Van Bramer Calls For Eminent Domain To Build New LIC Schools

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer wants the city to take over private land in Long Island City to build new schools.

The Long Island City representative is asking the city to use eminent domain to acquire plots of land for new public schools in Court Square, he wrote in an April 10 letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio.

"With few parcels easily attainable and years without meaningful action, it is time to take real action now," Van Bramer wrote in the letter, which Patch obtained. "Eminent domain must be used to get it done."

Eminent domain is the technical term for the government taking private property for a public use, in exchange for just compensation — typically the market value of the property, according to the state.

The city pledged in October to fund a new elementary school in Court Square, after Van Bramer approved giving city air rights to a two-tower development on Jackson Avenue. But the proposal seems to have stalled amid the School Construction Authority's unsuccessful attempts to negotiate with property owners.

"I want the city to act with urgency in Court Square to make sure that we get school seats and we get them now," Van Bramer told Patch in an interview. "If negotiations aren't going well, the city should not be afraid to use eminent domain."

The delay worries Court Square Civic Association President Frank Wu, who said families are moving to the area only to find there aren't enough school seats for their kids.

"The fear for a lot of people is post-Amazon, right, is the city still willing to invest in LIC and uphold its promises?" he told Patch.

Long Island City schools have been overcrowded for decades, according to Van Bramer, but Court Square's recent population growth has put an additional strain on neighborhood schools. The city is building two new schools in Hunters Point to create more school seats in the neighborhood.

"At this point we should be aggressive, because it's about planning for the future," Van Bramer said.

Van Bramer said he had a couple sites in mind that the city could take using eminent domain, but he declined to share specifics.

He hasn't received a response from de Blasio's office, he said, but hopes the administration will express support for using eminent domain to find school sites in Court Square and western Queens as a whole.