Photograph of Manhattanville by Mira (on the wall) on Flickr
Unsurprisingly, the state agency the oversees development declared a 17-acre area eyed by Columbia University was "blighted", opening the door for the state to use eminent domain to seize properties for Columbia's grand Manhattanville expansion plan.
The school owns most of the 17 acres, but there are still a few holdouts who are promising go to court over the matter. A lawyer for the other owners, Norman Siegel, said, "The battle lines have been drawn." And one resident and former community board member told the Columbia Spectator, “It’s never been blighted. It’s an industrial area … Any semblance of blight is strictly on the properties owned by Columbia University."
Columbia's controversial plan was approved by the City Planning Agency last fall.
