It’s a familiar story: the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is launching an eminent domain case to seize properties it needs to extend the Second Avenue subway. Time will tell if things are less contentious this time around.
The agency filed a petition in Manhattan’s state Supreme Court to begin eminent domain proceedings against 10 sites in East Harlem, Crain’s reported. The MTA is looking to seize and demolish the sites, clearing the way for two subway entrances on East 116th Street.
The properties are on Second Avenue between East 115th and East 119th streets. Residential buildings, stores and a church are among the buildings that could be sacrificed. Impacted owners include Great Neck’s Ziva and Nasir Sasouness, the Shamooil family, the Movtady family and Aaron From’s Afco Development LLC.
From here, the MTA will spend four weeks making offers to property owners for the affected sites. Owners will have four months to either accept the agency’s offer or challenge it in court.
Eminent domain involves the forced acquisition of private land for public use. Property owners are required to surrender their land at a fair market price to the government.
When the eminent domain proceedings came to East 120th Street, not every owner could be convinced to willingly part with their property. Several owners sued the MTA in 2023 for allegedly not offering a fair price for their properties; a case brought by the Pecora family is ongoing.
The agency also seized sites at 1801 and 1815 Park Avenue from the Durst Organization using eminent domain, paying the developer $40.7 million as it looked to expand the Q subway line. The developer filed a lawsuit that was ultimately settled, leaving control of the parcels with the MTA.
Elsewhere, the MTA board recently approved plans to acquire 18 properties split between the western Bronx and New Rochelle in Westchester County to pave the way for the $3 billion extension of the Metro-North railroad. Eminent domain is a possibility for those sites, though the MTA is looking to negotiate with owners first.
— Holden Walter-Warner
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