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December 10, 2009
Eminent Domain: The Taking of Private Property for Public Use – An Examination of Recent New York State Decisions in Light of Kelo v. City of New London
Stroock.com
by Ross F. Moskowitz and Joon H. Kim
In the last month, New York courts have issued two important decisions regarding the use of eminent domain/condemnation powers. The first was the November 24, 2009 decision by the Court of Appeals of the State of New York in In the Matter of Daniel Goldstein v. N.Y.S. Urban Development Corp., in which the court upheld the exercise of eminent domain powers in the Atlantic Yards area of Brooklyn, New York to acquire private property for future development by a private developer. In the second, In re Parminder Kaur v. N.Y.S. Urban Development Corp., the First Department held on December 3, 2009 that the taking of private property in the Manhattanville area of West Harlem, New York for use by Columbia University was improper.
This Stroock Real Estate Practice Group Special Bulletin looks at these two decisions in light of Kelo v. City of New London, a landmark decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the taking of private property to effectuate an economic development plan.
...Perhaps the most significant difference is that in In re Parminder Kaur, the finding of blight was made after the selection of the private party receiving majority of the benefit of the condemnation, whereas in both Kelo and In the Matter of Daniel Goldstein, the finding that the area was blighted and in need of economic redevelopment was made before the private developer was selected.
NoLandGrab: That analysis of the differences in the cases is just plain wrong. No part of the Atlantic Yards footprint south of the railyard was ever declared blighted prior to Ratner's ID'ing the land he wanted, and blight was never put forth as a justification for the Atlantic Yards project until after the Kelo verdict was rendered. The problem is that Ratner's arena wouldn't fit in the portion of the site that was previously designated part of the Atlantic Terminal Urban Renewal Area.
And as far as ATURA is concerned, the fact that nearly four decades elapsed between its designation and the hatching of Ratner's Atlantic Yards scheme should just maybe call the whole thing into question, no?
Posted by eric at December 10, 2009 6:37 PM