Perth Amboy, N.J.—Perth Amboy wants to take the properties owned by Honey Meerzon and Luis Romero because they think something better might someday be built there. To force them out using eminent domain, the city declared their properties as blighted, usually meaning that they are in disrepair. But Honey and Luis have maintained their properties for years and their tenants and customers, respectively, are happy with them. Simply calling properties blighted does not make them blighted. Now, Honey and Luis are teaming up with the Institute for Justice (IJ) and Joseph Grather of the New Jersey firm McKirdy, Riskin, Olson & DellaPelle, PC to sue Perth Amboy and save their properties from the wrecking ball.
“True redevelopment lifts people up, it doesn’t push them down,” said Honey. “I’ve worked hard to manage my property well for years. The city can’t take my home just because it wants it.”
Honey and Luis come from different backgrounds but have many things in common. Their parents both fled oppressive government regimes in search of a better life for their children. They both worked hard over the years to build successful businesses, and they both hope to leave a legacy for future generations. Luis and Honey own properties right next to each other in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Honey owns a rental property that houses four families, and Luis runs a successful tire and auto repair shop. Now, though, Perth Amboy wants to take the two properties for no other reason than it wants different businesses instead.
“Most of the things the city points to as evidence of blight are easily fixable things, like litter or the presence of a stray cat,” explained IJ Attorney Bobbi Taylor. “But you can’t take someone’s home or business away and give it to another private owner under the guise of redevelopment just because you saw a cat.”
Perth Amboy says that these properties are “blighted,” a convenient label it can use to justify taking the properties by eminent domain. But these properties are not blighted in any sense of the word. In New Jersey, the government must come forward with substantial, credible evidence of conditions like “dilapidation,” “obsolescence,” “overcrowding,” or “faulty arrangement or design.” But the city’s rationale for blighting these properties includes things like passing references to minimal amounts of litter and the presence of a stray cat. These are not valid reasons for the government to take property using eminent domain.
What’s happening to Honey and Luis is just the latest instance of local governments abusing their eminent domain power by twisting the definition of blight. IJ is also currently defending property and business owners fighting bogus blight designations in Mississippi, and Missouri, and homeowners in Georgia who are being threatened with eminent domain for a private railway.
“Honey’s and Luis’ properties don’t pose a danger to anyone because they’re not blighted—they’re just coveted,” explained IJ Deputy Director of Litigation Robert McNamara. “If these properties aren’t safe, no one’s property is safe. And IJ is working, here and across the country, to stop land grabs like this once and for all.”