Fashion Week Ordered To Leave Lincoln Center - Park To Be Restored In Lawsuit Settlement

Damrosch Park Convention Center.  For years the Bloomberg administration allowed Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) to rent out the entire 2.4 acre Damrosch Park to various private clients including Fashion Week (above) which they did for up ten months of the year.   These actions constitute an illegal alienation of Damrosch Park in violation of the New York State Public Trust Doctrine and other laws.     (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates)  Click on images to enlarge)

Fashion Week, and other events like this are now prohibited from returning to Damrosch Park under a court ordered setlement.  The park, much of it destroyed to make way for private events, must also be restored. 


“Parks is thrilled to welcome Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week to its new, larger, home in Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center,”  - Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe 2010.

Thankfully the new administration does not share the same irresponsible view.

Manhattan

Fashion Week will have to find a new home after February.

Private events in Damrosch Park will now be the exception not the rule according to the far-reaching agreement negotiated between plaintiffs, Lincoln Center and the City over the illegal use of Damrosch Park for non-park purposes.   

The settlement prohibits any possibility of Fashion Week renewing its contract with Lincoln Center, as contemplated in the original 2010 agreement.  A five-year renewal would have allowed the fashion show to stay until 2020.  Fashion Week's permanent home in Hudson Yard's Culture Shed is still years away.   

Now Fashion Week will have to find an interim home, away from city parkland,  until thier new home is completed. 

"IMG Fashion Week shall vacate the premises and remove all tents and other Fashion Week equipment from the park," according to the settlement, which was ordered by Supreme Court Justice Margaret Chan.



Where's The Park. Damrosch Park's Northeast Entrance/Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week's Main Entrance.  This event like others have been allowed to completely take over the 2.4 acre park. "I was horrified to learn about the demise of Damrosch Park. It is ironic that a family of German immigrants, who brought so much to the musical life of this city and this country have been pushed aside by a German manufacturer of flashy cars." - Sidney Urquhart, granddaughter of Walter Damrosch.

The settlement includes language to prevent commercial, non-park purpose uses in the future.

"....the City and LCPA (Lincoln Center Performing Arts) intend to further expand public access to the Park by not entering into agreements for commercial events substantially similar in natures, size and duration to Fashion Week and for which access is not generally available to the public," the settlement states.

Under the Bloomberg administration the City allowed Lincoln Center free rein over Damrosch Park with no limitations on the number of private events it could hold in the public park. 

In May 2013 the plaintiffs, including NYC Park Advocates, Committee for Environmentally Sound Development, the founder of Friends of Damrosch Park and other individual neighborhood park users were forced to sue in an effort to restore the park and return it back to the community.

The park had been taken over for up to ten months of the year by private revenue generating non-park use events according to the suit.

As a deterrent to any future events like Fashion Week the settlement contains language that allows the presiding judge, Supreme Court Justice Margaret Chan to issue a Temporary Restraining Order in the event Lincoln Center attempts to use the park for something like that again.   

Under the terms of the settlement Lincoln Center will also be required to produce the secret agreement "sublicense" between Fashion Week and Lincoln Center which lays out the financial arrangements  Lincoln Center received a $ 17.2 million dollar payday over five years which was diverted from the City General Fund.  

The public including the City's Comptroller were not privy to the agreement on the public park.  All future sublicense agreements for special events must also be produced.   

Access Denied.  A private security guard prevents the general public from entering a private event held in Damrosch Park on May 9, 2013, one of dozens of events held annually inside the public park.  Additionally, the Bloomberg administration also allowed Lincoln Center to divert all the consession revenue from the City's General Fund. The revenue from the city's July 2010 license agreement with LCPA collected totaled more than $32 million dollars over a four year period alone. 

The park's planting beds with magnificent azaleas were all destroyed for private events. Plantings are required to be restored under the settlement. 

Not Open To The Public - Entrance By Invitation Only. Never again are events like this allowed to seize this public park.

The Mercedes-Benz Star Lounge inside what is supposed to be a public park.

Public Park? The convention center-like atmosphere inside Damrosch Park for Fashion Week.

