Despite being defeated in previous cases in the state Supreme Court, the Princeton Battlefield Society said it is suing the Institute for Advanced Study in federal court in an attempt to block the construction of housing on six acres of land where George Washington’s men fought the British in 1777.
The new lawsuit claims the construction at the site, which began in December, is polluting protected wetlands.
For its part, the Institute says it has proved its right to build on the land and intends to move forward with the project. In an open letter, IAS director Robbert Dijkgraaf said the IAS has made extensive changes to its plans to preserve more of the battlefield, including moving the housing farther away from the park, screening for buried artifacts, and turning over a 200-foot wide strip of land to the Princeton Battlefield State Park.
