Another Lawsuit In Court Tuesday
By Ryan Thompson
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
ADAMS STREET — The court proceeding required for the state to take control of the land at Atlantic Yards, which the New York Court of Appeals ruled can be done via the constitutional use of eminent domain, has been postponed, according to the watchdog blog Atlantic Yards Report.
“The Atlantic Yards condemnation case, which was supposed to go to court on January 29, has now been postponed to March 17, with a change in judges from Abraham Gerges to Bert Bunyan,” the blog reports.
However, an update on the blog reports that Justice Gerges was never formally assigned. Justice Gerges is a lifelong Brooklyn resident who once served as the administrative judge of the Kings County Supreme Court. He currently presides in the Criminal Term at 320 Jay St.
The Atlantic Yards condemnation case is to be heard in the Kings County Supreme Court Civil Term, 360 Adams St. However, it is not unusual for judges in Brooklyn to preside over both criminal and civil cases, when necessary.
Due to the mandatory age of retirement, Gerges will step down from the bench at the end of this year.
“One lawyer speculated that it may be because Gerges is ultimately stepping down and wanted to avoid presiding over a case that lingered — at least in the compensation phase — past his term,” the blog reported. “I have a query in to the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC).”
When the ESDC takes the land from private businesses and homeowners, it is required to pay them “just compensation” for their land. What “just compensation” equates to in monetary terms must be determined by a court.
“Only after the March 17 hearing would the ESDC be able to take title to properties within the Atlantic Yards footprint. Usually there’s little wiggle room to challenge a condemnation petition, but the lawyer for footprint property owner Daniel Goldstein (and perhaps others) said, ‘We will challenge the petition. It is defective in many respects,’” the blog reported.
Also, Tuesday another group of plaintiffs who oppose Bruce Ratner’s multibillion-dollar Atlantic Yards development will be in court in Manhattan for oral arguments in their case. The community initiative BrooklynSpeaks have challenged the approval process for Atlantic Yards.
The case, which is one of several pending, will be heard in Manhattan Supreme Court at 80 Centre St.
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Just a reminder, though -- It’s not considered polite to paste the entire story on your blog. Most blogs post a summary or the first paragraph,( 40 words) then post a link to the rest of the story. That helps increase click-throughs for everyone, and minimizes copyright issues. So please keep posting, but not the entire article. arturc at att.net
