Two years ago, New Jersey’s
Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) approved something
called the South Inlet Mixed Use Development Project, which
was intended to “complement the new Revel Casino and assist with
the demands created by the resort.” Two months ago, the bankrupt
Revel Casino closed.
The CRDA nevertheless is still trying to condemn a three-story
brick house at 311 Oriental Avenue in Atlantic City as part of that
Revel-inspired project, the details of which remain vague. In fact,
the CRDA can’t even say what it plans to do with the lot on which
the house sits.
That’s OK, according to Superior Court Judge Julio Mendez, who
on Monday ruled that the CRDA may condemn first and
answer questions later. Jacob Sullum says the ruling shows that no
one’s property is safe when eminent domain becomes unmoored from
the “public use” that is supposed to justify it.
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