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January 6, 2010
Who Has the Right to Say What's Blight? Bill Perkins vs. ESDC Darling
NY Observer
by Eliot Brown
Blight is in the eye of the beholder — especially if that beholder is AKRF.
State Senator Bill Perkins is apparently not happy about the state's choice of consultants.
One consultant, specifically: AKRF, the New York-based firm that has established itself as the unchallenged king of environmental review in the city and state, dominating the field of government contracts.
The source of angst for Mr. Perkins is Columbia University's proposed 17-acre expansion into West Harlem and the state development agency's selection of AKRF to do a blight study. The blight study is a necessary step for eminent domain in the project, though the state's selection of AKRF has taken significant heat from the courts, which recently dealt the school a tremendous blow by blocking the use of eminent domain for the expansion. Among other factors, the use of AKRF was cited as a concern given that Columbia also used the firm to do its environmental review (the state intends to appeal the ruling).
...The dual use of AKRF for environmental review and blight studies has happened before, notably in the Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn, though it was criticized repeatedly by the courts in the case of Columbia, which said AKRF's objectivity could be compromised.
Posted by eric at January 6, 2010 4:10 PM