Bateman, Gusciora blast Princeton Battlefield developers for refusing to meet

By The Staff | The Save Jersey Blog

bateman-princeton-battleground-520Senator Christopher “Kip” Bateman (R-16) and Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-15) are a bit of a political odd couple, Save Jerseyans, but when it comes to fighting the Institute of Advanced Study’s plans to destroy Maxwell’s Field after the organization refused to sit down with the legislators.

“Earlier this month, we wrote to Dr. Charles Simonyi, chairman of the Institute for Advanced Study’s Board of Trustees, and requested a meeting to discuss alternatives to the Institute’s destructive plan to build 15 faculty housing units on the historic, 22-acre Maxwell’s Field tract,” the pair explained in a joint editorial. “On this site, Gen. George Washington personally led a counterattack that won the 1777 Battle of Princeton and helped turn the tide of the American Revolution. Our goal in seeking this meeting was simple: get reasonable people together to find a solution to the current controversy that benefits the state, the battlefield and the IAS.”

“In response, we received a letter from IAS Director Robbert Dijkgraaf, who rejected our offer to meet, reciting the same tired excuses the Institute has been utilizing for the past four years. It is an unfortunate tendency of the Dijkgraaf Administration that they consistently reject offers to sit down with those of us seeking to save them from themselves,” they continued.

A coalition of public officials and historical organizations – led by the Princeton Battlefield Society – has been working hard to prevent IAS from developing a 15-unit faculty housing on the site. Thus far, however, legal and PR strategies have failed to produce results.

______

admin
About admin 1753 Articles
SAVE JERSEY supplies its readers with news, analysis and commentary from guest contributors as well as some of the Internet's best political content providers on a daily basis.