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October 4, 2009
EMINENT DOMAIN
Poetic justice, or sour economy?
Associated Press, via San Francisco Chronicle
By Katie Nelson
Eminent domain tourists passing through New London in search of the remnants of the old Ft. Trumbull neighborhood that was ground zero in the case of Kelo v. New London will find few reminders of what was.
There are a few signs of life: Feral cats glare at visitors from a miniature jungle of Queen Anne's lace, thistle and goldenrod. Gulls swoop between the lot's towering trees and the adjacent sewage treatment plant.
But what of the promised building boom that was supposed to come wrapped and ribboned with up to 3,169 new jobs and $1.2 million a year in tax revenues? They are noticeably missing.
Proponents of the ambitious plan blame the sour economy. Opponents call it a "poetic justice."
"They are getting what they deserve. They are going to get nothing," said Susette Kelo, the lead plaintiff in the landmark property rights case. "I don't think this is what the United States Supreme Court justices had in mind when they made this decision."
NoLandGrab: The irony is that around this vast plot there are new lampposts installed along the new sidewalk to nowhere.
Posted by lumi at October 4, 2009 5:58 PM