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Supreme Court Won't Hear Appeal on Columbia's Expansion

By Leslie Albrecht | December 13, 2010 5:06pm
The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it won't hear an appeal in the eminent domain case regarding Columbia University's expansion into West Harlem.
The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it won't hear an appeal in the eminent domain case regarding Columbia University's expansion into West Harlem.
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DNAinfo/Mariel S. Clark

By Leslie Albrecht

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS — A bid to stop Columbia University's expansion into West Harlem was foiled Monday when the U.S Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal on eminent domain.

The Supreme Court said it wouldn't hear an appeal filed by West Harlem business owners who wanted to stop the university's takeover of 17 acres of so-called "blighted" property to make way for a new satellite campus.

Norman Siegel, the attorney for Tuck-It-Away, Inc., the storage business that led the fight to stop Columbia's expansion, called the decision "disappointing."

"The Supreme Court let stand an abuse of eminent domain taking place in New York," Siegel said. "The court of appeals decision is a terrible precedent and it affects the rights of property owners in New York and possibly throughout the country."

In an e-mailed statement, Columbia University president Lee Bollinger said the school looks forward to "continuing our progress on this long-term plan that will help upper Manhattan remain a global center of new knowledge and create new jobs for New Yorkers over the coming years."

Siegel said he'll meet with his client to decide what to do next. They have 25 days to file paperwork to ask the Supreme Court for another shot at the case.

The court's refusal to hear the appeal means an earlier ruling by the New York State Court of Appeals goes into effect. That ruling sided with Empire State Development Corporation, the redevelopment agency that will lead the expansion, by agreeing that the area is blighted and that the expansion project presents a clear public benefit.

Tuck-It-Away and other businesses had sued the Empire State Development Corporation, claiming that the agency colluded with Columbia and that many of the buildings weren't considered blighted until Columbia bought them.

Columbia began buying property for the expansion — which includes laboratories, classroom buildings and community spaces such as restaurants and music clubs — in 2002.

The plan covers 17 acres spanning from 125th Street to 133rd Street and from Broadway to 12th Avenue. Columbia now owns or controls roughly 91 percent of the expansion area.

The expansion will include major infrastructure improvements, including to the 125th Street subway station.

West Harlem leaders recently embarked on a new rezoning plan for their neighborhood, in part because they felt caught off guard by Columbia's expansion plans.