COLUMBIA UNDERGRADUATE LAW REVIEW
The Impact of Penn Central Transportation Company v City of New York on Regulatory Takings, Due Process, and the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments Lucie Abele | Pomona College Edited by: Jeannie Ren, Kaleigh McCormick, Phuong Uyen, Kendall Psaila, Ariella Mitchell, Kylie Gall, Anjali Smith Abstract The 1978 United States Supreme Court case Penn Central Transportation Company v City of New York1 created a significant impact in the spheres of legal and economic developmen. In 1978, Penn Central Transportation Company wanted to construct a high-rise building atop Grand Central Terminal in New York City, New York, but its proposal was rejected under the city’s Landmarks Preservation Law. Penn Central, which could have received significant economic gain by renting out office space in the proposed building, sued New York City. It claimed that the application of the Landmarks Law had violated the Fifth and Fourteen Amendments by depriving them of their property without just compensation and due process of law. This article discusses the case and its history in the lower courts and analyzes the Court’s majority opinion and its legal and economic impact. I also suggest that Penn Central could have been able to sway the Court’s decision. My evaluation of the majority and dissenting opinions demonstrates the majority’s failure to consider the economic effects of its decision, namely on the people and businesses whose livelihoods were impacted because their property was designated as a historical landmark.
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