thecaseforusingeminentdomaininthebrooklynatlantic.docVIP

The Case for Using Eminent Domain in the Brooklyn Atlantic Yards Development By: Tom Carroll Dan Colquitt Brian Cooper Jeremy Wheeler INTRODUCTION An ownership team including real estate mogul Bruce Ratner recently purchased the New Jersey Nets basketball team and has made a proposal to move the franchise to a development called Brooklyn Atlantic Yards (hereafter, BAY) in Brooklyn, New York. Forest City Ratner Companies (hereafter, FCRC), a company that is substantially controlled by Bruce Ratner, is developing BAY. The FCRC plan on building an arena and mixed-use development that will include a collection of 17 high rise buildings containing office complexes, retail space, condominiums, and apartments. To date, the acquisition of existing residential and commercial property has moved forward in a respectful manner. However, if and when it becomes necessary, FCRC, in conjunction with the local government, is proposing the use of “eminent domain” to acquire the property required to build the project. In the likely event that eminent domain is exercised by New York State, the governmental authority that would seize the properties is the Empire State Development Corporation (hereafter, ESDC). In addition to renting office space from FCRC, ESDC has partnered with FCRC on other projects, including the revitalization of Time Square. Eminent domain is defined as: A power of state and federal governments to take private property for government uses for which property owners are entitled to just compensation. BUSINESS ANALYSIS Eminent domain has historically been utilized by governments to build railroads and highways that were for the greater benefit of the public as a whole. Property owners were reimbursed for the land at Fair Market Value. In recent times, the application of this power has evolved to include urban revitalization. The first instance of this use was in a case called “Poletown”, an area between the cities of Det