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June 24, 2008
Supreme Court won't hear Nets case
Field of Schemes
Subsidized-stadia critic Neil deMause splashes a little cold water on those celebrating yesterday's pass by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal of the lawsuit against use of eminent domain to clear land for Brooklyn's Atlantic Yards project, which would include an arena for the New Jersey Nets. The plaintiffs say they'll now file a similar suit in state court, but that's considered an even longer shot to succeed.
Don't expect the steamshovels to power up just yet, though: A pending appeal of a state case challenging the project's environmental review is still set to be heard in September, and yet another state lawsuit (by tenants on the site) has just started working its way through the courts. Add in that developer/Nets owner Bruce Ratner is still uncertain how much of the project he can afford to build, that the proposed financing plan might be illegal under new IRS regs, and that local elected officials are demanding a moratorium on new demolition until Ratner can confirm that all the promised housing will be built, and Atlantic Yards' prognosis still needs to be considered "questionable."
Posted by eric at June 24, 2008 3:25 PM