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February 24, 2008
EMINENT DOMAINIA: The Big Apple Bites!
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NY Newsday, Government abuses eminent domain How did downtowns - or any set of buildings - ever get built on Long Island without government development plans and politicians threatening property owners with condemnation? |
Well, it turns out the private sector works pretty darn well.
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Matters go awry when government gets in the way with high taxes and costly, unnecessary regulation, including inflexible zoning. Government also needs to keep the streets clean, fill the potholes, and protect people and property.
Real Estate Observer, Willets Point, A Development Waterloo?
This update on eminent domain in Willets Point, Queens from The Observer's real estate blog was brought to our attention by Queens Crap:
The Bloomberg administration, surely aware of the stumbling blocks of predecessors, seems to be preparing itself for dissent. Earlier this month, the city held a press conference to tout the newly announced support of Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and U.S. Representative Joseph Crowley. Mayor Bloomberg has unabashedly supported the use of eminent domain to oust landowners unwilling to sell their land, and the city has brought in a number of high-profile attorneys to work on the plan.
And to drum up support in the immediate area, the city has been giving funding to a Willets Point redevelopment advocacy group led by former Queens Borough President Claire Shulman, Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber confirmed, boosting an organization that has brought on a lobbying team of its own for the push. The city has approved up to $250,000 in matching funds for Ms. Shulman’s group.
Washington Square News, Stern grad fights Columbia spread
Through the Freedom of Information Law, [West Harlem property owner Nick] Sprayregen had 167 documents handed over last June revealing the processes of how the state is allowing Columbia to carry through with its plans.
"The state, city agencies have given us some of the documents, but we have not gotten all the documents we believe we are entitled to," said Norman Siegel, Sprayregen's lawyer.
For the state to permit the condemnation of private property for development it must conduct a survey to determine an area to be "blighted." Sprayregen and Siegal do not believe the properties that Columbia is trying to seize fit this category.
Posted by lumi at February 24, 2008 5:39 PM