Bike Rodeo event at Lawrence High School on Saturday. Participants share what they learned in this week’s Town Talk on Page 6. (Photo by Weronika A. Plohn)
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