In Push for Atlantic Yards Project, State Touts Eminent Domain

July 21, 2006 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

David Lombino of the New York Sun reports on plans to redevelop the area around the Vanderbilt rail yards in Brooklyn.

The causes of the area's blight include the presence of the rail yards and a "diversity of ownership" that "hindered site assemblage that is necessary for redevelopment," according to the state's study.

Opponents of the project, including neighbors who say the proposed density will destroy the neighborhood, are expected to mount a legal challenge to any condemnation of private property necessary to complete the project.

A lawyer for Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, Jeffrey Baker, called state's finding of blight "an artificial construct," and said it is likely to be central to litigation brought by opponents.

"The private redevelopment effort in that area came to a screeching halt after December '03, when they announced this project," Mr. Baker said.

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