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February 24, 2009
Arena opponents: New York violated eminent domain laws
The Bergen Record
By John Brennan
During a 40-minute inquiry, the judges asked several questions of each side regarding a central tenet of the lawsuit: Did the Empire State Development Corp. — a New York state agency — properly weigh the public benefits of the project against the private benefits for Nets owner Bruce Ratner?
"They don't have to," ESDC attorney Charles Webb said of his client.
Webb added that state law merely requires that the project area be designated as blighted and that the project serve a public purpose. Webb's colleague, Philip Karmel, added that the construction of an 18,000-seat arena near downtown Brooklyn as well as the remaking of a blighted community was "an overwhelming public benefit."
But Matthew Brinckerhoff, the attorney for Goldstein and the other plaintiffs, said he was encouraged by the judges' questioning about what he called a "sweetheart deal for Ratner that could be worth billions." He said the judges could order ESDC to either complete a formal estimate of the private benefits or reveal what specifics they already have but have not made public.
Webb countered that almost a century of court decisions buttress his side's arguments.
The court dwelled just briefly on the ESDC's claim that Goldstein filed the state case only after striking out in federal court — long after such legal challenges could properly be brought in New York, Webb said.
The judges' decision is not expected for six to eight weeks.
Posted by lumi at February 24, 2009 5:16 AM