The purpose of the Goldstein, Rikon, Rikon & Levi, P.C. Eminent Domain Blog is to provide the public with information about the practice of eminent domain law. We also hope to share relevant updates and legal developments affecting this area of the law.

  • Oneida IDA has authority to acquire property for a parking lot

    The New York State Court of Appeals just reversed an order of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, that rejected Oneida County Industrial Development Agency’s determination to acquire property by eminent domain.  The OCIDA sought to acquire property for a parking facility that would satisfy the need for parking created by a nearby medical office building. The Fourth Department decided that OCIDA lacked the authority to acquire the subject property because the acquisition was necessary for a larger hospital and healthcare facility project and not for… read more

    Posted in Challenges to Condemnation, Challenges to Determination and Findings, Challenging condemnation, Contesting a Taking, EDPL 207, EDPL Article 2, EDPL Sec. 207
  • THE PARTIAL TAKING

    Condemning authorities do not always take an entire parcel in an eminent domain proceeding.  Indeed, in the Court of Claims, the majority of the appropriation claims are partial takings arising in the context of a highway project.  Partial takings may also occur in the context of takings for sewer lines, electrical transmission lines, or as is the subject of recent nationwide proposals, pipelines. As a general rule, the measure of damages in a partial-taking case is the difference between the fair market value of the whole property before the taking… read more

    Posted in Consequential Damages, Partial Takings, Severance Damages
  • Utilizing the Power of Eminent Domain to Stop a Nuisance

    According to an article published in Newsday, the Hempstead Town Board has taken the first step to seize a shuttered West Hempstead motel through eminent domain to stop activities that it says make it a nuisance, a tactic a legal expert called “unusual.” The town board scheduled a hearing for December 5 to condemn the Capri Motor Inn on Hempstead Turnpike. The board resolution, adopted at its October 3 meeting without discussion, alleges that the town has “received complaints, and this board has taken testimony that evidence prostitution, narcotics activity,… read more

    Posted in Condemnation, Eminent Domain, Just Compensation, Nuisance, Police Power
  • Eminent Domain Was Used to Evict a Chinatown Family. Now It Might Help Them Stay Housed.

    An article in the Los Angles Times describes how the Hernandez family was forced from their one-bedroom apartment in Chinatown by eminent domain for a 30-acre expansion of the Los Angeles Convention Center in 1988. Now, eminent domain could actually keep the Hernandez family housed. The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously in 2021 to explore the use of eminent domain to acquire Hillside Villa, a 124-unit apartment complex in Chinatown where Mrs. Hernandez has lived for 30 years with her husband, daughter and now grandson.  Her apartment building’s affordability… read more

    Posted in Condemnation, Eminent Domain, Public Purpose
  • Destruction of Black Neighborhoods

    Essence Magazine published a remarkable article in its September 5, 2023 issue, “Why the Destruction of a Black Neighborhood Matters to Me – And Should Matter to Everyone” by Brandi Kellam. The story’s author was a student at Christopher Newport University in Virginia and unearthed the painful history behind the Campus’ location.  The college in a statement acknowledged that the residents of a well-established neighborhood were displaced by decisions made about the location of the university. The Black neighborhood was known as the “Shoe Lane area.” The article states: As… read more

    Posted in Black Neighborhoods, Condemnation, Racial Prejudice

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