Princeton Hurricane Sandy Monday Update (Nov. 5)

Crews from Missouri continued to work to restore power on Witherspoon Street Sunday. Just under 20 percent of Princeton is estimated to still be without power. Photo by Jan Weinberg.

POWER

PSE&G brought more workers to Princeton Sunday and several neighborhoods had power restored last night, including but not limited to parts of the western section, Mt. Lucas Road, the Great Road, Littlebrook and Rosedale Road.

As of noon Sunday the Borough had 1,283 customers with no power and the Township had approximately 2,380. for a total of 3,663. PSE&G was hoping to restore power to approximately 1,150 of those customers by the end of Sunday. Based on those figures and reports by residents last night regarding power restorations, we estimate that just under 20 percent of the PSE&G customers in the two Princetons are still without power. Princeton Administrator Bob Bruschi said PSE&G informed officials that power would be restored to the remaining homes over the next two days. The hope is that all homes in the Princetons will have power restored before midnight Tuesday. The Elm Court senior housing development was still without power as of Sunday night. Work continued in the Witherspoon Street area and the street is still closed at Paul Robeson Place. Almost 4,000 linesmen and tree contractors from in and out of state are working for PSE&G now in an effort to restore power to residents of the Garden State.

The warming center at the John Witherspoon Middle School on Walnut Lane will remain open until further notice.The center offers hot showers, Wifi, recharging stations, coffee, snacks, and a place to sleep if needed. Visitors should bring their own toiletries, towels, blankets and pillows. The entrance to the center is off of Guyot Avenue. The warming centers at the Friend Center at Princeton University and the Princeton Township municipal building on Witherspoon Street are closed. Trinity Church on Mercer Street and the Princeton United Methodist Church on Nassau Street are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Montgomery Community Center is open for Montgomery residents who need a place to warm up.

GOVERNMENT

State offices opened again last week. Mercer County offices reopen today.

The Princeton Township municipal building and Borough Hall both had their power restored Sunday night and will be open today. The tax deadline has been extended until Nov. 21 because of Hurricane Sandy.

Recycling and trash collection will take place on a regular schedule except for areas that the garbage trucks are unable to get to.

Halloween will be celebrated in both Princetons and Montgomery tonight.

SCHOOLS

Late last night power was restored to Community Park School. All six Princeton Public Schools will operate on a normal schedule at their regular locations. The Princeton Charter School also has power.

The following area private schools will reopen today: Princeton Day School, Hun, Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart, Princeton Friends, the Waldorf School of Princeton, the Pennington School, the Lawrenceville School, the Cambridge School, Bridge Academy.

Stuart Country Day did not have power as of 5:30 a.m today and will be closed today. The Lewis School will be closed today and tomorrow.

Classes will resume today at the following area colleges and universities: Princeton University, Princeton Theological Seminary, Rider University (also Westminster Choir College), The College of New Jersey, and Rutgers University. Classes resumed at Mercer County Community College last Friday.

TRANSIT AND TRAFFIC

New Jersey Transit is operating on a special schedule from Trenton to New York until further notice. The Dinky is not in operation, but Princeton University’s Tiger Transit shuttles are making the trip to and from Princeton Junction to meet each train. The pick up point in Princeton is at the Dinky station. The shuttle is free of charge and is open to the public. NJ Transit buses in our areas are running on a regular schedule. Coach/Suburban Transit will return to a regular schedule today.  SEPTA is operating on a normal schedule. PATH still not in operation.

SHOPPING, ENTERTAINMENT, ACTIVITIES

Most Princeton businesses are now open.  Power is back at the Princeton Shopping Center. The New York Sports Club reopened Saturday and is welcoming any Princeton resident to stop by and use the shower and gym facilities. Princeton Fitness & Wellness Center has also owned its doors to the community for workout and showers,  but asks that visitors bring their own towels and limit water usage. An alert went out Sunday informing club members that because of storm-related problems being experienced by NJ American Water, the club’s water supply has been diminished. To avoid closing the center and to be able to provide all additional services, the club has had to reduce the demand on water by limiting access to some showers and toilets.

Power was restored to the Whole Foods shopping center yesterday. MarketFair, the Quakrbridge Mall, the Mercer Mall and Forrestal Village also have power.

McCarter Theatre has power and programs will go on as scheduled.

The Princeton Public Library will be open from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. today and will resume normal programming.

The Princeton Center for Yoga and Heath has resumed its normal schedule.

The YMCA/YWCA building has power back.

DISASTER RELIEF

Infini-T Cafe at 4 Hulfish St and Nassau Barbers at 68 Chamber Street are serving as drop off locations for non-perishable food, medical supplies, toiletries and blankets  as part of Occupy Sandy Relief. The collection will be ongoing.

D’Angelo Italian Market on Spring Street in Princeton is collecting contractor trash bags, work gloves, batteries (all types), flashlights, winter jackets, kleenex, clorox wipes, toilet paper, candles, matches, andbaby supplies (diapers, baby wipes, etc) to help residents of Breezy Point and Rockaway, two areas badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

If you know of  something that should be added to the list or have a question, please let us know by emailing editor@planetprinceton.com