The mayor’s planned development in Willets Point threatens to spark an eminent domain battle, as business owners in that area of Queens are refusing to sell their properties. The City Council is holding an oversight hearing today to assess the status of the development.http://www.nysun.com/article/67213

Jake Bono doesn’t want to give up the land where his grandfather opened his Willets Point business during the Great Depression in 1933, and he doubts the company would survive a forced move.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nywill295480536nov29,0,596883.story

About 25 people picketed outside borough hall Tuesday night to protest the borough’s use of eminent domain to take a 77-year-old man’s High Street home to make way for a massive redevelopment project.http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071128/NEWS1006-01-711280375/NEWS01

Glassboro United, a group of local residents, plans to demonstrate at 7 tonight at 213 W. High St., a property the borough took from its former owner, Suliman Arifi, by condemnation proceedings earlier this year.http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071127/NEWS1006-01-711270375/NEWS01

After a tumultuous and bitter meeting replete with heckling, the New York City Planning Commission voted yesterday to approve Columbia University’s much-debated plan for a 17-acre campus expansion in Harlem. The plan now goes to the City Council, which is expected to modify it before giving final approval.http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/27/nyregion/27columbia.html?ref=nyregion

Former Borough President Claire Shulman continued her cross-borough tour in support of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Willets Point redevelopment plan Monday night, telling the Queens Civic Congress she expects a legal battle to take place, but does not believe eminent domain will be used by the city. http://www.timesledger.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19052221&BRD=2676&PAG=461&dept_id=542415&rfi=6

More than three years of frustration will continue for homeowners in Ozark who on Monday had high hopes of leaving blight behind.http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071122/COMMUNITIES1007-0201-711230323/NEWS01

In 1960, Anna and Antone DeFaria plunked down $6,400 for their American dream, a tiny seaside bungalow in historic Long Branch. Though small by today’s standards, their home served the DeFarias well, faithfully sheltering them and their children from the cold winds of the Atlantic and the cold winds of life.http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071122/OPINION/711220312/1030/OPINION

Among the many controversies and complexities involved in Columbia University’s plan to expand its campus into West Harlem, a fight over the flow of information has emerged that may set a precedent for public development struggles to come. http://www.citylimits.org/content/articles/viewarticle.cfm?article_id=3446&content_type=1&media_type=4

For a dozen residents, Monday could mark the end to a stressful a three-and-a-half year odyssey that’s seen go from the brink of being forced from their homes to hopes of removing a negative moniker for which they unknowingly voted. http://www.ky3.com/news/local/11566616.html