Commissioner: Stony Brook Downtown Project Won’t Involve Eminent Domain
“In a letter to Assemb. Steve Englebright dated Oct. 10, Brookhaven planning commissioner Tullio Bertoli wrote: “I can with great certainty indicate that not only will eminent domain not be necessary but that it is also not appropriate, warranted or required in this project.
In the letter, Bertoli also wrote: “Eminent domain, if it is used in land use plans, generally is applied in those instances where blight has affected an area. That is not the case in the Stony Brook project.”
Eminent domain has been a sensitive issue in the community since New York State in 2005 condemned 245.5 acres of land owned by Gyrodyne Co. of America at its Flowerfield site so that it could build Stony Brook University’s Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology and Advanced Energy Resource and Technology Center.
New York paid the company $26.3 million and would later lose a lawsuit filed by Gyrodyne claiming that the state had greatly undervalued the property they annexed. Earlier this year, the state paid Gyrodyne $167.5 million to settle the suit.”
Sampson, Christine. Three Village, NY Patch 17 October 2012.