Port Chester Apology

Mr. Brody owned a large building and almost one acre of commercial property on South Main Street (U.S. 1) in the middle of downtown Port Chester.  In July of 1999, the Village of Port Chester authorized the condemnation of Mr. Brody's property for the Village's Modified Marina Redevelopment Project without notifying him of his legal right to challenge that condemnation.  The Village was following the procedures in New York's eminent domain law, as it existed at the time.  The federal courts found that those procedures violated the constitution and that, as a result, Mr. Brody's property was taken without notice or an opportunity to fight the use of eminent domain.
 
Mr. Brody sued the Village in 2000.  After he filed the lawsuit, the New York Legislature has rewritten the state law so that now everyone in New York gets better notice about the possibility of eminent domain and how they can challenge it.  The decisions in the Brody case have been noted by other courts and have helped to protect the Due Process rights of people throughout the country.