The Princeton Junction pocket park on Alexander Road has once again stirred up controversy. The township will dedicate the pocket park “Nash Park” at a ceremony Friday, October 23, at 3 p.m., and the redesign will in part be funded by $9,000 in donations from Friends of West Windsor Open Space (FOWWOS).
However, at the October 13 Council meeting Council members criticized Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh for keeping them in the dark on the plans for the park.
“The issue is we don’t know what the overall plans are,” says Council vice president Linda Geevers.
“To say that there is not a plan somewhere is a lie,” says Maher. “This stuff can’t be done in town in secret on the behest of the mayor and FOWWOS.”
Fellow Council member Hemant Marathe did not disagree with the selection of John and Alicia Nash as the honorees, but he questioned the mayor’s process and noted that the School Board has a clear policy for name dedications.
“Eventually the mayor is going to retire,” Marathe said. “What happens if the next mayor wants to name it after Trump?”
Nash Park will resemble the concept plan design created in 2013 by landscape architect Dan Dobromilsky and Christopher Perez, a summer intern from the Berrien City area of West Windsor. According to Dobromilsky, the design is a traditional “town green” with perimeter paths, trees, and gardens that follow Asian garden design themes.
