« An SUV, apparently driven by a construction worker, speeds south the wrong way on Carlton Avenue | Main | "In Brooklyn, It’s All Nets": Times slideshow (and Sports section three-pager) about Nets marketing reinforces Nets marketing »
August 19, 2012
The New York Times Starts Reporting That New York Government Officials Are Looking At Suing Barclays Bank- Leading to. . . ?
Noticing New York
On an integrative note, Mr. Schneiderman, when running for the office of Attorney General once dangled the promise that elected as attorney general he would investigate the Atlantic Yards mega-monopoly of which the “Barclays” Center is a part (you see he could be conducting two investigations involving "Barclays" name) and that he would act to prevent such eminent domain abuse in the future. Based on those remarks Noticing New York endorsed voting for him. Making that endorsement Noticing New York offered these words:
It really would be a shame if our next New York State Attorney General doesn’t investigate the misconduct of state officials with respect to Atlantic Yards and the associated abuses of eminent domain there and elsewhere in New York State. And it will be a glorious new day if they do investigate and bring the powers of that office to bear on those problems.
...
Asked about Atlantic Yards and projects that abuse eminent domain Mr. Schneiderman said:
Also, the Attorney General can also just conduct investigations into the way these projects are carried out. Because even if they are technically complying with some of the laws I assure you that there are other issues that can be raised by an attorney general willing to take a look aggressively at the way these folks are proceeding.
And,
The idea [of eminent domain] was not to get land so someone can build a megadevelopment for a shopping mall or something else. This is just completely out of balance. Now if I’m in the Attorney General’s office- - * * * The next Attorney General’s ability to move program bills which is part of the Attorney Generals’ function * * * I would move program bills to correct this and I would enforce them rigorously.
The same night Mr. Schneiderman provided this envisioning of his own elected future, Eric Dinallo, another candidate running against Mr. Schneiderman for the same office, said that the recent “complete” change in interpreting eminent domain to allow seizure of one private owner’s land to turn it over to another private owner for that other owner's private benefit was wrong and that he would:
. . . use the appeals and opinions section of the attorney general’s office to issue a revisitation of it. So I think the office now has such prominence both in the state and across the country that I would issue an opinion that would explore this again and disagree with it pretty clearly and then lead that into the signaling of a potential lawsuit around getting the laws changed and in an approach that I think should include returning back to more of a public enterprise condemnation proceeding and not a private taking.
The bottom line is, as most of the candidates in that night’s forum helped make clear: There are things an elected attorney general could now be doing respecting the improprieties reflected in Atlantic Yards and the “Barclays” Center.
Posted by steve at August 19, 2012 10:56 PM