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March 04, 2005
Court Must Halt Abuse By Eminent Domain
Featured in Letters to The Editor Court Must Halt Abuse By Eminent Domain
Published on 3/4/2005
Letters To The Editor: I found it quite disturbing that Chris Powell had not checked the facts regarding the Fort Trumbull case. (“Constitution, not sympathy, counts,” Feb. 26.) I would like to enlighten him on a few facts.
He stated: “Besides, the Fort Trumbull residents aren't going to be expropriated; they'll get good money for their property and will be able to buy back into the neighborhood if they want.”
We are being offered less than market value for our properties – actually, thousands of dollars less than the city's own assessed value of the property. The simple truth is the city does not want us in the new development, period. If you check the Jan. 30 New York Times, New London Development Corp's attorney, Ed O'Connell, is quoted as saying, “We need to get housing at the upper end, for people like Pfizer employees.” They are not looking for the hard-working middle class to be in this neighborhood.
This is not my family's first experience with eminent domain. We lost our first home in the early 1970s. Why should we lose our home twice? As a lifetime resident, I want to see the city prosper, but this is not the way to go about it.
Eminent domain for economic development is just outright stealing. Why should any municipality have such a dangerous wild card to use on property owners? The U.S. Supreme Court needs to put a halt on this abuse of eminent domain.
Michael Cristofaro New London
© The Day Publishing Co., 2005
Posted by lumi at March 4, 2005 07:14 AM