In a recent post on Kaur v. Urban Development Corporation, the Columbia eminent domain case currently before New York’s state supreme court, NYU lawprof Rick Hills argues that the debate over eminent domain is largely meaningless. Kaur, like the Atlantic Yards case before it, addresses a key issue in takings law: whether the condemnation of […]
Archive | Blight
New York High Court Oral Argument in Columbia Eminent Domain Case
By Ilya Somin on June 2, 2010 2:46 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
The New York Court of Appeals (which, despite the misleading name, is New York’s state supreme court), held oral arguments yesterday in Kaur v. New York Urban Development Corporation, the case in which New York City is trying to condemn a large amount of property in the Manhattanville neighborhood in order to transfer it to […]
Last Atlantic Yards Property Owner Agrees to Sell His Land Under Threat of Condemnation
The last property owner in the condemned Atlantic Yards area of Brooklyn, New York has agreed to sell his land in order to avoid the condemnation of his property by the city government [HT: Josh Blackman]: The last man standing in front of the Atlantic Yards bulldozer has stepped aside. Daniel Goldstein — founder of […]
Nicole Gelinas on Blight Condemnations in New York
By Ilya Somin on February 25, 2010 7:55 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
Nicole Gelinas has an interesting article on the expansive use of “blight condemnations” in New York. As she points out, New York courts have defined blight so broadly that virtually any area can be designated as such, and then condemned. This has created massive opportunities for abuse by politically connected interest groups who can use […]
George Will on “Blight” Condemnations in New York
By Ilya Somin on January 4, 2010 8:56 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
George Will has written a Washington Post column on the abuse of “blight” condemnations in New York: On Aug. 27, 1776, British forces routed George Washington’s novice army in the Battle of Brooklyn, which was fought in fields and woods where today the battle of Prospect Heights is being fought. Americans’ liberty is again under […]
New York Intermediate Appellate Court Invalidates Taking of “Blighted” Property for Transfer to Columbia University, but Contradicts Recent State Supreme Court Decision in the Process
By Ilya Somin on December 3, 2009 7:06 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
In Kaur v. New York Urban Development Corporation,a close 3-2 decision [HT: Neighborhood Retail Alliance], a New York intermediate appellate court has invalidated the taking of property in the Manhattanville neighborhood of New York City for transfer to Columbia University. Columbia and the government claimed that the land in question was blighted. However, the court […]
New York Court of Appeals Upholds Atlantic Yards Condemnations
By Ilya Somin on November 24, 2009 4:14 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
The New York Court of Appeals has issued its opinion in Goldstein v. New York State Urban Development Corporation, an important property rights case. The 6-1 decision upholds the condemnation of numerous properties in Atlantic Yards project area in Brooklyn for the purpose of transferring them to powerful developer Bruce Ratner, who plans to use […]
New York’s Highest Court to Hear Important Eminent Domain Case
By Ilya Somin on October 9, 2009 3:10 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
The New York Court of Appeals – the state’s highest court -is about to consider an important property rights case, Goldstein v. New York State Urban Development Corporation. The case involves a challenge to the condemnation of large amounts of property for the purpose of transferring the land to influential developer Bruce Ratner, who plans […]