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June 8, 2016

Update on the Grand Central Terminal Air Rights Takings Litigation

On September 28, 2015, Plaintiffs Midtown TDR Ventures LLC and Midtown GCT Ventures LLC, the owners of Grand Central Terminal, brought an action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against the City of New York, the City Council, and private real estate developer SL Green Realty Corporation, and argued that the May 27, 2015, Vanderbilt Corridor rezoning effected a taking of Plaintiffs’ transferable development rights, or air rights, in violation of the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Unused air rights have… read more

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Posted in Inverse Condemnation, New York, Regulatory Taking, Zoning
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May 12, 2016

The Highline and the Romanoff Case

The Highline has been a very successful park.  It was opened to the public in 2009.  It begins at Gansevoort Street in the Meat Packing District and continues to West 34th Street between 10th and 12th Avenues in Manhattan.  It is, to say the least, wildly popular and crowded with tourists taking advantage of the dramatic views. Last week, Owners’ Counsel of America filed an Amici brief in Romanoff Equities, Inc. v United States, No. 15-5034 (Fed. Cir. March 10, 2016), a rails to trial taking case pending in the… read more

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Posted in Eminent Domain, Litigation, New York, Public Parkland, Rails-to-Trails
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January 19, 2016

Staten Island Real Estate Developer Talk

On January 13, 2016, Michael Rikon gave a roundtable luncheon speech to some of Staten Island’s most prominent real estate developers about New York City’s (“City”) storm water program for Staten Island and how the City chose to condemn wetlands instead of constructing storm sewer lines. The storm water program, the “Bluebelt,” encompasses 16 watersheds and approximately 12,000 acres.  Once the City chose a wetland parcel to condemn, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation would not issue a wetland permit for that parcel. Mr. Rikon discussed the City’s… read more

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Posted in Eminent Domain, Eminent Domain Abuse, New York, Regulatory Taking, Speaking Appearances, Wetlands
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December 28, 2015

Rails-to-Trails Takings Claims

The nation’s interstate railway system is shrinking as railroads abandon track every year. The National Trails System Act Amendment of 1983 (the “Rails-to-Trails Act”) provides that trails should be established near urban areas and within scenic areas of the Nation for outdoor recreation “to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nation[.]”  16 USC § 1241, et seq. The purpose of the Rails-to-Trails Act is to preserve unused railroad rights-of-way by converting them into… read more

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Posted in Eminent Domain, New York, Rails-to-Trails
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August 24, 2015

Harlem Urban Renewal, the Statute of Limitations, and the Doctrine of Stare Decisis

The Supreme Court, New York County recently issued an interesting  decision by the Hon. Shlomo S. Hagler. The case was in the Matter of City of New York, Fifteenth Amended Harlem-E. Harlem Urban Renewal Plan (East 125th Street), Stage 1. The Decision and Order was issued August 13, 2015 and dealt with several motions by the respondent condemnees, which will be discussed herein. The condemnees collectively included City Lights Properties Three LLC, 2305-07 Third Avenue LLC, 2017 East 125th Street LLC, and 205 East 125th Street LLC. The procedural background of… read more

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Posted in Challenging condemnation, Condemnation Procedures, Harlem Urban Renewal Project, New York, Recent cases, Statute of Limitations
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