The Morning News
From the WSJ:
We Must Undo Kelo Decision's Damage
Edward D. Herlihy is right to condemn eminent domain abuse of the type that took place in both Kelo v. New London and in the unnecessary taking of a wealthy, private golf course by the Village of North Hills, N.Y. What distinguishes the golf course case, however, is its rarity. Very seldom are the wealthy the victims of eminent domain abuse. Rather, cities and developers typically work together to take the property of poorer or middle-income folks to give to wealthier parties in the hope that the new owners will create more tax revenue and jobs. Much more common is a recent use of eminent domain a little south of North Hills in Long Branch, N.J., where the government seeks to condemn modest beachfront bungalows to give to a developer to put up million-dollar-plus condominiums.
From the Star Ledger:
Booker criticizes city sale of properties
Standing outside of a grassy, va cant lot in Newark yesterday, mayoral candidate Cory Booker called on the city council and the mayor to stop selling city-owned property at "bargain basement rates."
Booker assailed the city council, saying it has given away large chunks of valuable city land to politically connected developers who have profited handsomely at the expense of Newark residents.
"The city is selling off land at rock-bottom prices with no real conditions and no real vision for the overall development of the city," Booker said. "Newark's land has real value, and it can be used to bring investment, jobs, good housing and more to the city of Newark."
From the N.J. Herald:
Ross's Corner plan in final stretch
After being the subject of heated debate for more than two years, the future of the county's main intersection could come more into focus Thursday.
The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the Farm Fun Building at the Sussex County Fairgrounds.
A town center plan, including space for homes, businesses, offices and recreation, will be discussed and possibly finalized at a joint meeting that night between Frankford's Township Committee and Land Use Board. If adopted, the plan would help to guide zoning for land near the intersection of routes 15, 206, 565.
The board is scheduled to hear a final presentation from Sussex Commons LLC, a Secaucus-based developer hoping to build a 90-store outlet mall on the land. Citizens for Responsible Development at Ross's Corner, a group formed to oppose the mall plan, is also scheduled to begin its presentation before the board.
The property, known as Ross's Corner, is considered by some to be the most developable piece of land in the county. Two regional attractions sit nearby — a minor-league ballpark and the Sussex County Fairgrounds. Traffic from neighboring Morris County and Pike County, Pa., comes through the intersection.
From the Jersey Journal:
Xanadu proving to be Xanadu-lite
To paraphrase Oliver Hardy, here's another fine mess our state officials have gotten themselves into. The issue at hand is Xanadu - a $1.3 billion, overhyped, mega-mall project that is being built in the Meadowlands sports complex. It is fast becoming something other than what was promised.
In October 2004, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority signed a 15-year lease with the Xanadu developers Mills Corp. of Virginia and Mack-Cali Realty of Cranford. In a very public signing, there were many promises of a 50-50 entertainment and shopping experience on the border of Bergen and Hudson counties with such venues as indoor skiing, cinemas, rooftop roller coaster, a mini auto race track, a House of Blues, ice palace, music hall of fame, underwater world, skate park, indoor surfing pool, basketball center, a Meadowlands YMCA facility, wildlife museum and Food Network cooking school.
Now the public would be lucky to see the indoor ski run, movie complex, and a children's center. A minor league baseball stadium is the subject of a lawsuit. What is left is a big mall.
...
Today, the Mills Corp., lead developer of Xanadu, is fighting major financial woes. The federal Securities Exchange Commission launched an investigation into the firm's bookkeeping. The Mills Corp. also claimed that some of its bankers agreed not to declare it in default on construction loans and the firm raised needed funds by refinancing several of its other mall properties and slashing its dividend.
We Must Undo Kelo Decision's Damage
Edward D. Herlihy is right to condemn eminent domain abuse of the type that took place in both Kelo v. New London and in the unnecessary taking of a wealthy, private golf course by the Village of North Hills, N.Y. What distinguishes the golf course case, however, is its rarity. Very seldom are the wealthy the victims of eminent domain abuse. Rather, cities and developers typically work together to take the property of poorer or middle-income folks to give to wealthier parties in the hope that the new owners will create more tax revenue and jobs. Much more common is a recent use of eminent domain a little south of North Hills in Long Branch, N.J., where the government seeks to condemn modest beachfront bungalows to give to a developer to put up million-dollar-plus condominiums.
From the Star Ledger:
Booker criticizes city sale of properties
Standing outside of a grassy, va cant lot in Newark yesterday, mayoral candidate Cory Booker called on the city council and the mayor to stop selling city-owned property at "bargain basement rates."
