Volume LXX, Number 3
www.towntopics.com
Information Session Addresses Immigrants’ Questions and Fears
All in a Day’s Work with Parking Enforcement Officer Glassen . . . . . . 7 August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-Winning The Piano Lesson Opens at McCarter’s Berlind Theatre . . . . . . . . . . 16 Abbas Bahri, Professor of Mathematics at Rutgers University and Resident of the Princeton Area Since 1990, Dies . . . . . . . . 34 Professional Composer and Guitarist Adam Roth, a PHS Graduate, Dies in Manhattan . . . . . . . . . 34 Former PHS Wrestling Star Miers Making it in NYC, Enjoying Freshman Season with Columbia Wrestling . . . . . . . . . . 26 With Senior Kratzer Starring in Sprint Events,PHS Boys’ Swimming Shining . . . 28
Revisiting David Bowie and Hunky Dory . . . . 18 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 24 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Classified Ads . . . . . . . 35 Music/Theater . . . . . . 16 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 34 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 35 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . . 6
About 90 people attended a session sponsored by Princeton Human Services, Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund (LALDEF), and Unidad Latina en Accion NJ (ULA) at St. Paul Catholic Church on Nassau Street last Thursday night. Seeking information and advice in the wake of recent immigration raids throughout the country, the mix of families and single men attending the meeting were primarily Spanish-speaking immigrants from Latin America. Through questions and answers and an interactive presentation, mostly in Spanish, participants acquired information about their rights, dos and don’ts, what to do during an ICE (US Immigration Customs Enforcement) raid, the importance of competent legal counseling, and what organizations can help. “We had a successful event — great attendance, engaged participants,” said Human Services Executive Director Elisa Neira, “and all were thankful to the group that put the event together.” Individuals received information packets and were encouraged to take additional packets with them to give to relatives, friends, and neighbors, and to discuss what they learned at home as they develop a plan of action in the event of a raid or if they are detained. Local immigration lawyer Ryan Lilienthal addressed participants’ general questions, including who is at risk of being deported (those with criminal records and those who have arrived in the past two years) and how to find out if one has a deportation order. “People are scared,” Mr. Lilienthal commented. “It’s reminiscent of the feeling back in 2004 when there were immigration raids in Princeton. The example that sums up the feeling is when we hear about elementary students under stress at school, and they worry about coming home from school and their parents not being there.” Mr. Lilienthal was pleased with the outcome of Thursday’s session, stating that “the individuals who attended received information and perhaps built skills that allow them to take control over events around them that they don’t otherwise have control over. They are preparing themselves, and the information session helped address that sense of vulnerability that they are feeling.” Continued on Page 4
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Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Library Bids Farewell to Leslie Burger
Friends, colleagues, local politicians and longtime associates of departing Princeton Public Library director Leslie Burger gathered at the library Sunday to say bon voyage and recognize her contributions to the institution and the community. Retiring after 16 years, Ms. Burger is credited with shepherding the renovation and expansion of the library and turning it into “the community’s living room,” as she liked to say. Some 150 people crowded into the library’s Community Room to hear tributes and sample treats from a table that included a miniature Eiffel Tower studded with cake pops, a reference to Ms. Burger’s love of Paris. Library Development Solu-
tions, the library consulting firm she runs with her husband Alan, has often taken them to France. The couple is moving from West Windsor to Manhattan. “To me, this is a celebration of accomplishments achieved, obstacles overcome, and leadership extolled,” said Harry Levine, a former president of the library’s Board of Trustees and a key player in the planning and funding of the library’s renovation 15 years ago. Calling Ms. Burger a “visionary and an image breaker,” Mr. Levine recalled that she didn’t have the typical credentials when she was hired. “We were not looking for a traditional librarian,” he said. “It was a risky choice.
But what a run it has been, as we all know…. Everyone really likes Leslie. Everyone wants to follow her. Everyone wants to trust her.” In his remarks Jeff Nathanson, executive director of the Arts Council of Princeton, focused on Ms. Burger’s talent for collaboration. She turned the institution into “a leading library as a center for collaborative partnerships,” he said, mentioning several events and programs the Arts Council and the library co-sponsored. Jack Morrison, owner of several restaurants in town and a board member of the Princeton Merchants Association, praised Ms. Burger for her willingness Continued on Page 10
DEP Gives Go-Ahead To Institute Project; PBS Presses Suit
NEXT STOP MANHATTAN: Retiring Princeton Public Library Director Leslie Burger with husband Alan in the library’s Community Room Sunday, where 150 people paid their respects to “a visionary and an image breaker” who “always had our back . The couple will be moving from West Windsor to Manhattan . Photo by Vic Garber)
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) last week notified the Princeton Battlefield Society (PBS) that, after additional inspections, they still found no wetlands on the site where the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) intends to build faculty housing and no need for IAS to acquire further permits. At a December 21 State Senate Hearing, which resulted in a letter from three members of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee requesting that the DEP issue a stay on the Institute’s construction project, and a follow-up meeting on January 4 with DEP Commissioner Bob Martin, the Battlefield Society questioned the accuracy of the DEP’s Letter of Interpretation (LOI), which stated that there were no wetlands on the site, and claimed that the Institute was dumping debris and preparing to build in freshwater wetlands. In last Wednesday’s letter, addressed to Princeton Battlefield Society lawyer Bruce Afran, the DEP denied the PBS claims. “As a result of the December 7, 2015 and January 8, 2016 inspections,” according to Ginger KopKash, DEP assistant commissioner, “DEP has determined that the current LOI is accurate and that the Institute’s project is not encroaching on or otherwise disturbing any regulated wetlands or transition areas. Therefore the Institute does not require any permits from DEP.” Continued on Page 10
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