The City and Lincoln Center are required to restore much of the park including replanting trees and flora destroyed to make way for Fashion Week.  The City famously allowed Lincoln Center to illegally destroy 57 trees to make way for the semi-annual fashion event.    

The settlement also requires the installation of an additional Parks Department sign near the northeastern entrance of the park for the first time.  Defendants even went so far as to remove the only sign indicating it was a public park. City rules must also be posted in the park for the first time.

"Damrosch Park belongs to the City of New York not Lincoln Center," said Geoffrey Croft, of NYC Park Advocates, a plaintiff in the suit.

"The days of the Bloomberg administration's irresponsible policy of handing over public parks as cash cows for private groups and businesses are hopefully numbered.  We hope this settlement signifies a dramatic shift in policy and that parks across the city will finally be protected."

"It was outrageous and illegal," said Olive Freud president of the Committee for Environmentally Sound Development, a plaintiff in the case.

"It is environmentally unsound and harmful to the quality of life to allow a private for-profit organization to usurp a public amenity.  In our densely populated City of concrete and tall buildings the most important thing is to protect and cherish our public parks and open spaces. They are precious. 

Communities should not be afraid to fight.  This should be an example for the rest of the city. 

What Lincoln Center did was illegal and they should have been required to pay our legal fees, they made millions from this," she added.  

The Bosque. Since the park's opening in 1969, the granite benches - part of noted landscape architect Dan Kiley's (1912 - 2004)  original garden design -  have been an integral part of the park. They were removed for Fashion Week and area residents want them returned.  (Photo: Darial Sneed)

The granite benches were permanently removed and replaced by couches for an outdoor smoking and drinking area during Fashion Week.

"Almost 5 years ago I woke up to the sound of power saws and watched helplessly as our beautiful neighborhood Park was destroyed by the monstrous Fashion Week," said plaintiff Cleo Dana, Chair of Friends of Damrosch Park.

"We were devastated.  It was a gross injustice perpetrated on us by a misguided administration that valued mega-corporations’ profits over the public’s right to its own parks.   We are thrilled at the current settlement and that the Park will be rebuilt. It can never be the same but it will be wonderful to have the community sharing space together again."

The Parks Department and LCPA are also required to create a plaque - to replace the one mysteriously lost - to honor the contributions of Walter Damrosch and other members of the family to the city's musical life. 

"I was horrified to learn about the demise of Damrosch Park," said Sidney Urquhart, a granddaughter of Walter Damrosch, who attended the park's dedication on May 22, 1969 with several other members of her family.

"It is ironic that a family of German immigrants, who brought so much to the musical life of this city and this country have been pushed aside by a German manufacturer of flashy cars. (Fashion Week is sponsored by Mercedes Benz)

"As a fourth-generation member of the Damrosch family, I am so gratified that this beautiful little park that was created to honor their achievements and then woefully neglected and misused, will now be restored to its former glory."

Lincoln Center has denied the existence of the memorial flagpole with its bronze plaque honoring five members of the Damrosch family.

March 2010 months before 56 trees,  including all of the ones shown above,  were  destroyed in order to accommodate Fashion Week. The Parks Department then later tried to cover up the reason for the removel of the trees. Below a plywood platform replaced the trees which enabled event tents to be erected. 

The planting beds were replaced by a plywood platform. The NYCHA Amsterdam Houses can be seen directly behind the bandshell. 

Plaintiff Harold Smith has lived in the NYCHA Amsterdam Houses directly across the street for more than sixty-five years. He remembers the tenements and the 5 and 10 cent store on Amsterdam Avenue long before Lincoln Center and the park were built.  From his apartment as a teen he watched the city raze the buildings "brick by brick" they took to build the sprawling cultural campus.  

"I feel really good, this is a victory and we don't get many of those," Mr. Smith said of the settlement.   

"The park used to be so beautiful, the trees were so full. We got pushed aside for money-making purposes.  Since Fashion Week we haven't been able to go over there."

Mr. Smith, a musician who turned professional at age 14, said he feels most concerned for the seniors, the kids and a neighbor in particular in a wheelchair who have been shut out of their own park over the years.

"The older people are going to head back in there. They are so hurt,  they have such negative feelings towards Lincoln Center,  they feel trotted on. The people around here feel very disrespected like they don't matter.  They'll believe the park is open when they see it. They don't trust them."  

