Letters to the Editor, Jan. 11

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, Jan. 11

Rhetoric heats up in NPDC dispute
To the editor:
   
Herewith we submit an open letter to acting Gov. Richard Codey regarding the North Princeton Developmental Center:
   Dear Governor Codey:
   
Over a period of years the Montgomery Township Committee has attempted to acquire the North Princeton Developmental Center property. As you know, these attempts at a reasonable solution have been unsuccessful. As a result, the frustration level caused by the Department of Treasury’s intransigence on critical issues including, but not limited to, remediation of the property, caused the township on Dec. 23, 2004 to file suit over environmental issues.
   Governor, this decision was not made without lengthy and objective discussion. The absolute failure of the Department of Treasury to recognize the health, safety and environmental issues at NPDC, coupled with the failure to understand even the rudimentary elements of responsibility to the state, the township and the department, is beyond understanding.
   We sincerely believe this dispute can be resolved if and when a recognition of the myriad concerns can be objectively discussed in good faith. Therefore, we ask you to meet with the representatives of the township and participate in a walking tour of the NPDC property. We believe an onsite inspection of dilapidated buildings, broken pipes, propane tanks that smell of fumes, exposed gas lines, broken windows, lack of doors at the power station, exposed asbestos insulation, landfill with suspected PCBs, a hazardous dam, uncared-for grounds and the results of recent pitiful efforts to board up doorways and windows will provide for a realistic perspective.
   Given the importance of this matter to the residents of Montgomery Township and the growing urgency of security and safety issues at NPDC, we hope you will meet with us and tour the site within the next two weeks.
Louise Wilson
Mayor
Karen Wintress
Deputy Mayor
Cecilia Xie Birge
Committeewoman
Mark Caliguire
Committeeman
John Warms
Committeeman
Montgomery Township
***
To the editor:
   
Sue Repko’s letter "Treasury statements contradict record" (The Packet, Jan. 4), is a gross misrepresentation of the New Jersey Treasury Department’s position regarding the remediation of state-owned property at the former North Princeton Developmental Center.
   The author of this letter makes reference to the negotiations between Montgomery Township and the state over the sale of this property, but readers should be wary that this individual was in no way involved in said negotiations. As such, the author has no basis to characterize or presume how the Treasurer’s Office was negotiating the multitude of details surrounding the sale of the property and the resolution of such issues as remediation responsibilities between the buyer (Montgomery) and the seller (State of New Jersey). The documents mentioned in this letter date back several years and are in no way germane to the good-faith, confidential negotiations conducted between the township and this Treasury Department.
   It is revealing that the author chose to characterized the current Treasury Department’s "position" by disclosing documents from 2000, which obviously predates the current administration (which took office in January 2002), and another document from two and a half years ago, which predates the commencement of spirited, active negotiations between the current Treasury team and Montgomery Township over the condition and sale of this property.
   The true record of this Treasury Department is a record of commitment to reach a sales agreement that was fair to Montgomery Township and fair to New Jersey taxpayers. We share the frustration felt by the concerned residents of Montgomery that a final agreement was never reached. Particularly frustrating is the sense that the two parties appeared to be at the threshold of an agreement on more than one occasion in the last year, only to see the opportunity slip away. We were encouraged by the hard work of Valerie Smith and the Citizens Committee for North Princeton Developmental Center to bring both sides together, even after the township elected to leave the negotiating table and pursue litigation against the state.
   In the absence of a negotiating avenue for the sale and cleanup of this property, the state’s responsibility is clear. We intend to move forward with plans to address the environmental conditions at the NPDC site. Notwithstanding misrepresentations of this Treasury Department’s position on the site by certain irresponsible letter writers, we trust that this is relieving news for Montgomery residents and good news for the future of this property.
Tom Vincz
Director of Communications
State of New Jersey
Department of the Treasury
Trenton
University must pay fair share
To the editor:
   
