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November 17, 2009
It came from the Blogosphere...
Reason Hit & Run, New York's Shameful Eminent Domain Abuse
In the wake of last week’s big news that the Pfizer Corporation is pulling out of New London, Connecticut just four years after that municipality received Supreme Court approval to seize private property on Pfizer’s behalf, the Atlantic Yards eminent domain case in Brooklyn is receiving lots of well-deserved attention. In a superb article from Saturday’s Wall Street Journal, Nicole Gelinas outlines New York’s shameful behavior.
...It’s also worth noting that New York didn’t even start talking about blight until two years after the project was first announced. By that point, Ratner had already acquired many of the properties in the neighborhood (thanks to the state’s threat of eminent domain) and then left them empty, thus creating much of the unsightly neglect visible today.
Here’s another depressing fact: The MTA quietly struck a deal with Ratner for that below-grade railyard (the Vanderbilt Yards) as early as February 2005—without first opening the property up for competitive bidding. This prompted a public outcry, so the MTA offered prospective buyers a mere 42 days to put up their own bids. This was hardly "competitive," however, since Ratner’s plans had been in the works for years and everybody else had to scramble to meet the deadline. Still, the Extell firm successfully submitted a $150 million offer for the property, which has been appraised at over $200 million. But then Ratner bid just $50 million and won, with that figure later negotiated to a lump-sum payment of $100 million. Finally, the MTA sweetened the deal even further this past June by allowing Ratner to pay just $20 million up front, with the remaining $80 million due over the next 22 years. Now that’s a bailout!
Islandlaw Constitutional Rights Pages, Eminent Domain in New York
To protect against the abuses now permitted by this ridiculous decision, forty states passed more restrictive eminent domain laws. New York State has always prohibited condemnations that are meant for private redevelopment. But that may change soon.
...The real outrage here is that the municipality isn’t arguing the general “public use” claim, which seemed unlikely to succeed. Rather, the argument is that the condemnation is required because the neighborhood suffers from economic blight. This would be a pretty good argument, except for the fact that Mr. Goldstein paid $590,000 for his condo in 2003, and the “blighted” neighborhood is filled with condos in the $600,000 range.
...It remains to be seen how the court will rule, but if the “blighted neighborhood” argument is the best those seeking condemnation can do, Mr. Goldstein and his neighbors should be safe in their homes for the forseeable future.
NetsDaily, Is Mikhail Prokhorov Getting Richer?
Rumors swirl about where the Nets will play and who will own them. There are reports the current owners are having trouble arranging the financing for Barclays Center while others suggest if Brooklyn fails, Mikhail Prokhorov is “so geeked” about owning the Nets he’d be willing to keep them in New Jersey. And how will the Court of Appeals ruling affect all this?
One thing does appear certain: while all that is going on in New York, the Nets’ prospective owner, Prokhorov, is getting richer while sitting in Moscow. How much richer? Hard to tell, but the words “a lot” seem to be an accurate description. Moreover, he stands to get even richer by week’s end…again a lot richer.
The Sports Stuff Boards, What is Prokhorov's actual worth?
What is Prokhorov's actual worth?
No one seems to know the exact figure, but many believe it to be at least 2-3 times the one listed in Forbes magazine ($9.5 bn).
SportsBusiness Daily, Mikhail Prokhorov May Still Buy Nets If Brooklyn Falls Through [subscription required]
"Buy-For-Less Option" Remains For Prokhorov And Nets.
Nothin' But Nets, NO SLEEP TIL BROOKLYN
The New Jersey Nets have been selling fans big dreams about a move to Brooklyn and the landing of some marquee talent for the 2010 season. Well it appears the move to Brooklyn may be in jeopardy as reports have surfaced that Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov is willing to purchase the team for a reduced rate and keep it in New Jersey.
...All of this talk of re-locating is cool but the Nets are losing fans by the game....They may want to turn their attention to current basketball operations and being as competitive as possible.
NetsAreScorching, NETS ON THE NET: 11/17/09 EDITION
On the Brooklyn front, the state is expecting to start marketing tax-exempt bonds to build the arena in the next two weeks.
Meanwhile, Daniel Goldstein, Brooklyn resident and lead opponent for the anti-Atlantic Yards movement is not very happy with the offer he’s gotten from the state for his apartment.
UnBeige, Quarterback Profile Leads to Discovery of Kansas' Evil Plot to Control Stadium Design (Maybe)
Not to brag, but we have it all figured out now. Remember how you, like us, thought it was curious when you learned that the epicenter of stadium design is Kansas [or Missouri, see below]? You have Populous there, which is clearly the biggest player in the game (metaphor!), but there's also Ellerbe Beckett, who grabbed the Atlantic Yards ball from Frank Gehry and is now running it to the end zone (another metaphor!). But how exactly did the city wind up with control of the stadium-building universe?
Posted by eric at November 17, 2009 11:39 PM