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Eminent Decision at Coney?

Eminent Decision at Coney?

When the City Planning Commission barely altered the city’s plans–plans that remain diametrically opposed to those of chief landholder Joe Sitt–we couldn’t help but wonder whether the Bloomberg administration would some how grossly undermine its plan, or let it fall on the sword at the City Council, at least part of which is firmly under the sway of Sitt. Thus far, the Bloomberg administration has yet to allow a single one of its nearly 100 rezoning fail at the council, often crafting 11th hour deals. Would, could things be different this time?

Well, following a hearing at City Hall yesterday, the Daily News reports that the city’s rezoning proposal has indeed run up against council opposition, but not for the reasons we would have thought–or hoped. No, it has nothing to do with the lack of vision for either Sitt or the city’s plans. The council’s opposition stems from an aversion to eminent domain, which the city’s economic development czar suggested could be on the table should Sitt not sell, something he has currently refused to negotiate on, despite repeated attempts by the city.

But that’s not what struck us as wrong. No, the problem is–shocking, we know–that many of these council members now in opposition to eminent domain once supported it, in a way. Look no further than Manhattanville or Willets Point, where Columbia and the city, respectively, have used the threat of eminent domain to push around small businesses and landholders. Clearly, it’s not the principal that matters to the council but the size of one’s pocketbook.


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