Volume LXX, Number 10 Community Forum at PHS Confronts Heroin/ Opiates “Pandemic” . . . 7 Popcorn, Pulp On Mickey Spillane’s Birthday . . . 13 Concerto Winners Perform With Princeton University Orchestra . . 16 With Junior Goalie DeGarmo Emerging as a Force, No . 6 PU Women’s Lax Tops Dartmouth, Now 4-0 . . . . . . . . . . 27 Despite Abrupt Exit in State Tournament, PHS Boys’ Hockey Showed Improvement . . . . . . . 29
Attorney Robert Del Tufo, 82, Princeton University (’55) and Yale Law School (’58), Dies . . . . . . . . . 34 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 19 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Classified Ads . . . . . . . 36 Clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
www.towntopics.com
Witherspoon Designation Could be Decided On Thursday Night At a special meeting of Princeton Council this Thursday evening, March 10, the future of the town’s Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood may very well be decided. Judging from comments made by Council members at recent meetings on the issue, the governing body is likely to approve a proposed ordinance to make the area a historic district. It is a move that would please the many residents who want to honor the historical significance of the neighborhood and keep developers from tearing down existing buildings to put up new ones they feel would not fit in with the existing streetscapes. But for those who have invested in some of those properties, the issue is more complicated. Carlo Momo and Leslie M. Dowling bought a house at 12 Green Street in 2014 intending to replace the existing building, which was in disrepair, while saving its attractive front porch. But the porch proved to be too far gone, so the couple gave it’s salvageable elements to architect Kevin Wilkes, who is restoring the historic Paul Robeson house nearby, for possible use in that project. Mr. Momo, who co-owns several restaurants in town; and his wife Ms. Dowling, an architect with Dowling Studios, were unaware of the movement to make the neighborhood a historic district when they bought the house. The contemporary home she designed, which is nearing completion, might not have been possible to build if the designation had been in place. “We had no idea when we started this process that it was a possibility,” said Ms. Dowling. “We probably wouldn’t have done it.”
75¢ at newsstands
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
DOT Puts Historic Bridge Back in Business
The historic stone masonry arch bridge over Stony Brook south of town on Route 206 re-opened Sunday evening after almost two weeks of emergency repair work by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (DOT). The truck detour will remain in place until the bridge is fully restored. DOT officials, engineers and Historic Preservation Commission members are already moving ahead with plans for permanent reconstruction of the 1792 bridge, with an emphasis on strength, safety, durability, and a sensitivity to history. Princeton Municipal Engineer Bob Kiser commended the DOT for their work under pressure. “The DOT worked very, very quickly in putting the bridge back into operation,” he said. “They worked nights and weekends. I applaud the DOT in getting the bridge back in operation as quickly as they did.” Mr. Kiser also stated that the DOT “have been sensitive to the historic nature of the bridge.” A parapet on the southbound side of the bridge collapsed on Monday, February 22 on 206 near the entrance to the Hun School. The DOT erected a precast construction barrier on both sides of the bridge to protect the damaged parapet.
While inspecting the parapet and bridge, NJDOT engineers discovered cracks and voids that had developed within the supporting stone arches. They immediately closed the bridge. Crews also discovered significant scour (sediment, such as sand and rocks from around bridge abutments or piers, potentially compromising the integrity of the structure) at the footing of the bridge. The DOT installed a portable dam around the footing of the bridge and made drainage improvements to reduce
the impact of potential flooding or water damage due to heavy rains. Finally the bridge was repaved to ensure a safe driving surface. Temporary overnight lane closures during off-peak hours may be necessary for the next few weeks. NJDOT will provide advisories before any traffic pattern changes. The bridge now has a posted weight limit of 20 tons. In addition to the historic arch bridge reconstruction, DOT officials have also
The Institute for Advanced Study continues to move forward with its 15-unit faculty housing project on seven acres of land adjacent to Princeton Battlefield, despite renewed calls to halt construction — this time from “The Save Princeton Coalition,” a newly-created group of nine organizations. The Princeton Battlefield Society (PBS), along with the Washington D.C.-based Civil War Trust (CWT), which has offered to purchase the disputed property for $4.5
million, has opposed the project from its inception, and last week they joined with seven other groups in forming a coalition of historic preservation and conservation groups and sending a letter to the Institute’s Board of Trustees, urging that IAS “cease its development plans and pursue alternate building locations for the faculty housing project.” The Institute responded to the request last Friday in a statement claiming that the
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Princeton Battlefield Skirmishes Continue; Coalition Urges Halt to Housing Project
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BACH & B OHEMIA Continued on Page 6
Music/Theater . . . . . . 16
Clark & bassoonist Anna Marsh 12 ▲ 1 13 at 3:00 pm Obituaries . . . .12 . . .at . . 7:30 34 Sat., March pm 11 Sun., March Mailbox . . . contralto . . . . . . . . 11 with Karen
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Chapel, 10 PrincetonMiller 2 Theological Seminary Real Estate . . . . . . . . 36 ▲3 S9 IRTHDAY Religion . . . . . . . .ACH . . . 35 8 organist Eric 4 A special event featuring Plutz Service Directory . . . . 38 7 2014 at 3:00 5pm Sports . . . . . . . Sunday, . . . . . 25 March 30, ANOTHER 224 YEARS?: The Route 206 stone masonry arch bridge over Stony Brook, New Jersey’s oldest bridge carry6 Miller Chapel, Princeton eological Seminary, Princeton
Trinity Episcopal Church, Solebury, PA Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
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ing highway traffic, re-opened — no trucks — Sunday, after the New Jersey Department of Transportation completed
Topics of the Town . . . . 5
Daylight Saving Time emergency repairs, including the colorful portable dam that was installed around the footing of the bridge . Extensive 609-466-8541 • www.drydenensemble.org starts this Sunday at 2 a.m. Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . . 8 permanent reconstruction will be required, with designers and engineers looking ahead to imagine what might be Tickets online at drydenensemble.org at door traveling over that bridge between now and 2240 . Turn clocks ahead oneorhour. (Photo by Emily Reeves) Regular: $25 • Students: $10 Thanks to our
See page 16 for details.
BMANDWBOOKS.COM
Upcoming Bach Concerts
Book Sale
Begins March 25 Through March 30 Closed March 27
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BMANDWBOOKS.COM BMANDWBOOKS.COM presenting sponsor for th the 2015-2016 85 BrynseriesMawr — Wellesley Bucks County Magazine
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CAROLINE SHAW, composer and violinist
BEHOLDING BRAHMS Sunday, March 13 4pm princetonsymphony.org
ROSSEN MILANOV Music Director