Haverstraw loses $6M waterfront eminent domain case
HAVERSTRAW – A property owner who won a decade-long eminent domain case says the village has yet to pay him the more than $6 million he's owed.
But the mayor counters that the developer who put up luxury condominiums on the waterfront land has got to foot the bill.
The 18.9-acre property, formerly owned by AAA Electricians Inc., is part of 25 acres the Harbors at Haverstraw was built on in 2005.
The state Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, recently decided not to hear the village's appeal of the property's value, finalizing the 2011 Supreme Court decision that priced it at $6.5 million.
The owner received about $2.6 million when it was forced to sell in 2003.
Michael Rikon, attorney for AAA Electricians, said he contacted the village Sept. 24 – the day after the Court of Appeals decided not to take the case – but got no response. The village owes AAA Electricians more than $6.2 million, including the additional payment for the property, accumulated interest and legal costs. On top of that, the village is responsible for paying $621 in interest for each day after Sept. 24, Rikon said.
Jeffrey Turkel, an attorney for the village, didn't return a phone message left at his office Wednesday.
Haverstraw Mayor Michael Kohut said the village would have to make the initial payment, but under the contract with Ginsburg Development Companies, the developer would be obligated to pay the village back.
"There's a discussion going on between Mr. Ginsburg and ourselves. It hasn't been resolved," Kohut said, referring to company principal Martin Ginsburg. "Nobody has $6 million lying around. It will take some time no matter what."
The village has scheduled a special meeting Monday to discuss the payment.
Ginsburg didn't return phone and email messages seeking comment.
In November 2003, the village invoked eminent domain when the developer and AAA Electricians were unable to agree on the property's value after three years of negotiations.
The village acquired the powers of eminent domain several years before as it created an urban renewal district. The village and Ginsburg have been working to redevelop Haverstraw's Hudson River shore, though the recession has been delaying the process. In addition to the AAA property, at least two other lots have been condemned in the name of urban renewal.
During a trial presided over by state Supreme Court Judge John La Cava that concluded in 2009, AAA Electricians argued the property was worth $16.3 million.
La Cava determined the property's value as $6.5 million. The village appealed to the state Supreme Court's Appellate Division, which affirmed La Cava's decision. The village then headed to the Court of Appeals.
"We are at the end of the road," Kohut said. "Not only do I think the trial decision was wrong, but I think the appellate court was wrong in not letting us appeal on the merits."