No, it was taken from him via eminent domain by the State of New York, on behalf of developer Forest City Ratner. After a multi-year legal battle, it was officially taken, title transferred by the court to the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), on March 1, 2010, by order of NY State Supreme Court, Kings County, Judge Abraham Gerges. At that moment, ESDC became the owner of the apartment and Daniel became their tenant. Over the years Forest City Ratner made multiple attempts to buy Daniel out and he refused their offers.
After the eminent domain lawsuit was dismissed and the State of New York had the right to seize the property on behalf of the developer, they still had to compensate Daniel for fair market value. Daniel bought his apartment for $590,000 in 2003, was offered $510,000 which he fought. A judge urged both sides to come to an agreement. In the end, Daniel walked away from the apartment for $3 million. He also agreed to step down as spokesman for Develop Dont Destroy Brooklyn and said he would withdraw from any litigation and not actively oppose the project, although he held on to his First Amendment rights.
After the eminent domain lawsuit was dismissed and the State of New York had the right to seize the property on behalf of the developer, they still had to compensate Daniel for fair market value. Daniel bought his apartment for $590,000 in 2003, was offered $510,000 which he fought. A judge urged both sides to come to an agreement. In the end, Daniel walked away from the apartment for $3 million. He also agreed to step down as spokesman for Develop Dont Destroy Brooklyn and said he would withdraw from any litigation and not actively oppose the project, although he held on to his First Amendment rights.
No, the project was enacted via a state override of zoning. New York State, via the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), took control of the project. This means instead of changing the zoning regulations for the project site by going through the Citys democratic Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) ending in a vote by the City Planning Commission and the City Council, the sites zoning regulations were overridden by New York State. Not one single elected city or state official had a vote on this override or the eventual approval of the project. The override granted a massive increase in allowed scale and density, as well as a radical change in use.
No, it would be 15,000 job-years or 1500 jobs per year for a decade (or, obviously, some other reduced configuration.) This has proven to be far from the reality to date. As of March 2011, there were 114 construction jobs - less than 10% of the projected amount.
No, the public support consists of direct public subsidies, tax breaks, government-backed financing, free and below-market value land as well as other special benefits amounting to a total pegged somewhere between 1 and 2 billion dollars.
No, the Citys taxpayers reimbursed Forest City Ratner for the condo buyouts.
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