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Oral Arguments over Eminent Domain at Atlantic Yards
The long-awaited Court of Appeals case against Empire State Development Corporation for the use of eminent domain in the Atlantic Yards development project began yesterday. The ESDC argued that the use of eminent domain to condemn private homes and businesses was necessary to promote economic development and because the region was already blighted. The lawyers for the business and home owners, on the other hand, claimed that the state used the blight designation long after planning had begun, to justify the 22-acre condominium and stadium project, and development had been occurring on its own before Forest City Ratner bought the land. The New York Times’ City Room blog brings us some key excerpts from the opening round of questioning, in which the chief judge, Jonathan Lippman, questions Philip Karmel, the lawyer for the ESDC:
The majority part of this project is market-rate housing? the judge asked. That is not the purpose of the project, your honor, Mr. Karmel replied. Is it the largest component of the project? Mr. Lippman pressed. It is a significant component, Mr. Karmel said, not quite conceding the point.
In another line of questioning, Judge Robert S. Smith, in a tone that suggested skepticism, asked Mr. Karmel if there were any limits on the state’s ability to take private land, so long as there was a public benefit. Mr. Karmel said that under current law and precedent, there was not.
Judge Smith also questioned Mr. Karmel about the state’s definition of blight. Suppose I am a developer and I want to buy on an area that is half blighted and half not, the judge asked. They can condemn the whole thing, even if only half of it is blighted? The answer, Mr. Karmel said, was yes.
The judges were equally tough on the plaintiffs’ lawyer Matthew Brinckerhoff. As Norman Oder points out in a detailed dissection of the day, a decision is expected by Thanksgiving.
High Court Hears Arguments in Atlantic Yards Case [NY Times]
At Hearing, Judges Skeptical of Both Sides [AY Report]
Court Battle Could Determine Fate of AY [NY Daily News]
Atlantic Yards Appeal Gets Intense in Albany [Brooklyn Eagle]
Atlantic Yards Court Case Begins Wednesday [Brownstoner]
Atlantic Yards: the Profits from Eminent Domain [Brownstoner]
ESDC Approves Revised Plan for Atlantic Yards [Brownstoner]
Image by Tracy Collins
10/15/2009 9:30 AM
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Thursday Links
A Tree Grows (and Dies) in Brooklyn [LA Times]
In an Old Film, the Brooklyn Waterfront as Badlands [NY Times]
Off-Duty Officer Is Indicted in Fatal D.W.I. [NY Times]
Tensions Flare in Flatbush Over Arrest of Vendors [NY Times]
Brooklyn Loan Shark Shot, Killed in Car [Daily News]
Bay Ridge Leads Brooklyn in Recycling [Brooklyn Eagle]
Brooklyn Rally Supports Healthcare ‘Public Option’ [Brooklyn Eagle]
The Bard of Boerum Hill: Love Him and Lethem! [Brooklyn Paper]
Dumbo Group Sues Two Trees Over Dock Street [Brooklyn Paper]
Photo by ItinerantFoodies, Brownstoner Flickr pool
10/15/2009 8:31 AM
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Closing Bell: Brooklyn Film Race
Today is the last day to register for Brooklyn Film Race 2009, an annual event in which filmmakers have 24 hours to make a short piece. Filming will begin this Friday at 10 p.m., and screenings will take place some time in the next week. First place prize is $2,500 cash plus a pile of filmmaking-related schwag.
