« That's Quite a Rock | Main | A window on the Times-Ratner relationship, from the top? Not til 2050 »
July 29, 2007
Now You Own It, Soon You Don’t?
New York Times
RUSS BUETTNER
Woohoo! The New York Times has an article about eminent domain abuse! But...wait...are there two missing stories, both involving Bruce Ratner, one involving the New York Times itself?
“New Jersey and New York are among the worst states in the country for eminent domain abuses — New Jersey is really awful,” said Dana Berliner, a senior lawyer at the Institute for Justice in Arlington, Va., which represents residential and business owners facing condemnation. “What’s interesting is that New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are some of the few states that have not managed to pass any decent legislation.”
...
New York, which already allowed the taking of property for private use, saw its lawmakers introduce 17 related bills in 2006. But the Legislature passed only those laws seeking to ban two specific projects.
...
Mr. Brodsky introduced a bill last year calling for the appointment of an eminent domain ombudsman, compensating displaced homeowners at 150 percent of fair market value, and requiring that all condemnations for economic development be part of a comprehensive plan.THE bill gained no traction in the State Assembly. “This is an area where there’s a lot of comfort with a bad law, and that’s unfortunate,” Mr. Brodsky said.
Posted by amy at July 29, 2007 10:36 AM