Volume LXX, Number 19
www.towntopics.com
Institute Rejects Request to Meet On Building Project
Bank of Princeton Partners With Investors Bancorp . . . . . . . . . . 11 Shakespeare and the Marx Brothers Weigh In On The Donald . . . . . 14 A Medley of Images from McCarter’s Black and White Ball Featuring Lang Lang . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Star Receiver DeValve Heading to Cleveland Browns . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Hun Boys’ Lax Loses 13-6 to Lawrenceville in Title Contest . . . . . . . . . . . 31
New Historical Society of Princeton Director Izzy Kasdin’s Passion for History Began with American Girl Dolls . . . 9 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 24 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Classified Ads . . . . . . . 34 Clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Music/Theater . . . . . . 18 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 33 Police Blotter . . . . . . . 6 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 34 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Topics of the Town . . . . 7 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . . 6
The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) has rejected Senator Kip Bateman (R-16) and Assemblyman Reed Gusciora’s (D15) request to meet with representatives of the IAS Board concerning the Institute’s faculty housing project, “to discuss alternatives and a possible resolution of this controversy.” Institute director Robbert Dijkgraaf, in his response Friday, stated that the legislators’ letter “seems to be part of a larger publicity effort to discredit the Institute and mischaracterize its project.” He cited “misstatements and omissions” in the letter that Mr. Bateman and Mr. Gusciora released to the press on May 4, urging IAS to move its building project elsewhere. Their letter emphasized the “historic significance of the property” on which construction has commenced. The Princeton Battlefield Society has asked the U.S. District Court for New Jersey to grant a preliminary injunction to halt the project. Mr. Dijkgraaf’s letter states that the Institute has acquired “all the necessary regulatory approvals” and has been thorough in addressing and accommodating concerns of the public and preservation issues. “The Institute remains committed to proceeding with its faculty housing project,” the letter states. “The Institute has been a responsible and patient actor throughout this process, which was confirmed and supported by all of the relevant regulatory bodies. We are confident in the thoroughness and sensitivity of our faculty housing project, which meets a critical institutional need.” Mr. Dijkgraaf’s letter mentioned that the Institute had incorporated a number of changes to their original site plans in working through these issues during the course of six meetings with the Princeton Planning Board, which twice unanimously approved the project. He also challenged the lawmakers’ assertion concerning the encroachment of the project on the Battlefield Park. “The housing will occupy only 7 acres on our campus,” he wrote, “not 22 acres, as stated in your letter — and by easement we will perpetually preserve the remaining 14 acres adjacent to the Park, all at no cost to the public.” Continued on Page 13
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Council Votes to Adopt $61.9 Million Budget
Following a special May 2 workshop on the 2016 municipal budget, Princeton Council voted Monday to adopt the proposed figure of $61.9 million. The proposal had originally called for an amendment raising taxes in order to increase the town’s surplus by $150,000, but that amendment was tabled in favor of changes recommended by the Citizens Finance Advisory Committee and municipal staff. Those changes include some cuts, as well as putting off the purchase of a police car and delaying a hire for the Sewer Operating Committee, among other measures. “We’ve had a vigorous discussion on the budget, coming to terms with the fact that there’s no magic bullet,” Mayor Liz Lempert said at a press conference earlier in the day. “We’re working not just on this year, but on the future. If we start working on this earlier, we can see
where the trends are.” Council members including Bernie Miller and Patrick Simon have expressed concerns at recent meetings that the town was relying too heavily on the surplus of money not spent in previous years to balance the budget. The governing body was due to vote on the budget at its April 25 meeting, but decided more work was needed before a decision could be made. “As I said at the last meeting, it’s a good budget,” Mr. Miller said at this week’s meeting. “And it’s even better having been worked over and brought to the point that as best as we can forecast at the present time, our surplus will not be reduced as a result of the budget.” Mr. Miller went on to reiterate Ms. Lempert’s statement about the time frame and the scope of work on future budgets. “All
A MORVEN MOTHER AND SON REUNION: In this case the son is the Town Topics photographer and the mother is Dorothy Plohn, shown helping out during the Mother’s Day weekend event, “Morven in May: A Celebration of Art, Craft and Garden .” (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)
NASSAU FILM FESTIVAL celebrating the best of short films Sarah Kirkland Snider’s
PENELOPE Tuesday, May 17 7:30pm princetonsymphony.org
ROSSEN MILANOV Music Director
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
free admission Sunday, May 15 2016 (donations welcome) 9:00am – 3:30pm
Princeton Garden Theater • 160 Nassau St, Princeton, NJ free admission (donations welcome) • nassaufilmfestival.org
of us now understand that going forward, we’ve got to work hard on the question of managing expenditures, working to increase revenues, and making certain we get our bang for the buck out of the taxpayers’ money we spend, and be careful we don’t put ourselves in a position where we find our surplus being put into use,” he said. Council members voted unanimously to pass the budget. —Anne Levin
PPD’s 2016 Plans Include Contact, Education, Prevention, Communication Images of police in the news media and in the public imagination are often negative — depicting at best enforcement and at worst brutality. Think Baltimore, Chicago, New York, Ferguson — and so many other conflict locations throughout the country. Princeton Chief of Police Nick Sutter sees vast changes in the nature of police work in the 21st century and the need for new approaches to the job. “We’ve changed focus,” Mr. Sutter declared, in discussing the Princeton Police Department 2015 annual report. “We’re doing so much more in terms of positive contacts.” Enforcement is still an important part of what the police department must do, but the key themes looking forward, in addition to positive contacts, are education, prevention, communication, transparency, and proactive policing — with a heavy dose of technology for support. In following up on President Obama’s May 2015 report, Task Force on 21st Century Policing, the Princeton Police Department (PPD) has found an opportunity to ensure that it is implementing “best practices for local police departments, that will assist not only with crime reduction but also with the building of trust and respect between the police departments and the communities they serve,” according to Mr. Sutter. “We have already been doing many things that are in line with cutting-edge policy and in accord with the best practices nationwide,” Mr. Sutter added. “We have made a robust effort in improving community outreach.” The 2015 PPD Report mentions a few of the many outreach events initiated Continued on Page 13
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