Spacious Country Living at Majestic Knolls

Looking for "spacious country living" circa 1992?  That's what led us to look into Majestic Knolls twenty years ago this Spring.



Newspaper ad for Majestic Knolls development in Hillsborough, NJ, 1992



This may have been the place we ended up if I hadn't remembered that there was one more development somewhere over on Beekman Lane that I wanted to check out.  Back then, Triangle Rd. was still a triangle, only extended slightly past what we now call South Triangle Rd., to allow access to Majestic Knolls.  Beyond that was a barricaded dirt road - which lead to the still gravelled Auten Rd.

Circa 1992 map of Hillsborough, NJ.  Click for a larger view.

Happily for us - and unluckily for the salespeople at Majestic Knolls - the map they provided showed us the way around to Beekman Lane via South Triangle and New Amwell.

Right Place? Wrong Time!

There's only one reason 469 apartments, 130 hotel rooms, and 20,000 square ft. of retail space is not suitable for the 50 acre site on the northbound side of Route 206 just south of Valley Road:

TRAFFIC!

Make no mistake, this is what it all hinges on.  Don't wander off into other arguments - stick with this.

And the soon (ha!) to be completed 206 bypass is only going to make things worse.

Let's break it down point by point:

1. Traffic northbound between Triangle Rd. and Brown Ave. is already a mess during rush hour. 
2. There is a plan to widen 206 through this stretch - but no funding is identified, and no firm commitments have been made to begin work.
3. There are currently 8 traffic lights between the Montgomery-Hillsborough border and Triangle Rd.  These lights have the effect of metering northbound traffic.  When the bypass is completed, there will only be two lights (Hillsborough and Amwell Roads) causing traffic to speed quickly northbound into the nightmare.
4. The applicant (Route 206 Enterprises, LLC) is expecting minor improvements to Route 206 along their frontage to include a center left turn lane, for access to both their development and United Rent All across the highway - we know how well those work!
5. Even if the center lane could be made to work acceptably, that solution is only applicable BEFORE work begins to widen 206.  When that work begins, all bets are off, as the road will need to be kept open while work is going on - a completely different operation than what is taking place now on the bypass - and no doubt as is typical in this kind of project the road will be reduced to a single very narrow lane in each direction.
6. The eventual widening of the highway in this area will be a long difficult project - not only will the road need to stay open, but there is a railroad bridge to replace, streams to be dealt with, etc.

We must conclude that no additional development take place at that location until ALL of the improvements to Route 206 - the bypass and the widening - have been completed.  At the very least, hold off construction until the bypass is completed (next year?) so we can see what effect all of the additional northbound traffic will have on the Triangle to Valley stretch of highway.

As I said in my previous post, I am not automatically opposed to development of this type, or even to development at that location.  But just because this may be the right place, doesn't mean it's the right time.

Green Village, Vulgar Appendage?

"Green Village"?  Really?  Does Route 206 Enterprises LLC, the developer looking to build 469 apartment units, a 130 unit extended-stay hotel, and two 10,000 square ft. retail buildings on a 50 acre property directly across the highway from United Rent-All, not realize that one of Hillsborough's most notable housing developments, Village Green, is barely more than a mile away on the same highway?

Village Green, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, was the first post war housing project in New Jersey to employ a design where instead of, for example, a 100 acre lot being filled with 100 homes on 1 acre lots, the 100 homes would be built on only half of the site, the other half being left as open space for passive and active recreation.

This first of its kind design is known as a cluster development.  I might also be inclined to use the word cluster to describe the current proposal by Route 206 Enterprises, but I would be forced to append a vulgarity not suitable for all readers of this blog!

Naming conventions aside, this proposal is flat out too much, too soon.  Whether it's builder's remedy lawsuits, fear of future litigation, or COAH obligations that is pushing this monstrosity along, someone has to stand up and say, "stop".

As long as Hillsborough remains a very desirable place to live, people are going to want to build here.  And this might even be the perfect spot for this project....but not in 2012, or 2015, or 2018.  Why do I say that?  Read tomorrow to find out.

