Next Steps: Improve Thomas Clarke House and Battlefield Park

To the Editor:

The hearing is done and the Institute for Advanced Study has won. The affordable faculty housing will be built. The affordable housing will have picture windows, patios, balconies, elevators, and be made from the latest environmentally friendly material. This may cause some to wonder how affordable the units will be, but that's an issue for another day.

The status of the vacant lots that the IAS has that would have preserved the battlefield parcel from destruction is unknown. The status of the vacant houses that if used, would have reduced the demand for units on the battlefield parcel is unknown.

Good neighbors and mediation for the greater good are lost, just as this piece of American history will be. So what is next for all of us that have followed this Second Battle of Princeton? For me, I will turn my attention to the Thomas Clarke House restoration and the park. Both need attention. To quote Congressman S. Bono, "The beat goes on." Maybe the people of Princeton and surrounding area will join with the Battlefield Society to preserve the Clarke House. I certainly hope so.

Joe Carney

Glenwood, NJ

Joe Carney is a member of the Princeton Battlefield Society.