Street Signs Not Classy Enough for Princeton Borough

Princeton's biggest crisis since concrete curbs has hit our dear Nassau Street.You know that sign in front of Zorba that lists the specials of the day--the one that always seems to include steak for breakfast? Or the really colorful blackboard-y one in front of Twist with the health benefits of yogurt written on it?Yeah, not allowed.Last Tuesday, the borough's zoning officer said at the borough council meeting that these signs are a Serious Problem--and are taking advantage of an ordinance that allows signs only for special circumstances, according to the Princeton Packet.But these signs have been around forever, you say. I've been here for seven semesters and I've always seen the psychic sign! Hell, it's even convinced me to get my palm read a few times!So what happened? Why now?

Two things:1. Inter-business bickering. From the Packet:

Borough Attorney Maeve Cannon said the original ordinance allowed for temporary sign placements by businesses advertising a special sale or event, not to exceed 14 days. Mr. Bridger said the ordinance only applied to ground-floor businesses, with upper-story businesses precluded from placing the signs on borough streets.The actions were triggered when the Princeton zoning department received a complaint from a second-story business that had been denied a street-level A-frame sign, said Princeton Zoning Officer Derek Bridger. The business then informed the zoning department that Salon Pure, a business in similar circumstances, placed such a sign on the street daily, Mr. Bridger said.

This is something you never do. When you get a check on your problem set and your buddy with the same answers gets a check plus? You don't rat them out.2. These A-frame signs are just not classy enough for the streets of Princeton. Can you like, maybe get a nice sans-serif font on that sign instead? Embossed, maybe?

Councilman David Goldfarb said such street signage “is not consistent with the image we are trying to promote” downtown... “That is a particularly attractive space, the Mediterra plaza, and I think the sign detracted from it,” Mr. Goldfarb said, noting he had never liked the Salon Vis A Vis sign.