Bulldozers at Your Doorstep

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

October 17, 2023

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

October 10, 2023

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

September 19, 2023

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

September 14, 2023

EDPL Section 701

The Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed an award of $799,627 for reimbursement of legal and appraisal fees pursuant to Section 701 of the Eminent Domain Procedure Law.  The award followed a trial where the City of New York valued the Staten Island vacant land condemned at $611,000.  Goldstein, Rikon, Rikon & Levi, P.C. representing the claimant, Yeshivas Ch’San Sofer, obtained $3,165,513 after trial.  Matter of Oakwood Beach Bluebelt (Yeshivas Ch’San Sofer), ___ AD3d ___ (Sept. 13, 2023). Eminent Domain Procedure Law (EDPL), § 701, was amended to provide that when… read more