Friday Planet Princeton Hurricane Sandy Update (With Warming Center Listings, Events, Shopping Info.)

The Princeton United Methodist Church has been a hub for people without power the last few days. The church has been providing coffee, wifi and some meals to more than 150 people. The church is one of several warming stations in Princeton.

All of the public schools in Mercer County remain closed today except for Fountain Academy Charter. All of the private schools in the county are also closed with the exception of the Bridge Academy, which is on a modified schedule today and will close at 1:15 p.m. No classes at all the colleges and universities in Mercer County today except Mercer County Community College. Princeton Public Schools will be in session Nov. 8 and 9, now that the NJEA convention has been canceled. The YMCA and YWCA in Princeton are still without power.

Power is gradually being restored to many Princeton area residents, though as of noon today about half remained without power. Two major power lines still need to be repaired in Princeton. The Borough and Township municipal buildings are still operating on generators. Route 206 could be shut down at some point today as part of the repairs. Public works crews are working around the clock to remove trees and tree debris. Less than 3o streets are still closed.

NJ Transit’s Northeast Corridor Line is operating on a special schedule today and service has been restored all the way to New York. The Dinky is not in operation yet, but Princeton University is operating a shuttle to and from the Dinky station to Princeton Junction. The shuttle is free and is open to the public for use. The shuttle will meet all trains at the Junction.

Halloween in Princeton will be celebrated on Monday, Nov. 5.

The SAT’s in our area scheduled for Saturday have been postponed until Nov. 17.

Princeton Government

Princeton Borough and Princeton Township municipal offices are open, with limited services. The tax grace period has been extended, so no need to rush in to pay. Corner House remains closed today.

State offices are open today. Mercer County offices  are closed until next week.

Public Warming and Recharging Stations

– The Princeton Public Library will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. today and welcomes people to recharge their electronic devices there.

– The Princeton United Methodist Church at the corner of Vandeventer Avenue and Nassau Street will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for charging devices, coffee, and lunch. Probably no dinner service there tonight, will confirm later.

Trinity Church at 33 Mercer Street is open to the public for warming up, recharging electronic devices, and coffee until 5 p.m.

Nassau Presbyterian Church at 61 Nassau Street  is open to the public for warming up, recharging electronic devices, coffee. Plans have been amended for a bigger space for an overnight shelter. Stay tuned.

– The Crisis Ministry has reopened at 61 Nassau Street location (Nassau Pres. Church) for food and homelessness prevention services.

– The Princeton Township Municipal building  at 400 Witherspoon St. is open as a warming station. Coffee and snacks available. Recharge your electronic devices. If you need to warm up or need shelter but can’t get there, call (609) 921-2100.

The Friend Center, located at the corner of Olden St. and Willliam St. on the Princeton University campus is open as a respite for local residents. The center will be staffed, have heat and electricity, and will have light refreshments. The center is open 8am – 8pm until further notice. Residents said the people at the Friend Center are very friendly.

The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory is opening up its doors to the community this afternoon, providing a place for people to charge their cellphones and other electronic devices and take a hot shower  from 4 to 8 p.m.  You can warm up in the cafeteria and charge  cellphones, laptops and other electronic devices and use the Wifi there. Coffee and snacks will be available in the vending machines. Bring your own towels and toiletries. Hot showers will be available in the men’s and women’s locker rooms. The address: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, 100 Stellarator Road, Princeton, N.J. 08540 To get there take Route 1 to the Scudders Mill Road exit. Follow the ramp and turn left at the first traffic light onto Campus Drive. Follow Campus Drive to the end and turn right. You will then come to the entrance of PPPL. Stay in the left lane and stop at the Security Guard booth to present I.D. and gain clearance. When you arrive at PPPL, park in the visitor’s parking lot and come to the Lyman Spitzer Building lobby where PPPL staff will be there to greet you. Adults should bring photo ID to present at security booth.

– Princeton residents who need showers, The YMCA in South Brunswick is offering the use of their showers to the public from 6am to 9pm until further notice. The address is 329 Culver Rd., Monmouth Junction.

The Mary Jacobs Library at 64 Washington Street in Rocky Hill is open until 4 and has heat, power and internet.

Lawrence High is open for device charging, warming up, coffee, snacks and showers. Showing Disney movies for kids.

