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October 14, 2009
High Court Hears Arguments in Atlantic Yards Case
CIty Room [NY Times blog]
Nicholas Confessore, The NY Times's former Brooklyn-beat reporter, now stationed in Albany, reported on this afternoon's oral arguments in the eminent domain appeals:
Wednesday’s one-hour hearing featured sharp questioning from several judges over what limits the state faced when it sought to condemn private property, some of it suggesting that the judges believed that the rights of the owners had not received enough consideration from state officials.
The lawyer for the Empire State Development Corporation, Philip E. Karmel, also faced sharp questioning from the court’s chief judge, Jonathan Lippman, that went to the heart of a key legal and political dispute surrounding Atlantic Yards: Whether it is a private real estate project seeking the patina of a public purpose to justify eminent domain, or a state-sponsored economic development project that happens to include a major real estate venture.
In his questioning, Mr. Lippman repeatedly pushed Mr. Karmel to define the project.
“The majority part of this project is market-rate housing?” the judge asked.
“That is not the purpose of the project, your honor,” Mr. Karmel replied.
“Is it the largest component of the project?” Mr. Lippman pressed.
“It is a significant component,” Mr. Karmel said, not quite conceding the point.
In another line of questioning, Judge Robert S. Smith, in a tone that suggested skepticism, asked Mr. Karmel if there were any limits on the state’s ability to take private land, so long as there was a public benefit. Mr. Karmel said that under current law and precedent, there was not.
Judge Smith also questioned Mr. Karmel about the state’s definition of blight.
“Suppose I am a developer and I want to buy on an area that is half blighted and half not,” the judge asked. “They can condemn the whole thing, even if only half of it is blighted?”
The answer, Mr. Karmel said, was yes.
The Local, Eminent Domain Probed in Atlantic Yards Case
Posted by lumi at October 14, 2009 6:54 PM