Oral arguments in Goldstein v. New York State Urban Development Corporation, the case regarding use of eminent domain for the Atlantic Yards development, will begin tomorrow in the state’s Court of Appeals, and The Wall Street Journal brings us a nice summary of some of the legal background—namely the federal case in 2005, Kelo v. City of New London, that paved the way for a much broader interpretation of public benefit to justify the condemnation of lands. The WSJ certainly chooses a side in the matter, saying that private beneficiaries like Costco, Ikea, Stop and Shop, The New York Times, and the New York Stock Exchange have all benefited from the condemnation of “small businesses, homes, and church property.” The article adds: “In eminent domain cases, the political class typically uses its power to help the strongest private interests against the weakest … Other states, like New Jersey, have seen stricter standards for eminent domain actions implemented through the courts. But New York is a draconian holdout. The Brooklyn case offers the courts a chance to tell the political class and its developer friends that they can’t trample over private property rights.”
A Property Rights Foul [WSJ]
Image by Howard Ohlhous