Dozens of Witherspoon-Jackson families will be displaced by proposed redevelopment project
Dear Editor,
The Mercer County Metro area, which includes Princeton, continues to be one of the most segregated areas in the entire country. We are at imminent risk of making it worse by displacing dozens of working-class families and accelerating the gentrification of the Witherspoon-Jackson historic neighborhood, home to African American families and other minority groups for centuries.
The Witherspoon Street redevelopment project presented by Hillier Properties LLC to the Princeton Historic Commission (PHC) was approved last week and sent on for final review to the Princeton Planning Board.
In his presentation to the PHC, Robert Hillier repeated comments stereotyping his mostly Latino tenants as a public safety threat (referring to a restaurant fire elsewhere in the neighborhood over 10 years ago). He also implied they are to blame for the deplorable conditions of these homes occupied by extended families headed by essential workers (cooks, gardeners, nannies, janitors…), with children born and raised in Princeton. Some of the younger residents are third and fourth-generation Princetonians.
When questioned about what lies ahead, Hillier said, “he has met with the tenants to come up with a plan and is providing funds to enable it.” However, no details have been provided to the tenants, or made public, about “the plan”.
To my knowledge, the only official communication on relocation plans has been Hillier Properties letter in September 2023 to all the tenants, which indicates that “[…] we are working with the Municipality of Princeton to determine what options and resources may be available to you.”
It is time to disclose what those options and resources are.
Is the appointment of a mutually agreeable impartial mediator to orchestrate a negotiated agreement, to level the imbalance of power between the two sides, a possible option? Under New Jersey law, tenants can only be evicted for “good cause”. Robert Hillier acknowledges that his properties are not up to code and need to be demolished. Reconstruction by the landlord does not constitute “good cause”. Hillier would have to compensate these tenants for their involuntary relocation and ideally offer them adequate conditions to return after reconstruction.
Princetonians should speak up in support of these neighbors by calling/writing Princeton Council members and asking the Princeton Planning Board to put a hold on the project until a fair and equitable relocation plan is agreed on with the tenants. It is particularly exasperating that, in this case, the very policies that have been designed to combat economic segregation and promote “missing middle” housing have been subverted to produce the opposite outcome.
By ignoring the displacement of low-income residents, and designing a stunning but very expensive reconstruction with undersized units geared to a transient population, this project would contribute to more gentrification and less diversity.
The Affordable Housing Overlay and the Historic District Ordinance need to be modified. They were supposed to protect the working-class character and culture of this neighborhood, not to continue to push out its residents.
Maria Juega
Ms. Juega, a longtime Princeton resident, is the former executive director of the Latin American Legal Defense Fund and has also worked as a volunteer helping residents resolve landlord-tenant issues.
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Ms. Juega’s thoughts are spot on. Here in Princeton we talk a lot about preserving diversity and providing places for low income workers to live. As she says, it’s exactly our restaurant backroom kitchen workers, nannies, landscapers, janitors, construction workers – some of whom have lived here for decades – who would be displaced unless an equitable solution is found.
Mr. Hillier’s redevelopment plan is a good one, preserving most of the streetscape along this section of Witherspoon Street. However, this should not be allowed to go forward without a specific written plan to relocate and then bring back these residents. Ms. Juega’s suggestion makes a lot of sense – a mutually agreeable impartial mediator to level the obvious power imbalance between developer and residents. Let’s walk our talk!
“His properties are not up to code and need to be demolished”. Wait- how is it that he has rented these properties for many years to many tenants- isn’t and has it not been his responsibility to adhere to the codes? Isn’t he the one to be taken to task to fix the code violations instead of granting him the ability to kick everyone out so he can make more money? And where, exactly, would these tenants be able to “relocate”? He has made money off of them for years by not giving them the standards of decent rentals.
So, Hillier owns these deficient, run down properties? If so, why has he not kept them up over the years?
Interesting how Hillier can boot out tenants in need of housing under the watch of Mayor Freda. Isn’t it also a conflict of interest that Herring is on the SID board and the Mayor is on the planning board during redevelopment by the Seminary and as there’s interest in a new firehouse on Harrison. Note that the lawyer for a developer, Christopher Tarr, is also on the board of the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad. Oh what a tangled web they weave. The list goes on. Someone should report on these conflicting interests.
Conflict of interest and who knows who else is on the receiving end of this, certainly not the tax payers in Princeton, and definitely not the drivers or bicycle riders. I am not criticizing, just restating what is already known.
Decades ago New Brunswick was under development and pushed out all the people living there. Our small town of Princeton is doing the same and pushing people to the outskirts of town or completely pricing them out with taxes along with our senior citizens. These longtime Princeton residents who have supported Princeton Public Schools well beyond when their children graduated are being forced out of their beloved homes. Shameful treatment by Mayor and Council and their poor decisions and policies where taxes are squandered on unneeded projects. Many on Council are not far behind generationally.
Yes i agree. Why was he allowed to let his own housing deteriorate , etc . How to make a difference in this case and what seems the rubber stamping of many projects over large development in Princeton- how to do more in the way of affordable public housing like the PcV etc. bravo for Maria Juega who keeps on fighting and mediating.
Princeton has truly gotten too big for its britches! The plan that was put in place many many years ago is definitely at play. People of color and lower economic status are not who the big wigs want living in this stuck up town. The displacement of people has been going on here for decades. The narrative is the same, but the lies around it are keep getting more clever! We are not fooled by the tactics. A hold should be put on all of the unnecessary redevelopment projects. Take care of the people who actually keep the businesses running and the people who have been living here for generations!
As a former Princeton resident, I was born and raised there I can remember another slum landlord, last name began with La… if I recall, and he too seemed to get a pass on “rentals not being up to code”. Well, here again we have someone with wealth and connections getting a pass. There is something very wrong with some folks in Princeton’s government. It’s just my opinion but I would recommend that people should “follow the money” because that is usually where the problem starts. That’s just my opinion.
Follow the money trail, yes, why wasn’t that done already? I’d love to see who is pocketing the majority of profits and/or favors.
If you’re such an advocate for affordable housing, why wasn’t a larger percentage of affordable housing worked out in the deal with developers where 656 rentals were built with just 20% affordable??
I have lived in Princeton since 1982 and know the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood well. I agree with the views of other Princeton residents regarding Latino neighbors as responsible, hard-working members of the community. Hiller’s proposal would escalate gentrification in an already historically humiliated community due to racism and redlining. The renovations proposed would not benefit the current tenants, exacerbating anxiety about unaffordable cost. This would promote greater inequality. I am in support of a tenant relocation plan as a condition to the approval of this project.
Princeton talks about being diverse but that’s only a facade. They don’t want people of color in this town and are doing everything to make that happen.
PCV is a dump! Just saying this because someone mentioned it as affordable housing. They don’t fix anything, the rent increases yearly. So where is all the money going to?
The residents on Witherspoon St are lovely working class who keep this town going! They need legal representation
Thank you for shining a light on this very important topic. For several years, I argued and litigated against what appears to be yet another example of a developer abusing New Jersey’s “redevelopment laws” to mask and engage in “socio-economic cleansing.” Now comes another instance of it — in Princeton of all places. If tenant living conditions are deemed health hazards, the building owners have only themselves to blame for any unsafe conditions. It sounds like time to invoke the equitable doctrine of “unclean hands” — that would stop planned demolitions, and prompt code enforcement actions, including orders to upgrade, bring the buildings to code, etc.