Hacker News Reader

> It had the most valuable real estate in the world. Radio Row was a poor use of real estate.

So why did they force a sale price on the people there?

If as finance people we believe in market forces they should have bought the stores out at market prices.

It's another heads-we-win-tails-you-lose situation.

The Wikipedia article hints that it went through the courts. Probably the only legally recognised rights were of the property (real estate) owners and those rights didn't include using the sidewalk as a display area and blasting out announcements on loudspeakers.

So $30,000 in 1962 was probably very generous, but these business owners held the WTC project ransom by demanding unreasonable payouts.

The wikipedia article mentioned that it went to court.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com