There was a great op/ed piece in the NY Times called “Eminent Disdain” about the the destructive use of eminent domain in New Haven, CT and how the Supreme Court ruling in the New London, CT case has only opened to door for more irresponsible development and cronyism that ultimately affects low-income families.
“The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, in one of its most closely watched property rights cases in years, that fostering economic development is an appropriate use of the government’s power of eminent domain.”
Read more in the Times.
The case was in New London, CT but has local relevance in terms of Ratner’s project for downtown Brooklyn and other proposed projects in NYC.
There’s also an article in the Daily News about the Supreme Court decision as well as a human interest story on the effects of Ratner’s eminent domain land-grab.
And in case you needed further convincing of how unethical and rapacious landlords and developers are, the Daily News also has an article about how rent hikes in Kips Bay are forcing out tenants. Kips Bay Court was formerly a Mitchell-Lama development known as Phipps Plaza West but was taken out of the program early:
“Phipps Houses president Adam Weinstein did not return calls seeking comment. His organization - a century-old affordable-housing provider - took Phipps Plaza West out of Mitchell-Lama after it was sued by investors who wanted it converted to a market-rate property.”
The tenant profiled in the article is a quadriplegic named Sue Strong:
“Her rent was raised to $3,000 per month from $792 - and even with a federally funded Section 8 voucher to pick up part of the tab, Strong isn’t paying as much as the landlord wants. The personal funds she was living on have run out, and she’s only got a monthly Social Security check of $653.”
This is despicable.
Everyone wants a vibrant NYC with a healthy economy, everyone wants to help NYC grow and be economically viable. But if you force everybody out and make rents completely unaffordable, you ruin the fabric of the city, you kill its lifeblood.
If elected Mayor I will take on these rapacious, greedy landlords and work to create more housing for people, stronger rent controls and development accountability. New York for New Yorkers not just billionaires!
I’ll admit it, I’m not as highbrow as some of my constituents. I read the NY Daily News every day. And then if something strikes me I’ll read the NY Times for more in-depth coverage. In today’s Daily News I liked Mike Lupica’s article on Sheldon Silver and the Stadium Vote. He excerpts parts of Silver’s speech:
“Considering our constitutional obligation to provide each and every child with a sound, basic education, our moral obligation to rebuild and revitalize lower Manhattan, and our public obligation to provide a safe, affordable and efficient mass transit system, I cannot in good conscience cast my vote for the proposal before us today.”
Here’s Silver’s page on the NY State Assembly website.
“The decision to put off the vote came after the Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno, a Republican who controls one of three seats on the board, formally asked for a one-month postponement, raising concerns about financial and legal issues related to the project. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat who controls another seat, has also expressed doubts about the stadium.” - read the rest of the article in the nytimes.