Image from last year’s entry, Bare Walls, by The Back of the Bus, created in 12 hours
10/14/2009 4:00 PM
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The Locale: Greenpoint Condo Auction
The Locale, a four-story, 16-unit luxury development in Greenpoint from TreeTop Development, is going on the auction block November 11, reports Curbed. This is the sign of the times that the media and real estate business have been expecting—developers have already opted to unload their stagnant projects elsewhere, but this is the first in Brooklyn. The building, at 267-269 Kingsland Avenue, offers one-bedroom and one-bedroom duplex units, some with balconies and views of the Manhattan skyline. The auction will be held at the New York Marriott, 333 Adams Street, at 7:30 p.m., where bids will start at $150,000—as low as 25 percent of the original asking prices of $445,000 to $600,000. points out that Brooklyn condo sales dropped nearly 30 percent in the second quarter, and median sales prices fell 16 percent. GMAP P*Shark DOB
First Condo Auction Looms in Brooklyn [Crain's]
On the Block: New Greenpoint Condos Heading to Auction! [Curbed]
The Locale Auction Listing [Sheldon Good & Co]
10/14/2009 10:45 AM
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Atlantic Yards: Suit Filed Against MTA
While the Atlantic Yards’ eminent domain case begins in court today, Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn and four elected officials filed another suit in the state’s Supreme Court yesterday against the Metropolitan Transit Authority, claiming that its sale of land to developer Forest City Ratner violates state law. Specifically, they charge that the M.T.A. violated the Public Authorities Accountability Act of 2005 when, in June 2009, it sold the 8.5-acre Vanderbilt Yard at Flatbush and Atlantic to the developer in a $100 million deal without first getting an independent appraisal of the yard and opening the parcel to competing offers. According to DDDB, “an annulment [of the sale] would disallow the transfer of the property, which the developer requires for its project, including its proposed basketball arena, until the M.T.A. complied with the law.” The M.T.A. declined to speak with The New York Times regarding the lawsuit, but the lead plaintiff, state Senator Velmanette Montgomery, said: “While the M.T.A. is forcing service cuts and fare increases on the people of New York, they are giving Forest City Ratner just about a free ride. We have laws in this state which forbid these kinds of sweetheart deals.”
Suit Challenges Sale of Land to Atlantic Yards Developer [NY Times]
Elected Officials and Two Orgs Sue MTA for Sweetheart Deal [DDDB]
Photo by Tracy Collins
Suit Challenges Sale of Land to Atlantic Yards Developer [NY Times]
Elected Officials and Two Orgs Sue MTA for Sweetheart Deal [DDDB]
Photo by Tracy Collins
10/14/2009 9:29 AM
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EPA, Bloomberg Compete to Clean Gowanus
In late September, the Gowanus Canal, polluted from sewage runoff and years of industrial waste, made headlines when Riverkeeper, a watchdog organization, threatened to sue major polluters unless they take remedial action. The Environmental Protection Agency is also considering the waterway as a possible Super Fund, which would take extensive containment measures and look for clean-up funds through litigation against present and past polluters. The Bloomberg administration opposed both these plans, offering that the city could clean the canal faster, without hampering private development—and Friday, in a pump house along the canal, Bloomberg announced the details of his plan: a two-stage process that he expects would clean the canal within ten years. The first stage, according to The Architect’s Newspaper, consists of three capital programs to increase fresh water flow, dredge the river, and increase capacity to transport and process sewage runoff. The second, and more vague, stage involves approaching companies to help remedy some of the long-term environmental damage, with matching funds from the federal Water Resources Development Act. The city would grant oversight rights to the EPA, which could step in if the city’s program failed to meet its standards. There are no data yet concerning which plan, city clean-up or the Super Fund process, would be safer for residents or more environmentally sound. Some people have criticized Bloomberg, saying that his sudden interest in the canal isn’t just to protect private development but because Riverkeeper implicated the city’s Department of Transportation as one of the polluters. The decision has caused some polarization and frustration already; at Friday’s announcement, for example, eight supporters of Super Fund designation were barred entry to the event, while the developer Toll Brothers was allowed inside, reports the Daily News. A Bloomberg representative said that it was simply a private event for invited guests and the media. And there are other residents, on the other hand, who don’t care who cleans the canal, as long as someone does.
