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March 28, 2008
Atlantic Yards stalled by slowing economy
Castle Watch Daily [Institute for Justice]
Chris Grodecki comments on an all-too-familiar scenario, in the wake of the news that most of Atlantic Yards has stalled, though New York State is still hoping to complete the eminent domain property transfer by the end of the year:
The most egregious presuppositions eminent domain advocates make in their argument for the use of the power against property owners is that whatever plan in place will actually come to fruition. Normally, this seems just to be an assumed occurrence. Seldom does one read about local officials who take into consideration the wide range of economic possibilities. Rather officials assume that the economy will continue on an upward trajectory. While this may be true in the long term, eminent domain is used to maximize efficiency and to make sure those tax revenues come in as soon as possible. But when the economy slows, the complicated financing schemes that fund developments can totter and collapse. So, in places like Brooklyn, officials may find themselves having neglected variables and may end up with a lot of vacant land and less tax revenue. Given that, local officials really do gamble with their citizens’ livelihoods when they force them out of their homes and businesses, as they base their invocation of eminent domain on the probabilities of short-term economic stability.
Posted by lumi at March 28, 2008 4:01 AM