Columbia Holdout: Eminent Domain 'Not Necessary or Appropriate'
The last remaining major private landowner in the footprint of Columbia University's planned West Harlem expansion issued a lengthy critique of the state's use of eminent domain to acquire his property, laying the groundwork for a legal battle that will likely lie ahead.
Nicholas Sprayregen, owner of Tuck-it-Away Storage, released the critique as the state today holds its second of two hearings on the proposed use of eminent domain. A wealthy landlord and developer who said he expects to fund a lengthy challenge, Mr. Sprayregen owns multiple warehouses in the footprint.
In the documents submitted to the Empire State Development Corporation today--the state agency that uses eminent domain--Mr. Sprayregen takes issue with the general notion that the area in the footprint is "blighted," a necessary condition for eminent domain. Any blight, he wrote is "created by, maintained by, or exacerbated by Columbia University," given that the university owns or controls much of the property.
More generally, Mr. Sprayregen, represented by attorney Norman Siegel, wrote that the process by which eminent domain has been permitted went against the "public use" standard set in the renowned Kelo v. City of New London case, in part because Columbia was the preferred developer from the start--not one selected via a bid.
(More from the document itself here.)
Columbia has long said it is seeking to reach a deal with all the landowners, and needs to use eminent domain in order to create a large, unified campus with a contiguous multi-story underground space.
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Nick is not interested in anything but money. MONEY MONEY MONEY!!! This is not about right and wrong it's about money. He holds a gun to the head of the community and while we wait for his selfish fight we suffer. We want those jobs, we want those ugly buildings torn down, we want the economic boom that a new campus will bring to our neighborhood.
This is about the greed of ONE MAN holding up the benefits for thousands and thousands. Please let Columbia build now!
I know the area well. i think by Columbia taking over the area would bring new life into it. There will be more jobs, more businesses will open. It's the best thing that could have been to that area. The only thing this landlord wants is just to be greedy. What can this storage space offer the community as a whole?
Any neighborhood in Manhattan that is home to several warehouses including "tuck it away self storage" definitely deserves to be called "blighted". This guy is a selfish joke. How inconsiderate columbia must be to pay him millions of dollars for dilapadated warehouses and replace them with state of the art medical facilities, schools and dormitories. Shame on you Columbia.
The only issue to consider here is whether Nick Sprayregen owns the land or not. Ownership of property is a /right/ to that property, including its use and disposal. Therefore, Sprayregen has every right to his land; Columbia has /no/ right to it.
Eminent domain is fundamentally unjust and, therefore, immoral. No matter how much Columbia's plan will improve the area, it does not have the right to use the gun of the state to force owners off their land. The most courageous man is the one who stands up and says, "NO!," and in that spirit Sprayregen should be praised for his heroic stand in defense of individual rights. All others be damned.
NICK IS NOT A NICE PERSON. I KNOW SOMEONE WHO USED TO WORK THERE AND HE PAYS THE EMPLOYEES PITTANCE & MAKES THEM WORK 6 DAY WEEKS WITH 10 TO 12 HOUR DAYS. THEY WORK THAT EXTRA DAY WITHOUT PAY , TECHNICALLY, IF THEY ARE MANAGERS, SINCE THEY ARE CLASSIFIED AS MANAGERS AND GET A YEARLY SALARY. THIS CONSTITUTES "SLAVE LABOR" . THIS IS ABOUT THE "GREED" OF ONE MAN HOLDING BACK THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD AS A WHOLE. THIS WHOLE SITUATION COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED TO A "NICER" GUY AND EMPLOYER.
You people have no idea what your talking about, go around the community ask the people who live there, NO ONE wants columbia, make it to one of the Community Board 9 meetings though i doubt any of you will care to. But of course your fine bashing the one man who is willing to stand up against the government for his land (yes it is his land). By the way did you Columbia plans to make it a chemical research area making the entire underground 7 floors down as a bathtub as the only way to prevent harmful spillage 1 block down from the Hudson River. Im pretty sure all the negative comments here have come from Columbia workers whom are the greedy ones pushing family businesses from over 100 years out and the community of people who live there and don't want to move
You people have no idea what your talking about, go around the community ask the people who live there, NO ONE wants columbia, make it to one of the Community Board 9 meetings though i doubt any of you will care to. But of course your fine bashing the one man who is willing to stand up against the government for his land (yes it is his land). By the way did you Columbia plans to make it a chemical research area making the entire underground 7 floors down as a bathtub as the only way to prevent harmful spillage 1 block down from the Hudson River. Im pretty sure all the negative comments here have come from Columbia workers whom are the greedy ones pushing family businesses from over 100 years out and the community of people who live there and don't want to move
You people have no idea what your talking about, go around the community ask the people who live there, NO ONE wants columbia, make it to one of the Community Board 9 meetings though i doubt any of you will care to. But of course your fine bashing the one man who is willing to stand up against the government for his land (yes it is his land). By the way did you Columbia plans to make it a chemical research area making the entire underground 7 floors down as a bathtub as the only way to prevent harmful spillage 1 block down from the Hudson River. Im pretty sure all the negative comments here have come from Columbia workers whom are the greedy ones pushing family businesses from over 100 years out and the community of people who live there and don't want to move
You people have no idea what your talking about, go around the community ask the people who live there, NO ONE wants columbia, make it to one of the Community Board 9 meetings though i doubt any of you will care to. But of course your fine bashing the one man who is willing to stand up against the government for his land (yes it is his land). By the way did you Columbia plans to make it a chemical research area making the entire underground 7 floors down as a bathtub as the only way to prevent harmful spillage 1 block down from the Hudson River. Im pretty sure all the negative comments here have come from Columbia workers whom are the greedy ones pushing family businesses from over 100 years out and the community of people who live there and don't want to move
You people have no idea what your talking about, go around the community ask the people who live there, NO ONE wants columbia, make it to one of the Community Board 9 meetings though i doubt any of you will care to. But of course your fine bashing the one man who is willing to stand up against the government for his land (yes it is his land). By the way did you Columbia plans to make it a chemical research area making the entire underground 7 floors down as a bathtub as the only way to prevent harmful spillage 1 block down from the Hudson River. Im pretty sure all the negative comments here have come from Columbia workers whom are the greedy ones pushing family businesses from over 100 years out and the community of people who live there and don't want to move