Summary
ESDC used the same consultants hired by Columbia to conclude that the West Harlem neighborhood suffers from "blight." Since the expansion of a private elite institution does not qualify as a civic purpose, a finding of "blight" was the only way ESDC could justify seizing property.
Eminent domain is an awesome government power that may easily be abused by the powerful to dispossess the powerless. The appellate court ruling noted the view that "few policies have done more to destroy community and opportunity for minorities than eminent domain."In fact, the current eminent domain laws are a holdover from the 1950s and '60s when so-called urban renewal schemes displaced millions of people and destroyed hundreds of neighborhoods, disproportionately harming low-income and minority families. Many agreed with novelist James Baldwin when he famously quipped that "urban renewal" was merely code for "negro removal."[...] the current eminent domain laws are a holdover from the 1950s and '60s when so-called urban renewal schemes displaced millions of people and destroyed hundreds of neighborhoods, disproportionately harming low-income and minority families.See the full content of this document
Extract
It's Time to Reform Eminent Domain
The recent court ruling against the attempted takeover of private property for Columbia University's expansion in Harlem recognizes what many of us already knew: New Y...
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