Booker assailed the city council, saying it has given away large chunks of valuable city land to politically connected developers who have profited handsomely at the expense of Newark residents.
"The city is selling off land at rock-bottom prices with no real conditions and no real vision for the overall development of the city," Booker said. "Newark's land has real value, and it can be used to bring investment, jobs, good housing and more to the city of Newark."
From the N.J. Herald:
Ross's Corner plan in final stretch
After being the subject of heated debate for more than two years, the future of the county's main intersection could come more into focus Thursday.
The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the Farm Fun Building at the Sussex County Fairgrounds.
A town center plan, including space for homes, businesses, offices and recreation, will be discussed and possibly finalized at a joint meeting that night between Frankford's Township Committee and Land Use Board. If adopted, the plan would help to guide zoning for land near the intersection of routes 15, 206, 565.
The board is scheduled to hear a final presentation from Sussex Commons LLC, a Secaucus-based developer hoping to build a 90-store outlet mall on the land. Citizens for Responsible Development at Ross's Corner, a group formed to oppose the mall plan, is also scheduled to begin its presentation before the board.
The property, known as Ross's Corner, is considered by some to be the most developable piece of land in the county. Two regional attractions sit nearby — a minor-league ballpark and the Sussex County Fairgrounds. Traffic from neighboring Morris County and Pike County, Pa., comes through the intersection.
From the Jersey Journal:
Xanadu proving to be Xanadu-lite
To paraphrase Oliver Hardy, here's another fine mess our state officials have gotten themselves into. The issue at hand is Xanadu - a $1.3 billion, overhyped, mega-mall project that is being built in the Meadowlands sports complex. It is fast becoming something other than what was promised.
In October 2004, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority signed a 15-year lease with the Xanadu developers Mills Corp. of Virginia and Mack-Cali Realty of Cranford. In a very public signing, there were many promises of a 50-50 entertainment and shopping experience on the border of Bergen and Hudson counties with such venues as indoor skiing, cinemas, rooftop roller coaster, a mini auto race track, a House of Blues, ice palace, music hall of fame, underwater world, skate park, indoor surfing pool, basketball center, a Meadowlands YMCA facility, wildlife museum and Food Network cooking school.
Now the public would be lucky to see the indoor ski run, movie complex, and a children's center. A minor league baseball stadium is the subject of a lawsuit. What is left is a big mall.
...
Today, the Mills Corp., lead developer of Xanadu, is fighting major financial woes. The federal Securities Exchange Commission launched an investigation into the firm's bookkeeping. The Mills Corp. also claimed that some of its bankers agreed not to declare it in default on construction loans and the firm raised needed funds by refinancing several of its other mall properties and slashing its dividend.
7 Comments:
Looks like NJ voters took out their tax angst at the polls last night.
School budget increases shot down all across Northern NJ.
grim
Glad to see people being reasonable about school budgets (although my town passed the damn thing).
I'm sick of people running to the property owner's trough to fund schools. How about charging the parents instead?
The property, known as Ross's Corner, is considered by some to be the most developable piece of land in the county. Two regional attractions sit nearby — a minor-league ballpark and the Sussex County Fairgrounds. Traffic from neighboring Morris County and Pike County, Pa., comes through the intersection......
I was personally involved with this project 3 years ago. The developer worked with Rouse many years ago. They had no plans for any road improvements. Just watch when during the summer there is a game, the State Fair and this mall is in high gear. It will be a mess. all the roads are one lane in each direction. The Fair already backs up down Rt 15 through Sparta.
Anonymous said... 8:30 AM
I'm sick of people running to the property owner's trough to fund schools. How about charging the parents instead?.......
Education is a public function. The problem in NJ is the over reliance on localities to raise funds. Montana for instance raises school funding at the state level leaving local taxes low. Income tax however can be high (as much as 9%). I prefer that system to the regressive form it has taken on in NJ. If you are lucky enough to be able to be in the 9% bracket you are more able to pay. In NJ many senior citizens on fixed incomes, pay more than 35% of their income toward property taxes and property upkeep.
m reynolds
Grim Ghost said...
Montana for instance raises school funding at the state level leaving local taxes low.
Montana's population is lower than a populous NJ county !!
I fail to get your point. Other states collect and redistribute funds at the county level. My point is the regressive nature is what is inherently wrong with our current system. Besides it is incredibly inefficient due to the redundancy of actions. Due the math 566 tax boards X tax assessors, secretaries, superintendents. Alot of fat my friend.
m reynolds
Agree on traffic at Ross Corner development, if they don't widen that road all the way to 80. It will be a nightmare in the summer. The traffic is pretty much bumper to bumper all the way to PA.
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