Riverkeeper, Feds, State Jostle to Clean Gowanus [Brownstoner]
Advocates of Super Fund Barred from City Conference [Daily News]
Flushing the Gowanus [Architect's Newspaper]
Photo by Timothy Vogel
10/14/2009 9:01 AM
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Wednesday Links
Rising Inline Skater Is Fatally Shot in Brooklyn [NY Times]
In Bushwick, Starving Artists No More [NY Times]
Senior Program Launches: Same Bus, Different Mission [NY Times]
The Day: Public Art, To What End? [The Local, NYT]
Brooklyn’s “Hipster Grifter” Replies from Prison [NBC NY]
Weak Dollar, Low NY Property Prices Woo Foreigners [Reuters]
One in Five Kids Homeless at PS 636 [NY Daily News]
Legal Services NYC to Consolidate Brooklyn? [Brooklyn Eagle]
Claire Danes Doesn’t Go to Brooklyn a Lot [NY Mag]
Photo by adamlerner, Brownstoner Flickr pool
10/14/2009 8:31 AM
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Concerns over BQE Lead Paint Removal
Some residents of Carroll Gardens and Redhook have expressed concern recently over the large green tanks that have appeared in the past few weeks at the Kane, Union, Sackett, and Summit Street bridges over the B.Q.E. The tanks are containment units for lead paint and other hazardous materials that are produced in the cleaning of the bridges, and some locals are worried about possible health risks. Lost City, for example, noticed a “sudden bad air quality” and pointed out that the containers are unprotected and exposed in public spaces where children could endanger themselves; City Room, from The New York Times, noticed “duct-tape patching” on these ancient-seeming containers. The Word on Columbia Street shares the public’s concerns, but also points out that the NYC Department of Transportation uses a set of procedures approved by national, state, and city health and environmental organizations such as the EPA and the New York State Department of Health. Kieran Aherns, who was contracted for the job, told The Word that the process of sandblasting and vacuuming the waste is performed with constant air quality monitoring, but a noticeable dust in the air has left residents unconvinced.
Are B.Q.E. Lead Shacks Poisoning Carroll Gardens? [Lost City]
The Mystery of Those Metal Units over the B.Q.E. [City Room]
Lead Paint Removal on Hicks Street Bridges [TWOCS]
Photo by The Word on Columbia Street
Are B.Q.E. Lead Shacks Poisoning Carroll Gardens? [Lost City]
The Mystery of Those Metal Units over the B.Q.E. [City Room]
Lead Paint Removal on Hicks Street Bridges [TWOCS]
Photo by The Word on Columbia Street
10/13/2009 11:01 AM
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Atlantic Yards Court Case Begins Wednesday
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
A Property Rights Foul [WSJ]
Image by Howard Ohlhous
10/13/2009 10:15 AM
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MTA Sets Course for F Train
The MTA recently released a 25-page report outlining current and future projects to improve the F train line, which runs through Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. According to the Daily News, the MTA is going to add new cars, build barriers to protect workers and prevent delays on parallel tracks, and discontinue the policy of skipping certain stops during rush hours—a practice that, research showed, made congestion worse. Officials could not guarantee the return of express service to the F line, however, and even if express service does come back, it won’t be until 2013. State Senator Daniel Squadron of Brooklyn, who requested the MTA report, told The New York Times that the MTA is being “honest about putting facts behind what we already knew: that the F line is not working. Senator Squadron praised the MTA’s efforts, saying “We should start seeing improvements this month, and more significant improvements as we begin next year.
F Line Finally on Track for Fixes [NY Daily News]
On the F Train, the M.T.A. Confirms What Riders Know [NY Times]
Photo by Joe Holmes
10/13/2009 9:45 AM
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To Own or to Rent?
Over the weekend The New York Times profiled a series of co-op or condo owners who became renters either due to the market downturn, size requirements, or both. The article begins, for example, with a family of four that moves from an 850-square-foot Upper East Side two-bedroom, one-bathroom co-op to an Upper East Side rental—three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and 1,400 square feet for $5,200 per month. The praises sung for renterhood include: freedom from responsibility and anxiety, fewer financial requirements, more space, and sometimes more amenities. Some of those profiled in the article, however, miss ownership: the camaraderie in the building, the freedom to renovate and customize, the autonomy of ownership. Those profiled are primarily individuals, couples, or families who live in expensive Manhattan neighborhoods like the Upper East Side, the Upper West, or Greenwich Village—people who can afford rents of $5,000. It would be interesting to hear from readers with a wider range of incomes and locations. For example, has anyone out there had a similar experience in Brooklyn, where you have recently sold a house or apartment (either by choice or necessity) in order to become a renter?
