BREAKING: Goldstein et al Lose Eminent Domain Lawsuit
The New York State Court of Appeals has just ruled in favor of the ESDC in the closely-watched eminent domain lawsuit brought by property owners in the footprint of its proposed Atlantic Yards project. According to Atlantic Yards Report, “In a decision (PDF) that gives the crucial–but perhaps not final–boost to the Atlantic Yards project,…
The New York State Court of Appeals has just ruled in favor of the ESDC in the closely-watched eminent domain lawsuit brought by property owners in the footprint of its proposed Atlantic Yards project. According to Atlantic Yards Report, “In a decision (PDF) that gives the crucial–but perhaps not final–boost to the Atlantic Yards project, the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, approved the use of eminent domain by a 6-1 margin, saying that it’s not the role of the courts to intervene in agency decisions, given the wide latitude in state law.” The ruling means that Ratner may proceed with the sale of tax-exempt bonds to finance the sports arena that is scheduled to be the first stage of the gigantic development. The construction of both affordable and market-rate housing is supposed to begin with months of the arena, but as The New York Times points out this morning, “with so many new apartments sitting vacant, analysts say it could be many years before demand will justify building so many units in one neighborhood.”
Atlantic Yards Project in Brooklyn Clears Legal Hurdle [NY Times]
Court of Appeals upholds AY eminent domain 6-1 [AY Report]
Photo by Tracy Collins
BrooklynRed;
You are not quite right about Moses and the proposed Dodger stadium.
Moses had no formal jursidiction over the matter. What is true is that O’Malley went to Moses to ask for his support, KNOWING that he was the only one who could “get things done”. Moses refused to support the idea of a stadium at the Atlantic terminal. He thought that Flushing Meadows was a more appropriate place.
It seems to me that when you support Moses on this site, people take it to mean that you believe all of his decisions were flawless. Like all great men, he had his pros and cons. What is true is that when all is said and done, his legacy is everywhere in NYC. He accomplished a great deal, which is alot more than can be said for most public figures today. Moreover, he did so while NOT enriching himself. He was born into a wealthy family, and after devoting his life to public service, left an estate of around $50K. Again, not too many folks around like that these days.
Thank you Brooklyn Red. You said everything much better than I have the skill or patience to do.
ftgreenecorey – is totally right – i’ve made the same points before. anyone who owns property has to fight for continued major major developments like AY and the waterfront and high rises in WB and downtown Brooklyn to change mass negative perceptions about Brooklyn. yes, there’s been change up till now, but seriously, i run into all sorts of people all the time (usually through my kid, not through my NYC biz dealings) who live in places like the Village and Chelsea even who are totally clueless about brooklyn and wouldn’t even consider living here!
the nets in brooklyn is HUGE – brooklyn will be on the national scene then.
of course, it’s necessary and of course, the creators should be rewarded.
An ironic confluence of sentiments from benson – lamenting the absence of “master builders†like Moses while at the same time lamenting the fact that the “city†wouldn’t go along with O’Malley and refused to build a new stadium for the Dodgers at Atlantic and Flatbush. It wasn’t the “city†that nixed the idea – it was Moses (who, admittedly, often thought he was the city) who was determined to build a stadium in Queens.
I also travel a fair amount and have been close to astonished by the number of people who do know Brooklyn – and especially the ones who say “my kid(s) live there and love it .I hear it’s the happening place.†Sure, there are regional stereotypes throughout the country (everybody in Kansas lives on a farm, everybody in Vermont collects maple syrup), but in case you haven’t noticed, Brooklyn has been winning “livable neighborhood†awards and as Bxgrl noted, the renaissance has been going on for a while.
The Brooklynites I know who reminisce about the Dodgers tend to be the same folks who remember stickball in the streets and sitting on the stoop and knowing the folks on the block – concepts that seem alien to developers who make no accommodation to the need for scale and shared space that can keep a location feeling like a “neighborhood”. The nostalgia is not just for a team that can be cheered on, but for a sense of place – which I sure don’t get with Atlantic Yards (well, maybe a sense of awful place).
I respectfully disagree with Corey when he says that when people think “Nashville†they think “Titans†(music, maybe) – and I think he in fact points to one of the big problems in the teams/owners/stadium mix – it’s become more and more of a one night stand for demanding owners who don’t really give a damn about where a team is located.
To me, the biggest problem with how the Atlantic Yards process is moving along (apart from the problems about size and scale) is about the lies and blatantly false promises that were made to swing this development deal. The promises of jobs and affordable housing have disappeared. And even if you accept that there may be some vague collective psyche benefit to having a home town sports team (which I don’t buy), the cost is way too high for such an ephemeral “highâ€. This project is not going to help the infrastructure – it’s going to put a terrific strain on it. Historically, stadiums do not help a local economy.
I’m with Ditmassnark , Johnny and the rest on this – what a terrible waste of dollars.
DitmasSnark and Bklynrosie, snark, snark all you want. Like I said above, the typical Brooklyn response is “who the f*ck cares what THEY think”, but if a neutral observer looks at our “mainstreet” Flatbush Avenue in general (or the corner of Flatbush and Atlantic in particular) and compares that to Indianapolis’ “mainstreet” Pennsylvania Street (where Conseco Fieldhouse is located), what city do you think THEY would consider “world class”?
FtGreeneCorey: Indianapolis is a “world class” city? Please. I think you are OVERestimating the value that sports teams can have.
Indianapolis is a “world class” city?
In what world?
Once again Bxgrl, we can agree to disagree. Please keep in mind that I DO value and repect your opinion…but I really believe that it’s hard to overstate the value that people around the world place on sports. Despite whatever great things may have been going on in Indianapolis, I think most people there would agree that the city became “world class” when the Colts arrived…(irrespective of what one might think about country music) Nashville is undoubtedly one of this country’s cultural mecca’s, but to most people there, it really became a “big league” city when the Titans arrived. Conversely, when the Oilers left Houston and the Browns left Cleveland each city’s collective heart was torn apart…only to be made whole again when the NFL came back to town. We all want great schools for our kids and world class cultural institutions, but please don’t underestimate the value that sports can have on the collective psyche of a city.
I’m sorry, FtGreeneCorey but the Brooklyn renaissance has been going on for quite some time and without the Nets. the idea a sports arena where you can buy beer during the game is going to do anything for our image is pretty odd. Brooklyn doesn’t need a sports arena to be world-class. It has plenty of other assets.
If anything has made an impact on the image of Brooklyn it is landmarking neighborhoods and the preservation movement, the much maligned “creative professionals” who have moved here and the fact that Manhattan is too expensive, too crowded and too overdone.