Reason Foundation

Recent Research and Commentary

Big Blighters

How developers use "blight" as a pretext to get the land they covet

December 9, 2009

Jacob Sullum

After Kelo v. City of New London, the 2005 decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court approved the forcible transfer of property from one private owner to another in the name of “economic development,” 43 states passed reforms that were supposed to curb eminent domain abuses. But most states still allow condemnation of property deemed to be “blighted,” and many of them define that condition so broadly that it has become a synonym for coveted, as illustrated by two recent New York cases.

NYT Forum Debates Eminent Domain

November 16, 2009, 8:34am

Samuel Staley

Quiet Victories on the Regulatory Takings Front

October 13, 2009, 9:10pm

Leonard Gilroy

Two interesting news articles on the regulatory takings front.

Private Developers Have No Right to My Home

It's time for New York's high court to protect homeowners.

October 13, 2009

Daniel Goldstein

New York's Constitution says that property can be taken for a "public use." Not a "public benefit" or "public purpose." No New York State Constitutional Convention or legislature has ever seen fit to change this language or amend it. "Public use" means "public use." But again and again New York has approved eminent domain condemnation for projects, such as Atlantic Yards, that benefit private entities at the public's expense—so not only are they not for "public use," they are not even for the "public benefit." It's time for this to stop.

Report: Widespread Eminent Domain Abuse in New York State

October 8, 2009, 12:57pm

Leonard Gilroy

The Institute for Justice has released a new report detailing eminent domain abuse in New York State, one of the handful of states that failed to see any racheting back of its condemnation laws in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's Kelo vs. City of New London in 2005.

When Public Power Is Used for Private Gain

It's time for New York's highest court to say no to eminent domain abuse

October 8, 2009

Damon W. Root

It's a classic case of eminent domain abuse. Ratner isn't planning to build a bridge or a road or any other legitimate public project that might permit the forceful taking of private property. He wants to build a basketball arena, sell tickets to the games (not to mention sell broadcast rights, advertising space, concessions, and merchandise), and make a big fat profit. That's not public use, it's private gain.

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