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Author Archive | Michael Rikon

January 23, 2015

The 2015 Real Estate Economic Forecast

Dr. Mark Zandi, presenting the 2015 Economic Forecast held by the Metropolitan New York Chapter of the Appraisal Institute I attended the 2015 Economic Forecast held by the Metropolitan New York chapter of the Appraisal Institute as the guest of William Picoli, MAI. The guest speaker was Mark Zandi, PhD, the Chief Economist of Moody’s Analytics. Dr. Zandi is one of America’s leading economists. He was optimistic about the 2015 economy. He predicted that 2015 would be a good year, and so would 2016. He predicted that the economy would… read more

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Posted in Appraisers, Economy, New York, Real Estate
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January 14, 2015

The Valuation of Real Property in a Condemnation Case

Art Linkletter had a very popular television show called “Kids Say the Darndest Things.” We would like to appropriate the title and modify it to say “Condemnors Say the Darndest Things.” We admit, although we have been at this for a number of years, sometimes we are still surprised at the arguments made by Condemnor’s counsel in an effort to keep just compensation awards low. Recently, Counsel for a Condemnor argued that the Court could not consider the reasonable probability of rezoning for the subject property because it disregards the… read more

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Posted in Highest and Best Use, New York, Valuation
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January 9, 2015

Court of Claims Issues Two Decisions on Distribution Proceedings

The Court of Claims decided two decisions last week that will, hopefully, obviate the need for Claimant’s condemnation counsel to bring distribution proceedings on behalf of their clients in New York. For those unfamiliar with the term, a distribution proceeding is brought as an action seeking the disbursement of funds that have been deposited into the State comptroller’s account. Specific to eminent domain cases, and at issue in these two decisions, was the State’s deposit of the advance payment amounts into the State comptroller’s account pursuant to Eminent Domain Procedure… read more

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Posted in Advance Payments, Condemnation Procedures, Eminent Domain Abuse, New York, Offer & Compensation, Valuation
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December 29, 2014

Goldstein, Rikon, Rikon & Houghton, P.C. Recognized as a “Legal Leader”

Goldstein, Rikon, Rikon & Houghton, P.C. was recently recognized as a one of “New York Area’s Top Rated Lawyers of 2014” by Legal Leaders magazine. The list can be seen in New York magazine, the Legal Leaders magazine, and the Wall Street Journal. The write up reads as follows: Since 1923, the law firm of Goldstein, Rikon, Rikon & Houghton has been at the forefront of protecting property owners’ constitutional rights, as the only law firm in New York State concentrating exclusively in the area of eminent domain and condemnation… read more

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Posted in Published Articles, Recent cases, Speaking Appearances
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December 23, 2014

596 Acres Exhibit Explores Urban Renewal Plans & Eminent Domain Use

Michael Rikon will be leading a discussion of the law of eminent domain at the Queens Museum on January 18, 2015. The program is part of an exhibit organized by 596 acres that will examine all 155+ urban renewal plans adopted by the City. New York City began to adopt “urban renewal plans” in 1949 to get federal funding to acquire land, relocate the people living there, demolish the structures and make way for new public and private development. The legacy of these neighborhood master plans remains active across the… read more

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Posted in Continuing Legal Education, Eminent Domain, Speaking Appearances
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