Tues. Oct. 9: Eminent Domain Oral Argument

Tues. Oct. 9: Eminent Domain Oral Argument

We encourage you to attend the oral argument on the appeal of the "Atlantic Yards" eminent domain case, Goldstein et al v. Pataki et al, this Tuesday, October 9th at 10am. The owner and tenant plaintiffs are asking the 2nd Circuit Court to simply permit them to prove their Constitutional claims at trial in the Eastern District Court.

Where:
United States 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal at 500 Pearl Street, Manhattan [Map].
Ceremonial courtroom on the 9th floor.
Please enter the building at the Pearl Street entrance.

When:
We suggest arriving by 9:45am in order to get through security in a timely manner.


The Atlantic Yards Report outlines what is at stake in Tuesday's argument, and analyzes plaintiffs' reply brief in the appeal -- the final brief presented to the court prior to the argument:

In eminent domain appeal, plaintiffs say illegitimate sequence means case deserves discovery

The plaintiffs challenging the use of eminent domain for Atlantic Yards have a high-stakes argument Tuesday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, hoping for a second chance to move the case to trial.

U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis already dismissed their case for a failure to state a claim, ruling that presence of some measure of public benefits—mass transit improvements, the removal of blight, subsidized housing, a sports facility, open space—trumped any allegation that the project might primarily confer a private benefit on developer Forest City Ratner.

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AYR and NoLandGrab should offer extensive coverage (see side links).