Queens City Council Candidate Moya Calls For Seizing Parkland In FMCP - Doesn't Know Why

City Council candidate Francisco Moya is calling for the seizing parkland in Flushing Meadows-Corona he says to create affordable housing and community jobs at Willets Point but is unable to say what the connection is between the park and his plan. In June New York’s highest court rejected a proposal to build a mega-mall on the same site in Flushing Meadows Park. The court ruled that State Alienation approval was necessary in order to commercially build on the public parkland, something Moya promises to help achieve. Moya is holding a press conference today.  (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates)

Queens

By Geoffrey Croft

A candidate running for a City Council seat is calling on the Mayor to support his plan to size 30 acres of Flushing Meadows - Corona Park, public land the State’s highest court just ruled in favor of protecting.   

New York State Assemblyman Francisco Moya (D - Corona) running for Julissa Ferreras’s City Council seat is pushing to alienate the parkland and says he will fight hard to do it if elected.

 “Moya has pledged to work with colleagues in the legislature to secure the required parkland alienation provisions if his proposal moves forward,” a campaign press release stated.

In June the State’s highest court rejected the $1 billion Bloomberg-era giveaway of 47.5 acres of public parkland in Flushing Meadow’s Corona Park - to one of the country’s most politically connected developers, along with NY Mets owners -  to build the city’s largest mall.

Assemblyman Moya says alienating the park is part of his plan to create “Historic Levels of Affordable Housing and Community Jobs at Willets Point.”

However when asked how the parkland and his affordable housing plan for Willets Point were related the campaign was unable to provide any details.

The Moya campaign was asked what the plan was for the parkland if they were successful in securing  “the required parkland alienation provisions.”

The press release or the campaign offered no information or details on how the parkland is related to Willets Point or to his affordable housing proposal which is obviously the key to the proposal.    

“Moya’s proposal comes shortly after a decision last month by the New York State Court of Appeals striking down the Willets West phase of the proposed redevelopment, “ the press release stated.

"The plan, which would have brought a shopping center and movie theater to the 30-acre site immediately west of Citi Field, was intended to be the first phase in the two-part redevelopment of the Willets Point Site. However, the Court of Appeals struck the plan down on the grounds that the land, which is technically parkland pertaining to the adjacent Flushing-Meadows Park, would first require state lawmakers' approval. Moya has pledged to work with colleagues in the legislature to secure the required parkland alienation provisions if his proposal moves forward,” the release read.

The statement contained several bits of misleading information.

The parkland was not part of the 2008 Willets Point development plan and was not intended to be the first phase in the two-part redevelopment of the Willets Point Site.   The Queens Development Group - a joint venture between The Related Companies and Sterling Equities had desperately tried to link the two projects. 

The parkland is not “technically parkland” it is parkland and it is not “adjacent Flushing-Meadows Park,” it is in Flushing-Meadows Park.    

Queens City Council candidate Francisco Moya wants to help seize parkland in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park but is unable to say what for.

The Moya campaign also states his proposal was developed with community groups and stakeholders. 

“Assemblyman Moya ​has met with local residents and community groups to develop this proposal for the future of Willets Point,” the campaign said in a statement last week to A Walk In the Park. “

“These are the stakeholders that will be most affected by any development at the site, and addressing their needs for open space, truly affordable housing and employment opportunities are the Assemblyman’s top priority,” a campaign spokesperson wrote.   

The campaign was unable to provide details when asked what community groups and stakeholders were involved in helping to develop this proposal but pointed to a town hall meeting ten years ago in Jackson Heights by the Pratt Center for Community Development.  The 2007 meeting it should be noted did not mention taking public parkland. 

Which community groups and stakeholders are supporting this plan may at least partially be answered today when the Moya campaign holds a rally at 2:30pm.

According to the release today’s press conference participants include Make The Road, a city-funded non-profit with close ties to this administration including Jullissa Ferreras and Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito, and the Jackson Heights Green Alliance,  Queens Fairness Coalition, groups that supportive of the initial plan.

Make The Road supported taking the parkland and helped the local council member. After Julissa Ferreras successfully orchrestated  the deal culminating in the City Council vote in Ocotober 2013 she publicly thanked the groups that helped make it possible - Make The Road,  The Queens Fairness Coalition, and New Yorkers For Parks.

Moya has the support of the Queens County Democrats. His campaign was asked it they were supporting the development of Flushing Meadows Park to their knowledge.  The campaign declined to answer.

The campaign was also asked if anyone associated with his campaign has met with the former proposed developer, Related Companies, or Sterling Equities or with REBNY and any unions regarding this proposal?

The campaign said no it hadn't.

