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July 21, 2005
MTA Uses Eminent Domain at Fulton St.
The NY Sun
by Jeremy Smerd
The MTA has started eminent domain proceedings to sieze two properties, which include 120 tenants, in Lower Manhattan to make way for the $825 million Fulton St. Transit Center.
Though this instance of taking of private property seems clearly earmarked for "public use," the tenants, who are mostly small businesses, point out that the public authority might have alerted them to this plan before they pledged to rebuild their businesses after September 11th, 2001. Though property owners are to receive "fair market value," the tenants will only be compensated for the value of fixtures and be provided with "as much as $25 thousand for relocation costs."
NoLandGrab: Why do we care?
NY State is willing to use eminent domain to take property owned by small businesses and homeowners in Lower Manhattan, Prospect Heights and West Harlem. However, NY has NOT used eminent domain to take over Larry Silverstein's leases with the Port Authority for the World Trade Center site, thereby relenquishing leadership and control over planning and process over the important and symbolic opportunity to rebuild Lower Manhattan after September 11, 2001.
One of the main concerns of detractors of the recent US Supreme Court eminent domain decision is that eminent domain inordinately effects those who are not politically connected. Whether or not the action by the MTA in this article is a proper use of governmental powers, it clarifies the nature of how eminent domain is used in NY.
Posted by lumi at July 21, 2005 7:35 AM