Over the past few weeks we have been blogging about eminent domain and Cuomo’s big plans for Penn Station.  We thought it would be interesting to continue the conversation, this time focusing on a possible high speed rail. 
 
As part of his 2020 agenda, Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced plans for a high speed rail along the Empire Corridor which spans New York City, Albany and Buffalo.  This will require re-examining old studies and roadblocks, and we are guessing, some eminent domain proceedings.
 
In a prepared statement Cuomo said, "High speed rail is transforming economies around the world. We've been told that bringing this technology to our state is too expensive, too difficult and would take too long – that's not an acceptable attitude for New York."
 
As a reminder, previous plans to connect New York City to Albany promised a two-hour ride, and a trip from Albany to Buffalo in about 3.5 hours.  We love to hear about the “estimated costs” and this project was billed at $15 billion.  It sounds like it would be more if the estimate was being done today.  As a point of reference, the Second Avenue subway line, which is two miles long, cost $4.5 billion.
 
Another example being used is the high speed rail project in California. That one has proven to be expensive, time-consuming, and full of problems.  In 2008, California voters approved a $9 billion project to begin construction on a high speed rail from San Francisco to Los Angeles.  Plans and ideas had been floating around for literally decades prior to the vote.
 
CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, Jeff Morales, said that the agency was breaking ground on the proposed 520-mile rail network.  That was back in 2012 and the problems started soon after.
 
Legal disputes were constant as those opposed to the plans accused the authority of not living up to the ballot initiative. In addition, the authority was tasked with individually acquiring each piece of property needed to build the rail lines.  Of course, some of the property owners, many of whom were farmers, came together in opposition.  This resulted in eminent domain in many of the cases.
 
Citizens are not patient and there were complaints that it was taking too long. "There was this notion that one day we’d wake up and suddenly there'd be this statewide high speed rail there," Morales said. "That’s not how things get done."
 
To look at the situation realistically, one has to realize that this type of project, a 500+ mile high speed rail that is built from scratch, had never been attempted before in the USA. All government money for infrastructure was going to interstate highways.  Many feel that projects of this scale need Federal support to be successful.  The California project did receive a multibillion-dollar boost from the Obama administration, but transit infrastructure has been decreasing under the current administration.
 
Morales is no longer CEO of the project, and today there is only a small section of rail under construction in California's Central Valley.  Completion plans for 2020 have been pushed to 2033 with the cost doubling.
 
California isn’t the only example.  Texas is in the planning stages of a bullet train between Dallas and Houston.  It is hoped that ground will be broken over the summer for the project.  In Florida, partially funded by Richard Branson's Virgin Group, a high speed rain from Miami and West Palm Beach is running and there are plans to expand to Orlando.
 
Is it possible to build a high speed train in New York? Are we more like California or Florida?  Let’s see!

​Staying ahead of eminent domain law is critical to clients having the success that they have come to expect with Sanchez & Polovetsky.  In part, that is why both Jennifer Polovetsky and Philip A. Sanchez have been named Super Lawyers for five consecutive years.
 
One of the ways the dynamic duo stays ahead is by attending conferences and networking with legal experts from around the country.   This week, the team visited Nashville, Tennessee to attend the American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education (ALI-CLE) “Eminent Domain and Land Value Litigation 2020” conference. The national conference examines the latest legal issues related to relocation, regulatory takings, inverse condemnation, and valuation issues. 
 
Always wanted to know what types of topics are being discussed at a legal conference in Nashville?  A few may even have laymen wanting to find out more!  Interestingly, many of these topics are stories that appear in the news on a regular basis and that we blog about.  They relate to Property Rights as Civil Rights, Passive Takings by Government Inaction, Creative Approaches to Solving Difficult Appraisal Problems, Establishing the Date of Valuation in Direct and Inverse Cases.
 
One of the more enjoyable aspects of this type of meeting is mingling with the faculty and other registrants, and sometimes even engaging in one or two healthy debates!  Of course, the team is also interested in absorbing some of the local Nashville culture and soaking in the city’s history, music and delicious food.
 
Stay tuned as what we learn this week might pop-up in next week’s blog post!