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October 14, 2009
NY Court of Appeals to Hear Brooklyn Eminent Domain Case
Back in 2007, lawyer William J. Ward helped small businesses in Bloomfield, NJ successfully fight the town against the use of eminent domain for another project that was supposed to be built by Atlantic Yards overdeveloper Bruce Ratner.
From his blog entry on the case to be argued in Albany this afternoon:
The petitioners challenge the concept of “public use” and its interpretation in New York case law. Lower courts, in this case and other New York cases, have opted for a broad interpretation of “public use.” This is beyond the definition urged by the plaintiffs, who want the court to adopt a more restrictive definition of “public use,” one that is consistent with its plain meaning and the intent of the New York Constitution, adopted in 1821. Their argument runs contrary to many state court decisions supporting a broad interpretation of “public use”. This is an uphill battle, but the fact that the Court of Appeals is hearing the case gives rise to the hope that the court may want to weigh in on this issue on the side of the property owners.
The petitioners also urge the court to weigh the relative public vs. private benefits that would occur as a result of the project as called for in Aspen Creek v. Town of Brookhaven, 12 NY 3d 738. The City of New York has filed an amicus brief supporting the use of eminent domain to foster economic development. The Virginia based Institute for Justice has filed an amicus brief on behalf of the plaintiffs. The Insitute recently published Building Empires, Destroying Homes: Eminent Domain Abuse in New York. (Click on the link to download the PDF.)
Posted by lumi at October 14, 2009 6:04 AM