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December 1, 2009
ESDC to Paper: Drop dead! State denies our FOIL request
The Brooklyn Paper
by Stephen Brown
State officials have offered an odd excuse for not revealing how they determined the value of a critical piece of property in the Atlantic Yards footprint: They can’t talk right now because they’re probably going to be sued again.
This week, the Empire State Development Corporation used that argument in denying The Brooklyn Paper’s “Freedom of Information Law” request for details about how the agency determined that Daniel Goldstein’s three-bedroom apartment on Pacific Street is worth $510,000 — $80,000 LESS than the Atlantic Yards opponent paid for it six years ago.
“Certain responsive materials which were prepared in anticipation of litigation are exempted from disclosure,” the agency said in a formal FOIL rejection letter to The Brooklyn Paper.
...Real estate agents, as well as lawyers who handle condemnation cases, agreed that the offer was extremely low considering the apartment is in prosperous Prospect Heights. One broker said the unit is worth nearly double what the state offered, and Goldstein’s lawyer Mike Rikon suggested that the ESDC was lowballing his client because of his outspoken opposition to the project.
Goldstein said that ESDC did not make its appraisal documents available to him, either — which condemnation lawyer Bill Ward, who is not involved in this case, saw as an indication that ESDC has no intention of negotiating with Goldstein to meet the “fair market value and just compensation” — the legal standard in eminent domain cases.
NoLandGrab: With his home and his steadfast resistance standing in the way of Bruce Ratner's giant jackpot, one could argue that Daniel Goldstein's condo is worth many millions to the Atlantic Yards developer.
Posted by eric at December 1, 2009 11:37 AM