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January 22, 2007
Ratner Sued Again, This Time Over Relocation
Brooklyn Downtown Star
By Norman Oder
Tenant attorney George Locker is charging that Forest City Ratner Atlantic Yards Development Group President Jim Stuckey is using strong-arm tactics and wielding the power of the Empire State Development Corporation to circumvent rent stabilization protections:
Locker noted that Stuckey had confirmed that Forest City's offer does not apply to tenants suing over Atlantic Yards - a category that includes not only Locker's clients, but several tenants involved in a federal lawsuit challenging eminent domain.
Locker says such a strong-arm tactic violates the law. "The relocation requirements under the UDC [Urban Development Corporation] Act does not provide for relocation based on whether the displaced tenant passively accepts his/her fate, or chooses to seek relief from the courts," he said. "While Ratner may not like being sued, relocation is a right, not a gift."
The controversy, according to Locker, raises questions about whether the private developer or the public state agency is in charge.
The cases brought by Locker break new legal ground, but they bring up serious questions about rent stabilization in a very unstable real-estate market and the ability for a developer to cut deals using the coercive powers of state eminent domain law while circumventing other state laws and regulations.
Posted by lumi at January 22, 2007 7:16 AM