Gay Marriage Bill a "Top Priority"?

Did I read this right?  Did Senate President Steve Sweeney say that sending Governor Christie a gay marriage bill would be a "top priority" in the new legislative term?

It was just about two years ago that the state legislature failed to pass just such a bill.  At that time, I wrote why I thought the current civil union law made no sense, and why a gay marriage law would be just more of the same.  You can read that post here.

But that's not the real story.

The real story is why anyone in Trenton would think a bill like this would be a top priority?  Let's face it, with New Jersey's unemployment rate still hovering around 9%, gays can no more afford to get married than anyone else!

Mr. Sweeney, before you completely fill your head with images of gays and lesbians walking down the aisle, why not reach across the aisle and put a few tools in Governor Christie's oft-mentioned property tax relief toolbox, or do something to help New Jersey businesses grow?

Now is the time to prioritize actions that will help 100% of NJ residents, not a bill that will leave 96% scratching their heads.

Happy 100th

Heaven exists.  How do I know this?  Simple, there is no other place my grandmother can possibly be.

Wedding day, 1931

Born in 1911 in Brooklyn, NY to Polish immigrant parents, she grew up in a typical immigrants' turn of the century apartment building with cold running water and outhouses in the backyard.  An often absent father meant she spent much time caring for her two younger brothers and working from an early age to to help provide for her family.

With first grandchild, 1964

Despite not having much more than a sixth grade education, she worked continuously from her early teens until her retirement at age 65, finding work during the Depression as a switchboard operator - a career where she transitioned from working for the phone company to manning the switchboard for some of New York's biggest steamship companies.

90th Birthday, 2001

Happy 100th birthday, Grandma.  I hope to see you again someday.

Pete Biondi, Hillsborough's Best Friend

Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State under George Washington, Vice President under John Adams, third president of the United States, upon designing the inscription for his tombstone, famously left off all of those titles.   Instead he wished to be remembered for just three things: writing the Declaration of Independence, writing Virginia's Statute for Religious Freedom, and founding the University of Virginia.

In that same spirit, as I reflect on the passing last week of Peter Biondi, I barely think about his ten years as a Hillsborough Township Committeeman, his term as a Somerset County Freeholder, or his dozen years representing the 16th district in the New Jersey Assembly.

More than anything else, Pete was Hillsborough's best friend, plain and simple.  

It hurts to lose your best friend.  It hurts a lot.

Sometimes looking at pictures helps.

Black Horse Stable Family Day for special needs children, 2007.   Pete was a tireless supporter and  advocate for the special needs community.  Over the years he made generous personal donations to Autism Speaks and the Organization for Autism Research, as well as fighting in Trenton for insurance reform and a common sense vaccination policy.

Rotary Club of Hillsborough annual Easter Egg Hunt, 2008.   Pete was  a proud member of the Rotary, and exemplified its motto, "service above self".  He was actively involved in all of their community activities, including the Easter Egg Hunt, and in later years, the annual Rotary Fair.



Portrait by Kevin Murphy, 2009.  When Hillsborough artist Kevin Murphy came to the Cultural Arts Commission in 2008  with an idea to transform our annual art show to include a commissioned portrait of a notable Hillsborough person, he already knew who the first subject should be. We Agreed.  Not only did Pete fit every imaginable criteria for inclusion in Hillsborough's "hall of fame", he was also a strong supporter of the arts, offering his personal financial assistance to the art show in subsequent years.



Memorial Day Parade, 2009.  Pete was a fixture at Hillsborough's annual Memorial Day Parade.  His support for our veterans, as well as those currently serving was unquestionable.

Happy Birthday Hillsborough

The anniversary of Hillsborough's 1771 Charter passed quietly this year, as has been the usual case over the past four decades.

Not so for the 1971 Bicentennial, which featured a week's worth of events - and probably a year's worth of planning - beginning with a "Miss Hillsborough" Pageant on May 22, and culminating with a family picnic, fireworks, and a Grand Parade down Route 206 on Saturday May 29.

