May 26, 2012
  • 12/3/09 By Jason Fink

    Court nixes eminent domain in Columbia expansion

     

    An appeals court Thursday rejected the state’s use of eminent domain for Columbia University’s planned expansion, dealing a setback to the 17-acre project.
     

    “This is a significant win for property owners here in New York and throughout the country,” said Norman Siegel, the attorney who represented the owners of six buildings targeted for demolition.
     

    The university is still free to develop 61 of the 67 buildings in the area — from 125th to 133rd streets and from Broadway to Riverside Drive — as part of its $6 billion expansion.
    In its rejection of the state claim, the court found that the area is not blighted, one of the criteria for using eminent domain.

    A spokesman for the university declined to comment on the case, which was brought by Siegel’s clients against the Empire State Development Corporation.
     

    A spokesman for the ESDC called the 3-2 decision “wrong and inconsistent with established law” and vowed to appeal.
     

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