Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Faculty Publications

St. John's University School of Law

2019

Articles 1 - 1 of 1

Full-Text Articles in Civil Rights and Discrimination

A Wall Of Hate: Eminent Domain And Interest-Convergence, Philip Lee Jan 2019

A Wall Of Hate: Eminent Domain And Interest-Convergence, Philip Lee

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

Donald Trump is no stranger to eminent domain. In the 1990s, Trump wanted land around Trump Plaza to build a limousine parking lot. Many of the private owners agreed to sell, but one elderly widow and two brothers who owned a small business refused. Trump then got a government agency—the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA)—to take the properties through eminent domain, offering them a quarter of what they had previously paid or been offered for their land.

The property owners fought back and finally won. Although the CRDA named several justifications, from economic development to traffic alleviation and additional …