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October 19, 2007
Rent-stabilized tenants fail in anti–Atlantic Yards bid
The Brooklyn Paper
A group of rent-stabilized residents in the Atlantic Yards footprint has lost a battle in the war to save their homes.
In a two-paragraph decision, a state appellate court dismissed the tenants’ appeal of a case that argues that developer Forest City Ratner and the state improperly canceled their leases.
But the 13 tenants, who live in two Ratner-owned, rent-stabilized buildings at 473 Dean St. and 634 Pacific St., are holding out hope that the fight could go on; the ruling said the tenants should re-file their case in a different jurisdiction.
Their lawyer, George Locker, said he might do just that, arguing that “Ratner is doing an end-run around the state rent-stabilization laws.”
Friends, this is what they call a "friendly condemnation" (really):
Under those laws, according to Locker, a landlord who wants to cancel rent-stabilized leases must go through a process overseen by the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal.
But Ratner did not need to go through the time-consuming process, according to the Empire State Development Corporation, which is overseeing the development of Atlantic Yards, because his plan is to transfer the buildings to the state, which will then condemn the property and turn it back over to Ratner.
NoLandGrab: This is a very elegant technical use of the Eminent Domain law, but basically its purpose is to evict footprint tenants who live in rent-stablized housing.
Posted by lumi at October 19, 2007 7:33 AM