Navigation

Archive | New York

May 2, 2013

Basics of Property Valuation in Condemnation Proceedings

The rule that real property is valued at its highest and best use free and clear of leases, mortgages or other encumbrances regardless of actual use is so fundamental that almost every eminent domain decision begins with a recitation of it. Firstly, the act of condemnation extinguishes any interest on the property. In 1931, the Court of Appeals wrote,  In Matter of City of New York (Allen Street), “the City pays for what it takes and nothing else.  By such taking it extinguishes all existing rights and interests in the property taken.” … read more

By
Posted in Condemnation Procedures, Eminent Domain, Highest and Best Use, Leases, New York, Offer & Compensation, Recent cases, Zoning
Read more > 0

April 29, 2013

NYLJ Article: Condemnors Behaving Badly

Two GRRH partners, Michael Rikon and M. Robert Goldstein, recently published an article in the New York Law Journal titled “Condemnors Behaving Badly.” The focus of the article is on one bad-faith practice often utilized by condemnors in New York: making a pre-vesting offer (as required by law), and then when this offer is rejected as full compensation, filing another appraisal for a lower amount. This is a problem for the claimant because the claimant is being punished for asserting its constitutional right to just compensation. This coercive practice is… read more

By
Posted in Condemnation Procedures, Legislation, New York, Offer & Compensation, Published Articles
Read more > 0

April 24, 2013

A Condemnor Cannot Limit Just Compensation Because of a Planned Condemnation

The concept of limitation to one group of owners compared to others because of a proposed condemnation constitutes an unconstitutional denial of equal rights. We see this in cases where there has been a rezoning, but because parcels were to be taken in the exercise of eminent domain, the benefit of the up-zoning is denied. In Matter of City of New York (Inwood Hill Park Addition), 230 AD 31 (1st Dept 1930), afd. 256 NY 556 (1931), the Court held that there may be no deprivation of the right to submit any element of value which a… read more

By
Posted in Eminent Domain, Highest and Best Use, New York, Uncategorized, Zoning
Read more > 0

March 22, 2013

NYC Cultural Institutions In Need of Repair, Sell Out To Developers

A recent New York Times article highlights an increasingly common practice being used around New York City as a way to pay for government services. Cultural institutions desperately in need of repair such as schools and public libraries are being sold developers, torn down, and rebuilt on the ground floor of new apartment towers, all without any expense to the public. Although is not the first time officials have mingled private development and schools, the Times article notes that the pace is accelerating, stating that “three projects have been executed since 2008 and the… read more

By
Posted in New York, Uncategorized
Read more > 0

March 11, 2013

Ramfis Realty: The Battle to Delineate Wetland Boundaries

This post is authored by Michael Rikon. Ramfis Realty, Inc. v. The City of New York, is a written decision published at 37 Misc.3d 1207(A), in which a Brooklyn Judge sitting in Supreme Court of Richmond County corrected a major abuse by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The two main issues that existed at trial were whether a potential buyer would have been permitted to build under a Consent Order entered into between the DEC and the owner, and where the exact boundaries between the wetland… read more

By
Posted in New York, Wetlands
Read more > 0