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Edward McKirdy named Eminent Domain Lawyer of the Year
Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, has named McKirdy & Riskin’s Edward D. McKirdy as the “Newark Area Best Lawyers Eminent Domain and Condemnation Lawyer of the Year” for 2011. After more than a quarter of a century in publication, Best Lawyers is designating “Lawyers of the Year”... Read More
Spring Lake Council Enacts Anti-Eminent Domain Ordinance by Overturning Mayor’s Vetoes
The Spring Lake Heights Council voted 5-1 to overturn the Mayor’s vetoes on two ordinances previously adopted by the Borough Council. The ordinances will prohibit pay-to-play for redevelopment projects, and the use of eminent domain when private property is being used for the purpose of privately funded economic development. The ordinances were supported by residents... Read More
Monroe Township Ordered to Undertake Revaluation
The Tax Court of New Jersey recently granted an application by approximately 1,000 Monroe Township property owners which will require the Township to undertake a municipal property tax revaluation. The plaintiffs claim that the “Chapter 123” equalization ratio for the Township is skewed and discriminatory based on the Township’s failure to properly categorize sales between 2001 and 2005. ... Read More
Eminent Domain Abuse in Newark Cited in New Report
A new report entitled “No Work In Newark: City Must Free Entrepreneurs” by the Washington, D.C. based Institute for Justice, as part of its City Study Series, repeatedly cites fear of eminent domain abuse as a major reason for Newark’s lack of new small businesses. The report suggests that Newark should discontinue the use of eminent... Read More
Spring Lake Mayor Vows to Veto Anti-Eminent Domain Ordinance
The Mayor of Spring Lake Heights plans to veto two ordinances adopted by the Borough Council because she claims they were unnecessary as there are no blighted areas in the Borough, and there was no reason to spend money publishing laws that were not needed. The ordinances would prohibit pay-to-play for redevelopment projects, and the... Read More
Governor Christie Kills ARC Tunnel Project, Again
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has announced that the trans-Hudson ARC Tunnel project will remain canceled, after agreeing to take another look at its fiscal impact upon urging from federal transportation officials. The project would have added a second commuter rail tunnel and line between the Frank Lautenberg rail station in Secaucus and a new... Read More
Contaminated Property Would Be Assessed As-If Remediated Under Proposed Legislation
New Jersey Assemblyman Craig J. Coughlin has sponsored bill A-3179 in the New Jersey Assembly. The bill, if adopted as introduced, would require that “the true value of a parcel of real property contaminated with a hazardous substance . . . shall be its value as if it were remediated .” Under current New Jersey case... Read More
Bloomfield Redevelopment Finally Moves Forward Following Township Council Vote
Bloomfield’s Township Council approved an “area in need of redevelopment” designation which will permit the Township to move forward with redevelopment in the downtown area assuming the designation is not challenged in the courts. Potential plans to redevelop the area have described it as a transit hub with a mix of retail and residential uses. ... Read More
Another New Jersey Town Seeks to Limit Eminent Domain by Ordinance
A Spring Lake Heights councilwoman has introduced two ordinances which would have an impact on redevelopment projects and eminent domain in that Monmouth County Borough. One ordinance would prohibit pay-to-play for redevelopment projects, while the second would prohibit the use of eminent domain when private property is being used for the purpose of privately funded economic development. ... Read More
ARC Tunnel: Back From the Dead?
Hours after Governor Chris Christie‘s announcement that the trans-Hudson ARC Tunnel project was dead, federal transportation officials traveled to Trenton to urge the Governor to reconsider, and to give some thought to alternatives that would keep the project alive. Last Thursday, Governor Christie killed the nation’s largest public works project based upon the unanimous recommendation... Read More