Not surprising plaintiffs were not happy.

“It’s very disappointing to see candidate Moya willing to squander the community’s hard-won court victory, which protects Flushing Meadows Corona Park land,” plaintiff Irene Prestigiacomo said in a statement.

    

"Moya’s willets Point plan includes his support for alienating the parkland which the recent court victory protects.  Moya needs a reality check, to understand that the community opposes developing parkland and just concluded a long court case to preserve the same land that Moya is eager to give to developers. Moya's willingness to sacrifice public parkland shows his apparent support of and allegiance to developers and the elitist owners of the Mets, above the constituents he wants to vote for him! He wants the community’s vote while unashamedly letting us know he has no respect for the hard-won court victory,” she said.

“The Queens Civic Congress opposes any more alienation of this much needed park land,  said  its president Kevin J. Forrestal. "Park land is essential part of the infrastructure supporting it’s surrounding communities. Keep park land as parks,” he stated. 

 “Another Clown has joined the circus,”  opined plaintiff Alfredo Centola.  

“When will these leeches learn that the public is their boss and the public has spoken repeatedly.”

Save Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.   

Note: The author was a plaintiff in the lawsuit.  

Read More:

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A Walk In The Park - Juen 6, 2017 -  By Geoffrey Croft

State’s Highest Court Rules Massive Mall Planned Next to Citi Field Can No Longer Proceed

NY 1 - June 6, 2017 - By Gene Apodaca 

Court Delivers Legal Blow To Willets Point Development Plan

CBS - June 7, 2017 - By Carolyn Gusoff

Ruling May Be Death Knell for $3 Billion Queens Development

New York Times - June 6, 2017 - By Sarah Maslin Nir 

Appeals court rejects Willets West project to build mall near Citi Field due to lack of legal authority

New York Daily News - June 6, 2017-  By Glenn Blain 

Court rules against proposed ‘Willets West’ mega mall near Citi Field in Queens

Queens.com - June 6, 2017 -  By Suzanne Monteverdi  

Judges Block Development of Former Shea Stadium Site

New York Law Journal - June 6, 2017 - By Mark Hamblett  

Council Misled City On Willets West Land Grab
A Walk In The Park - January 14, 2016 - By Geoffrey Croft 

De Blasio Declines To Join Willets Point West Appeal - Not Due To 

Preserving Parkland Or Legal Grounds However

A Walk In The Park - August 20, 2015 

Court Rejects Parkland Shopping Mall Deal In Flushing Meadows Corona Park
A Walk In The Park - By Geoffrey Croft 

City Begins Land Use Process On Willets Point Land Grab

A Walk In The Park -  March 22, 2013 

Casino Sought For Flushing Meadows Park - Willet's Point Documents Reveal
A Walk In The Park - February 5, 2013

Related Co. Strikes Gold As City Council Approves Park Land Grabs Deals - Willets Point West

 & Ruppert Playground Development Approved

A Walk In The Park - October 10, 2013 - By Geoffrey Croft

NY's Highest Court Rejects Mega-Mall In Flushing Meadow-Corona Park

The State's highest court rejected the $1 billion Bloomberg-era giveaway of 47.5 acres of public parkland in Flushing Meadow’s Corona Park to one of the country’s most politically connected developers to build Willets Point West mega-mall.   Critics of theplan argue that if the 40-plus acres of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park being proposed for mall use are no longer needed for CitiField parking then it should revert back to its original recreational use.  (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on image to enlarge.


Queens

By Geoffrey Croft

There will be no massive mega-mall next City Feild for the public so "recreate" in, the six year battle to prevent the illegal taking of public parkland may finally be over.    

The State’s highest court rejected the $1 billion Bloomberg-era giveaway of 47.5 acres of public parkland in Flushing Meadow’s Corona Park - to one of the country’s most politically connected developers, along with NY Mets owners -  to build the city's largest mall.

The Queens Development Group - a joint venture between The Related Companies and Sterling Equities, whose owners are New York Met’s principle owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz,  were attempting to build a 1.4 million square foot mall as part of a 47.5  acre project in the Park. 

"...the text of the statute and its legislative history flatly refute the proposition that the legislature granted the City the authority to construct a development such as Willets West in Flushing Meadows Park,"  the New York Court of Appeals ruled.  

The court ruled 5-1 against the defendants with one dissention.

In July 2015,  The New York State Appellate Division rejected the parkland mega-mall shopping complex deal and ruled in favor of plaintiffs, including NYC Park Advocates, who sued to block the city and the Queens Development Group from seizing nearly 48 acres of public parkland in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. 

The court ruled that the project violated the Public Trust Doctrine and prevented any construction on parkland from proceeding.  