Two Outstanding issues

Since Fashion Week the Big Apple Circus has also been allowed to take up the park's entire 2.4 acres for more than four months annually including the fall, one of the most desirable seasons.  Area residents want at the very least part  of the park to be re-opened during the circus. 
     

City Charter - Section 109 

Another outstanding issue not resolved in the suit is the city's policy of allowing the money generated from Damrosch Park to be diverted to Lincoln Center.  

City Charter section 109 requires that all revenue of the city be paid into the general fund. The city's policy of allowing certain groups to divert these revenues creates enormous disparities that needs to be addressed.   These types of arrangements also exist in Bryant Park and the High Line, among others.

  

The License Agreement between the City and LCPA for instance provides absolutely no compensation to the City and instead allows all of the revenue generated from Damrosch Park to go to LPCA in order to “provide a substantial revenue stream”  for them.

From 2006-2010 alone, LCPA’s Revenues and Expenses Reports show  that revenues from LCPA’s “Special Events” and “Concessions” totaled more than $29 million dollars - the garage located under Damrosch Park,  which is owned by the Parks Department,  alone grossed more than $26.7 million,  all of which was paid to LCPA and none to the City. 

The Bloomber-era Licence Agreement goes even further to protect the fiscal interests of LCPA at the expense of the City: “[The Parks Department] agrees that it shall not impose any fee, charge, or other imposition on either LCPA or Special Event Promoters engaged by LCPA in connection with Special Events held in the Public Areas.”

In addition to these amounts under a separate agreement, Fashion Week’s sponsor IMG Worldwide, is paying up to $17.2 million to LCPA to use the city park twice a year. This money is also being diverted from the city's general fund. The agreement between LCPA and IMG Worldwide, did not go through the City Comptroller’s Office.  

Plaintiffs were represented by the Super Law Group, LLC. 


A private security guard attempts to prevent the park from being photographed from Amsterdam Avenue during the setup of Fashion Week.  (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates)  Click on images to enlarge)

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FASHION WEEK OUSTED FROM LINCOLN CENTER OVER CUT TREES

WABC - December 18, 2014 - By Tim Fleischer 

New York Fashion Week forced to leave Lincoln Center after city settles lawsuit  

New York Daily News - December 18, 2014 -  By Barbara Ross 

Fashion Week to leave Lincoln Center

New York Post - December 18, 2014 - By Natalie O'Neill and Julia Marsh 

Fashion Week to Leave Lincoln Center

New York Times - December 18, 2014 - By Robin Pogrebin   

New York Fashion Week Booted out of Lincoln Center

Associated Press - December 18, 2014 -  By Leanne Italie  

Fashion Week gets kicked out of Lincoln Center

Crain's New York Busness - December 18, 2014 - By Adrianne Pasquarelli 

Following Lawsuit, February's Fashion Week to be Last at Lincoln Center

NY1 - December 18, 2014

Fashion Week evicted from Lincoln Center, according to court settlement

AM New York - December 18, 2014 - By Ivan Pereira 

Fashion Week no longer in style with Lincoln Center

Metro NY - December 18, 2014

New York Fashion Week kicked out of Lincoln Center

CNBC -  December 18, 2014 - By Krystina Gustafson

 This Will Be the Last Fashion Week at Lincoln Center

 New York Magazine -  December 18, 2014 - By Véronique Hyland 

Fashion Week Kicked Out Of Public Park At Lincoln Center

gothamist - December 18, 2014 - Rebecca Fishbein  

 IT'S OFFICIAL: NEW YORK FASHION WEEK IS LEAVING LINCOLN CENTER

 The Hollywood Reporter - December 18, 2014 - By Stephanie Chan

 New York Fashion Week to Leave Lincoln Center

 WNBC - December 18, 2014

City/Lincoln Center Sued Over Illegal Takeover Of Damrosch Park

A Walk In The Park -  May 22, 2013 - By Geoffrey Croft 

Residents Demand Damrosch Park Back - Cease & Letter Sent To City & Lincoln Center

