Buying blight: eminent domain abuse.

• Author: Ross, John
• Position: Citings - Brief article

GRABBY DEVELOPERS know a sure way to overcome resistance from an owner who refuses to sell his property: Declare it blighted. That's what happened recently in Mount Vernon, New York, which borders on New York City. In October city council members declared nearly eight acres of the city blighted--a designation that authorizes the use of eminent domain for private development. MVP Realty Associates, a private developer, paid for the blight study.

MVP, which says it wants to build a "transit-oriented, pedestrian-friendly, intergenerational mixed income destination," has begun buying properties in the neighborhood. Of the xo properties MVP controls, nine were found to have a "blighting influence," and some were so rundown the city ordered them vacated. (The city owns nine other properties determined to be blighted.) But the blight label means MVP can force even the owners of...