Congratulations to our Owners' Counsel of America colleague Michael Rikon on the news that New York City has withdrawn its attempt to take his clients' land in the Willets Point section of Queens.
According to this story, "Michael Rikon, a lawyer representing property owners in Willets Point, challenged the city’s legal bid to condemn property in the Iron Triangle to make way for the first phase of the $3 billion Willets Point Redevelopment Project, which would take the place of the auto shops and pockmarked streets in the neighborhood."
The New York Observer reports that the city halted the eminent domain proceedings on the eve of the hearing (it was scheduled to be heard next Monday) and withdrew the case from state appellate courts. Remember, in New York, eminent domain actions start in the Appellate Division. We posted the brief Mike filed in the case here, and an amicus brief supporting the property owners here.
Mr. Rikon, an attorney for Willets Point United, a landowner group fighting the city, said that the city faced a tough case because of issues ranging from a failure to have translators at the eminent domain hearing (many property owners are Latino) to not providing notice in person and having no clear public use yet assigned (there was not yet a developer in place at the time of the hearing). "It’s strange, too, because rarely do you win these kinds of cases," Mr. Rikon said of eminent domain defendants, "but I really think this could have been different."Well done, Michael.His clients, he said, "are pretty ecstatic." That said, their future remains uncertain as the city owns much of the land in Willets Point now, and whether it wants to remain a landlord to chop shops seems unlikely. "We wish we knew what the city would do with those leases, because they’re commercial leases and the city is under no obligation to renew them," Mr. Rikon said. "Really, how interested is the city in rental income? Not very."
Mr. Rikon also said there was no reason the city could not simply hold another eminent domain hearing in the future, correcting any apparent errors, and take the property all over again. He was hopeful that might never happen. "The remediation alone will cost billions of dollars, so is it really worth it?" he said.