A Walk In The Park - February 15, 2012 - By Geoffrey Croft

Lincoln Center Nightmare- Neighbors Crying Foul Over Takeover Of Damroach Park

A Walk In The Park - February 6, 2012

NYC Allows 56 trees To Be Destroyed For Fashion Week In Damroach Park

A Walk In The Park - September 10, 2010 - By Geoffrey Croft

Bloomberg Lincoln Center Fashion Week Park Deal Diverts $ 17 Million From City Coffers

A Walk In The Park - September 11, 2010 - By Geoffrey Croft

DEC/Parks Department Reverse Ridgewood Reservoir Culvert Plan

The decommissioned Ridgewood Reservoir in Highland Park is a natural oasis on the Queens-Brooklyn border.  Activists were worried that a state-mandated plan to cut culverts in the reservoir would have impacted the natural beauty of the area. Citizens were concerned that this could pave the way for future development.  (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) click on images to enlarge.

Queens-Brooklyn

By Geoffrey Croft

For years the community fought vehemently against Mayor Bloomberg's $50 million PlaNYC proposal to clear out 20 acres of one of the basins for ballfields and develop the natural area for active recreation. 

It appears these efforts may finally be paying off. 

In what was one of the last remaining hurdles, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Parks Department are reversing course on a controversial $ 6 million dollar, two-year plan to cut large holes (culverts) into the three basins in Ridgewood Reservoir.  The move comes as pressure from environmentalists, area residents and elected officials were mounting to preserve the area exclusively as natural parkland.  

The State DEC has classified the Ridgewood Reservoir's three basins as a "Class C" High Hazard Dam, critics disagreed.   State officials originally mandated that the Parks Department cut culverts as part of an anti-flooding plan, a move which drew wide-spread criticism. 

The Parks Department is expected to submit a new application to the DEC shortly requesting the site be reclassified as a non-hazardous dam.  Plans are also in the works to map the basins as wetlands a move advocates and naturalists fighting to preserve the decommissioned dams requested four years ago.

Invasive species tower over the decommissioned Ridgewood Reservoir in Highland Park. Advocates want the $ 6 million dollars re-purposed and used to clear out invasive species and replace them with native flora which will among many things increase bio-diversity. 

In July, eight local elected officials sent a letter to Governor Cuomo requesting the plan be scrapped.  

Last week DEC Commissioner Joe Martins sent a letter to the elected officials informing them of the State's decision.  

"The Highland Park/Ridgewood Reservoir Alliance is cautiously optimistic that the reservoir will finally be getting the protection from development that the community has been fighting for since 2007," said Rob Jett,  HPRRA member and the Save Ridgewood Reservoir blog founder. 

"The next important follow up step will be the NYSDEC performing the promised wetlands mapping promised this fall. We had submitted an application for wetlands mapping to the state 4 years ago. In addition, the Ridgewood Reservoir habitats support over 150 species of resident, breeding and migratory species of birds. Many of those are Endangered, Threatened or of Special Concern by both state and federal agencies. For that reason we are asking that the state designate the reservoir a "Bird Conservation Area. 

The HPRRA will continue to work with the community, politicians and parks department to assure that our vision of Ridgewood Reservoir becoming a world class Urban Nature Sanctuary is realized," said Jett.

The environmental law firm Super Law Group were retained by HPRRA and played a key advisory role in the proceedings, acting as a liaison between the community and the Mayor's office, DEC and the Parks Department.  

Edan Rotenberg, a lawyer at the firm gave credit to the community and the elected officials for working together.  He looks forward to helping the community achieve further conservation goals via NY State DEC including  getting wetland status and recognition for endangered species. 

The DEC is being pressed for three things:  to map the wetlands in the Reservoir on its official state map of wetlands; recognize the Ridgewood Reservoir as an official Bird Conservation Area; and have DEC's "New York Natural Heritage Program" officially recognize the existence of rare and threatened plants and animals in the Ridgewood Reservoir.


American redstart at the Ridgewood Reservoir. (Photo: Steve Nanz)

New York Natural Heritage maintains New York's most comprehensive database on the status and location of rare species and natural communities. The information is used by public agencies, the environmental conservation community, developers, and others to aid in land-use decisions.

"We have an oral commitment from the DEC that they will map the wetlands in the park this Fall," said Edan Rotenberg.

