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Do I share my thoughts on Columbia’s use of eminent domain to seize remaining properties in West Harlem?

Published on 05/09/08
by Collin

Columbia’s use of eminent domain to seize remaining properties that allegedly stymie its expansion plans in West Harlem is getting a lot of criticism in the news. In a short day book assignment for Professor Goldman’s RW1 course, I covered the first public hearing held this week by Columbia and Empire State Development Council. The uncut and rough article is below. As an aspiring journalist, I’m not sure how to voice my personal opinion on the matter, if at all. Thoughts? Other article and op-ed links are below.

Columbia University’s use of eminent domain to seize remaining West Harlem properties for its intended Manhattanville expansion project continued to raise strong opposition from West Harlem preservation activists and nearby community leaders at a public hearing on Tuesday night. The hearing was one of the last held by the Empire State Development Council, a city organization contracted by Columbia to assess its expansion plans, before the university begins to redevelop 17 acres of city space between 125th and 133rd streets in West Harlem.

“This is a rich institution engaging in a land grab,” said Mario Mazzoni, a local resident referring to the University’s use of eminent domain. Community Board 9 Chairwoman Patricia Jones also spoke out against the General Project Plan, “I have no choice but to oppose. The use of eminent domain or even its threat cannot be tolerated. It eliminates any legal avenue of fair and objective negotiation.”

University officials did not publicly comment on the usage of eminent domain at Tuesday’s hearing, but released a public statement stating explicitly that the University’s would only use eminent domain for commercial property, not residential housing.

Opposition speakers also spoke out against the City Council’s assessment that the Manhattanville area was sufficiently blighted so as to warrant eminent domain seizure by Columbia. Joan Levine, a Morningside resident asserted that, “The area is not blighted. Columbia bought properties then let them deteriorate, then called them blighted.” The blight assessment by the Council was a critical component in allowing Columbia to proceed with eminent domain seizure.

There was no indication after the second to last hearing on the General Project Plan by Columbia and the Empire State Development Council (ESDC) that officials would amend or alter either the schedule or scope of its existing expansion plans. However, local residents at the hearing against the Plan said it was likely that they would file a legal appeal following the last public hearing by ESDC this Thursday.

In a humorous twist to the evening’s affairs, Walter South, an anti-Columbia expansion activist, proposed a substitute motion arguing that Columbia President Lee Bollinger’s home was under-utilized and thus, also blighted. Rather than seek eminent domain, instead he asserted that university officials should exchange their homes with affected local residents.

President Bollinger reiterated the University’s need for expansion space to remain an internationally competitive educational institution and avoided discussing the eminent domain topic in his opening remarks. He stated that the University’s basic position is that the economic benefits stemming from the development and “revitalization of the area” will serve as a major boost to the local economy. He eventually added before closing, “You don’t want to be in charge of an institution that is not in sync with its neighbors.”

Other articles about Columbia’s expansion plans:

  1. Gothamist: ESDC Has Its One and Only Public Meeting About Manhattanville
  2. WSJ: Columbia University Has No Right to My Land
  3. New York Times: Hearing on Columbia Plan Elicits Emotional Speeches

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