A lawyer for Bruce Ratner and the Empire State Development Corporation stated that the Atlantic Yards mega-development, 16 skyscrapers and a sports arena, would “connect” neighborhoods.

This was at last month’s hearing of the federal abuse of eminent domain case brought against the state of New York by a group of Brooklyn residents and business owners.

I nearly laughed out loud in the hushed courtroom — Mr. Ratner plans on eliminating, among other things, the street that I currently use to get to Fort Greene from Park Slope. He also wants to put up massive “superblocks” in what would be the densest residential area in America. Claiming that building big walls connects neighborhoods is doublespeak at its worst.

The defense lawyer, Preeta Bansal, spoke about the construction of a new subway entrance at Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues as one of the other public benefits. That got a mere chortle from me, as the current one needs no replacement — it is still under construction.

The final insult was when she said that local schools could use the arena. That’s no public benefit at all in my book because Mr. Ratner plans on charging over $100,000 for such rentals. At that price, they can use the privately-owned Marriott in downtown Brooklyn. Mr. Ratner’s purported public benefits are easily disputed, and they are the key to the court case.

The underlying argument was that the arena would be publicly owned and merely leased to Mr. Ratner. Truth is, he expects a 99-year lease for the princely sum of $1. If the public really will own it, why did Barclay’s Bank agree to pay Mr. Ratner $400 million so it could be called the Barclay’s Arena? It seems that if the arena were truly public, taxpayers would be getting that cash, not a private developer. The state’s basis in this unusual case for taking private property from one owner and transferring it to another is the declaration of blight, but these properties were never considered blighted until Mr. Ratner asked the ESDC to condemn them, and only them. Isn’t that putting the cart before the horse? They are not part of an urban renewal zone — they contain many recently renovated condos that were selling for close to $1 million a piece.

Tellingly, the ESDC admitted that it looked only at properties within the footprint of his project. Mr. Ratner, the ESDC, and even former key booster Marty Markowitz have confessed that he was the only developer ever involved, and that he initiated discussions. The city did not plan anything; indeed, there is no comprehensive civic plan for the entire site.

It is important to realize what’s at stake here: If Mr. Ratner prevails, our traditionally sacred property rights will get trampled. And if the government follows the lead of a private developer’s project, it will be a blow to the free market economy.

To add insult to injury, the ESDC, the lead government agency involved in the proposed takings, is not an elected body and operates outside of normal government constraint for developers, overriding zoning laws and the like. It’s a perfect example of big government running roughshod over homeowners.

My hope is that the Second Circuit Court of Appeals will see this case in light of Kelo v. New London (2005). This landmark U.S. Supreme Court case ruled that private property can be turned over to a private developer under eminent domain, the catch being that the government is responsible for creating the redevelopment plan — not a private developer like Mr. Ratner.

The bottom line is that Mr. Ratner had eyed this site years ago and has engineered an abuse of eminent domain to acquire the land he needs.

If proof of that doesn’t come from the discovery process sought in this case, just take a look at the shopping malls that he built on neighboring blocks: The Atlantic Center Mall opened in 1996 and the Atlantic Terminal that opened in 2004. Both were designed with a stadium look, complete with pennants and arches along the roof edge.

This is really a case for the Supreme Court — a struggle of the government versus private homeowners and the preservation of property rights. I think the right team is going to win.

Mr. Ettlinger, a popular science and popular reference writer, lives in Brooklyn.