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February 24, 2009
At Supreme Atlantic Yards Hearing, Questions of Process
The NY Observer reporter Lydia DePillis attended yesterday's eminent domain hearing and filed a story which included this brief exchange:
In the 15-minute skirmish—the seventh of 16 hearings on the court's docket that morning, and easily the highlight—the petitioners and their ESDC respondents ran through their briefs as well as they could, interrupted frequently by questions from the bench.
ESDC attorney Charles Webb also didn't have much time to begin his argument before the panel's chair, Justice Robert Spolzino, asked him to respond directly to the petitioners on the question of whether ESDC should have dug deeper into the financial reward in store for Mr. Ratner (even if the project constitutes "public use," Ms. Levy and fellow plaintiffs' attorney Matthew Brinckerhoff used case law to argue, public benefit should be considered in relative terms).
"Did they [ESDC] address private benefit?" Justice Spolzino wanted to know.
"I don't believe they did, because there was no reason to," Mr. Webb answered.
"They don't have to?"
"They don't have to."
The article also mentions that with a decision in the environmental review case pending and a possible appeal of the eminent domain case it will be difficult for Bruce Ratner to float the triple tax exempt bonds he needs for the project before the December 2009 federal eligibility deadline.
Posted by lumi at February 24, 2009 4:58 AM