At the Nov. 12 Town Council meeting, residents voiced opposition to the removal of kiosks along Witherspoon and Nassau street and their possible replacement with digital displays. This was the first public comment on the issue since Oct. 28, when the Princeton Town Council voted to eliminate these traditional kiosks as part of the Nassau Streetscape project.
At the October meeting, the council was overwhelmingly in favor of replacing these kiosks with digital displays, which some councilmembers like Leighton Newlin called “eyesores,” while others like Mia Sacks also cited first amendment concerns in their removal and potential replacement.
“I'm personally in favor of removing them. I guess the concern is, are we in some way suppressing free speech,“ Councilmember Eve Niedergang said in the Oct. 28 meeting, wondering whether the decision would be “diminishing community.” “I think they're hideously ugly, and I’d love to move to a digital display.”
“The digital display, of course, is then under our control and it ceases to be a place for the public to interact,” Niedergang continued, noting the resulting concerns about government oversight over speech.
Councilmembers raised issues concerning physical obstruction and litter as reasons to demolishing the kiosks. Previous attempts to remove or replace the kiosks — in 2012, 2013, and 2021 — consistently met with public resistance.
Originally repurposed from phone booths and newspaper boxes in the late 1980s, these kiosks have served as hubs for community flyers, public event announcements, business promotions, and sports league ads.
Residents cited free speech and access to community information in their comments opposing the decision.
“I believe that these are spaces that have great cultural importance for our community, and I'm extremely concerned that this decision was made without sufficient space for input from the community,” Anna Konvicka GS said at the meeting on Tuesday. “I think that these are important cultural spaces that have been used for community expression and free speech.”
Kira Gousios, a local resident, also expressed concerns about the lack of community input in the Council’s decision.
“The vote seemed to have been conducted with minimal notice and without regard to public opinion,” she said. The agenda was posted on the website several days ahead of the meeting, as per ordinary procedure. The 'Prince' could not independently confirm whether other communications about the kiosk issue were sent in advance of the vote.
“The kiosks serve as a pretty visible intersection of art, freedom of expression, and community engagement that is necessary for a thriving Princeton,” Gousious concluded.
On the suggested installment of digital displays, Hunter Akridge GS argued, “the removal and replacing of these kiosks likely will have a deeply negative environmental impact.”
“It seems like the process so far has been centered around various sorts of aesthetic judgments,” Akridge added.
Gousios similarly cited “potential environmental issues,” and noted “threats to pedestrian and driver safety” as issues that may arise from a digital display.
Set for demolition, it remains to be seen if the community’s efforts to keep the kiosks will lead to a reversal of the decision.
Editor’s Note: The piece has been updated to clarify Councilmember Eve Niedergang's comments. The headline has also been updated to reflect the outcome of the Council's discussion.
Sena Chang is a News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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