Borough mayoral hopeful discusses local concerns

If Princeton Borough does not take action soon, it will see its 250 year-old African-American community forced out of its current location by rising property taxes, Democratic Mayoral candidate Joe O'Neill said. Saving this "historic cultural treasure" is just the first of a long list of issues O'Neill would address if elected this fall, he said.

A Princeton resident for more than 40 years, O'Neill first became involved in local government in 1986, when then Mayor Barbara Sigmund nominated him to the regional planning board. He became president of that board by 1992, and was elected to the Borough Council in November 2001.

"I like to consider myself the Daniel Patrick Moynihan of Princeton Borough," O'Neill said. "I look with the eyes of a four year-old at the conventional wisdom and see to what extent it's correct or not" O'Neill added.

According to O'Neill, the most significant borough issue in the next several years will be dealing with the effects of rising property taxes on the middle class. By the time the next census is taken, the entire middle class community may have been forced out of the town, he said.

Princeton is "built out," said O'Neill, meaning the borough has filled up its zoning capacity. From 1993 to 2002, the number of Borough houses shrunk by 19. However, during that same time period, the value of residential property exploded from $430 million to $1 billion. This translates into Princeton residents paying up to five times as much in property taxes as Trenton residents with equivalent homes, O'Neill said.

"You have to be making around $100,000 a year just to think about living in Princeton," he said.

While the rich can afford the high taxes, the poor are protected by state laws that limit taxes on certain pieces of property. In the Borough, property taxes fall from $40,000 per year to only $120 per year as you make the seven block journey from Library Place to Clay and John Streets. All of this will leave the middle class with no choice but to seek housing elsewhere, he said.

"We are creating a town in which we have the very rich and the very poor, and we have squeezed out the middle," O'Neill said.

One issue O'Neill would not like to see the Borough deal with is alcohol use at the University. While he said the risks are large, especially for young women who stand the chance of being raped while intoxicated, this is an issue that needs to be dealt with internally.

To that end, he does not support the proposed Alcohol Ordinance.

"If a constitutional amendment couldn't stop the people of the United States from the use and abuse of alcohol," he said, "what do you think a Borough ordinance could do?"

O'Neill has dealt with the University for more than 15 years in his role on the regional planning board. During that time period, the board reviewed the plans for every construction project on campus and throughout the Borough.

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The University is an "800 pound gorilla," O'Neill said.

"Our interests don't always coincide," he said. "We're constantly keeping an eye on it to make sure that with all of its enormous wealth and its enormous political influence that it does not in some way or another abridge our rights or our interests."

In each of the last five decades, the University has added more than one million square feet of real estate to its facilities. Yet, O'Neill points out, Nassau Street is no wider today than it was 40 years ago.

"The University cannot be a free rider in its development," he said. "If it does not help the town cope with issues of traffic and congestion, then it is not fulfilling its public obligation as a good citizen of the town."

During the last 15 years, Borough officials have helped encircle Princeton with "acres of green," O'Neill said. If elected, he would continue to "preserve for all generations a Princeton that is a unique place."

O'Neill hopes to succeed three-term Mayor Marvin Reed. During his time in office, Reed has helped construct a new library, parking garage and two apartment complexes that include low income housing. These three projects constitute the largest development project undertaken by the Borough in 70 years.

"[They] will be considered Marv Reed's monument," O'Neill said.