Taxpayers in the Princetons should be in open revolt. Princeton University and local academe are not giving their fair share in taxes, or payments in lieu thereof, to offset their impacts on the local area.
   Let’s look at some facts and fiction:
   Fiction: The university complex has grown in balance with its locale.
   Fact: Student enrollment and total on-campus workday and resident populations, not to mention capacity to handle special events, have increased and are projected to increase dramatically. Off-campus impacts, especially infrastructure needs, are hardly addressed. After all, one can’t talk about Princeton University projects as if they were projects like hospital expansion or the Millstone Bypass.
   Fiction: Princeton University supports our local public school system.
   Fact: I would ask to see a simple calculation for the last 10 years. Take the total number of students attending our Princeton Regional Schools who live in tax-free housing on campuses within our district multiplied by the published cost per student. Then compare that number to the dollars contributed annually to our schools in school taxes and payments in lieu of taxes. (Don’t forget to include the Princeton Theological Seminary and Institute for Advanced Study). You will be quite surprised, especially if you know how much Cranbury residents pay for each student who attends PHS. The kids who live on campus are, in my view, in the same status as out-of-district students.
   Fiction: Princeton University has a wonderfully diverse student population.
   Fact: True, but only if race, gender and ethnicity are the primary or only determinants. One might ask how many poor students attend. As a related matter, not only does Princeton take fewer economically disadvantaged but receives 10 to 20 times more per applicant or student from federal loan and grant programs than those who are taking their fair share of poor students. Take a look at federal programs at Princeton and see whether a cost-benefit analysis justifies huge imbalances between monies allocated to this elite school as compared to our state schools. After all, our taxes pay for both.
   Fiction: Princeton is clearly a privately funded, not taxpayer-supported, institution.
   Fact: Princeton derives massive direct and indirect support from taxpayers at all levels. A huge amount of this falls into the category of taxes forgone. Local property taxes, which impact the local tax base, are merely the tip of this iceberg. State and federal taxes forgone on gifts, endowments, etc., amount to millions annually. I’m not advocating these benefits should be denied to Princeton or other private institutions, but only that the costs in lost tax revenues be brought in balance with tax monies provided to public and other private institutions, especially on a per-student basis.
   What am I suggesting here? Only that Princeton has rich, large, growing university complexes that are not contributing nearly their fair share. They not only don’t agree to give more, but increasingly take more as well. Further, they want to avoid taxes wherever possible. Of course, we know the eating clubs are separate from the university so we shouldn’t blame the administration for the club’s misguided tax appeals.
John Clearwater
Governors Lane
Princeton
Immigrants should know their rights
To the editor:
   As an immigration lawyer, I was gratified by the Princeton Borough Council’s recent vote that the police should not assist the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly the INS), in conducting its raids. I was also disappointed in the township’s failure to pass a similar directive, although it voted increases in the salaries of our police force.
   I am concerned about undocumented workers not knowing their rights, which I have set forth below:
   You can protect yourself and your family against abuses by the police and the Immigration Service (CIS) and its enforcement arm (known as ICE for Immigration and Customs Enforcement) by knowing your rights. Remember you have the following rights:
   1) If you are questioned by an ICE agent or the police, you have the right to remain silent. ICE agents cannot detain you unless they have a reason to believe you are illegally present in the United States. They cannot detain you simply for refusing to answer their questions or for the color of your skin.
   2) If you are arrested by the ICE, you have these rights:
   a) the right to remain silent;
   b) the right to consult a lawyer before making any statements or signing any documents;
   c) the right to be released on bond and the right to a bond-reduction hearing to lower your bond or obtain release without bond;
   d) the right to a hearing before you are forced to leave the United States and the right to at least seven days to prepare for your hearing;
   e) the right to a postponement of any hearing to enable you to obtain a lawyer.
   3) All persons have the right to refuse searches of their homes unless the ICE or the police have a court order (search warrant).
   4) If you receive a letter asking you to report to an immigration office, you should first contact an attorney or an accredited immigration counselor for advice.
   For more information about your rights, contact your nearest Legal Aid office or Catholic Charities, Camden Center for Law and Social Justice at (856) 342-4160, Lutheran Social Ministries at (609) 393-4900, or the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society at (212) 967-4100 or (215) 832-0900.
Sally L. Steinberg
Witherspoon Street
Princeton
How to fill bare bookshelves
To the editor:
   
