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May 17, 2009
Futher Coverage of Eminent Domain Ruling
Since the ruling by a New York state appellate court in favor of the Empire State Development Corporation was announced on a Friday, additional press coverage appeared over Saturday. The tone of the coverage ranged from total acceptance of Bruce Ratner's prediction to build to this year to a possibility that could happen.
Developer Bruce Ratner says he is ready to break ground on a Brooklyn arena for the New Jersey Nets this year after an appeals court struck down a challenge to his Atlantic Yards project.
Ratner says he plans to begin building the $800 million arena this year after issuing bonds to finance the project this fall.
The state Supreme Court’s appellate division on Friday struck down an opponents’ lawsuit that sought to stop the state from using eminent domain to seize property where the 22-acre Atlantic Yards project is slated to be built.
The opponents say they will appeal.The $4 billion project includes an office tower and more than 15 apartment buildings.
Opposition lawsuits and financing difficulties have delayed the project for years.
The future home of the New Jersey Nets is set for construction after an appeals court ruled the Brooklyn arena could break ground following the dismissal of a challenge by opponents.
The Atlantic Yards project, to be developed by Bruce Ratner, has been delayed for several years as lawsuits have been filed to block the $4 billion venture that would include 15 apartment buildings and an office tower in addition to the arena.
Ratner plans to begin construction on the $800 million Brooklyn arena later this year. Opponents had filed a lawsuit that challenged the state’s use of eminent domain to seize property for the 22-acre Atlantic Yards project.
The New Jersey Nets may have moved a step closer to breaking ground on a new basketball arena in Brooklyn, thanks to a judicial decision made last week.
The Appellate Division of New York's State Supreme Court, Second Judicial Department, unanimously rejected an opponent's lawsuit that challenged the state's use of eminent domain to seize property for the arena.
According to a New York Times report, the 20,000-seat arena that the Nets would use is a part of a 22-acre development project, which includes apartments and an office tower, called Atlantic Yards. The project is headed by developer Bruce Ratner, the Nets' principal owner.
The decision, which was made Tuesday and announced Friday, said "the condemnation does not violate the Public Use clause of the New York Constitution because it cannot be said that the public benefits which the Atlantic Yards project is expected to yield are incidental or pretextual in comparison to the benefit that will be bestowed upon the project's private developer."
Opponents have delayed the proposed plan in the last several years, arguing that taking the property violated the Public Use clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. They asserted that the public uses of the development were pretexts for Ratner's private benefit.
The Times' report said Ratner, planned to break ground on the $800 million arena by October, and that he was "overjoyed." However, it also quoted an opponent as saying the legal battle was not over.
By Mark Macyk
Developer Bruce Ratner's plans to bring the New Jersey Nets to Brooklyn is a step closer to reality after a state appeals court dismissed a major challenge to his long-delayed Atlantic Yards project on Friday.
Ratner, the CEO of Forest City Ratner Companies, said he hopes to break ground on the $800-million dollar Barclay Center by October. The planned 20,000-seat arena would be the first part of a 22-acre development at the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues. Along with the arena, the $4-billion project will include an office tower and more than 6,000 apartments with as many as 2,250 for low and middle-income families. Ratner said he hoped to build the first residential building six to nine months after starting the arena.
In a unanimous decision, the state Supreme Court's appellate division upheld a lower-court ruling that rejected a challenge to the state's use of eminent domain to obtain properties. "It cannot be said that the public benefits which the Atlantic Yards project is expected to yield are incidental or pretextual in comparison to the benefit that will be bestowed upon the project's private developer," the ruling said.
The opposition, which has yet to win a lawsuit but has delayed the project for over two years, vowed to continue to fight and expressed doubt over whether Ratner would get the financing he needs in such uncertain economic times. Ratner, the CEO of Forest City Ratner Companies, said he hopes to raise the funds for the project by issuing bonds.
Posted by steve at May 17, 2009 6:17 AM