Volume LXX, Number 36
www.towntopics.com
Two Hearings Planned For Public Comment About Proposed Compressor
PRISMS Senior Junyao (Peter) Peng Helps U.S. Team to Gold Medal in International Math Olympiad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 PU Field Hockey Produces Encouraging 1-1 Start . . . . . . . . . . 23 PHS Football Kicks Off Season by Hosting Pemberton. . . . . . . . . 27 PDS Boys’ Soccer Emphasizing Attacking Style, Team Unity . . . . 29
Celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s 483rd Birthday, Shakespeare’s Love’s Labor’s Lost, and Gene Wilder . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 17 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Classified Ads. . . . . . . 32 Clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Music/Theater . . . . . . 14 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 31 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 9 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 32 Service Directory . . . . 13 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . . 6
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is holding two “scoping” hearings regarding the Williams Transco company’s newest pipeline proposal, which includes a compressor station in the Trap Rock Quarry in South Brunswick, 3.5 miles of pipe in Old Bridge and Sayreville, and 22 miles under the Raritan Bay. The hearings, which are being held September 7 at the George Bush Senior Center in Old Bridge and September 15 at the Franklin Township Community Senior Center, each from 5 to 9 p.m., are designed to allow people to express concerns to FERC about proposed projects. But one South Brunswick resident said that with some 500 people expected to attend the September 15 gathering, it isn’t likely that all will get to air their worries about effects of the proposed project. “If you do the math at three to four minutes allowed per person, that will only allow about 60 people to comment,” said Jeremy Pollack, who lives in Princeton Walk. “There is a lot of concern because there is a reasonably high-density residential area here.” The pipeline is proposed to take gas from the existing Transco Leidy Loop in central New Jersey out to Long Island. “This project will cut a scar across central New Jersey and the Raritan Bay and should be rejected,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. It “would not benefit New Jersey in any way and we will not be getting any gas from it. Instead, we will see nothing but environmental effects including loss of open space and polluting of our bays.” According to Williams spokesman Chris Stockton, the Oklahoma-based company, which has had a natural gas pipeline on the Trap Rock property since the 1960s, is currently in the process of narrowing down proposed sites for the compressor station from two possibilities to one and hopes to make a decision in October. Meanwhile, residents who live near Trap Rock, an active blasting site, are worried about noise, toxins, explosions, potential property devaluation, and more. “It just shouldn’t be built here,” Mr. Pollack said. “Williams has a record of many accidents, and this is an inherently dangerous thing. They try their best to make it safe, but as they say, stuff happens. It’s not a question of if something is going to happen here, but when.” Continued on Page 4
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Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Step One of YMCA Project Nears Completion
The Princeton Family YMCA on Paul Robeson Place is just six weeks away from completing the first step in a threepart “refresh” project designed to brighten up several key facets of their facility, to use their space to the greatest advantage, and to bring the building into the 21st century. Scheduled for opening in time for their October 22 Centennial Awards Event, step one construction, at the entrance to the YMCA’s Athletic Building, will include extensive modernization of the lobby area, the child watch area, offices, and the women’s locker room, with updated heating and cooling facilities. The second step, slated for early next year, will provide much-needed space for the martial arts and fencing programs by removing walls, adding windows, and putting in a new floor to create two levels in what used to be a racquetball court. And for the third step, by the end of next summer, the YMCA will be upgrading its pool, which is in solid condition, but needs updating with new lighting, new windows, and a dehumidifier. Designed by Schmitt Anderson Architects of Metuchen, the construction work is being carried out by V.J. Scozzari & Sons of Pennington.
“We’re long overdue,” said YMCA head Kate Bech. She explained the need to renovate the facility so that “folks can feel proud of this Y, proud of their community. We want to have a facility that everyone wants to belong to. You have to invest in a building to make that happen. We know that the building has been benignly neglected for a long time.” Constructed in 1958 and renovated in the early 1970s, the Athletic Building saw no facilities upgrades in the ensuing 40 years, until three years ago, its first “shot in the arm,” according to Ms. Bech, came in the form of renovations to its Fitzpatrick
Wellness Center, which was transformed with new equipment and a new design into an up-to-date, family-oriented workout center. About a year ago the YMCA Board agreed that the building was long overdue for renovation and committed to the three-step refresh effort. Financing for the project, estimated at $1.2 to $1.3 million, is so far taking place through private donations, with about $540,000 raised, largely through contributions from Board members themselves. Continued on Page 9
Planning Princeton’s First Welcoming Week Has Brought Together Numerous Volunteers From September 16 to 25, the volunteers who have been helping plan Princeton’s first official Welcoming Week will finally see their summer-long efforts materialize. Princeton High School junior Leah Williamson, senior Luis Estrada, and Rutgers University senior Melissa Urias are among those who have been hard at work on this series of events, designed to bring together immigrants and U.S.-born residents and promote a spirit of unity between cultures.
The ten-day celebration is a collaboration of Human Services, the Princeton Public Library, and the Historical Society of Princeton. The town is among the more than 80 communities that are part of the national organization Welcoming America, sponsor of similar events around the country during the same time frame. There will be an information table at the Princeton Farmer’s Market on Hinds Plaza September 15. The highlight of the Continued on Page10
SEPTEMBER SCENE: It’s that time again on the Princeton University campus and at schools around the area. This week’s Town Talk features students like these. (Photo by Emily Reeves)
Check out our Open House/ Back to School special feature starting on page 18.
APPLE DAY
DANIEL ROWLAND, violin and conductor
THE FOUR SEASONS Thursday September 15 8pm princetonsymphony.org
ROSSEN MILANOV Music Director
Sat, Sept. 17 and Sun, Sept. 18 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
See page 12