Volume LXIX, Number 29 Poet Tracy K. Smith Named Director of University’s Creative Writing Program . . . . 12 A Miniature Garden Appears in the Heart of Princeton. . . . . . . . . . 14 New Jersey Symphony Presents New Orchestral Works from Composition Institute . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Princeton Hosts Ballet “Summer Intensives” . 17 Professor Emerita at the Institute Patricia Crone, 70, Dies . . . . . . . . . . 32 A Night with Coaches Raises $150,000 to Fight A-T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Princeton Resident Bunn Made Solid Contribution As VCU Baseball Produced Landmark Campaign . . . . . . . . . 27
55 Years After To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee Offers Another, LongDelayed View of Scout and Atticus . . . . . . . . 13 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 18 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Classified Ads. . . . . . . 36 Music/Theater . . . . . . 16 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 11 New To Us . . . . . . . . . . 7 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 32 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 35 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Weddings/Engagements . 6
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Princeton Gets Assistance From New Jersey DOT For Bicycle Master Plan Princeton is creating a new Bicycle Master Plan, and the town wants members of the public to participate in the process. The study will begin in September with a public presentation, likely at a meeting of the Planning Board. This will be followed by a community outreach campaign. In the meantime, residents can get a preliminary look at information about the project at Community Night Out on Tuesday August 4, at the Community Pool. “We’re in the pre-scoping period right now with the Department of Transportation and our consultant, but we’ll be at Community Night Out next month and hope people will come by,” said Deanna Stockton, the town’s Assistant Municipal Engineer. The engineering department will have a table at the annual event, with some details of the planned study. The town is working on the plan in partnership with the consulting firm Parsons Brinckerhoff of Lawrenceville, through The New Jersey Department of Transportation’s Local Bicycle/Pedestrian Planning Assistance program. The program provides technical help to counties and municipalities to undertake planning studies for non-motorized modes of travel. Ms. Stockton sought a grant from the competitive program with a goal of creating “a comprehensive and holistic network map of connected bicycle facilities throughout Princeton,” according to a press release from the municipality. The new study is a follow-up to one done in 2007, where the DOT and Parsons Brinckerhoff completed a Borough Crosswalks Improvement Plan for the town. “There is a section about biking in the Sidewalk Master Plan, but it’s not a very strong portion of the document,” Ms. Stockton said. “So this will strengthen it.” “The process of creating a bicycle master plan will help us tremendously in putting together future road projects,” Mayor Liz Lempert said in the press release. “By redesigning our streets, we can slow down cars and make walking and biking safer and more attractive. This bike plan will hopefully put us on a path toward achieving these goals.” The topic of bike lanes and bike safety has come up repeatedly in municipal meetings. Last February, Princeton Council Continued on Page 12
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Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Judge Halts IAS Plan, Accelerates Hearings
Mercer County Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson issued an injunction last week which formally stopped all construction activity on the Institute for Advanced Study’s (IAS) faculty housing project until she hears arguments from both sides, culminating in a ruling on September 3. The Institute had halted the project last month after the Princeton Battlefield Area Preservation Society (PBS) complained that IAS actions would be destructive to the historic site where the Battle of Princeton was fought in January 1777. The seven acre-site, which is on land owned by the Institute and has been earmarked for seven single-family homes and two four-unit townhouses for its faculty and residential members, is adjacent to the Princeton Battlefield State Park. The Princeton Planning Board unanimously approved the project last November. The Battlefield Society is suing to overturn that approval. In addition to placing a hold on construction, Judge Jacobson’s court order also agreed to “accelerate its briefing and hearing schedule on the merits of the complaint,” in response to a request from the Institute. “While we are disappointed with the ruling, we respect Judge Jacobson’s decision regarding the temporary injunction,” reads a statement issued by the Institute.
“We welcome her acceleration of the scheduled hearing for the Battlefield Society’s remaining appeal of the Princeton Planning Board’s approval of our project. We remain confident that the project will proceed as planned.” PBS attorney Bruce Afran had asked for a hearing last month to block further activity at the site, and the Institute signed a consent agreement to temporarily halt construction. “This has turned it from an agreement to a court order,” he said of Judge Jacobson’s ruling. “This is significant because Judge Jacobson said that she finds any activity at this stage will cause irreparable harm to the site, and that’s an important step in protecting the Battlefield site.” If all goes according to schedule, the court will proceed as follows: PBS will present its arguments for the overturn of
the Princeton Planning Board’s approval of the Institute’s plans by August 3 and the Institute will present its counterarguments by August 17. Then, PBS will have a chance to respond to the Institute’s counterarguments on August 24 before the judge hears oral arguments from both sides on September 3. The suit against the Institute and the Princeton Planning Board is being brought by the Princeton Battlefield Area Preservation Society and the following individuals: Asher Lurie, Kip Cherry, Jerald Hurwitz, Mark Crosby, Sally Crosby, William Marsch, Iain Haight-Ashton, Kim Gallagher, Joe Carney, Mrs. Carney, Rich Patterson, Paul Luane, Bill Meyer, Glenn Williams, Christopher Wren, and Joseph Carney. “We hope that Judge Jacobson overContinued on Page 12
Annual Student Film Festival Shows Local, International Work A little over 12 years ago, Princeton Public Library’s Youth Services librarian Susan Conlon was approached by a Princeton High School student about hosting a series showing the first efforts of famous film directors. That effort morphed into a festival featuring the works of aspiring filmmakers from the local area,
which has since been transformed into an annual event that draws entries from all over the world. “There were almost 200 original films submitted this year,” said Youth Services Librarian Martha Liu, of the festival taking place Wednesday and Thursday, July Continued on Page 10
THE DINKY’S BRAVE NEW WORLD: Last years cause célèbre seems almost lost in this view, with its geometric flash points and the European overtones of that battery of parked bicycles amid the makings of the University’s Arts and Transit work in progress, set for completion in 2017. (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)
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