Volume LXX, Number 25
www.towntopics.com
Institute Opposition Pursues Its Case With Two New Allies
Police Introduce Online Crime Map . . . . . . . . . 7 Princeton Summer Theater Opens with Sondheim’s Assassins . . . . 15 Princeton Festival Undertakes Britten’s Peter Grimes . . . . . . . 16 Writer, Musician, Teacher Caroline Rosenblum Moseley Dies . . . . . . . 32 Madalon Named Head Coach of PU Men’s Lacrosse . . . . . . . . . . 24 PHS Attacker Ryan, PDS Boys’ Lax Star Fletcher Are Town Topics’ Top Spring Performers . . . 26
IAS Professor Emeritus Morton White, 99, Distinguished Philosopher and Historian of Ideas, Dies . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 23 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Classified Ads . . . . . . . 34 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Music/Theater . . . . . . 16 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 31 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 34 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . . 6
As U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson prepared to consider The Princeton Battlefield Society’s (PBS) motion for an injunction to halt construction activity on the site of proposed Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) housing, two British military heritage organizations entered the longstanding controversy. The U.K. Battlefields Trust and the Royal Tigers’ Association (the veterans organization of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment) joined forces with the Save Princeton Coalition, an alliance of conservation and historic preservation organizations which includes PBS, in urging the Institute to reconsider its housing project plans and to explore other possible locations. The federal court hearing, which will include arguments from both the Battlefield Society and the Institute for Advanced Study as to whether construction should be temporarily halted, is scheduled for Wednesday, June 22 in Trenton.
75¢ at newsstands
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Kiser Leaves Legacy of “Going Above and Beyond”
Come July, you might find Princeton’s municipal engineer Bob Kiser driving a tractor across the fields of a farm he owns in Hunterdon County. Mr. Kiser is retiring next week after 33 years on the job, and he is looking forward to spending time with his family — especially his six-anda-half-month-old granddaughter — and cutting the grass with that tractor. “It relaxes me,” Mr. Kiser said during an interview in his Witherspoon Hall office overlooking Route 206 this past Monday. “I grew up on a farm, so I feel comfortable in that setting.” If Mr. Kiser has ever felt less than comfortable in his job shepherding numerous development projects through the many stages that are often involved, he hasn’t let on. His calm demeanor is among the many qualities for which colleagues are praising him as his final week approaches. “Bob has been an excellent engineer, always going the extra mile for Princeton residents and totally unflappable,” commented Princeton Council member Jenny Crumiller, in an email. Councilwoman Heather Howard wrote, “In my years work-
ing with him, he always had a positive attitude about even the thorniest challenges, and made every resident feel like they were his most important priority.” Councilman Bernie Miller commented, “As an engineer, if I were to write a specification for the job of municipal engineer, the specification would describe the personality and all of the skills embodied in our municipal engineer, Bob Kiser.” Councilman Patrick Simon wrote, “Particularly important is his personal presence, the sense that you can trust him to get the job done right. The many awards and
accolades he has received over the past year reflect his great skill and many accomplishments.” Characteristically modest about his reputation, Mr. Kiser said, “The nice thing about engineering is that our challenge is just to get things done. There isn’t a need for us to get in the fray, so we don’t.” But Mr. Kiser admits there have been challenges over the years. The AvalonBay housing project, which is nearing completion just up Witherspoon Street from his Continued on Page 12
Gillett Griffin, Teacher, Collector, Artist, Left Huge Legacy, Tangible, and Intangible The legacy of Gillett Griffin, who died on June 6 at the age of 87, was vast and eclectic. And that’s just the tangible legacy. (A full obituary appears on page 31.) Only two weeks ago, shortly before his death, he gave to the Historical Society of Princeton from his personal collection more than 50 photographs, manuscript items, sculptures, books, newspaper clippings, personal possessions and ephem-
era related to Albert Einstein — who was a personal friend of Mr. Griffin from 1953 until Einstein’s death in 1955. Mr. Griffin’s gifts to the Princeton University Art Museum, where he was curator of Pre-Columbian and Native American Art emeritus, having retired in 2005 after 38 years as curator, number in the thousands — making him “principally responsible for Continued on Page 8
Howard Simmons, chair of the Battlefields Trust, cited in his letter to the Institute the historical importance of the Princeton Battlefield site and warned that “developing this area will destroy the archeological potential of the site, damage the setting of the battlefield and make it much harder for future generations to interpret the momentous events that took place there.” The IAS is moving forward with construction of 15 housing units on their seven acres. Though not available for comment at press time, the Institute recently reiterated its commitment to proceeding with the project, stating that it has acquired “all the necessary regulatory approvals and has been thorough in addressing and accommodating concerns of the public and preservation issues.” —Donald Gilpin
BRAINSTORMING NASSAU STREET: Participants confer on-site during Saturday’s interactive open house on re-thinking the aesthetics of Nassau Street . Hosted by The Garden Theatre, the event was sponsored by the Municipality of Princeton in partnership with the Princeton Merchants Association and Princeton University . Some of the ideas generated are discussed in this week’s Town Talk . (Photo by Emily Reeves)