Eminent Domain on the horizon...
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/..._for_mike.html
Mayor Bloomberg make final bid for Coney Island property
BY Jotham Sederstrom
April 18th 2009
Mayor Bloomberg has made his final offer.
Talks to buy coveted property standing in the way of a city plan to redevelop Coney Island have come to a halt.
"The bottom line is we can only pay so much - that's it," Bloomberg said, referring to an offer of $105 million for 10.5 acres of property that developer Thor Equities owns. "The city does not have unlimited money."
The offer is significantly less than the $250 million Thor officials floated in November for the property - and $5 million under the city's last offer, officials said.
Thor Equities acquired its Coney property over the past five years for a total of $93 million, officials have said.
Bloomberg, who paid $1.8 million for Coney's historic B&B Carousell in 2005, said the crumbling economy won't allow the city to spend more for the property, which would hold an amusement park and other attractions.
"We don't have enough classrooms; we don't have enough clinics; we don't have enough infrastructure things," Bloomberg said yesterday. "Government is about making choices and setting priorities, and this is our priority."
A Thor spokesman declined to comment on the year-long negotiations with the city.