The Empire State Divide – 3-part Short Film Series
This is a short, 22 minute film about the decline of rural New York, and examines the forces which have led to vast parts of the state becoming a virtual economic wasteland. You can watch all three parts in our blog post, “The Empire State Divide.”
The Foundation for Land and Liberty is a statewide not-for-profit organization dedicated to assisting landowners in the protection of their private property rights, and providing owners, businesses, attorneys and government officials with the tools necessary to preserve and promote economic and personal liberty derived from the responsible use of land. We work to restore balance and fairness to laws, regulations and the administrative and enforcement actions taken by governments by the authority of those laws and regulations. We believe there must be fairness and balance in statutes and rules related to land ownership and use, and that balance is now lacking in laws, regulations, their administration and enforcement.
Mission
Our mission is to protect private sector legal rights, so that land ownership remains a fundamental right derived from natural law envisioned by our founders, as opposed to a benefit and privilege conferred by the grace of government.
What We Do
- We seek to defend private property rights by supporting litigation and representing individuals and businesses when necessary to defend against the erosion of land rights and economic liberty by government action.
- We do not accept government money and rely solely on private donations. Because our resources are limited, we focus on litigation of precedent setting cases in the land rights arena. We also act as a resource for government officials involved in setting public policy, enacting legislation and adopting regulation and for attorneys and individuals seeking to protect property rights associated with acquiring or expanding a home or business.
- We educate the public on the impacts of arbitrary and dilatory government policies by documenting and publicizing the stories of individuals and businesses affected by those policies, and by raising awareness of the connection between statewide economic growth and land use issues.
- We mentor attorneys to enable them to better defend property owners.
- We advocate for balanced solutions in federal, state and local land use initiatives as a counter-balance to the advocacy of well-funded environmental advocacy groups. We believe that the protections of private property and due process, so important to the founders, have been eroded in New York to the detriment of individuals and businesses, and economic liberty.
- We work to establish a network of volunteer legal and technical experts to assist in our public education work and to serve as resources when litigation becomes necessary.
What You Can Do
Please support our work by sending a contribution to the address below, and volunteering to serve on our strategic advisory committee of attorneys, surveyors, engineers, scientists, farmers, foresters and others with technical skills related to the land ownership and use.
