BLOG: Condemnation Law

Buonocore Named Eminent Domain Lawyer of the Year

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
15 Feb 2012
Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, has named McKirdy & Riskin’s John H. Buonocore, Jr. as the “Newark Area Best Lawyers Eminent Domain and Condemnation Lawyer of the Year” for 2012. Best Lawyers is designating “Lawyers of the Year” in high-profile legal specialties in large legal communities. Only a single lawyer... Read More

Appellate Division Gives Train Case One-way Ticket Back to ALJ with Remand

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
13 Feb 2012
Norfolk Southern Railway Company petitioned the New Jersey Department of Transportation for authorization to acquire the neighboring property owned by Intermodal Properties, LLC, by eminent domain after the property owner refused an arms-length sale.  Railroads, as a public utility, can receive authorization under N.J.S.A. 48:12-35.1 once they show that the land is needed for a... Read More

More on Fort Lee Redevelopment

by: Joseph Grather
12 Feb 2012
As recently blogged here, Fort Lee recently revisited the former Helmsley property in the Borough as one of its redevelopment areas. The newest group of redevelopers slated to tackle an allegedly blighted area are confident that they can succeed where others have failed.  NorthJersey.com reports that Bergen County developer James Demetrakis, Esq. has teamed up with... Read More

Jury Awards Double NJ Transit's Offer for Property Taken by Eminent Domain

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
30 Jan 2012
The families who owned the Mother’s Park and Ridelot in Wayne, New Jersey were awarded $2.6 million in just compensation by  Passaic County jury last week for the taking of their property through eminent domain by NJ Transit. The property was originally acquired by DJ Properties to be converted to a restaurant, but the owner... Read More

California Redevelopment Law No Longer a Blight to Property Owners

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
26 Jan 2012
In December 2011, the California Supreme Court upheld legislation dissolving the State’s redevelopment agencies which must now turn over their property tax revenues to the State.  Dissolving the redevelopment agencies was part of cost-cutting measures taken by Governor Jerry Brown to address a massive budget shortfall.  Approving the Court’s decision, critics of the redevelopment agencies... Read More

Eminent Domain Going Nuclear!

by: Joseph Grather
24 Jan 2012
The people of Vermont are up in arms about the Nuclear Regulatory Commissions license renewal issued to Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. The plant sits on the Connecticut River in Vernon Vermont and provides about 35% of the energy for the entire state of Vermont. Photo courtesy of www.vtdigger.org The license was renewed by the... Read More

Speedwell Redevelopment Plan Approved

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
13 Jan 2012
The Morristown Town Council unanimously approved the Speedwell Redevelopment Plan last evening.  This plan calls for the development of  650 new housing units and 40,000 square feet of retail space over three phases. The first phase of the project calls for the redeveloper to construct 268 housing units on a Morristown DPW property off of early... Read More

Morristown – Amended Speedwell Avenue Redevelopment Plan on January 12, 2012 Agenda

by: Joseph Grather
9 Jan 2012
Morristown Patch reports that the Town Council will vote on an Amended Speedwell Avenue Redevelopment Plan on January 12, 2012. IPhoto Credit – John Dunphy, Morristown Patch As noted in the Patch article, its been a long-time coming.  The redevelopment initiative for the Speedwell Avenue area began in the early 2000s with an actual “in need of... Read More

Aberdeen and Matawan to Re-evaluate Train Station Redevelopment Area

by: Joseph Grather
4 Jan 2012
As reported in the Asbury Park Press, the Matawan-Aberdeen train station redevelopment area – first designated 10 years ago – is being sent back to the planning board to determine whether the area is still “in need of redevelopment.”  As referenced in the article, the municipality is addressing the area now because of changes in... Read More

McKirdy & Riskin attend Eminent Domain Conference in China

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
29 Dec 2011
Edward McKirdy and Harry Riskin, McKirdy & Riskin‘s founding partners, recently attended the Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference in Beijing, China.  The annual conference, which focuses on the interplay of civil rights and property rights, brought legal scholars, jurists, and practitioners from the United States and China together at Tsinghua University in Beijing to discuss and... Read More