NJ Transit, U. discuss train track removal before New Jersey Historic Sites Council

The council, a subsidiary of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, did not reach a decision, and the discussion will be renewed in the next meeting.

Larry Ragonese, the NJDEP press director, said that the hearing was a “routine review.”

“All that happened [on Thursday morning] really was that the council heard some testimonies and heard questions from the people and decided that they needed more information,” he said. He noted that the council does not make final decisions but instead makes recommendations to the NJDEP.

University Secretary and Vice President Robert Durkee ’69 attended the hearing after receiving a request from NJ Transit to help describe the Arts and Transit Project.

“It wasn’t surprising that [the council] would want to digest what they heard, ask for some additional clarification, and think about the request before acting,” he said.

“New Jersey Transit has an easement that allows it to operate the Dinky on these University lands and to make use of the existing buildings to support the operation of the Dinky,” Durkee explained.

The relocation of the easement would allow NJ Transit to manage the new Dinky terminal. Durkee said that the current easement would expire automatically five years after the new Dinky terminal was built, but the University would not be able to start building until the easement was terminated. He also noted that the current agreement gives the University the right to relocate the Dinky station to the south.

However, the organization Save the Dinky has stated its opposition to the plan.

“We were pleased that they decided to table the issue until they had a clearer understanding of the facts and the law,” the group’s founder Anita Garoniak said in an email.

“We believe that the application to the Historic Sites Council should be denied. The Princeton station was placed on the state and national historic registries in 1984, before the University bought the property,” Garoniak said.

A NJ Transit spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

The University plans to convert the existing Dinky buildings into a cafe and a restaurant.

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However, Garoniak said, “the Princeton Branch is significant as an historic site because it still serves its historic function.”

“The University would very much like to be able to renovate the two existing [Dinky] buildings as soon as possible,” Durkee said. “New Jersey Transit is fully supportive of the University’s plans.”

The next Historic Sites Council Meeting is scheduled for April 19 at 10 a.m.