Private shopping malls, private housing, and private baseball stadiums were not what the founders had in mind. Neighboring state and local governments routinely sneer at homeowners and small businesses by taking their property to give to private developers. In New London, Connecticut, homes and businesses are being condemned for a hotel and health club for Pfizer employees. Long Branch, New Jersey wants to condemn the home of an elderly widow to make way for commercial development near a pier. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is angling to condemn more than 100 small businesses to give to a private developer to build a shopping mall.
Similar condemnations are underway in other Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania cities.
And New York is on a veritable condemnation spree, taking apartments and businesses in Port Chester and Manhattan for Costcos and other stores. Even Rhode Island may succumb to the temptation to use eminent domain for transfer to a private developer to construct a shopping area near the airport. From Illinois to Florida to California, abuse of eminent domain is rampant. Not, however, in Massachusetts. At least not until now.