Submitted by Alexander Medwedew, Jul 20, 2007 14:28

Let's not forget that many successful and important projects in NYC were built by the use of eminent domain. Many of our public housing projects were part of urban renwal projects which required the use of eminent domain to be built. Grant Houses across the street from the proposed Columbia campus is one such project as well as Fredrick Douglas Houses and Park West Village on the Upper West Side. It is also forgotten that Lincoln Center is built on lands acquired by eminent domain. The movie West Side Story shows what was there before urban renewal. The United Nations and the World Trade Center both were built on land taken from private property owners. Manhattanville has been designated an urban renewal area for the past 50 years and eminent domain has always been part of the equation with or without Columbia University. Ultimately it will be the state and the couts that make that determination.

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