More than 50 people met in the parking lot of the former Acme on Princeton-Hightstown Road on October 24 to discuss what has become a hot topic lately — the dismal appearance of Route 571.
Dubbed “571 Day” by council candidate Andrew Hersh, who insisted the event was to gather ideas and raise awareness for the issue and not a part of his political campaign, community members exchanged ideas during the open-mic event. “It was an amazingly successful venue for the public to speak to each other,” Hersh said.
The goal of the event, Hersh said, was to bring attention to the downtown area and allow residents and business owners to mingle with one another and come up with ideas to move forward.
Not in attendance, however, was the person whom Hersh said would be there — David Marconi of Silbert Realty (which now manages the Acme shopping center) whom Hersh was expecting would discuss his ideas for the site.
“He had confirmed that he was showing up and then didn’t,” Hersh said.
Despite this, Hersh said other community members took the microphone and spoke about the history of Route 571, its decline, and the buildings and surroundings. “We had a much bigger contingent than I expected, and I was very happy with that,” said Hersh, who said other members of the Citizens for a Better 571 group counted as many as 100 people. Organizers collected at least 50 signatures.
The mayor and Township Council members were also invited, but only Charles Morgan attended and spoke during the event. Hersh also organized a walk down to Wallace and Cranbury roads and back while discussing the boarded up buildings and the need to build sidewalks. Hersh said a few real estate agents and business owners also came to the event.
“Overall, it was a successful start to what will be a series of events that take place in either the Acme parking lot or elsewhere along that stretch of road,” said Hersh.
Hersh is already planning his next event before the tree lighting ceremony on Sunday, December 6. Hersh said that if he gets permission from Marconi, the event will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Acme parking lot. Hersh hopes people will bring their own instruments and partake in caroling planned for the event, and he said he already has two groups that have agreed to play at the event. At 6:30, those in attendance will walk over to Clarksville Road for the tree lighting ceremony, which begins at 7 p.m.
“While we’re planning events, the ultimate goal is to form an alliance between the township, the businesses, and the residents to focus effort on 571 first, before we invest in new development elsewhere,” said Hersh. “In doing that, we simply want to see the approved part of the redevelopment plan that is Route 571 prioritized.”
So far, Hersh said he has about 225 to 250 people who have signed up for the E-mail list.
