New Jersey public advocate Ronald Chen might be Daren Bakst’s new best friend.
Why? Chen has recently submitted a report calling for the Garden State to scrap blatant abuse of its eminent domain powers.
Jonathan Last details some of the recent abuses:
Under the New Jersey Constitution, eminent domain can be invoked only against property the state designates as blighted. Over the years, this designation has come to be meaningless. Blight no longer means that property is dilapidated or unsafe. Current law (which, as Chen notes, is baldly unconstitutional) has redefined the word to include property that is “underutilized” or “not fully productive.”
By those criteria, nearly every piece of property in the state suffers from blight.
Chen even notes that New Jersey’s governor’s mansion — named Drumthwacket — could be designated as “blighted” under the definition.
Those who follow the Locker Room discussion know that Daren is our own prophet of property rights.
