Atlantic Yards Aftermath – Daniel Goldstein Explains Why He Settled His Eminent Domain Case: It Was Basketball

Daniel Goldstein, the tenacious property owner who  fought to prevent the taking of his dwelling for the Atlantic Yards project, explains why he finally accepted a $3 million offer for his condo:

“There was one overarching reason they paid me to leave early. Basketball.

“The court was unlikely to agree to an accelerated eviction date of May 17 — it would be just a few days after the state would by paying me its original “just compensation.”


“However, the billionaire Russian oligarch, Mikhail Prokhorov, could not assume ownership of the Nets, nor prepare for the NBA draft and free-agent market, in his effort to rebuild the NBA’s worst team until my apartment was vacated.The state’s May 17 eviction date may have appeared arbitrary, but May 18 is the NBA draft lottery, and Prokhorov wanted to be at that lottery. That’s not what ESDC or Ratner told the judge or the press last week. But that was their motivation.
“As to why the state thought it so important to evict my family and me on Prokhorov’s NBA schedule, so he could encrust his plaything with diamonds, is something that speaks for itself.”

For Goldstein’s full statement go to http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2010/04/26/brooklyn_graphic/news/courier-yn_brooklyn_graphic-dtg_goldsteinopedgoldstein.txt