A February 11th, 2011 article in The Epoch Times entitled, City Prepares to Seize Willet’s Point Properties,  reported on 9 Queens, NY business owners who gathered at a press conference expressing concern that their properties would be taken by the City to make way for the Willet’s Point Redevelopment Project.

“The eminent domain law gives the city the power to force owners into selling private land to the city for public use. Property owners will not be left completely in the lurch, however, as they will be compensated with a fair market value determined by a judge. The EDC has also provided career training and relocation to some owners who have willingly sold their properties.

The crux of the matter remains whether the redevelopment of Willets Point is in the interest of the public, as mandated by the eminent domain law.

The city plans to replace the mishmash of auto recycling and repair shops with housing developments, retailspace, a hotel, and parkland.”

I find it very interesting that relocation benefits are only being offered to the cooperative property owners.  Most public projects using eminent domain will offer relocation benefits by following the Federal Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (URA).

The URA provides relocation benefits and guidelines to all eligible property owners and tenants within the public project’s area and makes no distinction between those that are cooperative and non-cooperative.  Those guidelines, in part, spell out how both sides will address relocation costs and the rights and responsibilities of each side.

Businesses can successfully relocate and have actually improved their businesses when relocating under these guidelines.  Without them, a business is left with incurring significant relocation costs which they often cannot afford.  Many would say this is an unfair burden to put onto a business owner while the general public is benefiting from their losses.  That’s why these URA guidelines where developed in 1970.

Having helped several hundred businesses relocate from projects using eminent domain, my experience has revealed that the public agencies that follow the URA have had better success with clearing their needed right of way in a timely and equitable fashion for all.

It would be interesting to see if the Economic Development Corp. would find more cooperation and improved success for their project if they adopted these relocation guidelines.