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Atlantic Yards ‘is not blighted,’ says Green Assemblyman speaks against eminent domain

Speaking before fellow state legislators at a hearing on eminent domain
last Friday, assemblyman Roger Green challenged the legality of exercising
eminent domain in his Prospect Heights district, where up to 11 acres
could be condemned to accomodate Forest City Ratner’s Atlantic Yards
project.

“For the record, that neighborhood is not blighted, said Green. “I
repeat, for the record, that neighborhood is not blighted.”

“Under the definition of blight, as related to poverty or environmental
degradation, this definition is not related to Prospect Heights,”
Green told The Brooklyn Papers afterwards.

Opponents said the statement by Green — who has been a vocal supporter
of Forest City Ratner’s proposed 21-acre mega-development —
was a blow to Ratner’s case for eminent domain.

“He shot down their argument,” said Patti Hagen, a Prospect
Heights homeowner and a leader of the opposition, who attended the hearing.

Councilwoman Letitia James, in whose district the Atlantic Yards lies,
said Green’s words, bolstered by state legislation, could affect
plans for the housing and office development that would also include a
professional basketball arena.

“The admission of [Green] that the area is not blighted is wonderful,”
said James. “If we can expedite the legislative process and a bill
is passed in January or February, then it can affect the project.”

Speaking to The Papers by phone, Green reitierated his position, while
also stating there was some blight in the area.

“I wanted to get it on the record that it is pretty clear that there
are two areas that are being proposed,” Green said.

“One is the rail yards, which is blight, and then the other part,
which is made up of residential and commercial properties. That other
part is not blight.”

Throughout the hearing, speakers and members of the audience discussed
the importance of rigorous local oversight of eminent domain and the need
to clarify the ambiguities of the term “blight.”

Within a legal context of eminent domain, “blight” describes
an area composed of deteriorating or obsolete structures.

If an area is determined to be blighted the state is empowered to remove
the offending structures, a muscle whose flex was broadened earlier this
year when the U.S. Supreme Court judged in favor of the use of eminent
domain by the city of New London, Conn., for the private development of
a Pfizer office park.

While in the Kelo v City of New London case, the city argued that the
Pfizer project would bring economic development, Forest City’s request
that the state use its power hinges on a notion that Prospect Heights
is “blight.”

“I think the state will make its decision, unlike ‘Kelo,’
based on whether or not they believe this is a blighted area,” Forest
City Executive Director Jim Stuckey said in a Nov. 3 segment of “Newshour
with Jim Lehrer,” echoing statements he made almost a year earlier
at a public meeting at New York City College of Technology, Downtown.

The state assembly convened the hearing, at 250 Broadway near City Hall,
in effort to determine if legislation could be enacted to regulate New
York’s use of eminent domain.

Over six-hours of testimony was given by constitutional law experts; Atlantic
Yards opponent Daniel Goldstein of Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn;
the city’s corporation counsel, Michael Cardozo; and Scott Bullock,
the attorney for New London property owner Susette Kelo.

Assembly members have already proposed several bills which, if passed
into law, would limit the use of the state’s power of eminent domain.

Legislation sponsored by Westchester Democratic Assemblyman Richard Brodsky
would mandate that local governments approve any exercise of eminent domain
in their jurisdiction. Under current rules, the Atlantic Yards project
would largely avoid srutiny by the city government.

In a separate bill sponsored by Green and Brodsky, payment of 150 percent
of the fair market value of a property would be mandated in eminent domain
seizures done for economic development.

Forest City is now believed to control most of the land within the project
footprint, leaving 53 buildings under the threat of eminent domain.

Of the properties that remain, 35 house rental units, seven condos or
co-ops, and 14 commercial spaces, according to Forest City spokeswoman
Lupe Todd.

In his testimony, Goldstein estimated 800 residents and 35 businesses
would be displaced under Forest City’s plan.

He referred to Prospect Heights as “one of the most desirable locations
to live in Brooklyn,” in a written transcript of his testimony.
In an e-mail following the Nov. 4 hearing, Todd described the neighborhood
within the project’s footprint as “comprised of empty lots,
gas stations, auto repair shops, underutilized or vacant industrial and
manufacturing buildings and some residential buildings.”
Eminent domain cases are frequently underpinned by the argument that development
will clean up old eyesores.

“In general, the New York courts have been fairly casual in their
oversight of “blight” determinations by local authorities,”
said Thomas W, Merrill, a Columbia University Law Professor who has argued
the legitimacy of using eminent domain for a public arena.

“Forest City Ratner argued that the property now being used for the
New York Times building [near 42nd Street on Manhatan’s Westside]
was blighted even though there were existing buildings and businesses
there,” said David Reiss, a Brooklyn Law School professor who writes
about eminent domain. “The case for the Atlantic rail yards area
appears even stronger because there is even less economic activity at
that location.”

Under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) that guides state
development projects such as Forest City’s, the eminent domain process
is scheduled to begin in April, leaving a narrow window for legislative
action.

“l want to put in stricter definition of blight and some language
that will allow for enhanced reciprocity. Clearly I am going to fight
to have my bill,” he said, adding that the process was likely to
be lengthy and checkered with time-consuming political skirmishes.

Green said, “At this time I don’t think [state legislation]
will have direct impact on the Nets Arena project. I think any projects
that are proposed after the Nets project will be viewed different,”

“If legislation moves forward, it could be a race against time,”
said Goldstein.