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What is currently 125th Street in the 1930's, photo courtesy of Harlem Bespoke. More Manhattanville photos here.
This is kinda-sorta-maybe-it!
As you may recall, December brought a major obstacle to Columbia’s dreams of expansion: the New York State Supreme Court decided 3-2 that that state could not use eminent domain to secure parts of West Harlem for Manhattanville. The Empire State Development Corporation, the only major defendant in December’s case, has appealed the decision with the Columbia administration’s support. Today is the first official day of that appeal: New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, has opened the Manhattanville case in Albany, and will determine whether Columbia and the ESDC can use eminent domain for the 17-acre West Harlem expansion.
In November, the New York Court of Appeals gave the uber-fraught Atlantic Yards a 6-1 approval of use of eminent domain, but the Atlantic Yards project did not stumble in the NY Supreme Court like Manhattanville has.
A decision is expected this summer, which could mean this month and could also mean three months from now. We’ll keep you posted on the news up in Albany. In the meantime, check up on your Manhattanville history: December’s ruling, a slew of talk about eminent domain, the NY Court of Appeals’ approval of eminent domain for Atlantic Yards, and a comprehensive look back at Manhattanville history, what the whole project is about, what it means to you, PrezBo and your West Harlem neighbors.
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17 Comments
@... if columbia has the right to gouge its students, sprayregen has the right to gouge columbia.
sorry guys. you can’t pretend to be a quasi-public institution in the public service when it comes to getting the government to cut you a screaming deal on land when you’re simultaneously portraying yourself as an elite private institution when it comes time to billing out exorbitant tuition.
sprayregen’s land is elite land and financing its acquisition is a complex process. feel free to stop by sprayregen’s office of institutional financing to learn more about financing options for funding your manhattanville acquisition.
@GS'11 Damn David Smith and his despicable anti elitism.
@Anonymous spec has been all over this, with two reporters actually at the hearing
@GS'11 The court of appeals website had a live stream of the entire thing. Did anyone else watch it? I thought ESDC got their asses handed to them. It was intense hearing them hammer both atty’s with rapid fire questions.
Really, if you care about this stuff at all, read the spectator.
@Also GS'11 ESDC got their asses handed to them because David Smith (the anti-expansion side’s lawyer) was a huge douche and avoided questions while hammering anti-elitist rhetoric down the judges’ throats.
Columbia should modify their design and then build the Manhattanville Campus around Sprayregen and Singh. Sprayregen is only in this for the money, and he must have a shitty storage company if its the closest to campus, but no students use it.
@GS alumna Seriously. He doesn’t live in the neighborhood; he’s a shit-stirrer who’s trying to paint himself as the little guy. He certainly hasn’t done anything to support the community as long as he’s owned the properties.
Where he lives: http://www.observer.com/2009/real-estate/eminent-domain-sprayregen-seizes-newhouse%E2%80%99s-duplex-paltry-81749-foot
@Actually David Smith is the attorney for the Singh family, yes, but the attorney who argued the case for the anti-eminent domain side was Norman Siegel, who represents Sprayregen. The judges did not ask Smith questions. Get your facts straight before complaining.
@Harmony Hunter my only concern is how this will affect harmony hall the college dormitory. will it make the hidden location of harmony closer and more accessible to students? i have talked to many students and they also have the same questions about harmony.
@Anonymous i thought u graduated. wat r u still doing trolling
@we never leave youuuuuuu.
@Anonymous Predictions:
– Eminent domain will be struck down by the courts.
– Bollinger will resign. He will be replaced by William Ayers.
– Manhattanville will still be built, but the campus will be renamed Sprayregenville.
– All freshmen will be required to sign a summer contract with Tuck-It-Away self-storage as a condition of admission.
@From the Current A longer expose on Columbia’s expansion: tiny.cc/o3m8x
@spec was at the hearing…they did a blog while they were there
@nido Back in the day, what is now West 125th St was known as Manhattan Street. The street on the left in that image is West 129th St. The old 125th was properly aligned with the grid and is buried underneath the Grant housing projects somewhere.
@nido (part of it is now called La Salle St.)
@Eliza Yep, will clarify now in caption.
@ehh Who gives a shit, this won’t affect us