Proposed Mega-Mall.   State Alienation legislation is required under state law to use parkland for non-park purposes.  The Bloomberg administration, including Seth Pinsky, president of the city’s Economic Development Corp.,  said that permission to develpet was already given under a 1961 law. This week New York's highest court disagreed.    (Rendering EDC)

The proposed mall in Flushing Meadow Corona Park was never part of the original Willets Point development which was approved in 2008.

The public land was thrown by Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council to sweeten the deal for developers.

The developers strategy in court proceedings and in public misstatements has been to try and connect the two development projects -  Willet’s Point West,  a proposed massive mall on 47 acres of public parkland, and Willets Point,  60 acres of automotive shops on the other side of Citi-Field. The defendants had argued strenuously that Related needed the public parkland in order to build Willets Point. 

The court rejected that. 

"Those contentions, however, have no place in our consideration of whether the legislature granted authorization for the development of Willets West on land held in the public trust.  Of course, the legislature remains free to alienate all or part of the parkland for whatever purposes it sees fit, but it must do so through direct and specific legislation that expressly confers the desired alienation."

The next step is whether or not the powerful developers will try and bypass the court’s ruling and get State elected officials and the Governor to alienate the park land.

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, on behalf of the Cuomo administration petitioned the State’s highest court to vacate a lower court decision which prohibited  the commercial development of the mega-mall in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

Related and Sterling have donated at least $187,300 in contributions to Governor Cuomo and AG Schneiderman since 2010 according to the Board of Elections’ website.  

Donations from Related’s top two executives and their wives,  Stephen M. Ross and his jewelry designer Kara Ross,  and Jeff and Kara Blau are included in the contributions.

The massive Willets West mega-mall planned to build on the parking lot in Flushing Meadows - Corona Park.   (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on image to enlarge.

New York’s highest court today held that construction of a regional shopping mall on dedicated parkland in Flushing Meadows Corona Park could not go forward, because it was not specifically approved by a State law.  

The shopping mall was to be built on what is now the parking lot for CitiField.  Under an ancient common law doctrine known as the “public trust doctrine,” any lease or sale of government land held by for a public purpose must be approved by the State Legislature. 

The City and the developers (the Related Companies and Sterling Equities, the latter owned by the owners of the Mets) had argued that the law that authorized construction of Shea Stadium also authorized construction of the mall.  After carefully analyzing both the legislative history and the language of the statute, the Court flatly rejected that contention.  

Chief Judge DiFiore was the lone dissenter.

Today’s decision of the Court of Appeals is a victory for the public trust doctrine and for parks.  The decision is important in at least two respects.  First, it reiterates that the Legislature’s approval of any alienation of parkland must be specific.  



http://www.savefmcp.org

There is no dispute that the Legislature, in 1961, enacted a law that allowed the construction and leasing of Shea Stadium.  This is the first time the Court of Appeals has held that even a law that concededly does alienate parkland will not be read as going any further than what is specifically says.  As the Court said, any “proposed alienation [by the Legislature] must plainly fall within the scope of the legislative direction authorizing alienation.” 

The decision is also important because it suggests, consistent with prior precedents, that the public trust doctrine applies to parks, but also to “other lands held in the public trust,” such as streets, wharfs, and public buildings.

"I’m very pleased at this outcome, not only for the principles that the Court reaffirmed, but also because the proposed project would have been injurious to many people, including the individual petitioners," said plaintiff's attorney John Lo-Beer, of New York City Club. 

"I hope that this decision will lead to a better future for Willets Point and for Flushing Meadows Corona Park,"  he said.

Today’s decision of the Court of Appeals is a victory for the public trust doctrine and for parks, NY State Senator Tony Avella expressed. 

The decision is important in at least two respects. First, it reiterates that the Legislature’s approval of any alienation of parkland must be specific. There is no dispute that the Legislature, in 1961, enacted a law that allowed the construction and leasing of Shea Stadium. This is the first time the Court of Appeals has held that even a law that concededly does alienate parkland will not be read as going any further than what it specifically says. As the Court said, any “proposed alienation [by the Legislature] must plainly fall within the scope of the legislative direction authorizing alienation.”

"Today’s decision was a resounding victory for the public trust doctrine and residents across New York State,"  State Senator Avella said in a statment. 

"This land was intended to be used as parkland, not for the development of a mega-mall. In a city where public land is in short supply, simply handing over parkland would be an absolute disgrace and a betrayal of the public trust. This victory sets a precedent for decades to come that our government cannot give away our parkland or be complicit in a developer’s heist of public land,” Avella said.

