Borough Housing Authority members cite projects near medical center campus
By: Marjorie Censer
Representatives of the Housing Authority of the Borough of Princeton on Wednesday expressed concern about the future of Franklin and Maple terraces in light of the upcoming move of the University Medical Center at Princeton.
Because the hospital will be moving to Plainsboro and its Witherspoon Street site will be redeveloped, Leighton Newlin chairman of the authority’s board told members of the Human Services Commission at the group’s meeting he is concerned that developers are interested in the low-income housing site.
The Housing Authority oversees more than 200 public-housing units at Redding Circle and Karin Court in Princeton Township and Spruce Circle, Clay Street, Maple Terrace and Franklin Terrace in Princeton Borough.
Mr. Newlin said the authority is committed to maintaining its locations next to the hospital site.
We’ve been "trying to figure out what our strategy should be understanding that if we don’t have our own agenda, we will damn well be on someone else’s," Mr. Newlin said.
He noted the authority is seeking to protect its property. "We don’t want to lose anything we have," he said.
During his conversation with commission members, Mr. Newlin along with Scott Parsons, the authority’s executive director said he is troubled by the town’s inability to provide sufficient low-income housing. Mr. Parsons said the waiting list for authority housing requires more than a yearlong wait for seniors and three to four years for families.
"It’s frustrating to tell people they have a three- or four-year wait to get into an apartment," Mr. Parsons said. "They don’t want to hear that someone has to move out for them to move in."
He added that demand has gone up so much that the waiting list has been closed the past two years.
Mr. Newlin asked commission members to advocate on behalf of low-income housing.
"The town it just gets richer and richer and richer, and that only means that people at medium to low incomes surely, sooner or later, are going to have to move slightly further from Princeton," he said. "You can look at Trenton but Trenton’s housing market is going up."
Members of the commission said they are concerned about the financial status of the authority. In 2005, expenses exceed revenue by nearly $17,000, and Mr. Parsons said funding provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development continues to decline.
Roughly 33 percent of the authority’s income is provided by HUD. The remainder comes from rent.
Mr. Newlin expressed particular concern about natural gas expenses this year. A document distributed by Mr. Parsons estimates that those expenses in the fiscal year from June 2005 to June 2006 will rise 70 percent from the previous year.
Mr. Newlin said the housing authority remains committed to providing safe and affordable housing despite its financial issues.
"Any and all decisions that were made yesterday and today and tomorrow will keep in mind doing the best job that we can to protect and support our constituents," he said.

