By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Two state lawmakers on Wednesday continued to press the Institute for Advanced Study to meet with them as part of their running attempt to stop the IAS from building faculty housing on part of the Princeton Battlefield.
State Sen. Kip Bateman (R-16) and Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-16) have tried to arrange a meeting with the IAS but were turned down. The two men said in a statement they are not giving up and that they would send a letter to the IAS again requesting a meeting.
The IAS is aiming to build 15 units of faculty housing on seven acres that it owns, although critics contend it will come at the expense of destroying a part of the battlefield where the Battle of Princeton was waged Jan.3, 1777. The victory for forces under Gen. George Washington is considered a turning point in the Revolutionary War.
“There are many places for the institute’s faculty to live in and around Princeton, but there’s only one Princeton Battlefield,” Mr. Gusciora said. “Destroying the site upon which one of the most important Revolutionary War battles was fought would be an unnecessary assault on the history of New Jersey and this nation.”
“Assemblyman Gusciora and I are ready and willing to discuss reasonable alternatives, but we will not stand in the shadows and allow the institute to move blindly forward with these destructive plans,” Mr. Bateman said. “To do so would be a disservice to the residents, historians and activists who are fighting day and night to protect this hallowed ground.”
An institute spokesman said this week that it had no comment on the lawmakers’ latest letter, instead referring a May 6 response by IAS Director Robbert Dijkgraaf to them after they wrote to the the chairman of the IAS board of trustees, Charles Simonyi.
“The Institute has been a responsible and patient actor throughout this process, which was confirmed and supported by all of the relevant regulatory bodies,” he wrote. “We are confident in the thoroughness and sensitivity of our faculty housing project, which meets a critical institutional need.”
The Princeton Battlefield Society, a nonprofit group, is suing to stop the project.