The Franklin News Record printed a two page montage of photos from the parade in their June 3 issue.

Here's the link for the eight-millimeter footage of the parade taken by Dottie Leinenbach: 

Hillsborough Bicentennial Parade



USS Corsair

It's often said that submariners have an unfair advantage over their surface adversaries.  As someone who gets mildly claustrophobic in the backseat of a Volkswagen, I just don't buy it.  I can't imagine the mental preparation that would be necessary before I could sign on for a tour of duty in a modern nuclear submarine, let alone in a tiny World War II era boat - not at the age of 47, and certainly not at 17.

Insignia of the USS Corsair SS 435

But that's what long time Hillsborough and lifelong area resident Al Nittolo did in 1946 when he, along with seven officers and 68 other enlisted men, was assigned to the USS Corsair, a brand new diesel-electric sub destined for service in the Atlantic.

Born in 1929, Al was bitterly disappointed that he was too young to enlist during the war.  He soon came to realize that for submariners in Atlantic and Arctic waters, the war was just beginning.

USS Corsair under way

Submarines proved to be the perfect vessels for intelligence-gathering in north Atlantic waters - shadowing the Russian Navy at the outset of the Cold War.  When I introduced my kids to Al at the Memorial Day Parade, he recounted the time that the Corsair got just a little too close to a Russian vessel.  On the surface, (the Corsair's batteries only permitted dives up to 22 hours), the Russian ship fired a warning shot across the sub's bow. 

USS Corsair

The skipper immediately ordered an empty torpedo to be fired from one of the sub's ten tubes.  Al recalls the Russian ship turned and ran from the bogus bomb, and was out of sight within minutes!

Clearly, the unfair advantage has never been in our weapons, but always in the bravery of our young men who fight them.

Retro Soldiers Go Wayback for 2011 Parade

Hillsborough's 2011 Memorial Day Parade was much the same as in past years - marching band, fire companies, Scouts, and youth sports leagues were all in their usual places.

But at least one group seemed out of step, or at least, unfamiliar.

Take a look at these photos from recent parades.

Hillsborough Township Memorial Day Parade 2006

Hillsborough Township Memorial Day Parade 2007

Hillsborough Township Memorial Day Parade 2009

Hillsborough Township Memorial Day Parade 2010

The "retro-soldiers" have always cultivated a definite 20th century appearance - until this year:



Boy Scout Troop 1776 Colonial Militia Unit marches in the 2011 Memorial Day Parade


It looks like they set the Wayback Machine for the mid 1700s!

Where Are the Results?

Let's go crazy for a second.  Let's assume that the additional $500 million in state aid that the New Jersey Supreme Court demanded that the taxpayers provide to the 31 former "Abbott districts" will result in 1,000 more high school graduates from our city schools in June 2012 than we will have in June 2011.  Do you think that would be a worthwhile result?

Now consider that we would be paying $500,000 per student - in that one year alone - to reach that goal.  Does it still seem worth it?  What if we thought we could increase the number of graduates by a whopping 10,000?  Off the top of my head, there might be 25,000 seventeen-year-olds in the former Abbott districts.  Would spending an additional $50,000 per student next year save those 10,000?

I know what you're thinking.  The $500 million isn't just for juniors and seniors, it's for all the kids - and we can't expect results in just one year.

Well - we're not just talking about one year.  We have been conducting this experiment for 25 years!  And it is a colossal failure.

Now, you are going to hear critics state that increased spending doesn't equal increased student achievement.  But that's not quite right either.  I can say confidently that $1,000 per student in increased state aid to a district like Hillsborough (that would be $7.5 million total) would mean infinitely more than the $2,000, on average, that was just awarded to each Abbott student.  Here, that money would produce real results - in Newark, Camden, et. al., increases in taxpayer funding have been shown to do nothing.

Hillsborough taxpayers, like those in the rest of suburban New Jersey, only want to see real results.  If not equal to the results we see here, then at least something, anything!

