The New York Court of Appeals has upheld the state’s use of eminent domain to seize land for Columbia University’s proposed $6.3 billion, 17-acre West Harlem expansion plan, the Associated Press reported. The Empire State Development Corp. had argued that the seizures were justified because the area was blighted. The Columbia project, the agency said, would improve the neighborhood with new housing, laboratories and two acres of public open space. In December, that argument was rejected by a state appellate court, which said the general public would not benefit from the expansion of a private university. Columbia already owns all but 9 percent of the land it intends to build upon but wants the new Manhattanville campus to run uninterrupted with an interconnected underground facility beneath it. [AP] 

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The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has begun sending out letters to West Siders whose stores and properties lie in the path of a tunnel-boring machine that will soon start creating an $8.7 billion commuter New Jersey Transit train line beneath the Hudson River. More than 90 business and building owners have received notice that the Port Authority might use eminent domain to acquire their properties. Ground was broken on the tunnel’s west end in North Bergen, N.J. last summer; ultimately it is slated to stretch to a terminal under 34th Street near the Macy’s flagship, though work in Manhattan is not likely to begin for several months. First, the Port Authority must hold an as-yet-unscheduled public hearing on the eminent domain process. [NYT]

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Columbia University is set to take its eminent domain case to the New York Court of Appeals today, according to Crain’s, in an effort to secure space for its proposed $6 billion, 17-acre expansion. The appeal comes on the heels of the court’s vehement denial of Columbia’s effort to use eminent domain to seize the land. The Empire State Development Corp has determined that the area where the school wanted to expand was blighted, which would have allowed Columbia to step in and take the land. But a series of legal actions from residents blocked the university from going through with its plan. A decision is expected from the court sometime this summer. [Crain's]

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At left and at right: photos of alleged damage to the Newswalk condo from ShameOnShaya.org; Center: Shaya Boymelgreen

2010 hasn’t been kind to Brooklyn developer Shaya Boymelgreen. Last
month, he was evicted from his Prospect Heights office near Atlantic
Yards after his landlord lost the building to eminent domain. And one month
before that, his LibertyPointe Bank was seized by the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation. 

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Move over, Daniel Goldstein. Dozens of tenants remain living in the footprint of the planned Willoughby Square Park in Downtown Brooklyn, even after their properties were seized by the city early last year through eminent domain, the Post reported. The 10 properties lie on the 1 1/4-acre site between Albee Square, Willoughby and Duffield streets, and their inhabitants allege that although the city has given them a July deadline to move out, they’ve been given little assistance in finding other accommodations. [more]

A former Prospect Heights property owner is claiming to own the air rights to a part of the site where Bruce Ratner plans to build his new Nets arena and is suing the state for trying to “steal” it. Peter Williams, who already handed over his property to Ratner in exchange for cash, said the state never condemned his air rights above and around 24 Sixth Avenue when it took the building through eminent domain and that the embattled Atlantic Yards project cannot move forward until the issue is settled.
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While neighborhood advocate Daniel Goldstein was thought to be the last residential holdout in the Atlantic Yards development’s path, a family was discovered living at 481 Dean Street — and they’re not leaving without a fight, according to the New York Post. The Prospect Heights family, which has yet to be identified by name, has reportedly been offered around $85,000 to relocate but they’re not satisfied with the offering, according to sources close to the family. [more]

From left: Bruce Ratner of Forest City Ratner Companies and Atlantic Yards project opponent and homeowner Daniel Goldstein

Atlantic Yards holdout Daniel Goldstein, who as of yesterday morning was the last man standing in the way of developer Bruce Ratner’s massive Downtown Brooklyn project, has agreed to leave his three-bedroom Pacific Street condo by May 7 in exchange for a whopping $3 million. Goldstein, who must step down as the official spokesperson for Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn as part of the deal, bought the Prospect Heights apartment in 2003 for $590,000. The state had first offered him just $510,000 to vacate the premises. Ratner said Goldstein, facing eviction after losing a court battle over eminent domain, asked him for $5 million, though Goldstein denied it. Other condo owners in the building sold their homes to Ratner several years ago for around $1 million. Goldstein now plans to look for a new home in Park Slope, Fort Greene or Prospect Heights and to take a vacation, he told the Daily News. [NYDN]

Developer Bruce Ratner and a rendering of the Barclays Center at AY

There are a few holdouts left in the footprint of the New Jersey Nets’ new home in Downtown Brooklyn, and despite losing their bid to block the state’s use of eminent domain to boot them from the site, they’re still not going down without a fight. Last month, the state sent letters to the home and business owners saying they had to leave by April 3. The letters were ignored because the state hadn’t yet paid for the seized land, so eviction proceedings couldn’t get off the ground, plus, the holdouts are challenging the value of the properties. Evictions could take months, and in the meantime, the residents are holding up the sale of Bruce Ratner’s majority stake in the Nets to Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov. The NBA Board of Governors announced yesterday that it would indefinitely postpone a scheduled April 16 vote on the sale until “a firm date is set for the state of New York to take full possession of the arena site.” Ratner broke ground on the new $800 million Barclays Arena in Atlantic Yards last month and is looking to move the team there by 2012. [Post]

Freddy’s Bar has taken to the airwaves once again in protest of the Atlantic Yards development and the city’s use of eminent domain to displace businesses and residents in the neighborhood. This video, produced by ReasonTV, outlines the reasons why residents are riled over the Barclays Center and surrounding Atlantic Yards development, which is set to break ground March 11.
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