AY Owners, Renters File Eminent Domain Appeal
Eleven property owners and tenants within the Atlantic Yards footprint filed a petition yesterday asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their eminent domain case, nearing its 18th month in the judiciary system still without a trial. The case was dismissed twice by lower courts in developer Forest City Ratner’s favor. Since news broke of…
Eleven property owners and tenants within the Atlantic Yards footprint filed a petition yesterday asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their eminent domain case, nearing its 18th month in the judiciary system still without a trial. The case was dismissed twice by lower courts in developer Forest City Ratner’s favor. Since news broke of the basketball arena and high-rise project’s Dec. 19, 2009 kill-date (as long as Ratner stops pursuing litigation or construction matters), a lot of attention has been focused on the ticking clock rather than the people arguing beneath it. Now, about that legal case: In short, it seeks to clarify the Supreme Court’s controversial Kelo v. New London decision in 2005, which allowed the Connecticut city to give a developer private property for the purpose of economic development. In that case, eminent domain was decided by a legislative body, whereas Atlantic Yards was voted on by three publicly accountable politicians, though it went through a lengthy review process. And lead attorney for the plaintiffs Matthew Brinckerhoff said Kelo’s definition of public purpose was vague, leaving the average person vulnerable to having their property handed over to more influential citizens. They want the chance to vet that out more, and further investigate who Atlantic Yards was actually intended to benefit.
Forest City Ratner execs have long called lawsuits and appeals filed by project opponents “delay tactics” that deprive citizens benefits from the project’s arena, affordable housing and jobs. And now Ratner has found himself in credit crunch territory, possibly delaying or killing key components of the project. Lead plaintiff Daniel Goldstein, who owns a condo in the arena footprint, said it’s about their constitutional rights. But as far as the ticking clock, he said this is their last federal appeal, and he expects the court to decide whether to hear it this July. “If they don’t take our case, or take our case and rule against us, then we will go to state court, the appellate division, and raise our state claims.” When asked if they could drag out their case until 2010, after which time Forest City could automatically default if he decides not to continue pursuing litigation, Goldstein said, “We will take our case as far as we can to protect our constitutional rights.”
Ratner Only Required To Show Arena Financing for Eminent Domain Approval[Brownstoner]
Read The Fine Print[Atlantic Yards Report]
Slow Economy Likely to Stall Atlantic Yards [NY Times]
What Will Be Left of Gehry’s Vision for Brooklyn? [NY Times]
I say this it doesn’t matter Brownstoner. This site has jumped the shark. And now you will have to spend time censoring comments. I wish you luck on that. I hope you have do censor 8 billion comments. The site doesn’t cover to the real residents of your neighborhood. Brownstoner why don’t you cover Fulton St and Putnam, huh? Why don’t you cover the restaurants on Fulton St.? Jolloff has served this community for over 13 years.
Now you say this Blogs is an extension of your living room? I say this Blog os an extension of your ego.
I wonder if you put this up, plus you don’t have worry about The What. Enjoy the decreasing traffic to your site.
BTW You wrote if I stopped using profanity you would unblock my IP address but, I knew this was a fairy tale. Enjoy your sanitized site, devoid of opinions of others.
The What
Someday this war is gonna end…
Windfall guy. Do you realize that the city is giving Ratner $100million to reiumburse him for those buyouts made under the threat of eminent domain. Your tax dollars for Ratner to overpay to move people out of the way. awesome!
previous commenter. The state or city wouldn’t be buliding this. thats the point.
11:35AM – your a loser. You have one agenda Danny G, and that agenda is a selfish one. your dad was a stealing heartless punk & so are you. AY will be built, The only thing Danny G is doing is creating a rotting hole in the ground.
11:20 – it wouldn’t matter if it were a hospital, freeway, school, university (Columbia?) or essential infrastructure etc….
the tactics being employed are available no matter what the project (see Van Cortland Park water treatment plant)
The “private developer for private profit” is simply a populist slogan – if the State or City were building this (or similar) project the NIMBYs would be employing the same tactics (albeit with different slogans).
In the end we all pay – and it costs alot more then any deffered taxes or preferential financing that Ratner might get.
11:20, you’re an idiot. You people act like they are trying to kick Goldstein a/k/a “Kristen” out in the street (“…home was being TAKEN from them and GIVEN to a private developer…”). Nothing is being GIVEN to anybody…they have to pay Goldstein a/k/a “Kristen” for it. I have a friend who lived in that building. He bought a one bedroom $450k and sold it to Ratner SIX MONTHS LATER for $900k!! We are supposed to be crying for these people?!?
11:06 – DDDB and the community support the alternative Extell project, which provides more affordable housing and pays more to the MTA for the railyards and is proposed by a private developer. We do care about the schools, the air, the sewers, the traffic because we live in Prospect Heights. To learn more about dddb and its positions take a look at their website: http://www.dddb.net. They have a wealth of information about AY available there.
Good for them. They should use every means at their disposal–as I’m sure most everyone would if their home was being taken from them and given to a private developer simply looking to turn a profit. This isn’t a freeway or a hospital, and Ratner isn’t doing anything out of the kindness of his heart. He is looking to make money, plain and simple. I wish these homeowners luck.
The thing is that (as I predicted), Goldstein’s tactics were always designed to simply delay, harrass and roadblock using every and any method available. He (and the other NIMBY’s) have no principles or true agenda other then to stop the arena (the other development is not wanted but even if Ratner was building Brownstones, they would oppose b/c of the arena).
The never ending frivolous suits (yes they are frivolous if they have no reasonable legal basis) and objections were never designed to win on the merits but simply designed to make the process so slow and costly as to destroy it.
Goldstein and DDDB-Nimbys) dont really care about ED, or the environment, or schools, or traffic, or density – they just dont want the Arena and will do anything and say anything to stop it. And right now it looks like they were successful in destroying the office/residential/retail component through these tactics.
The irony thing is that under Kelo (and all other precedents) the Arena is actually the easiest with which to base an ED action.
But this should be a case study in the disfunction in our system – because no matter where you stand on this particular development such tactics can and are used to stop (and drive up the costs) of ALL such projects – from school construction to mass transit.
And btw now you know why Godstein wanted and the politicians went around ULURP – because the only purpose it serves is to add more delay and more roadblocks to any project.
dude, court of last resort. ever hear of it? the only way ANYONE can even attempt to go to the Supreme Court is after losing a series of appeals. so what are you talking about?