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Facebook NEW YORK (AP)  Seeking to revive their lawsuit, Brooklyn residents whose homes will be lost to make way for a new arena for the NBA's Nets urged an appeals court Tuesday to let them find out if the developer of the $4 billion Atlantic Yards project got a sweetheart deal. Matthew D. Brinckerhoff, a lawyer for the families, told a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that it should return the case to a federal judge in Brooklyn so they can research whether the land is being taken unfairly. Brinckerhoff said the deal will let the Nets' principal owner, Bruce Ratner, kick longtime property owners out of their homes so he can build what essentially is a private business on public land. "The notion that a stadium is public use is just wrong," he said. "A stadium is a private, money making enterprise no different than a hotel." He said the appeals court should let the case proceed so he can obtain e-mails and other correspondence between public officials and Ratner to see if the deal was purposefully made to avoid looking at other options or allowing other bidders on the project. Besides the arena, the development is to include office space and as many as 6,400 new apartments. The project also is being challenged in state court over the validity of the state's environmental impact review. The appeals court did not immediately rule on the matter. But the judges' questions indicated the plaintiffs had a high hurdle to clear to stop the land takeover, especially since 62% of it is considered blighted. Preeta Bansal, a lawyer for the Empire State Development Corporation, a state agency using its eminent domain powers to condemn and seize buildings on the site, told the 2nd Circuit that the arena will be publicly owned and leased to Ratner. "This is a valid quintessential public purpose," she said. Bansal said the arena could be used by schools and would result in major transportation improvements and public space, including bicycle paths. The project would still be constitutional even if the families discovered that an e-mail from a public official said: "I want to do this for my friend Mr. Ratner," she said. And it would be still be legal to take the land and clear out the families even if "there might be an illicit motive lurking underneath." Brinckerhoff said former Gov. George Pataki had been a longtime friend of Ratner since they attended school together and Ratner had contributed to his political campaigns. He said Ratner also had ties to Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "The motives of public officials are not at issue in public use analysis," Bansal said. Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Share this story: Digg del.icio.us Newsvine Reddit Facebook Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article. Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.