"They are going to go through all three basins and look at the wetland to determine what parts of the basin or whether the whole basin should be classified as wetlands.  This is an environmental hot spot. There aren't many regional wetland forest habits left in New York City period. 

There are a number of endangered species in the reservoir, its important the state recognize this," he said.

What's Next?

Advocates are also pressing that the $ 6 million dollars be reallocated for much needed improvements. 

Community members and environmentalists have long advocated for the repurposing of two existing gate house buildings located on the basin's perimeter for an environmental center and Parks Enforcement Patrol and Ranger facility to help ensure the long-term viability and safety of the area.  

"We are glad that the NYC Parks Department finally recognized that the Ridgewood Reservoir is a habitat that should not be disturbed by construction and that it took the step of requesting reclassification to a low hazard dam," said Christina Wilkinson. 

"The money that was to be used for this project should now be re-purposed to clear out invasive species and replace them with native flora. Building a nature center and PEP command will go a long way to ensure the reservoir Highland park are properly used and safe." 

The community is pressing to use two of the reservoir's gatehouses located along the basin's perimeter to be used as an environmental center for public programs and a Parks Enforcement Patrol/ Ranger facility to help ensure the long-term viability and safety of the area.

Invasive vines are pervasive in Highland Park due to a lack of maintenance.  A long-term restoration and maintenance plan for the severally neglected park is vital.


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Parks Officials Say State Wants Ridgewood Reservoir Basins to Be Safer
NY 1 - July 10, 2014 - By Agnes Chung 
http://www.ny1.com/content/212041/parks-officials-say-state-wants-ridgewood-reservoir-basins-to-be-safer/

Plan To Cut Into Historic Ridgewood Reservoir Has Activists Fuming - 
Fears This Will Lead To Development
A Walk In The Park - July 6, 2014

City Considering Leaving Ridgewood Reservoir Natural

A Walk In The Park - October 5, 2012 

Cracks In Ridgewood Reservoir Found - Renovations Delayed

A Walk In The Park - January 13, 2012 

Central Park Vs. Ridgewood Reservoir Fence Discrepancy

A Walk In The Park - May 27, 2010 

Community Boards Not Happy With Ridgewood Reservoir Plans

A Walk In The Park - January 6, 2010 

City/Lincoln Center Sued Over Illegal Takeover Of Damrosch Park

A coalition of area residents and  environmental groups were joined by three generations of Damrosch family members on the 44th Anniversary of the park's opening to announce the filing of a lawsuit demanding the City halt its illegal handing over of Damrosch Park to Lincoln Center For The Performing Arts (LCPA) for commercial purposes including Fashion Week. The public has been prevented from accessing the park for up to approximately ten months of the year.  (Photos © Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates)

The suit demands that the agreement between the Parks Department and LCPA be terminated, the uses of Damrosch Park for non-park purposes cease, the Park be restored, and any concession revenue from the Park be paid into the City’s general fund. 

"It has become a cash cow for Lincoln Center, and this was not the idea," said Damrosch descendant Sidney Urquhart who attended the park's original opening in 1969. 

Several Damrosch family members at the press conference attended the park's dedication on May 22, 1969 with Robert Moses.  Mr. Moses named the park in honor of the Damrosch's,  often referred to as America's First Family of Music - for their contribution to the musical heritage of New York City since Leopold Damrosch brought his family here in 1871. 

Manhattan



Access Denied. A private security guard prevents the uninvited from entering the A & E Networks upfront event held in Damrosch Park on May 9, 2013. 

Revenue from the city's July 2010 license agreement with LCPA is also being diverted from the city's general fund to Lincoln Center totaling more than $32 million dollars over the last four years alone. These actions constitute an illegal alienation of Damrosch Park in violation of the New York State Public Trust Doctrine and other laws.   


By Geoffrey Croft

Since the late sixties, locals and tourists alike have flocked to Damrosch Park, not only to admire the noted architectural and famed landscape elements amidst the pastoral beauty and to utilize the park for the many active and passive recreational uses,  but also to enjoy the free performances and take part in a uniquely New York experience. 

