Fact check: Princeton Fireworks canceled by “NIMBYS”?
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On social media last week, a local blogger asserted that Princeton does not have fireworks because of NIMBYS who don’t like them.
We give this claim five out of five Pinocchios.
The claim is blatantly false. Princeton had fireworks for 19 years. The local organization Spirit of Princeton sponsored the fireworks. The money to pay for them was raised by wealthy local donors.
But the major donor at the time, Herb Hobler, a wealthy Princeton University alumnus who died in 2019, conducted a survey of his donor classmates in 2014. The group decided to stop funding the annual fireworks. The university-centric group felt residents should be satisfied with the school’s fireworks during reunions.
The fireworks were canceled due to a lack of funding sources.
Read our story from 2014 online.
Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.
The fact check would be more clear if (1) it indicated that it is referring to the no-longer-existing July 4ish fireworks as opposed to the still-existing Princeton University reunions fireworks (2) it linked to the blog making the false claim, so that readers can see the actual claim that was made.