The city prepared papers to acquire the building through condemnation and produce the promised housing.
The Community Development Agency, a town-supported group, has already acquired 18 properties on Prospect Avenue through condemnation proceedings, Mr. Wasserman said.
The agencies could acquire property, including through condemnation, finance infrastructure improvements and sell the land to private owners at below-market prices.
The city says that it now controls nearly 90 percent of the land needed for the first phase and intends to acquire the rest through condemnation if necessary.
The reactors would cost $1.8 billion to $2.7 billion for the county to buy through condemnation, the report said, and Westchester would then face the expense of decommissioning them.
In court papers, the city's Law Department said that the disputed parcel was obtained by the city in 1968 through condemnation for the Fresh Creek Urban Renewal Project.
The university wanted to build a research and development campus and, after fruitless negotiations, began efforts last year to acquire the largely undeveloped tract through condemnation proceedings.
The site, across Eighth Avenue from the Port Authority Bus Terminal, would be acquired through condemnation by New York State, which is expected to provide financial incentives to the Times Company, as is New York City.
That is, the current owners must develop the site or sell it to a developer with an acceptable plan, or the town could seize the property through condemnation.
After losing three court decisions, the town sought to have the hotel and surrounding area declared blighted so it could seize and raze the hotel through condemnation.
