Julissa Ferreras To USTA - $ Let's Make A Deal On $ 500 Mil. Expansion

Electeds In Pay-To-Play USTA Expansion Scheme


"It is disgraceful these electeds are willing to sell out the community and give away additional parkland in exchange for money that is supposed to come from the government. 
It is their responsibility to fund public parks not private businesses. And Ferreras is on the City Council's parks committee no less."  - Afredo Centola of Save Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. 

Let's Make a Deal.   It is the city’s legal responsibility to maintain its park system which they are clearly not doing.  City, State and Federal officials have gone on the record to say they are willing to support the USTA's controversial $ 500 million dollar expansion into the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park project if they hire union and set up a fund to care for the park.

The expansion would utilize an additional acre of public parkland - not .68 acres - remove more than 400 trees,  bring in an additional 80,000 people, and increase traffic in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park which is already severely impacted by the USTA.  The USTA has been allowed to double its park land holdings since 1993 when they were permitted to expand from 21 acres to 42.  

Park Cash Cow - Last year the USTA generated $ 275 million dollars and gave the city back just $ 2.5 million and while sending millions in "profits" across America.

Queens

By Geoffrey Croft

Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras, whose district includes Flushing Meadows Corona Park has finally shown her cards on the first of the three major controversial commercial projects being proposed in Queens's flagship park.  

The councilwoman, along with a State and Federal colleague indicated they are willing to support the United State Tennis Association's  $ 500 million dollar expansion into the park if they use union labor and establish a fund dedicated to maintaining the severally under resourced park. 

The elected officials said the concessions recommended would “go a long way in mitigating our concerns,” according to a February 22nd letter signed by Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Queens, Bronx),  Assemblyman Francisco Moya (D-Jackson Heights) and City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras (D-East Elmhurst) and obtained by NYC Park Advocates.

Julissa Ferreras's support for the controversial projects could be crucial as other elected officials generally vote in line as the council member who's district the project is in.  

It is the city’s legal responsibility to maintain its park system which they are clearly not doing.  The city continues to try and abdicate its responsibilities by entering in these agreements which the elected officials are not only allowing but actively encouraging.   Besides the enormous disparity these deals create, they also hand over an enormous power and decision and policy to these groups with little transparency and accountability on what is supposed to be public land.

Each year our elected officials allocate a fraction of the necessary funds  needed to properly maintain, program and secure our public parks. Instead of properly funding parks many elected officials have attempted to pass the responsibility off on private groups or concessions. 

"It is disgraceful these electeds are willing to sell out the community and give away additional parkland in exchange for money that is supposed to come from the government," said Afredo Centola of Save Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. 

"It is their responsibility to fund public parks not private businesses. And Ferreras is on the City Council's parks committee no less."  

Critics of the cash for public park land swap deal are also concerned that this will be an indication of things to come as two enormous commercial proposals are  also planned for the park,  including a 1.4 million sq.ft  mall next to Citi-Field and 35, 000 seat Major League Soccer stadium and concert hall. 

The exploitation of the Hispanic population has also been raised by critics of the plan. 

"I find it repulsive that our Hispanic representatives in particular are selling out the very people who will be most negatively affected by these thefts," Afredo Centola continued.  

"During the summer months almost all of the youth soccer leagues that utilize FMCP are Hispanic leagues, from Hispanic communities within their districts.  Most of the people using the park are from their districts. Almost all of the cultural and Independence Day festivals held in the park are from the very same communities these electeds represent. 

Yet here they stand in agreement?   Shame in them for selling out their constituents and their ethnicity. " 

The City and the USTA were strongly criticized last Summer when it was publicly revealed in a number of media accounts that the city had banned thousands of amateur soccer players from using Flushing Meadows-Corona Park during the U.S. Open.  The leagues,  primarily made up of immigrants,  were informed that they would not be issued permits between August 25 - September 10th. The city then back-pedalled a bit following the media attention including a front page story in El Diario newspaper. 

The city said the leagues could play but only when the NY Mets were out of town during the Open. 

  

“During those days where there is overlap of these major sporting events,  we will not be able to issue any permits, ” a parks department  spokesperson said.

U.S. Tennis Association spokesman Chris Widmaier said the group’s lease with the city prohibits most activity in the park during the Open due to the size of the crowds and amount of traffic. "

Both the Parks Department and the USTA have desperately tried to distance themselves recently from these events during public meetings surrounding the USTA expansion.  In a carefully worded flier currently being distributed by the USTA to community boards entitled  Fact or Fiction the tennis giant says they never prevented community soccer leagues from playing during the U.S. Open and has never asked the Parks Department to deny permits either. 

The tennis group takes no responability for denying the public access to the fields during the U.S Open because they didn't  specifically request it. 

At a Community Board 7 meeting two weeks ago Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Administrator Janice Melnick even went so far as to deny that teams were even denied access. 

The USTA plans to build a 15,000-seat stadium and an 8,000-seat stadium, as well as two parking garages. The  proposed project would remove more than 400 trees.  The proposed expansion project would add 0.94 acres of public parkland to the National Tennis Center (NTC) site under a long-term lease, including the 0.68-acre Project Area that would be leased pursuant to the application, plus 0.26-acres of park land that was authorized for disposition to the USTA on August 2, 1993.

The USTA has been allowed to double its park land holdings since 1993 when they were permitted to expand from 21 acres to 42 -  public land that is leased from the Parks Department.   At the time the USTA said they would not ask the city for any additional land in the future. 

The park land grab expansion is part of the National Tennis Center "Strategic Vision."

Read More: 

CB 7 Votes To $ Make Deal In USTA Land Grab

A Walk In The Park - March 4, 2013

CB 3 Committees Reject USTA Expansion - After Earlier CB Trouble Confirming Meeting
A Walk In The Park -  March 5, 2013