ABSTRACT
Grand Central Terminal was recognized as a "landmark" under the law, thus requiring the Landmark Preservation Commission to approve any exterior changes to the building, even if the changes were consistent with applicable zoning regulations. This law was especially burdensome to Penn Central Transportation Company, the owners of the terminal, because it had entered into an agreement with a third party to construct a multistory office building on top of the terminal. In Penn Central, however, the Court was given a prime opportunity to re-examine what constituted a compensable taking of private property. The Court was asked whether the application of New York's Landmark Preservation Law to the parcel of land occupied by the Beaux Arts Grand Central Terminal was a taking in violation of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. In the years since the Penn Central ruling, there has been a marked increase in takings claims addressed by the Supreme Court.
