Volume LXXV, Number 27
www.towntopics.com
Local COVID Numbers Remain Low; NJ Notes Zero Deaths Tuesday
Corner House Executive Director DiBlasio Retiring After 21 Years . . . . . . . . 5 Council Holds Special Meeting on Franklin Avenue Project . . . . . . 11 Enroute to Washington With Lincoln and Hawthorne . . . . . . . . . 13 NJSO Presents Final “Emerge” Concert . . . . 14 PU Grad McCarthy Helped North Carolina Men’s Lax Make Final 4 . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Hun Baseball’s Applegate, PHS Girls’ Lax Star Henderson Get Nod as Top Spring Performers . . . . . . . . 22
Andrea Merow Named New Rabbi of The Jewish Center . . . 9 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 18 Classified Ads . . . . . . 28 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 12 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 19 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 26 Performing Arts . . . . . 15 Police Blotter . . . . . . . 10 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 28 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
On Tuesday, July 6, New Jersey reported no newly confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the state for the first time since March 17, 2020. New case numbers and hospitalizations have also been dropping throughout the state, and the Princeton Health Department continues to report few new cases of COVID-19 in Princeton, just one in the past 14 days. Princeton Health Officer Jeff Grosser emphasized that the COVID environment today is significantly different than it was last summer when Princeton and the rest of the country benefited from relatively low rates of infection only to be hit with a second wave of the virus in October, November, and the winter months. “We are in a different place than last fall,” he said. “With a substantially effective vaccine, there is community protection we did not have last year.” He went on to mention causes for ongoing caution and concern. “Variants will continue to pose a threat and a continued need for public health surveillance of new cases. Vaccine breakthrough cases along with variants that may be more stubborn against the current vaccines will require further consideration.” He warned in particular about the highly transmissible Delta variant as a concern for unvaccinated individuals, particularly those living in congregate settings where infections tend to spread at a much quicker rate. Grosser went on to point out that the health department continues to focus its vaccination efforts on pop-up clinics in different communities in order to make it as easy as possible for residents to access the vaccine. “We are also standing ready for expanded access to the vaccine and working with our health care community to begin that process as it opens up.” The health department’s Mobile Vaccination Program has been bringing the COVID-19 vaccine to people in a convenient way, with interested businesses, community organizations, and places of worship hosting health department staff on location at a time of their choice. Contact the Princeton health officer at jgrosser@princetonnj.gov for details. Four local artists — Manveen Bindra, Veronica Foreman, Claudia Orostizaga, Continued on Page 10
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Wednesday, July 7, 2021
University Plan Faces Continuing Controversy The Princeton Planning Board (PPB) is scheduled to continue its hearing on Thursday, July 8 at 7:30 p.m. on Princeton University’s controversial application for a variance to move its 91 Prospect Avenue building, the former Court Clubhouse, to a site across the street. The University plan would open up the area on the south side of Prospect for construction of a “gateway” to its new 666,000-square-foot Environmental Science and School of Engineering and Applied Science (ES+SEAS) complex. The movement of the 91 Prospect building would also result in the demolition of three Victorian houses on the north side of the street. Extensive discussion at a June 7 Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) meeting and at the most recent June 17 PPB meeting focused on a relatively small portion of the project, the part that impinges on Prospect Avenue, with most speakers opposing the plan as historically, aesthetically, and/or environmentally damaging to the street and detrimental to the community. The HPC ultimately recommended unanimously that the PPB turn down the University’s variance application. The June 17 PPB meeting ended after about four hours with a number of participants still waiting to speak.
Several speakers suggested that the University should redesign its Prospect Avenue entrance to the ES+SEAS complex to incorporate the 91 Prospect building and preserve the historic character of the street. Historic preservation consultant Clifford Zink and others have urged the University to follow past examples of working with the town and its concerns on controversial development projects in order to achieve a positive resolution for both parties.
Following the last PPB meeting, Princeton Future, an independent community organization, offered an invitation to the Princeton community and Princeton University to help resolve the disputed issues “in an inclusive and transparent forum.” Encouraging “early and ongoing community participation,” Princeton Future stated, “We all want a healthier, sustainable, more beautiful Princeton — why not cooperate through trust and sustained communication to safeguard our Continued on Page 8
Referendum “Likely Less Than $20 Million,” As Schools Prepare to Replace Leaky Roofs The Princeton Public Schools (PPS) Board of Education (BOE) is committed to planning ahead, working towards a July 29 deadline to submit an application to the state to place a major maintenance bond referendum on the ballot in January 2022, so that work to replace leaking roofs at several schools can start by the summer of 2022. The BOE is considering a cost figure “likely less than $20 million,” but further discussion must take place in the coming weeks to determine the work to be done, when it must be done, and the estimated cost. The BOE anticipates that with debt from prior referendums maturing on
February 1, 2022 and 2023, all the work can be done without increasing debt service from current levels. “Princeton Public Schools will use the next three weeks to evaluate the scope of a potential maintenance referendum,” the district noted in a July 6 statement. “It is anticipated that on July 27 the Board of Education will authorize a submission to the New Jersey Department of Education by Spiezle, the district’s architect, detailing preliminary eligible costs.” A number of the roofs in question are approaching 26 years old, already beyond warranty, and several other leaky Continued on Page 8
FARM FRESH: Shoppers check out the abundance of seasonal produce and other items at the Trenton Farmers Market in Lawrence Township . Visitors and vendors share their favorite summer foods in this week’s Town Talk on page 6 . (Photo by Weronika A. Plohn)