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July 20, 2005
N.Y. Should Mimic Utah’s Property Bill
The NY Sun
by Jamal Watson, executive editor of the New York Amsterdam News
Jamal Watson outlines the case for banning the use of eminent domain in NY for economic development purposes.
Over the past decade, working-class communities of color have become ripe for wealthy white developers looking to further gentrify neighborhoods that no one wanted to invest in just a decade ago. Too often, many of those who live in these communities lack the adequate political clout to fight off well-endowed developers who spend lots of money trying to convince local politicians that knocking down a home to make room for a large-scale project would be in the best interest of the city.
Now that the [Supreme] court has effectively given states jurisdiction over how best to deal with the eminent domain issue, New York should follow the lead of other states, such as Utah, that recently signed into law a bill banning the use of eminent domain for economic development for once and for all.
Though it's too long to fit on a t-shirt, here's an eloquent quote from Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn's Dan Goldstein regarding the use of eminent domain in Prospect Heights:
“If Ratner uses eminent domain, it will be up to him to make the case that the neighborhood is blighted, which it is patently not, or the project makes economic sense, which is pure fantasy.”
Posted by lumi at July 20, 2005 7:20 AM