Lawrence Senior Center is open for charging devices and warming up.

Montgomery Community Center at 356 Skillman Road is open 24 hours for resident with no alternative. No pets. Bring meds, blankets, pillows, toiletries, and nonperishable food.

Gold’s Gym on Quakerbridge Road is open to the public for showers and facility use. Anyone can use the gym. Thanks Gold’s Gym for your generosity!

Gas Stations (partial listing)

Station at corner of Route 206 and Lawrenceville-Pennington Road is now open.

Exxon at Pennington Circle

Lukoil at Pennington Circle

Getty at Washington Road and Route 1

Shell on Route 206 at intersection with 518

Sunoco Station on Nassau

Sunoco in Princeton Junction on Princeton-Hightstown Road

Lukoil on Route 1

Grocery Stores

McCaffrey’s Princeton Shopping Center

ShopRite (Pennington) Montgomery selling non-perishables

Stop n Shop on Denow Road (non-perishables)

Superfresh in Plainsboro

Trader Joe’s

Wegman’s

Whole Earth

Whole Foods

Restaurants, Stores that are open (partial listing, updating as we hear of others):

Alchemist and Barrister

Alfonso’s Pizza Princeotn Shopping Center North

Blue Bottle Cafein Hopewell

Boro Bean in Hopewell

Buds and Bowls in Lawrenceville

Cafe 44 on Leigh Avenue open until 3 (free Wifi, comfy leather chairs)

Carver’s Cafe on Route 206 N open

Chez Alice

CoolVines

Cosmo Bleu Hair Salon

Cugino’s on Pennington Circle

CVS Nassau Street

Ferry House (yes, it is open again)

Hoagie Haven

Iano’s Pizza

Infini-T

MarketFair (some stores may still be closed but many open)

Massimo’s

Mediterra

Mehek

Mercer Mall (reopens today)

Mezzaluna

MoC MoC

Monday Morning Flowers at Forrestal Village

Naked Pizza

Nassau Park Boulevard (Sam’s, WalMart, etc.)

Nassau Tap Room

Nomad Pizza in Hopewell

Olive’s

Palmer Square Shops, and many shops on Nassau Street, Chambers Street, Tulane Street.

PJ’s Pancake House

PNC Bank on Nassau Street

Princeton Center for Yoga and Health (has heat, but no power)

Princeton Corkscrew

Princeton Record Exchange

Princeton Fitness and Wellness is open again.

Princeton Shopping Center – Partial opening. McCaffrey’s has been open and is using a generator. Even without power, other stores are planning to open during the day including ACE Hardware, Jordans and other stores. Will update as we know more.

Quakerbridge Mall (reopens today)

Shop the World on Spring Street (taking credit cards)

Slice Between

Small World Coffee

Starbucks

Teresa’s

Terhune Orchards

Tico’s

Winberies

Witherspoon Grill

Zorba’s

Entertainment and Cultural Events

The Garden Theater on Nassau Street is open.

McCarter Theatre – THE SELECT (THE SUN ALSO RISES) will go on as scheduled. You can warm up there and recharge before the show too.

The Princeton University Art Museum is open. Free.

Public lectures scheduled for the Institute for Advanced Study this week will be rescheduled.

Family Game and Fun Night at the Princeton Public Library scheduled for tonight has been postponed.

The Princeton Historical Society House tour has been postponed until Nov. 10.

Princeton Future community forum on town gown relations is still on for 9 a.m. Saturday at the library as of now.

We will add to this list as we hear of more openings.

Editor’s Note: Readers reporting price gouging on everything from gas to food. One reader reported that the price of an egg sandwich at a diner in was jacked up from $4 to $10. Gov. Christie has promised to be tough on businesses that do this. Report price gouging or any emergency-related scams to the the Division of Consumer Affairs at (800) 242-5846

4 Comments

  1. Yesterday, PSE&G said they were going to work overnight to fix the 2 main power feeders in Princeton. But now you say they STILL need to fix 2 main power lines. So, what the heck were they doing all this time since yesterday? Their official numbers said they restored only 50,000 households across ALL OF NJ in the last 24 hrs–VERY LITTLE considering nearly a million people still w/out power! I am beginning to seriously wonder about them…

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