Starting in 2010, Damrosch Park - a 2.4 acre public park owned by the Parks Department - became off limits to the general public of much of mid-August to June.  In August, the producers of Fashion Week begin erecting tents for their bi-annual show which runs for eight days in early to mid-September consisting of “invitation-only shows." 

The Park continues to be off-limits to the general public when the Big Apple Circus moves in after Fashion Week's exit for a four-month long residency from mid-October to January.  After that, Fashion Week once again comes in for its February event. LPCA then rents out the public Park for a series of private and corporate events including fundraisers that further displace the general public for an additional four months until May/June.  

Thus, these events improperly exclude the general public and displace uses of the Park for park purposes for most of ten months of the year. Only for a few weeks is the public permitted to use Damrosch Park for its intended, and legally mandated, recreational purposes. The private commercial take-over of Damrosch Park also has left a physical mark.  For example, in a highly controversial move, the city allowed fifty-six London Plain trees to be destroyed to make room for Fashion Week tents in the spring of 2010 and subsequently removed another eleven trees. Further, in addition to rendering the Park unusable for the general public, the private events disrupt the neighborhood with noise and air pollution from generator’s, trucks and other equipment.    

All of these private, commercial uses of Damrosch Park for non-park purposes constitute an unauthorized alienation of public parkland in violation of the Public Trust Doctrine and may not lawfully continue in the absence of State Legislative approval.   

The unlawful displacement occurs pursuant to a July 1, 2010, license agreement (the “License Agreement”) between the City, acting by and through the Parks Department, with LCPA. The License Agreement’s initial term is scheduled to run until June 30, 2020 with an option for the City to renew. Although the License Agreement pays lip service to the need for LPCA’s programs in Damrosch Park to “benefit the people of the City” and “the general public,” it does not offer any restraint on the privatization of the park, and instead facilitates and encourages the private domination of the dedicated parkland.

Even the official Parks Department sign with the iconic leaf logo identifying “Damrosch Park” and the Guggenheim flagpole on 62nd Street were both surreptitiously removed.  

Fashion Week occupies the park's entire 2.4 acre footprint. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of  New York City Park Advocates, Committee for Environmentally Sound Development, and Friends of Damrosch Park by noted environmental law firm Super Law Group, LLC. 

Diverting Revenue

City Charter section 109 requires that “[a]ll revenue of the city, of every administration, department … shall be paid into a fund to be termed the ‘general fund.’”  Further, section 365 of the Charter requires that “[e]very agreement memorializing the terms and conditions of a franchise … or concession shall contain adequate provisions … to assure the maintenance of the property of the city in good condition throughout the term of the agreement, and … to provide for adequate compensation to the city.”  

The License Agreement however provides absolutely no compensation to the City and instead provides for the payment of all of the revenue from Damrosch Park to LPCA in order to “provide a substantial revenue stream” to LCPA.   For instance,  from 2006-2010,  LCPA’s Revenues and Expenses Reports show  that revenues from LCPA’s “Special Events” and “Concessions” totaled more than $29 million dollars - the garage located under Damrosch Park,  which is owned by the Parks Department,  alone grossed more than $26.7 million,  all of which was paid to LCPA and none of it to the City. The Agreement goes even further to protect the fiscal interests of LCPA at the expense of the City: “[The Parks Department] agrees that it shall not impose any fee, charge, or other imposition on either LCPA or Special Event Promoters engaged by LCPA in connection with Special Events held in the Public Areas.”

In addition to these amounts under a separate agreement, Fashion Week’s sponsor IMG Worldwide, is paying up to $17.2 million to LCPA to use the city park twice a year through 2014. This money is also being diverted from the city's general fund. Worse yet, the agreement between LCPA and IMG Worldwide, did not go through the City Comptroller’s Office.  

This diversion of public funds is illegal, constitutes a waste of public resources by City officials, and should be discontinued. 

Although the New York State Legislature has not authorized the use of Damrosch Park for any non-park purposes, for a vast majority of the year private interests – including Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, the Big Apple Circus, and a host of other private events – exclude the general public from Damrosch Park and displace all free, outdoor, active and passive recreational uses.  

Damrosch Park - March 2010 a few months before 56 trees,  including all of the ones shown above,  were cut down to make room for Fashion Week. 

