ALBANY-Reversing a lower court ruling that the use of eminent domain for Columbia University’s expansion was unconstitutional, the state’s highest court on Thursday upheld the condemnation of 17 acres in the Manhattanville section of West Harlem. In a statement, one of the business owners affected by the ruling says he may take it to the US Supreme Court.
In the 7-0 opinion written by Judge Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick, the New York State Court of Appeals referred back to its earlier decision upholding the Empire State Development Corp.’s use of eminent domain for the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn. As in that ruling, Judge Ciparick wrote, the court found that the ESDC’s “findings of blight and determination that the condemnation of petitioners’ property qualified as a ‘land use improvement project’ were rationally based and entitled to deference. We also conclude that the alternative finding of ‘civic purpose,’ likewise, had a rational basis.”
Or, as Judge Ciparick put it later in the opinion, “We ruled for Atlantic Yards, and if we could rule in favor of a basketball arena, surely we could rule for a nonprofit university.”
A group of business owners that will be displaced by the $6.3-billion university expansion, including Nicholas Sprayregen, owner of self-storage company Tuck-It-Away Inc., had argued before the State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division that the project as approved by ESDC was unconstitutional because the condemnation would not meet the definition of “public use.” Further, they contended that ESDC’s blight findings were made in bad faith and the project will only serve the private interests of Columbia.
In its argument before the high court earlier this month, ESDC countered that the project qualified as a “land use improvement project” under the state’s Urban Development Corp. Act and that the Appellate Division panel erred in concluding that the project site was not blighted. “We agree with ESDC,” Judge Ciparick wrote.
The business owners, represented by civil rights attorney Norman Siegel, argued that there were no findings of blight in the area before Columbia acquired property there. “Despite the objective data in the record to the contrary, the Appellate Division plurality agreed, stating that there was ‘no evidence whatsoever that Manhattanville was blighted prior to Columbia gaining control over the vast majority of property therein,’” wrote Judge Ciparick. “This argument is unsupported by the record.”
The state’s highest court ruled that the lower court had disregarded the results of a 2003 study conducted by consulting firm Urbitran Associates at the request of the New York City Economic Development Corp., when the university had just begun acquiring property in the area. “Indeed, the Urbitran study unequivocally concluded that there was ‘ample evidence of deterioration of the building stock in the study area’ and that ‘substandard and unsanitary conditions were detected in the area,’” according to Judge Ciparick’s opinion.
An ESDC spokesman says in a statement that the agency is “very pleased” with the Court of Appeals ruling. “This confirms that the project complies with New York State law in all respects and that the acquisition of the holdout properties is essential to realizing the vision for the Manhattanville campus as it was approved by the state.”
Columbia president Lee C. Bollinger on Thursday issued a statement saying that the university is looking forward to “moving ahead with the long-term revitalization of these blocks in Manhattanville that will create thousands of good jobs for New Yorkers and help our City and State remain a global center of pioneering academic research.” Sprayregen says in a statement that the decision marks “a sad day for anyone who cares about the sanctity of private property rights.” He adds, “We strongly and categorically disagree with the ruling of the court and we are giving serious consideration to asking the United States Supreme Court to review the decision.”
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Paul Bubny
Paul Bubny is managing editor of Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. He has been reporting on business since 1988 and on commercial real estate since 2007. He is based at ALM Real Estate Media Group's offices in New York City.
