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December 24, 2008
2008: Year in Review
The Campaign for Community-Based Planning posted the 2008 "the good," "the bad," and "the ongoing." Bruce Ratner's five-year-old Atlantic Yards megaproject threat made the top of the ongoing-and-going-and-going list, with other eminent domain abuses following close behind:
The Ongoing
Atlantic Yards: 2008 marked the fifth year since the Atlantic Yards project was announced. The spring and summer were busy times: local organizations held a rally opposing the project, and the Municipal Art Society imagined a partial buildout of the site as Atlantic Lots. In response, developer Bruce Ratner manufactured a pro-Atlantic Yards rally. By August, the footprint was a mess, the stadium opening date was pushed back again, and nine property owners were challenging the state’s proposed use of eminent domain in State Supreme Court. In September, the State Supreme Court rejected the ESDC’s motion to throw out the case, which will now be heard in spring 2009. Most recently, Ratner stopped all work at the site, citing the ongoing lawsuit and the financial meltdown, and local organizations called for an audit of public funding spent on the development.
Eminent Domain: A major issue in 2008, eminent domain came up regarding Atlantic Yards, Columbia University’s expansion into Manhattanville, and in the City’s redevelopment of Willets Point. In September, the Community-Based Planning Task Force testified for state senators who are examining eminent domain policy at the state level.
Posted by lumi at December 24, 2008 5:07 AM