« Lawsuit looks to block Nets’ shot | Main | Welcome to Forest City Spindale »
October 27, 2006
Suit Against Atlantic Yards Challenges Eminent Domain
The NY Times
By Thomas J. Lueck
The plaintiffs’ lawyers, from firms in Manhattan and Albany and from South Brooklyn Legal Services, said the use of eminent domain would be unconstitutional because it would result in the transfer of private property to a developer without the public benefit that eminent domain is intended to bestow.
“The Atlantic Yards proposal is premised on the abuse of eminent domain,” said Matthew D. Brinckerhoff, the plaintiffs’ lead lawyer. It would mean “the taking of one citizen’s property to benefit a powerful and influential private citizen,” he said.
That citizen, Bruce Ratner, the president of Forest City Ratner, was named as a defendant, along with Gov. George E. Pataki and his chief development official, Charles A. Gargano, the chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation. Other defendants include Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Daniel L. Doctoroff, the deputy mayor for economic development and rebuilding.
Posted by lumi at October 27, 2006 12:37 AM