Dear Editor:
The abuse of eminent domain by the city council is as morally wrong as it is unsurprising. That some of the mayoral candidates who are council members cautioned against using eminent domain in the effort to acquire the Union Dry Dock before then voting to authorize it is indicative of the sad state of Hoboken’s leadership and the political expediency which guides city hall. The reality is that, while legal, using eminent domain to seize the Union Dry Dock is 100% wrong.
Though it is commonly misunderstood to be exclusively meant for building a power station, water treatment facility, highway, or other public need, eminent domain is often the governments legal means to steal property for a want. Some municipalities have even used eminent domain to transfer property from one private owner to another to build offices. Ours abuses eminent domain for parks.
While owners are compensated at “market value,” its legalized theft for two reasons. First, in a normal interaction parties are involved consensually – either can walk away prior to signing a contract and the owner can entertain other offers. Second, whereas in a non-coercive situation the market value is determined by what buyers are willing to pay, with eminent domain the government pre-determines how much the “market value” of the property is. The property owner is legally compelled to sell their property at a price decided not by the market, but by the buyer (ie the government) who has precluded the owner from seeking other bids which could raise the real market value.
From the southwest park, surrounded by busy streets to the Union Dry Dock on the water front, building parks – a want – are not a reason to tread on property rights. Rather, continuously ignored by eminent domain advocates is the opportunity to leverage Hoboken’s positions to get free parks without abusing property rights. The city should dialogue with developers who want to and are already building in Hoboken, by allowing them variances from our regressive zoning over-regulations if they contribute to acquiring and building parks. In fact, this has been the position of Academy Buses regarding their property adjacent to the dangerous southwest park and yet rather than find a mutually beneficial solution, the city is targeting their property for eminent domain.
The same is rumored of Union Dry Docks – a developer is allegedly interested in converting it into a park in order to be allowed to build elsewhere. This may be the reason the Fund for a Better Water Front came out against the recent vote for eminent domain abuse. Whether or not this is factual, the truth remains that our city government and the current city council have repeatedly pursued an immoral policy of eminent domain abuse.
Working with developers who are already approaching city hall with requests for more variances than they actually want (in order to get what they feel they need) to build community amenities with no cost to the taxpayer is smart development. What city hall is doing – making the taxpayer pay and unethically trampling on property rights – is the opposite.
Joshua Einstein
