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December 9, 2009
Home, Blighted Home
The Huffington Post
by Daniel Goldstein
The man at the center of the Atlantic Yards eminent domain fight recounts his search for a substandard and insanitary home.
New York's Empire State Development Corporation is empowered, under the Urban Development Corporation Act, to acquire property by eminent domain for a "land use improvement project" if it finds that "the area in which the project is to be located is a substandard or insanitary area, or is in danger of becoming a substandard or insanitary area and tends to impair or arrest the sound growth and development of the municipality."
...When I was renting on 7th Street in Gowanus I started getting the idea in my head that I should pursue the American dream and own a home. Not a bad idea.
So I set about finding a real estate agent and I found one at Brooklyn Properties. We spent some time discussing what I was looking for, and I was open to compromising my needs and desires, as nothing is perfect.
But there was one thing I would not budge on. The apartment I wanted to buy, make my home, and start a family in had to be substandard or insanitary and it had to be in a substandard and insanitary neighborhood.
I wouldn't have it any other way. I could give up outdoor space, good views, good light, good transportation -- all of that I could give up.
But substandard and insanitary? That was a must!
Posted by eric at December 9, 2009 10:51 AM