Bridge in Mountain Lakes Park, constructed by ‘Friends of Princeton Open Space‘ in 2015 (click to expand).
Left it late to get your holiday gifts in? Here are three ideas to satisfy a Princeton resident with an interest in sustainability, walking or local history… Continue reading
Left, Nobel Prize-winning economist, Paul Krugman. Right, Jason Furman, Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. (click to expand)
Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman is worried about rising inequality, and he knows what’s to blame. Writing in his NY Times column earlier this month, he criticized restrictions on land use that drive up housing costs near job centers. Krugman – a former professor at Princeton University – has written about this before, but now Jason Furman, Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers has added a forceful case against restrictive zoning, saying it correlates with inequality, and adding “the president [Barack Obama] is personally concerned”. Both Krugman and Furman are on the liberal side of the debate, but there is now a bipartisan consensus among economists that restrictive land use regulations hinder social mobility and contribute to inequality. So why is Princeton still pushing through new restrictions on land use? Continue reading
Flemington Visitors Center (click to expand)
This weekend, merchants on downtown Princeton’s Chambers Street held their first ‘Chambers Street Holiday Stroll‘, to try to tempt shoppers along one of the town’s lesser-travelled commercial areas. As one business owner said,
“When asked what is undiscovered about Chambers Street, Ms. Schussel good-naturedly replied, “Most of us, that’s why we’re doing this.”
It’sreally too bad that quality local merchants find themselves off the beaten track. An example from another walkable local town might provide a solution… Continue reading
Map of ‘Blumenthal Tract’ open space off Ridgeview Road, Princeton. Courtesy of NJ Conservation Foundation. (click to expand)
Last month, the New Jersey Conservation Foundation acquired a new area of open space in Princeton. Approximately 10 acres of forest were donated by Michael and Barbara Blumenthal, from around the back of their home off Ridgeview Road. This land will now be off-limits to development, and open to the public. The map above shows where the new open space can be found. Continue reading
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Princeton University’s Blair Courtyard looking south. Image credit: Robert Spencer Barnett.
Apartments in West Windsor: lots more required. (click to expand)
Last week, Princeton Council and Planning Board discussed a new municipal housing plan to comply with state affordable housing requirements. By take advantage of a new analysis by Richard Reading for Mercer County Courts, Princeton has been able to make a very modest plan, which only requires a limited build-out of new affordable units. But other towns around the County still face a big challenge to come into compliance. Through an public records request, we obtained the latest estimates for affordable housing that are being used by the court, which are likely to represent minimums for towns around Mercer County. Continue reading
Princeton University’s Merwick-Stanworth apartments include 56 new units of affordable housing. (click to expand)
Sites for new affordable housing in Princeton were listed last week in a joint meeting of Council and the Planning Board. In response to a statewide legal process, Princeton is submitting a new Housing Plan, to ensure that the town is protected from “builder’s remedy” lawsuits, which might allow a developer to overturn local zoning.
Map of proposed historic designation area in Princeton (click to expand)
Consultants hired by the town of Princeton presented a proposal for a new historic district at a meeting Monday night at Princeton Town Hall. The consultant’s work was to identify if some area around the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood would fit requirements for a legally-defined historic district. After considering the history of the local area, the consultants concluded that a new district could be justified as a ‘distinct neighborhood in Princeton within the context of racial discrimination against its African American residents’. They also argued that the neighborhood has sufficient integrity and character to warrant designation. Continue reading
Preserved woodland and wetlands in Princeton’s Woodfield Reservation. (click to expand)
Earlier this year, the town of Princeton set up an ‘Open Space Advisory Committee’, to look at how best to maintain our protected woodlands and green areas. On Monday night, committee chair Wendy Mager presented a new report from the 12-member task force to Council. The report contains recommendations for the town about how to improve trails and manage invasive species, but Council members seemed skeptical about implementing all the proposals. Continue reading
“Little Free Library of Snowden Farms” (click to expand).
A new ‘Little Free Library’ has been dedicated on Snowden Lane in Princeton. Little Free Libraries are community book exchanges where local neighbors can share books. No membership is required, and people are free to take or drop off books as they like. They are constructed and maintained by residents who act as ‘stewards’. This particular library is a jaunty green and red, and is labeled as ‘Little Free Library of Snowden Farms’. Continue reading
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