By: centraljersey.com
Thank you for much for the coverage you gave Princeton Theological Seminary’s library and our Special Collections in the Aug. 3 edition of The Princeton Packet. It is really an interesting story and we appreciate the coverage. In fact, in response to the article, we have already had some calls and some visits.
We have noted that, unfortunately, there is an error in the lead. The story says that one of the complete copies of the Gutenberg Bible in on display at our library. In fact, we wish we did have a full version of the Gutenberg Bible, but we do not own a complete copy. We only have a single leaf (or page) of one of the copies. The leaf we own and that we showed to the reporter and the photographer is from the Song of Songs in the Old Testament.
Barbara A. Chaapel, Director of Communications/Publications Princeton Theological Seminary
Praising Opera of NJ on its new director
To the editor:
I would like to congratulate the Opera of New Jersey Board of Trustees for having selected Richard Russell as the new General Director. I am certain that he will continue the legacy of Lisa and Scott Altman judging from the spectacular performances of the three operas presented this season.
Having been to many operas and opera houses, the recent performance of "Faust" far surpasses any that I have ever seen, including the Met. May he continue as general director and looking forward to another spectacular season next year.
This has been a delightful summer for opera lovers in the Princeton area, starting with The Princeton Festival, Westminster’s CoOEPRAtive Program and the New Jersey Opera. We are very grateful to have may people who contribute financially to support the opera groups which is a necessary ingredient to achieve performances of the caliber that we have been enjoying.
Saverio G. Greco West Windsor
Unhappy with revaluation? Here are some options
To the editor:
For those taxpayers who have had a sudden increase in their property taxes due to an increase in their valuation, there is action that you can take.
1. Property Data Record Sheets – You can check your Property Data Record Sheet and request corrections -at least for 2011. You can obtain your Data Sheet from the Borough/Township Assessor’s Office.
2. Appeals – If you did not appeal this year, you may still be able to appeal next year.
3. Redefining your Assessment Neighborhood – Neighborhoods as a whole may petition the assessor for a future redefinition of their neighborhood.
4. Legal Relief – There may be an opportunity to seek legal relief. After all, assessments are supposed to be fair and equitable.
5 – Legislative Relief. There may be an opportunity to seek legislative relief.
The Extraction Method, the methodology employed for Princeton Township and Borough’s re-valuation, was provided by the State Assessor’s Manual. Perhaps the method needs to be changed or an alternative method should have been used that would have been fairer to those with small lots.
Princeton is a very special place, for a lot of reasons. No one doubts that. No one doubts that properties have to be periodically reassessed. Few doubt that Princeton University needs to pay more as its fair share.
However, assessments, like all other governmental transactions, must be fair and must be transparent. At this point we are all learning about the methodology. Many in my neighborhood, for instance, have questions about how the "Site Values" were established for each "neighborhood."
Dan Thompson Princeton
Seeking equity, fairness in Princeton revaluation
To the editor:
We live in the Ewing-Hillside neighborhood and are still trying to determine why our assessments went up so much and how we can afford the large ensuing tax increases. Certainly our neighborhood has increased in value along with the rest of Princeton and we would expect to see this in the recent valuation.
However, nothing suggests to us that the market value of our properties, particularly the land, has increased so much in value. In my family’s particular case, our .26 acre plot has been assessed at nearly five times than before. Our tax bill is 33 percent higher than last year. Around us, we hear the same complaints from our neighbors.
My husband and I took advantage of the informal reviews held with ASI shortly after the release of the new assessments. We walked into the one-on-one meeting expecting to understand how the value assigned to our property was calculated but the ASI representative just kept referring to the county manual and could not or would not enlighten us.
We pointed out a few negative aspects of our property that a mass revaluation would have overlooked. The representative agreed with our points, jotted them down, and assured us that the adjustments would be reflected in our final assessment letter. Not true. Our letter showed the same figure with no explanations provided.
One immediate neighbor’s experience was even worse. Like us, they left the meeting feeling that they had gotten heard – only to see their final figure go up. For us, the informal review was a big disappointment.
I am taken aback by the open letter of Princeton Township and Princeton Borough officials published in The Princeton Packet, asking for data, formulae, etc. I thought that the data they are seeking from ASI would have been known to them even before the assessment process began. How else could they have ensured that the outcome would be equitable? With all due respect, I think we would not have the inequities we are now facing if such oversight was exercised.
The inequity is keenly felt in our neighborhood of small detached homes. Many of the houses were originally built or purchased by Italian immigrants, many of whom came to Princeton to work in the construction and restaurant trades. They brought with them cultural influences that have had a long-term influence on Princeton and greatly added to its quality of life. More recently other nationalities have joined the neighborhood and this has just enriched the diversity of our town.
In talking with my neighbors, if the current valuations were to take hold, a number of us will not be able to live in Princeton anymore and that is very sad.
Corazon Jeevaratnam Princeton
West Windsor critic takes a parting shot
To the editor:
After 26 years as property taxpayers in West Windsor ,with endless letters written about the appalling state of the Route 571 Corridor in Plywood Junction, my wife and I have finally given up and thrown in the towel. We have sold our house in Sherbrooke Estates and moved to Cranbury.
For us, no more blighted gas stations, ugly banks, ridiculous railroad roundabout (already repaired for the third time), conspicuous overhead Wires and characterless realty offices. No more boarded up abandoned stores in urgent need of demolition and no more derelict Ellsworth Centers and decaying empty Acmes.
Yes, 26 years of great schools and parks but little else to show for taxes spent. Certainly not the time and money wasted by the mayor in bickering and fighting over the pie-in-he sky cillage transit center which hopefully will never come to pass.
As many people know, Plywood Junction is more than a ghastly eyesore – it’s an embarrassment – with little being done to rectify this disgraceful state. The mayor’s indifference to the decay is shameful and the dreaded village transit center will bring overcrowding in the schools, further traffic snarl ups and even greater delays at the station, the roundabout and the bridge. This white elephant has got to be stopped now.
But oh for Cranbury – bucolic Cranbury! Where birds really do sing and a bosky brook babbles from a tranquil lake. Where children safely play and ride their bikes in peace and the good citizens stroll down sylvan sidewalks for a glass of wine, a pot of tea or a stack of pancakes. And perhaps a scoop of ice cream on an idle summer’s evening. Cranbury – where history has been respected, trails meander through the fields and two ancient churches chime their bells and dominate the skyline. Cranbury – which offers all that the Junction has failed to provide. And now my wife and I can safely avoid the Junction’s mess as we go about our business in Princeton and Trenton – passing on the way through pretty Plainsboro whose attractive shops, excellent restaurants and beautiful new library leave Plywood Junction sprawling in the dust.
Perhaps the poet Rupert Brooke had idyllic Cranbury in mind when he wrote "Yet stands the Church clock at ten to three? And is there honey still for tea?" He certainly wasn’t thinking of Princeton Junction. Richard Moody Cranbury

