Walter Neumann and Anne Waldron Neumann, Princeton
To the editor:
In a recent letter to this paper, Richard S. Goldman Esq., attorney for Princeton University, wrote that we and other Princetonians have brought a “nuisance lawsuit” against the university. No, we believe the university cannot legally commandeer the Dinky’s public right-of-way in order to build a second driveway to its Lot 7 garage. In 1984, when the university bought the Dinky station, and NJTransit retained the right-of-way, that garage didn’t even exist.
Mr. Goldman also implied that our lawsuit is “following the instructions of a member of Borough Council.” Here, to mix metaphors, Mr. Goldman is grasping at straw men. Such conspiracy theories recall South Africa’s former white government claiming that black protest against Apartheid was driven by international Communism and the World Council of Churches.
A simpler explanation apparently eludes Mr. Goldman. Many Princetonians genuinely deplore Nassau Hall’s high-handed insistence that what’s useful for the university is perfect for Princeton.
We plaintiffs don’t follow Borough Council’s secret instructions. Isn’t Borough Council sometimes influenced by constituents’ public statements? That’s how representative democracy works.
Walter Neumann and
Anne Waldron Neumann
Princeton
