A state court has settled an eminent domain lawsuit in favor of Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards development, dealing a major blow to opponents of the project.

Plans for the controversial site include a new basketball arena for the New Jersey Nets, an office tower, and over 6,000 apartments, including over 2,000 below-market units.

The unanimous decision clears the way for Ratner to begin work on the site, though the homeowners, business owners, and tenants led by Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) who lost the court decision vowed right away to take the case to the state Court of Appeals.

As they did so, Ratner told the New York Times immediately after the court ruling that he plans to break ground on the proposed $800 million arena in October, and start work on the first residential building six to nine months after that.

The Appellate Division of State Supreme Court's decision in "Goldstein et al. v. Empire State Development Corporation" upholds a lower court's decision that the state's use of eminent domain to seize property for Ratner's development is indeed warranted.

"We find that, on the record in this case, the condemnation does not violate the Public Use clause of the New York Constitution," the court wrote, "because it cannot be said that the public benefits which the Atlantic Yards project is expected to yield are incidental or pretextual in comparison to the benefit that will be bestowed upon the project's private developer."

DDDB's legal director Candace Carponter argued that after years of stalled plans and false promises, the public benefits of Ratner's project no longer outweigh the hardships that state seizure of land would place on local homeowners and businesses.

"We're disappointed in the ruling, but are optimistic that the Court of Appeals will see the importance of setting clear boundaries between constitutional and unconstitutional uses of eminent domain in New York State," Carponter said. "Despite this setback, our fight against the improper use of eminent domain and against the Atlantic Yards project is far from over."

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, a longtime supporter of the Atlantic Yards plan, welcomed the court's decision, saying in a statement the $4 billion project would bring much-needed jobs and affordable housing to the borough.

"Today's decision marks a significant step forward in the dream of bringing professional sports and a world-class facility back to our borough, and Brooklyn's shovels are, and have been, ready," Markowitz said. "So, let's pick them up and get to work."