Eminent Domain in Ashbury Park, New Jersey - Essay Example

Titus Rock Manickam Order No. 214746 09 April 2008 Eminent Domain in Ashbury Park, New Jersey Ocean Groove New Jersey living in tents situation Introduction Just imagine! You own an ancestral property close to the beach and over the years other buildings have also sprung up alongside, behind, and around your own. It is the typical, friendly neighborhood with a beach thrown in for good measure and wide, open spaces between the buildings. Just when you are about settled down well with your family and enjoying the years of comfort within your small, tidy homes and everything is all right between you and your world, you are one day crudely confronted by officials from the local municipality giving you time to vacate the premises on the grounds of eminent domain. You are flustered, angry, dumbfounded, and at your wits' end! Why me! Don't I have the right to do what I like with my own property No, you don't! Not when you are up against eminent domain. The state government has enough powers under eminent domain to take over your property, pay you a 'just compensation' and raze your house to the ground and start with their redevelopment plans. (Karen Sudol) What is Eminent Domain If for even any one single reason out of several such as: building a bigger structure a l condominium, bigger business, hotel or retailer by which the exchequer stands to generate higher tax revenue, then the property in question comes within the purview of the statutory criteria for 'blight' in New Jersey for redevelopment and for the greater good of the public. Or if someone owns a farm or if the place was recently flooded, the government enjoys the right to seize the property to preserve open space and alleviate damages caused by natural disasters. There is little that the property owner could do other than go to the court. And the litigation can drag on for years! The government seizes the property after paying 'just compensation' which according to the disadvantaged owners is anything but just. The only ones happy are politically-connected developers who have everything to gain by eminent domain. The hapless property owner in New Jersey has almost nothing to fall back on by way of legal recourse. (Stop Eminent Domain Abuse). Eminent Domain in Ashbury Park Nobody would have believed that the cool, clear environment of Ashbury Park could turn out to be the hotbed of the eminent domain issue. Suddenly, the azure, scenic location of the New Jersey waterfront are being consigned to the cutting and crashing sounds of monstrous, razing bulldozers. Thirty two blocks of homes and businesses have been condemned as areas deserving redevelopment plan for private purposes. The new landscape under the redevelopment plan will see condominiums, big retailers, hotels, golf courses, and the likes. While the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of eminent domain, the local residents, particularly the elderly who have spent their lifetime in the nostalgic precinct have reason to worry. And Ashbury Park is being keenly watched because nowhere else has eminent domain been arbitrarily pushed down the throat with such high-handed expression of legal enforcement. (Greetings from Ashbury Park) Need for Eminent Domain Sure, not everyone is complaining. A good number seeing the positive side, or just because they could not care less, have consented. The fence sitters did not see any point in fighting a protracted court battle, did not see any merits in fighting the battle even if they ultimately won it. The determined bid by politicians and developers was enough to deter any such prospect. At any rate, not everything envisioned in eminent domain looked bad. The area did look like it needed cleaning up a bit anyway. Then there are old, derelict houses infested with rats and are in fit or unfit enough condition to be demolished right away. Children and the elderly have quite often found themselves bitten by these rodents and it was unsafe particularly in the dark. The flip side of eminent domain is its commitment to preserve open space and redevelop with the ecological balance in mind. It has also decided that the cut off year should be 2003 for structures to come within its purview. Over 40 states are considering legislation for eminent domain reforms and twelve have already the reforms in place. Ocean Groove, New Jersey, living in tents situation Situated close to Asbury Park, the Ocean Groove is a tourists' paradise and also prominently houses a Methodist Church. The sea-caressed beach beckons people from all over the globe, year after year during the summer. The church organizes religious tent camps and discourses. However, the area is frequented by all sorts of people, even bisexuals and drug addicts. The place is ridden with liquor stores. The good and the ugly are juxtaposed with each other. This is the right kind of place where eminent domain applies. (Bart Platenga). Redevelopment of Eminent Domain Quite obviously, eminent domain needs to be addressed with nationwide debate and legislative reformation. No government worth its salt can afford to antagonize its own citizens in violation and disregard of human rights and values. People invest their hard earned money in real estate so that they get to live in an ideal location of their choice and see their property appreciate in value over the years. Such aspirations cannot be shot down with a single piece of legislation even for the purpose of redevelopment and increased tax revenues. Besides, the means must justify the ends! Conclusion The need for eminent domain, however, exists. It is universally accepted that one day, sooner than later, the old must give way to the new. The world is moving and changing so fast that it would be absurd to continue living or working from an environment which is just not suitable to the latest living conditions. Nonetheless, the need for circumspection in the process of change exists. Who knows if the changes being made today, or the way it is being carried out today, may not prove to be disastrous and harmful in the future Bibliography: Bart Platenga, Ocean Groove, Ocean Grave, http://www.jackmagazine.com/issue5/fictbplatenga.html. Greetings from Ashbury Park, Documentary feature film, http://www.stopeda.org/KeloDayScreening.pdf. Karen Sudol, The Battle Over Eminent Domain, Property-Taking A Hot Topic, http://www.app.com/special/eminentdomain/front_4.html. Stop Eminent Domain Abuse, Coalition of New Jersey, http://www.stopeda.org/whatiseda.htm. Read More