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November 18, 2009
Do the judges on the Court of Appeals read the papers and think about Kelo? If so, they have to consider their legacy
Atlantic Yards Report
In advance of the NY State high court's decision on the use of eminent domain, which is expected any day now, Norman Oder wonders if the final chapter in the nation's most notorious eminent domain case to come before the federal Supreme Court will cast a long shadow on Atlantic Yards.
Do the judges read the papers?
Do they know the aftermath of the *Kelo vs. New London *case, where not only nothing was built but the company behind the plan, Pfizer, is leaving town?
The answer has to be yes to both.
And if they have any concern about their legacy, they should take a long pause before proceeding--as many legal observers were predicting--to simply reaffirm the state's power to pursue eminent domain.
After all, the legacy of a victory for the state could well be a basketball arena and a building or two--and a lot of vacant land serving as parking lots or "interim open space." In other words, a project ostensibly aimed to remove blight would perpetuate it.
And the airy promises of new tax revenues are simply bogus.
Posted by lumi at November 18, 2009 6:41 AM