Read More:

Fashion Week in Our Park? Not Again 

Residents Near Damrosch Park Go to Court Over Its Use

The Wall Strreet Journal - May 21, 2013 - By Mara Gay

Lawsuit Accuses New York and Lincoln Center of Limiting Access to Damrosch Park

New York Times  - May 21, 2013 - By Robin Pogrebin

Lawsuit Accuses the City and Lincoln Center of Privatizing a Public Park

Hyperallergic - May 24, 2013 - By Jillian Steinhauer

Residents want Damrosch Park

Crain's New York Business  - May 22, 2013 - Amanda Fung

Residents Demand Damrosch Park Back - Cease & Letter Sent To City & Lincoln Center

A Walk In The Park - February 15, 2012 - By Geoffrey Croft

Lincoln Center Nightmare- Neighbors Crying Foul Over Takeover Of Damroach Park

A Walk In The Park - February 6, 2012

NYC Allows 56 trees To Be Destroyed For Fashion Week In Damroach Park

A Walk In The Park - September 10, 2010 - By Geoffrey Croft

Bloomberg Lincoln Center Fashion Week Park Deal Diverts $ 17 Million From City Coffers

A Walk In The Park - September 11, 2010 - By Geoffrey Croft

Judge Stops Union Square Restaurant Plan

The Union Square Park Pavilion. The Union Square Partnership BID and the Bloomberg Administration are pushing a plan to convert the historic building into a high-priced restaurant while the community is fighting for it to be used for desperately needed play space for children and other free community uses. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates.

Manhattan

A New York State judge issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the City and Parks Department from moving forward with plans for a controversial high-priced restaurant in Union Square Park without State legislative approval.

“…defendants are hereby restrained from altering the Union Square Park Pavilion to accommodate a restaurant and/or bar, from granting any further approvals to do so… and from actually operating a restaurant and/or bar in the Pavilion,” New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur F. Engoron wrote in his January 8, 2013 decision.  

In issuing his decision the judge ruled that the plaintiffs would likely prevail in its case because the proposed Pavilion bar and restaurant will not serve park purposes and therefore constitutes an illegal alienation of parkland.

The suit was filed in May 18, 2012.

“We hope this decision once and for all knocks out the Union Square Partnership/Bloomberg Administration’s irresponsible plan to build a restaurant at the expense of the children and the community,” said Geoffrey Croft, a plaintiff and board member of The Union Square Community Coaliltion which brought the suit.     

"We hope the City will accept this decision and not continue to force a non-profit to spend its resources to fight this careless plan. The historic Pavilion should be returned for the purposes for which it was built and now more than ever desperately needed.”

The strongly worded opinion granted plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction and denied the City's motion to dismiss.  The judge took into consideration the small size of the park and the high number of dining choices available in the area.

 “Here, plaintiffs have proved beyond a peradventure of a doubt that a restaurant is not necessary to insure that park participants do not go hungry or thirsty,” Justice Engoron wrote.

 “…on all the available evidence, plaintiffs’ claim that defendants ‘are attempting to create a high-end destination restaurant, as opposed to a public amenity that will serve ordinary park visitors,’ rings true.  The Pavilion restaurant’s proposed prices would make broad swaths of the public think twice before entering.” 

“All things considered, including the small size and large crowds of Union Square Park; the commercial character of the encircling neighborhood; the plethora of nearby restaurants of every description just beyond its perimeter; the prominence and importance of the Pavilion; the restricted views therein; and the operating hours and prices to be charged by the proposed restaurant, and based on the record at this stage of the litigation, this Court finds that plaintiffs likely will succeed in proving that the proposed restaurant would be ‘in’ the park, but not ‘of’ the park, would be a ‘park restaurant’ in name only, and would not serve a ‘park purpose.’” 

June 28, 2012 - Mommy & Me Yoga inside the historic pavilion.  


The community has long fought to use the covered Pavilion as it was originally intended, for children and community uses.  The community wants the Pavilion renovated and restored to its former uses which include a sheltered, indoor recreation center that serves a variety of year-round recreation and free public uses. 