[standard disclaimer:  the views expressed above are my own and do not represent the opinion of the Hillsborough Township Board of Education]

I'm Still Here

Just a quick note to let you, and Harold Camping, know that I'm still here.

Now enjoy some John Hartford, courtesy of YouTube.

First Night in Hillsborough

Patty and I just passed the 18-year-mark as Hillsborough residents.  As we get further and further from the Spring of 1993, details seem to slip away.  I do remember that we had already asked our landlord if we could break the lease on our apartment, and then - as the completion date for our new house in Rohill kept getting pushed back - asked him if we could stay a little longer.  Not once, but twice.

April 30 eventually became the mutually agreed upon drop dead date to get our stuff out of Freehold and up to Somerset County.  We pressed the builder with daily phone calls to put all resources into OUR house.  Kind of silly now, as we had no kids and could surely have found a place to stay.

In the event, we had our closing on April 29 - and if I recall correctly, the moving van did roll on April 30 - along with my much beloved 1980 Pontiac Phoenix, completely filled with clothes and personal items - the last trip that car ever made.  It died right here in the garage on Conover Drive, and remained there for months.  


Beekman Lane and Conover Drive, Spring 1993

  After spending more than 6,000 nights in Hillsborough, I think back to what my grandfather said to me during his one visit here later that summer, "this house feels like home".  Eighteen years later, this still feels like home - just a bit more crowded!

Drama in the 16th, Part 3

The cancellation this month of All My Children may have saddened some Central Jersey fans of the long running ABC soap, but there's still plenty of drama right here in Somerset County courtesy of the recent legislative redistricting.

Here's a recap of recent episodes.

[continued from part 2]

Episode Three: Write Him In - Assemblywomen Denise Coyle's abrupt withdrawal from the 16th district assembly race after primary ballots were already set posed two problems for Somerset County republicans. Finding a new candidate was easy - dealing with the fact that his or her name would have to be "written-in" in the voting booth might prove to be more difficult.

Current Somerset County Freeholder Jack Ciattarelli was a good choice to replace Denise Coyle. A lifelong Somerset County resident (Raritan and Hillsborough), Ciattarelli is a fiscal conservative with proven success at the county level.

Like a lot of Hillsborough residents, I consider myself to be on a "first-name-basis" with Jack. Thank goodness - because I don't believe I have ever spelled his name correctly. Close your eyes and try it with me: C - I - A - T - T? - E? - nope, that's not it.

Look, I would think that when you write in Jack's last name on June 7, anything close will be acceptable - but you never know. According to a recent campaign mailer, Jack will be providing step-by-step instructions to registered republicans some time in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, let's try again: C - I - A - T - T - A - R - E - L - L - I.

Drama in the 16th, Part 2

The cancellation this week of All My Children may have saddened some Central Jersey fans of the long running ABC soap, but there's still plenty of drama right here in Somerset County courtesy of the recent legislative redistricting.


Here's a recap of recent episodes.

[continued from part 1]

Episode Two: Nearly Homeless - New Jersey's 120 legislators found out just days before the April 11, 2011 primary election filing deadline what their new districts would look like.  By law, Assemblymen and State Senators must reside in the districts they represent in Trenton - and with boundaries about to shift, odds were that at least a few local politicians would be left out in the cold; divorced from their district, foiled by the map!

Such was the case with 16th District Assemblywoman Denise Coyle who makes her home in Bernards, one of the towns in the Somerset Hills pared away from the district.  If she planned to run for reelection in November, she had just days to find somewhere else to live.  Indeed, all of the newspapers reported on April 12 that Ms. Coyle had decided to move to Princeton, now included in the 16th district.

I never believed she would do it.  As soon as I saw the new legislative map, I knew she would have a difficult choice to make, but from what I knew about Assemblywoman Coyle, I was convinced that she was not going to get some phoney baloney Princeton address.  If she was going to move, it would be for real.

A few days later, Ms. Coyle announced that she would nor be moving, and that she was withdrawing from the GOP primary.

To Be Continued...