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May 11, 2007
City threat hangs over Willets Pt.
Queens Times Ledger
By Stephen Stirling
An article about the use of eminent domain in Willets Point references Brooklyn's big land grab. The irony is that Willets Point "blight" was largely the result of City neglect:
Business owners argue that they have been the victims of far-reaching neglect on the part of the city, and with infrastructure improvements the area would flourish.
"It's been purposefully neglected by the city," said Anthony Fodera, president of Fodera Foods. "They've caused the blight and neglect."
It's hard to belive that a prominent and informed eminent domain attorney, Robert Goldstein, of Goldstein, Goldstein, Rikon and Gottlieb, has already called the Atlantic Yards federal eminent domain case for the developer and State, when the case is still being decided:
Business owners in the area are reviewing their legal options, but Goldstein said they need not look further than the city's Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, where eminent domain was recently used to take property despite several lawsuits filed by area residents.
"If you depend on the courts, you're not going to win," he said. "If they're going to win, they're going to win in the court of public opinion."
Posted by lumi at May 11, 2007 7:04 AM