Owners No More [NY Times]
Image by Mark Ovaska
10/13/2009 9:01 AM
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Tuesday Links
Man Accused of D.W.I. in Fatal Crash in Brooklyn [NY Times]
Theater: His Streets, His Stories, His Life [NY Times]
Weekend Repairs Hobble New York City Subways [NY Times]
18 Sustain Minor Injuries in Brooklyn Bus Crash [NY Times]
Luring Artists to Lend Life to Empty Storefronts [NY Times]
Lethem Thumbs Nose at Manhattan Haves [Bloomberg]
Crack Thugs Sue City, Earn $500K [Daily News]
Brooklyn Southerners Bet Goober Peas Are Next Craze [Daily News]
Three Pulled From Sinking Car In Brooklyn [NY1]
Brooklyn Borough Hall to Host Brooklyn’s GLBT Center [Brooklyn Eagle]
Bloomberg Proposes Eliminating Public Advocate Position [AYR]
Photo by neenna, Brownstoner Flickr pool
10/13/2009 8:31 AM
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Last Day of the Sukkahs
Sukkot, the seven-day Jewish festival with origins as a celebration for the harvest, is ending today. One of the icons of Sukkot is the sukkah, a temporary hut built just for the week of Sukkot, reminiscent of the structures the Israelites built during their 40 years in the desert, following their exodus from Egypt. Here, we’ve put up ten iPhone photographs we took while biking around in Crown Heights and Williamsburg, home to large Jewish populations. You’ll notice that Jews carry around leafy branches and lemons with them during Sukkot. These come from a commandment from Moses: “On the first day you shall take the product of hadar trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days”.
10/09/2009 2:59 PM
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Streetlevel: Orchid Cafe in Bed-Stuy
Talima Davis and Allison Lamb sent us a note mentioning that their new cafe, Orchid, will have its grand opening this Saturday, October 10. Offering a gourmet take on soul food, the menu, according to New York magazine, lists breakfast sandwiches on sweet potato biscuits (breakfast will be served all day at Orchid), five-cheese macaroni with panko crumbs, pistachio-crusted chicken, and personal pizzas with lamb, onions, or peppers. The owners add that the cafe will, of course, offer a variety of coffees and teas as well as pastries baked on site. GMAP
Bed-Stuy Gets a Chicken and Waffles Spot [New York]
10/09/2009 2:01 PM
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Open House New York: Much More Than Houses
The seventh annual openhousenewyork event will take place this weekend; all told, there are over 350 events in all five boroughs showcasing New York architecture and design, and the scheduled tours and talks span a wide array of cultural key points. The line-up in Brooklyn, for example, includes a tour of the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel, BAM, Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Lyceum, the City Reliquary, Tom Otterness’ studio, and a long list of historical sites that may or may not be on your radar, such as the Pieter Claesen Wyckoff House, the oldest home in New York City, or the St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. For the full (very full) listing, check out openhousenewyork’s website. And did we mention that it’s free?
10/09/2009 10:29 AM
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Atlantic Yards: Shaya Gets the Boot
As you may remember, Forest City Ratner, developer behind the Atlantic Yards, hit a little snafu in the planning stages when it claimed to own or control more land than it actually did, namely the lots at the corner of Carlton and Vanderbilt. The snafu came in the form of property owner Henry Weinstein, who fought Shaya Boymelgreen’s attempt to assign his lease to Forest City Ratner. Weinstein took Boymelgreen to court and legally took possession on September 18, but according to the Atlantic Yards Report, he just received the eviction notice from the Sheriff’s Office yesterday. (Note: This post has been updated because it was, well, completely wrong to start with.)
Atlantic Yards Misrepresents Ownership [Brownstoner]
Eviction Notice at Carlton and Vanderbilt [AYR]
Photo by Tracy Collins
Atlantic Yards Misrepresents Ownership [Brownstoner]
Eviction Notice at Carlton and Vanderbilt [AYR]
Photo by Tracy Collins
10/09/2009 9:31 AM
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mmm
May 16, 2013 | 09:04 AM