Court deals blow to Columbia U. expansion plan

Interesting and surprising. I wonder how many people bought in that area in anticipation of the university expanding. I fully support the court's decision.

I guess their basketball team isn't good enough.

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David Goldsmith
DG Neary Realty

Yes, its good to see crapholes being protected.

The university is still expanding- they already own about 90% of the property needed for the expansion. They just wanted all of it for the bathtub (same concept as the underground area of the WTC). I don't know what this changes. The owner of Tuck it Away Storage (one of the 2 holdout owners) went through a battle with Con Ed like this (although it did not go this far) not too long ago- he finally sold once Con Ed came up with additional cash. I could see the same thing occurring in this case. That would only leave the owner of the 2 gas stations remaining.I am sure if you gave them enough cash and assistance to relocate they would. I am not sure what Columbia was offering these businesses- but I suspect it just wasn't enough.

I don't support the use of eminent domain to expand a private university. If it was CUNY, I would feel differently. The area is not blighted and I do not believe that anyone except Columbia and property owners living above 125th St. will benefit from this.

The standard for eminent domain has historically been "public good". That's included government-owned things like public schools, highways, and freeways, and not-for-profits operations like hospitals. It's also included quasi-public facilities like ports and airports, and privately-owned infrastructure like railroads (paid ticket required!).

To me, a non-profit university counts as "public good", even if its core activity is by competitive selection. That selection process is open to the general public. In addition, there is a vast array of programs that are open to the general public for free or a small fee.

What doesn't count as "public good", in my book, are private entertainment business (like sports arenas), private-housing (like condo towers, even if there's an affordable-housing component to it), and private commercial buildings like shopping malls and office buildings.

I can't see this court ruling standing, in light of the recent ruling allowing the New Jersey Nets arena to go ahead.

I'd also like to add that I can't think of a better definition of "blighted" than a section of one of the most expensive islands in the world being filled largely with crooked auto-repair shops, and yet it is.

sorry alan, but I don't think that's what the definition of "blighted" is. I wouldn't consider Williamsburg blighted just because it's overrun by hipsters that I don't like. Or 12th avenue in the west 40s because it is filled with parking garages and whatnot.

I definitely do not support the Atlantic Yards decision. Did you read about what happened in New London with pfizer? They razed people's homes and then abandoned the project.

"Did you read about what happened in New London with pfizer? They razed people's homes and then abandoned the project."

The similar property rights issue our newest Supreme was involved in was even worse.

If this doesn't get overturned it will mark the day the City jumped the shark for the middle class in NYC. You must have the use of eminent domain to build the amount of housing that will be needed for future generations in the City. More and more, finding parcels suitable for new units is difficult. Going forward, ED will need to be used more often in situations where relocating 30 people will give a private developer a footprint big enough to build 1,000 units. If you think housing is expensive here now wait for another 20 years. More and more restrictions on building will only lead to more and more expensive housing, effectively wiping out the middle class.

Alanhart - I couldn't agree more - just by definition an auto-repair shop in Manhattan should be classified as blight. Anyone who thinks that area isn't blighted hasn't been there nor have they ever left the city. Is that area really the vision you see for the future of NYC?

mmarquez - "They razed people's homes and then abandoned the project." You're wrong - pfizer did nothing wrong. They didn't file the case, they didn't raze any houses, they didn't pay anyone to move, they didn't break any contracts. They did what was best for their owners, just as they should have. The local government wanted them their and it didn't work out.

Jazzman - you are correct regarding Pfizer. New London screwed up. My apologies.

I live near the Manhattan ville area - it is not that bad. There are more than a few good restaurants as well as fairway nearby. In fact if Columbia utilized the buildings that it owned there already it would be a much better area.

I fail to see how opposing eminent domain for a private university is going to make it harder for the middle class. Columbia is not offering to build any affordable housing - only to relocate the displaced persons. If they build the bathtub thing it is only going to further isolate them from the neighboring community which is exactly what they want. I am very familiar with Columbia - their community relations are a joke.

With the possible exception of Dinosaur BBQ, those restaurants and Fairway are all outside the area of the Columbia plan.

I forgot to mention the current number one use of space within the area we're talking about (and the driver of the lawsuit): huge amounts of storage of the unwanted shit that rich Upper West Siders cast off but won't throw away. Just like the nearby sewage treatment plant, but that at least gets processed and removed.

And Columbia IS relocating the existing residential tenants to a purpose-built new-construction building in Hamilton or Washington Heights (I can't remember what street on Broadway) ... so they are building affordable housing.

It's not a private university. University of Phoenix is a private university ... its shareholders derive profits from its operation. Columbia is a not-for-profit university, meaning it provides "public good". "Public" doesn't mean "everyone", it just means "not private". I can't attend my local public school, for example. British public schools, in fact, are so named because they offered an alternative to private tutoring. Try getting your kid into one of those!!! [I used three exclamation points because I want you to believe that it's impossible, but in fact some of them are so cash-strapped that they're defacto pay-to-play operations -- or so I've been told.]

Alan, I was saying that the areas surrounding the "blight" are fine. There's no reason that it should be a blighted area - I do believe Columbia has contributed to this on purpose. Floridita Diner is an excellent restaurant that likely won't survive this.

I'm pissed, I just realized that the mobil station at 131st and bdway will be gone. They do excellent repairs. In fact they replaced 2 struts, replaced back brakes, fixed my leaking brake fluid at the rear tire, replaced my right front axle, and replaced my valve cover gasket and all of the oil, and rotated my tires. All this for $750 cash just the other day.

mmarquez110 - this sets a precedent - if you can't build a university via ED how are you going to us it to build market rate housing (what the city needs if it wants to retain the middle class)? We must make building in the City easier - the artificial, bureaucratic restrains on building are just going to make building here even more expensive and onerous making real estate prices higher. And remember, I'm a landlord so ultimately it's fine for me if the city becomes a place for only the poor and the rich - but it's inhumane of us to treat our middle class the way we do - personally I think many of them would be better off not working and just mooching off the teat of our government.

Also, Dinosaur is moving outside the footprint (this month I believe).
Do we really need to protect storage units (no walk-in traffic so who cares where it's located) and gas stations? Let them build what they want -the City and it's people will greatly benefit (especially the people of Harlem).

alanhart - the new building to be built for displaced tenants is on 148th and Broadway.

MM - you could have had that work done near the LIC Costco for less.

how much you think? but then I'd also have to go to LIC a couple times.

Regrettably I have to go focus on work - this is a good thread - maybe someone else will pick up where I left off.

One last note I think that the McDonald's at 125th and Bdway is the one referred to in Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind." It should be given landmark status. hah.

$750 doesn't sound cheap, but I have friends who've lived near the Manhattanville site for 30 years and have numerous stories of woe regarding those auto repair shops (which constantly reincorporate under new business names to prevent claims from being collected against them). Even the repairs that seem to be completed turn out in not much time to be slapdash fixes. So, for example, I hope your brake fluid leak doesn't reappear.

So how do they stay in business? They have AAA contracts for towing in the greater area, and once a car is towed there it's impractical to get the repair done elsewhere.

mm - I was thinking it was the McD's on 145th because that's the one across the street from "Jay's" shoes store (before it went out of business) and it's where JZ was filming a month or so ago (I assume for a video of some kind).