Real Estate & Property Law

New York Takes its Own Kelo Route

By Alan Ackerman

New York courts have again determined that the notion of a proper exercise of a police power effectively is a blanket determination of 'blight' whenever the community finds it necessary to acquire property.  The underlying issue will remain whether 'blight' is to have any real meaning in the context of  Berman v Parker or if blight is just something a local community concludes exists for a property in order to obtain the property via the condemnation process.

New York Times

In a unanimous decision, the Court of Appeals overturned a lower court ruling that prohibited the state from using eminent domain to take property in the 17-acre expansion zone west of Broadway, known as Manhattanville, without the owners' consent. The ruling held that the courts must give deference to the state's determination that the area was 'blighted' and that condemnation on behalf of a university served a public purpose, two ways that the project could qualify for eminent domain under state law.

Full post as published by National Eminent Domain Blog on June 28, 2010 (boomark / email).