In yesterday's Washington Post, George Will posted a story about Prospect Heights, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, where the owners of the New York Nets would like buy 22 acres of land to build a huge complex of high-rise residences, commercial properties and a basketball arena for the NBA's New Jersey Nets. The problem is that people already live in that 22 acres. In order for the government to seize the land for development, it would have to be 'blighted.'
According to the article:
"The Atlantic Yards site, where 10 subway lines and one railway line converge, is the center of the bustling Prospect Heights neighborhood of mostly small businesses and middle-class residences. Its energy and gentrification are reasons why 22 acres of this area -- the World Trade Center site is only 16 acres -- are coveted by Bruce Ratner, a politically connected developer collaborating with the avaricious city and state governments."
We saw this type of property seizure in New London, Connecticut. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court in 2005. An article at RightWingGranny on December 1, 2009, reported that Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company, who took the land in New London, has now closed its New London plant and moved some of its employees to Groton, Connecticut. The greed which resulted in the seizure of private property resulted in a total loss of tax revenue--the land is vacant. The city is not even collecting the amount of property taxes they were collecting before they seized the land.
Private property is one of the tenets of the US Constitution. To undermine the protection of private property is foolish and undermines our whole system of government. Hopefully the residents of Brooklyn will do better in court than the residents of New London.
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