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Flushing Meadows
Corona Park

​In February 2014, the City Club was instrumental in bringing a law suit, together with other civic groups, businesses, and individuals, as well as State Senator Tony Avella, challenging the proposed construction of a shopping mall in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, immediately to the east of Citi Field, on what is now the Citi Field parking lot.  The case was captioned Avella v. City of New York. 

 

The project was sponsored by the City’s Economic Development Corporation and endorsed by both the Bloomberg Administration and City Council.  The mall was to be built by The Related Companies and Sterling Equities, allegedly in conjunction with the redevelopment of a portion of Willets Point.  The City Club brought this case to vindicate the public trust doctrine, a principle originating in ancient common law according to which parkland is held in trust for the people of the State, and cannot be alienated (i.e., sold, leased, transferred or otherwise dedicated to a non-park use) without the consent of the State Legislature.

 

The respondents argued that the requisite consent to build a shopping mall in public park could be found in a few words of the 1961 law that authorized the construction of Shea Stadium.  While the trial court agreed with respondents, the Appellate Division reversed in a unanimous decision.  Reaffirming the public trust doctrine, the Appellate Division stated:  “[U]nder the public trust doctrine, dedicated park areas in New York are impressed with a public trust for the benefit of the people of the State, and their ‘use for other than park purposes, either for a period of years or permanently, requires the direct and specific approval of the State Legislature, plainly conferred,” and went on to hold: “There is simply no basis to interpret the statute as authorizing the construction of another structure that has no natural connection to a stadium.”  In June 2017, The New York Court of Appeals agreed that the project violates the public trust doctrine, barring future construction without legislative approval for alienation of parkland.

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City Club's Statement:

The Court of Appeals gave us a big win for Flushing Meadows this morning.  In a 6-1 decision the Court held that the City has no right to allow a shopping mall to be built on parkland without absolutely explicit and specific consent of the State Legislature (which the City did not bother even asking for).  This should be the end of the judicial line.  It is possible that the City will now seek legislative consent.  We'll keep you posted on that.  

 

Essentially, the Court held that the City's claim that the 1961 statute permitting construction and financing of Shea Stadium was broad enough to permit a shopping mall too lacked merit.  The Court fully adopted our position:  that the 1961 statute allowed construction of nothing more than the stadium, its parking lots, and other appurtenant facilities. The statute allowed various stadium-appropriate uses of the stadium and those facilities (e.g. athletic and cultural events), but did not allow construction of an independent structure having no relationship to the operation of the stadium.

 

The decision has some fairly unique significance.  While it is common for decisions under the public trust doctrine to recite that no non-park use is permitted on parkland without explicit and specific consent of the State Legislature, most cases under the doctrine concern situations where there is no claim that the Legislature acted on the particular use before the court. This provided an opportunity for the Court to apply general law to a specific situation, making it much easier for lower courts in the future to compare the facts then before them relate to the facts on which the Court of Appeals has already ruled.

 

We are very grateful for the superlative legal work of John Low-Beer with Lorna Goodman on this case.  They brought huge talent and energy to the case, with little enough financial reward that this can fairly be called a pro bono effort.

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Mets owners continue to seek permission to use portions of

Flushing Meadows Corona Park

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In 2023, Citi Field owners proposed construction of a 'Metropolitan Park," which they describe as a casino and entertainment complex.  Due to the 2017 ruling of New York State's highest court, owners will need to obtain permission from the State Legislature to alienate the parkland.  As of May 2024, local State Senator Jessica Ramos has stated that she will not introduce the legislation necessary for the project to move forward.  Property owners are not giving up, though finding a different state senator available to make the bold move of introducing legislation in conflict with the aims of the local representative will likely prove difficult.

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