Richard Cooper, former state chair of the NY Libertarian Party, writes on Columbia's use of eminent domain:
Discuss this and more at the meeting tonight!Eminent domain is a legalized assault on tenants, taxpayers and property-owners Moses said to Pharaoh, "Let my people go." The Libertarian Party says to our modern pharaohs, the politicians and bureaucrats, "Let our people stay." Bollinger cites our beloved Columbia’s educational mission and the infamous Kelo decision. Is it Columbia’s mission to teach that legalized theft is just and constitutional? Is it to teach that the end justifies the means?
Mark Axinn, a Manhattan real estate attorney and Manhattan LP treasurer, contends "I am particularly appalled that Columbia University, which already has significant real estate and financial resources far in excess of others is desirous of relying on the thuggery of government to force other real estate owners to relinquish their property rather than simply purchasing any land it desires on the open market. Surely an institution with the power and wealth of Columbia could, if it desired, simply buy contiguous property. By seeking to usurp others' legitimate property rights by eminent domain, a University of which I should be proud lowers itself to the level of the street bully simply taking what it wants from those weaker individuals who might also be on the schoolyard."
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