Volume LXIX, Number 28
Health, Beauty, Wellness Section on Pages 10-13 Princeton Native Joshua Halpern Finds the Humor in Climate Change . . . . 7 The Passion of Greece: Athens and Austerity, Henry Miller and George Seferis . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Shaw’s Pygmalion in “Powerful, Captivating” Princeton Summer Theater Production. . . 21 PU Heavyweight Crews Gained From Trip to Henley . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Princeton LL Intermediates Edge Ocean to Earn 1st Sectional Championship . . . . . . 32
Helen Froelich Holt, Wife of U.S. Senator, Mother of Congressman, Dies at Age 101 . . . . . 36 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 14 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Classified Ads. . . . . . . 37 Home Improvement . . . 41 Music/Theater . . . . . . 21 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 28 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 36 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 4 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 37 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . . 6
www.towntopics.com
Library Renovation, Police Strategic Plan Among Council’s Topics Reports on plans to renovate part of the Princeton Public Library and monitor tour buses on Nassau Street were the focus of a meeting of Princeton Council Monday night. The governing body also heard from Princeton Police Chief Nicholas Sutter and a member of the consulting firm The Rodgers Group about a recently completed strategic plan that will serve as “a roadmap for us to the future,” Mr. Sutter told Council. The Princeton Police Department’s 2015-18 Strategic Plan was designed as a flexible document to help guide the force, which merged the former Borough and Township departments after consolidation of the town, for three years. “For me, it’s an absolute blessing,” Mr. Sutter told Council. “It gives us all the tools we need to move forward.” Praising the Rodgers Group’s “professionalism and expertise,” he added, “I soaked up as much as I possibly could.” The plan identifies traffic safety and community engagement as its main issues. Concerns over information technology (IT) and accountability systems are also key, said Philip Coyne, who presented the report. Among the study’s recommended actions are that the department have a fully dedicated IT specialist, hire a public information officer, remove all crossing guard hiring, scheduling and supervision responsibilities from the Traffic Unit, research and implement body cameras, and have Traffic Unit personnel working alternate shifts aligned with data on accidents and citizen complaints. “This is not about policy,” Mayor Liz Lempert said in a press conference earlier in the day. “It’s more of an operational document.” She added that Council will not need to vote on the plan. Mr. Sutter said conclusions of the plan were the result of focus groups and research into the community. “This is a very pro-active approach to policing,” he said. “This is the community telling us what they need and us addressing it.” In his monthly report to Council, Mr. Sutter said that the swatting incidents, in which threats were called into local schools and other buildings over the past few months, have lessened. “There is a lull. But that doesn’t mean they’ve fallen off our radar,” he said, adding that investigation into the incidents is still active. Continued on Page 14
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Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Tear-Downs Indicate Healthy Home Sales Market
To many Princeton residents it seems that no matter where you turn, an old house is being torn down to make way for a new — and usually much larger — residential structure. According to market trends, new listings in Princeton are up by over 10 percent this year as compared to 2014. Neal A. Snyder, CTA, tax assessor for the municipality, has seen an increase in the number of tear downs in recent years. The Bordentown resident has been Princeton’s Tax Assessor for 12 years and he sees the increase in new homes being bought and sold in Princeton as a positive thing for the town. Tear downs are a result of a dearth of vacant lots, he said. “There was a downward trend in the late 2000s but there has been a turnaround and there is currently a boom with builders coming in and new homes being bought and sold. Homes are appreciating in Princeton and as they do, the ratio I use to assess property taxes goes down. Princeton is a desirable place to live and is a safe investment for home builders who are, after all, out to make money.” “For 2015, the property tax assessment ratio (assessment to sale price) is 91.23 percent of market value,” said Mr. Snyder, adding that in 2014, the ratio was 93.23 percent.
Kevin Wilkes of Princeton Design Guild (PDG) has also noted the increase in tear downs in recent years, which he attributes to the increasing value of Princeton homes and the widening gulf between expectations of higher income buyers and the average or poor condition of many post World War II homes built cheaply and lived in for 30 to 50 years by professional couples, now aging, for whom necessary updating and maintenance over the past 15 years of their lives (their senior years) has proved impossible. “The real estate market in Princeton sustains a pricing premium for all new construction,” said Mr. Wilkes. “Families today want an open first floor plan with kitchen and dining and family living all woven into a fabric of collective family enjoyment. Princeton’s collection of post World War II ranch houses, center hall colonials,
and split levels are often cramped in size with tiny kitchens off in a rear corner and stairs and fireplaces dividing up the space in discrete little boxes that people want to open up for a modern lifestyle.” New and larger homes mean more taxes collected by the municipality. “When a small house is torn down and replaced by a bigger one, there is an increase in assessment of the home,” explained Mr. Snyder. “The revised assessment is based on the market value of the new home, which is itself influenced by the value of similar like-kind homes.” As most homeowners know, there are two components to the assessment, the value of the land and the value of the building itself. And because properties in different parts of Princeton are assessed differently based on land values Continued on Page 8
Princeton Campus Is Hardly Quiet While Students Are on Summer Break Once Princeton University’s spring term ended last month, the annual exodus of students left the dormitories, dining halls, and classroom buildings empty — but not for long. Starting in early June, a different crop of pupils began arriving for a slew of summer programs that have kept the campus humming with activity.
There are budding biologists, physicists, journalists, mathematicians, ballet dancers, pianists, athletes, and policymakers learning and interacting on the campus this summer. They come from as close as Trenton and as far as Asia. Many are high-school age; some are younger Continued on Page 8
NEW BUILD ON VALLEY ROAD: Situated on Valley Road, this new home comprises a main residential building (left) plus a garage with what looks to be a roomy apartment or studio space above. It sits on a lot flanked by more modest dwellings. (Photo by Linda Arntzenius)
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