Eminent Domain

$1.8M restored Marcel Breuer house on the Hudson has kept its mid-century modern spirit intact

Vornado reveals new renderings for 62-story office tower at 350 Park Avenue

NYC reveals design for esplanade and new 107th Street pier in East Harlem

Rendering via MVVA and the Hudson Yards Development Corporation

May 3, 2019

Arts center near Hudson Yards faces demolition from city to make way for new park

By Devin Gannon

To make room for New York City's most expensive park project ever, a handful of properties near the Hudson Yards site face demolition. One of those buildings is Affirmation Arts, a gallery on West 37th run by William Hillman. According to THE CITY, Hillman said he is willing to give his building to the city for free, on the condition it remains a cultural center. "I would like to give this building to the people of New York City to share with the world," Hillman said during a hearing Tuesday.
More here

Uncategorized

July 22, 2016

Local Pols Say Port Authority’s $10B Bus Terminal Plan Is a Hot Mess

By Michelle Cohen

A request to put the brakes on a $10 billion plan for a new West Side bus terminal and rethink the process with more input from local officials and the public was rebuffed by the Port Authority chairman, reports Crain’s. Rep. Jerrold Nadler and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer were joined by Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris, state Sen. Brad Hoylman, Assembly members Richard Gottfried and Linda Rosenthal and Councilman Corey Johnson in backing the effort to slow the Port Authority's call to move ahead with a design competition to get ideas for the West Side plan. The controversy emerged after a board meeting on Thursday. "We’re not going to defer the design and deliverability study,” was the reply from John Degnan, the New Jersey-appointed chairman, amid concerns that the new terminal will necessitate the seizure of private property using eminent domain, threaten area homes, small businesses and other organizations and belch more carbon from a larger fleet of buses into the air in an area that already "runs afoul of federal air-quality standards."
Find out what the fuss is all about

Real Estate Trends

Stuff You Should Know: How Eminent Domain Works

The Atlantic Yards (now known as Pacific Park) in Brooklyn where eminent domain was used to take property. Image via Atlantic Yards Report

May 4, 2016

Stuff You Should Know: How Eminent Domain Works

By Penelope Bareau

It has been called the most coercive public policy after the draft. It has also been said that without it, construction in major cities would come to a shuddering stop. What is this powerful, controversial tool? Can both statements be true? Eminent domain is the policy by which a governmental agency can acquire or "take" property from an owner unwilling to sell in order to build something else there, and it has been around for centuries. Some say it derives from the medieval concept of the divine right of kings, empowered by God the Almighty to be sovereign over all. And by inference, that includes the land, which individual owners occupy and trade at the king's sufferance. When he wants it back, it is his right to take it. So under eminent domain, all land theoretically belongs to the state, which can assume control at any time.
more on eminent domain here

Image © Daniel Fleming

September 28, 2015

City Will Use Eminent Domain to Seize Coney Island Land for New Amusements

By Dana Schulz

Eminent domain, defined as "the right of a government or its agent to expropriate private property for public use," is typically enacted to build projects such as bridges, highways, or schools. But the De Blasio administration plans to use it to erect an amusement park. According to the Post, the city is "frustrated by stubborn Coney Island landowners" and "plans to seize property under the city’s rarely used power of eminent domain in order to spur long-stalled economic development in the People’s Playground." The land in question is three vacant beachfront sites and two smaller adjacent sites on West 12th and West 23rd Streets that total 75,000 square feet, largely comprised of the 60,000-square-foot site where the original Thunderbolt once stood (immortalized in Woody Allen's "Annie Hall"). Under the plan, the Parks Department will oversee new amusements and amenities, details of which haven't been shared.
READ MORE

Policy

December 31, 2014

REVEALED: 141 Willoughby, 30-Story Mixed-Use Tower to Replace Site Once Slated for Eminent Domain Takeover

By Ondel Hylton

A Downtown Brooklyn school once planned to be seized through eminent domain will sprout a 30-story mixed-use tower by Savanna Partners. Renderings posted on Savanna's website reveal a glass tower at 141 Willoughby Street with a retail base, student housing, and commercial or residential space above. The project will replace the three-story building that's home to the Institute of Design and Construction, a 77-year-old technical college.
More details on the project

Our Mission

More than just current events, here you'll learn about the places, people, and ideas that are shaping your city.

Our Mission

Pitch a Story

Interested in seeing the property in person?

Interested in seeing the property in person?

Distinctive Post Form

Get in Touch

Send us a Tip

Interesting in learning more about purchasing a new home?

Thinking about selling your home?

Sell a Home (Footer)

Before You Move On from this Page.

Your Passport to NYC:Subscribe for Local Insights and Stories!

Before You Move On
from this Page.

Your Passport to NYC:
Subscribe for Local Insights and Stories!