Eminent Domain in Bay Ridge

On 4th Avenue in the 80s, the School Construction Authority hopes to put a 480-seat school to help alleviate crowding at PS 104 and 185. Only problem: private citizens own the property. So the possibility of eminent domain is being invoked, the first time many folks can remember it being used for a school (though surely preferable to some than using it for private development). The property owners had other plans in mind. “The possibility of eminent domain – which is typically used for projects that would benefit the public – has put plans for a grocery store and medical center on hold for the swath of Fourth Ave. between 88th and 89th Sts,” writes the NY Daily News. Since a grocery store or medical center can be classified as good for the public, too, that clouds the argument that a school is the property’s most beneficial incaration. Matthew Brinckerhoff, a lawyer who has worked on eminent domain issues at Atlantic Yards, agrees a school is a “quintessential public use,” but says “[the School Construction Authority] should target a spot that doesn’t already have another public purpose in mind.”
Eminent Domain Cloud Darkens Bay Ridge Neighborhood [NY Daily News]