Esteemed Holmdel Scientist Responds To Flyer From Crawford Hill Owner

HOLMDEL, NJ — One of the scientists whose Nobel prize-winning research was conducted using the Horn antenna on Crawford Hill says he has neither seen a developer's plans for townhouses there nor has he approved them.

Robert Wilson, who, along with Bell Labs colleague Arno Penzias, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1978 for research using the antenna, sent out a statement in response to a mailer to residents by Rakesh Antala, owner of the Crawford Hill site.

"Rakesh Antala, who represents Crawford Hill Holding LLC has been very generous in allowing access to the Crawford Hill Horn for me and my visitors," Wilson began in the statement.

"Recently, however, Crawford Hill Holding LLC sent a flyer to Holmdel households stating that I support their plans to protect the Horn. The juxtaposition of this with an outline of their development plans implied to some people that I approve of their development plans for Crawford Hill.

"I would like to be clear that this is not the case. I have not seen Crawford Hill Holding LLC's development plans and have not approved them.

"What I have approved of is what I thought was their concept to leave the Horn in place and maintain access to the Horn for all," Wilson said in a statement to the media.

A coalition of environmental and historical groups in Holmdel is opposed to any development at the site of what is a National Historic Landmark.

The Horn antenna has a unique place in history as the structure that detected cosmic microwave background radiation that provided irrefutable evidence of the Big Bang theory of the creation of the universe. That work led to the Nobel Prize in Physics for Wilson and Penzias.

The coalition supports keeping Crawford Hill undeveloped and the Horn antenna untouched.

Last week, a town-wide flyer was mailed from Crawford Hill Holding LLC, Antala's company, presenting what developers consider the potential benefits of having an 80-plus townhouse development built on Crawford Hill. The 43-acre tract is at 791 Holmdel Road.

The flyer includes a quote from Wilson, and it refers to his "support" for a plan to "protect the Horn antenna," as he noted in his statement.

Citizens for Informed Land Use (CILU), a long-established open space advocacy group in the township, is opposed to rezoning the property to allow for residential development on the Crawford Hill property for "economic, environmental, and quality of life reasons," the organization said in a letter to members this week.

"CILU advocates that the entire site be preserved as a public park with access for all," said Julie Roth, president of CILU, in the letter.

"The discoveries made using the Bell Labs horn antenna are of such worldwide significance that it needs an appropriate setting to memorialize Holmdel's role in man's understanding of our origins, and should not be moved and hidden behind high-density development that will have adverse effects on our economy, environment, and quality of life," the letter says.

Another environmental activist, Kin Gee, said "There is a very strong economic case for preserving the property as an open space, perhaps with a learning center to make it a destination place to celebrate and commemorate the historic significance of the Horn antenna."

The latest version of plans for the townhouse development would move the antenna to another area of Crawford Hill - an action that CILU and other advocates say might endanger the structure's status as a National Historic Landmark. The township now has various concepts for the site provided by the developer on its website.

The property was sold by Bell Labs to Nokia, which in turn sold it to Antala. There has been a lawsuit brought by the township to have a judge determine ownership of the antenna, based on the sales contract between Nokia and Antala.

Mayor DJ Lucarelli has said on several occasions the township is focused on the future of the site: "As Mayor, I remain steadfast in my commitment to use every possible legal avenue to protect Holmdel's legacy," Luccarelli has said.