Re. Steven Schlossstein’s Guest Opinion ("Bare bookshelves: a real American tragedy," The Packet, Jan. 7):
   There is something about a book that inspires me. The look, the feel, the ability to quickly scan its contents — from front to back or (my preference) from back to front — to find the date of publication and place it quickly in the proper timeframe, and to settle down to enjoyment on a beach, in bed, by a fire or at a busy desk. My life has been filled with books for 60 years. Video, audio and the Web all have their place — but none can replace the printed page for me.
   But for many who were born much later than Steve Schlossstein (a colleague and an outstanding author) and me, other media than the printed page have replaced the primary role that books continue to play for our generation. Libraries have become "media centers," toddlers routinely push buttons that display animations from anywhere on our planet, and the many-week sweet anticipation of a response from a "pen pal" has given way to impatience and annoyance when an "instant message" sent minutes ago to a friend in, say, Europe does not produce an "instant response." To this generation, whose habits have been formed around these other media, Mr. Schlossstein’s would-be-horror image of "bare bookshelves" does not cause alarm and his plea for action to avoid the "tragedy," based on this image, rings hollow.
   I emphatically agree with Mr. Schlossstein that an alarm needs to be sounded. But I disagree with his "bare bookshelves" metaphor as an image to inspire action. Other images that are consonant with the values of the current generation are needed. For example, if the Princeton Public Library Foundation were to change its name to the Princeton Public Media Center Foundation, the appeal could be made on the basis of facilitation of public access to all media, including, of course, books. To me the "real American tragedy" is best addressed by examining the foundation of what visionaries like Andrew Carnegie achieved and by asking: What would be done by such visionaries today? I submit that the action would not be a lamentation over "bare bookshelves" but a path of action that will both fill those shelves and the ether that surrounds them with public information and opportunity.
John Riganati
Saxon Way
Montgomery
Plainsboro celebrates successful holiday drive
To the editor:
   
The success of our annual holiday drive relies solely upon the generosity of our community. It is a time when residents, businesses and worshippers alike come together to address the needs of those who are less fortunate and vulnerable.
   The 2004 Plainsboro Township Holiday Drive (which comprises an adopt-a-family program, a food drive and a Toys-for-Tots program) addressed the needs of a record 93 households this domestic violence year. These recipients are facing illness, joblessness, disability and support monies that were never received.
   Not only was our community generous of gift, but also of time, talent and energy as well. We had Cub Scouts and Brownies, worshipers from Queenship of Mary, Gospel Fellowship and First Presbyterian churches, Liz and Tara, the children, parents and teachers of Millstone and Town Center schools and members of our PBA local 319 who have been with us every year since the inception of the program some 18 years ago. Our Plainsboro postal workers, Super Fresh, Curves (in Plainsboro and West Windsor), the Salvation Army and our public works department workers who gather everything and deliver it to us to be sorted — all do such wonderful work toward the success of this effort. Our sorters — Mark Zappy, Caryn Rosander, Elsa Lapidus, Elizabeth and Ann Elise Soderland, Marie Tane, Jennifer Hammill, Victoria Schamper, Jan Herbst, Mary Lou Jarzyna and Larry Bayern — made perfect order of all that came in.
   It is truly amazing and heartwarming how this community comes together to demonstrate in action, the depth and breadth of its caring each year.
   On behalf of the Plainsboro Township Committee, the administration, and all those who received as a result of your generosity, please accept our most sincere thanks.
   May 2005 bring you and yours peace and joy.
Jan M. Bayern
Director
Department of Municipal Welfare
Township of Plainsboro
Deer program would be offensive to Einstein
To the editor:
   
Now more than ever, Princetonians should take to heart the following quotes:
   "Violence sometimes may have cleared away obstructions quickly, but it never has proved itself creative."
   "Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."
   "Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty."
   These are the words of Princeton’s favorite celebrity, Albert Einstein. With the town gearing up to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his great accomplishments, Princetonians should reflect not only on the man’s seminal contributions to theoretical physics but also on the admirable values that he stood for.
   Princeton has dishonored Einstein’s memory by its brutal and barbaric treatment of animals. Einstein would certainly turn over in his grave if he knew of the carnage visited on the deer in his beloved Princeton over the past five years by Mayor Phyllis Marchand. He would be thoroughly appalled and disappointed that the leaders of such an otherwise enlightened and progressive town are hell-bent to exterminate its deer and lack the imagination, intellect and compassion to deal with wildlife humanely.
Bill Laznovsky
Mandon Court
South Brunswick