In March the city quietly approved a new fifteen-year deal with Chef Driven Market, LLC. – the owner of a number of high-end restaurants – to build a controversial restaurant with upscale prices in the Children's Pavilion in Union Square Park.  A previous deal collapsed in September.

Critics of the plan say despite vehement community opposition, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Union Square Partnership (a Business Improvement District or “BID”) are attempting to take away thousands of square feet of potential recreation and community space for six months of the year in order to accommodate a seasonal restaurant.

The area around Union Square Park has the lowest amount of playground space but the highest concentration of restaurants in the entire city.  In Community Board 5 there are only two playgrounds, but there are more than 150 eating establishments, bars and markets within just a two-block radius of the park.  

Critics also charge that allowing the Pavilion to be converted into a seasonal restaurant will dramatically alter the Park's historic first amendment and free speech uses.

“We are very pleased with the Court's decision recognizing that USCC is likely to prevail on all of its main arguments,” said Reed Super, of Super Law Group, LLC, lead counsel for the plaintiffs.  “In denying the City's motion to dismiss and granting provisional relief, the ruling allows our lawsuit to proceed and blocks the restaurant concession in the interim.  We look forward to a final decision in this public trust case and to the return of the community's Pavilion to park use.”  

"This is great news," said New York State Assembly Member Dick Gottfried and plaintiff in the suit. 

"The community has fought long and hard to have this unique pavilion restored and returned to the people. Moving forward we hope the administration finally abandons its commercial restaurant plans and allows this historic space to be used exclusively for free public uses for children and the greater community."   

Tango On The Square.  Rain or shine the free summer series welcomes seasoned and beginners alike at the the newly renovated pavilion. 

“Great news.  This decision recognizes the Pavilion's historic use as a recreation site for children,” said former City Council member and plaintiff Carol Greitzer.  “We hope the Parks Department will now work with us to restore the too-long-idle Pavilion to its historic role.”

“Hooray!  Judge Engoron’s decision to grant a preliminary injunction against the city in our litigation is a victory for our children and community,” said plaintiff Eadie Shanker. 

“The community's eight-year campaign to fight against the city’s effort to privatize the historic Pavilion in Union Square Park is energized by Judge Engoron’s larger view of the ‘crass’ commercialism that already exists in the park and the use of the Pavilion for dining and a bar when an excess of such ‘refreshment’ establishments surround the park.  He found ‘highly persuasive’ our vision for multiple community uses of the Pavilion that would be displaced by a commercial restaurant operating from 7 a.m. to midnight every day of the week.  His point-by-point arguments in favor of our case validates why we fight.”

The judge also questioned whether the City's 15-year license with Chef Driven Market was legal;  “In the final analysis, the Concession Agreement appears to be a lease masquerading as a license,” the court wrote.

The judge also suggested that the plaintiffs would also likely prevail in its claim that the Holiday Market, which takes park land in the Southern part of the Park must also get State legislative or court approval, stating that the Holiday Market is “more like an outdoor Walmart on Black Friday than dedicated parkland.”

The judge also called former Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe’s description of the park as tranquil “dubious.”  “When one thinks of Union Square Park, ‘tranquil’ is not the first word that comes to mind,” the judge wrote. 

July 27, 2012 - NY Portuguese Short Film Festival annual Summer Night Series, a bi-monthly screening of Portuguese cinema presented free in the Union Square Park pavilion includes music, lectures, performances and the arts. 

Read More:

Judge Blocks Restaurant Plan for Union Square Park

New York Times - January 10, 2013 - By Marc Santora

Court Puts Brakes On Posh Park Eatery

New York Observer - January 9, 2013 - By Jane Gayduk 

Court puts kibosh on Union Square Park restaurant and puts popular holiday market in peril 

New York Daily News - January 9, 2013 -  By Barbara Ross and Ginger Adams Otis

Union Sq. boite nix

New York Post - January 10, 2013 - By Julia March 

Judge Puts Preliminary Stop To Union Square North Restaurant

gothamist - January 9, 2013 - By Garth Johnston

NYC judge nixes Union Square Park eatery

The Wall Street Journal via Associated Press

Pricey New Union Square Restaurant Operator Named- Lawsuit Being Prepared

A Walk In The Park - March 14, 2012  - By Geoffrey Croft