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October 9, 2007
It came from the Blogosphere...
EMINENT DOMAIN APPEALS EDITION
Village Voice Blog, Atlantic Yards Eminent Domain Fight Back in Court
A handful of Brooklyn property owners and longterm renters who are trying to stop developer Bruce Ratner from using eminent domain to take their property will have what could be their final shot in court on Tuesday.
Beloved Dean Street watering hole, Freddy's Bar and Backroom and twelve other plaintiffs, both businesses and residents, will have another chance in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in Manhattan on Tuesday after a district court judge in Brooklyn dismissed their lawsuit in June.
The plaintiffs are arguing that developer Bruce Ratner's use of eminent domain for the $4 billion basketball arena and condo project is unconstitutional because it may benefit Ratner more than it does the public good.
The plaintiffs argue that if the case should be allowed to move forward because the discovery portion of the lawsuit would reveal without question whether the process was skewed toward Ratner from the start.
Curbed.com, Atlantic Yards to Get Another Day in Court
Not that anyone would know based on how quickly parts of the site where the Atlantic Yards complex might rise in Brooklyn are being emptied of buildings, but one of the court cases that will determine whether it happens or not is still out there. (There's another separate case against the Environmental Review process that's still active.)
In the simplest terms, property owners who don't want to sell to the developer say that taking property for the project by eminent domain is unconstitutional. Our expertise in constitutional law ends there, but if the opponents win and get the case reinstated, they would get a trial in Federal District Court.
Links to yesterday's article in the NY Sun in:
The Real Deal, Atlantic Yards case reaches appeals court
How Appealing (a blog covering appellate litigation), "Appeals Court To Hear Atlantic Yards Case"
Posted by lumi at October 9, 2007 8:59 AM