"Queens Civic Congress is ecstatic that the tough battle to preserve city park land from developers has been won by the community,"  Kevin J Forrestal, president, Queens Civic Congress said in a statemnet.

"QCC is very pleased that this decision will set a precedent forever upholding the state's Public Trust doctrine and preserving our valuable public spaces," he said.

The civic group  also thanked the attorneys for their incredible work in arguing a complex case as well as fellow petitioners for working together on this.

Delivering The Deal -  October 10, 2017.   Big Winners. A beaming Related Companies' Charles  J.  O'Byrne, Queens City Council member Julissa Ferreras,  Jeff Wilpon - New York Mets COO and the executive vice-president of Sterling Equities and son of New York Mets principal owner Fred Wilpon, and Glenn  A. Goldstein - president of Related Retail and registered lobbyist, pose shortly after the City Council vote.  (Photo: William Alatriste /New York City Council) 

In June 2012 Mayor Bloomberg announced a new Willets Point plan, one  that handed over 47.5 acres of public parkland in Flushing Meadows Corona Park adjacent to CitiField. 

The parkland, 23 acres of it on CitiField parking lot,  was to be developed into, “Willets West,” a massive shopping mall, a million- square-foot retail and entertainment center with more than 200 stores, movie theaters, restaurants, a parking structure and surface spaces for 2,500 cars.  

The winners of the bid were the Related Companies, and Sterling Equities, the real estate firm controlled by the owners of the Mets.  Officials hoped to break ground in three years and expected the project to take up to 15 years.  

The other developers competing to developt Willet's Point were at a disadvanage as they could not compete with the Mets parking lot scheme.

Related Companies initially sought to build a casino at the site, offering $100 million to acquire the property, including the parkland.

Legal questions began to emerge immediatly after the announcement.

State Alienation legislation is required under state law to use parkland for non-park purposes.  

A 1961 Robert Moses agreement allowed the Mets to built on the parkland with very specific caveats, non of which allowed the development of a mega-mall. 

The Bloomberg administration claimed the 1961 agreement allowed the parkland to developed so they rolled the dice and did not seek this approval.  

In October 2013 the City Council voted to approve zoning amendments to the Willet's Point plan.  Not surprising the parkland connection to the Willets Point West development was never mentioned during the public hearing.

In order to get to this point the Bloomberg administration and the City Council bypassed important land use procedures including the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).  The Mayor claimed all land use powers of the former Board of Estimate belonged to him, clearly a violation of ULURP.   

On the day of the vote members of  the Related team were seen repeatedly disappearing into the Executive side of City Hall.

In exchange for the approvals the developers agreed to give $15.5 million to the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Alliance,  a public-private conservancy Queens Council member Julissa Ferreras created with the help of New Yorkers For Parks, a non-profit partner of the Parks Department. 

Julissa Ferreras delivered the deal and thanked the groups that helped make it possible, Make the Road, a community organization she funds, Queens Fairness Coalition,  and New Yorkers For Parks.  

The elected officials practically fell over themselves congratulating each other for standing up for, "principles."

Land use Chair Leroy Comrie wanted to,  "especially thank all the advocates that came and made sure the projects were done to their concerns. They were heard and listened to as part of process," he said with a straight face.  

Staten Island Council member Vincent Ignizio was proud of his colleagues.

"I also want to point out that very often the media portrays this body in a negative light but what you see here today is the hard work of council members who stood up for their principles, stood up for their community and ultimately got a great deal,"  Ignizio said during the Subcommittee on Zone &  Franchises vote. 

Plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in an effort to prevent the illigal taking of the parkland.

During court proceedings defendants tried desperately to maintain that a shopping mall built on parkland is a recreational activity and therefor a park purpose.

Today New York Court Of Appeals thankfully disagreed.

Read More:

State’s Highest Court Rules Massive Mall Planned Next to Citi Field Can No Longer Proceed

NY 1 - June 6, 2017 - By Gene Apodaca 

Court Delivers Legal Blow To Willets Point Development Plan

CBS - June 7, 2017 - By Carolyn Gusoff

Ruling May Be Death Knell for $3 Billion Queens Development

New York Times - June 6, 2017 - By Sarah Maslin Nir 

Appeals court rejects Willets West project to build mall near Citi Field due to lack of legal authority

New York Daily News - June 6, 2017-  By Glenn Blain 

Court rules against proposed ‘Willets West’ mega mall near Citi Field in Queens

Queens.com - June 6, 2017 -  By Suzanne Monteverdi  

Judges Block Development of Former Shea Stadium Site

New York Law Journal - June 6, 2017 - By Mark Hamblett  

Council Misled City On Willets West Land Grab
A Walk In The Park - January 14, 2016 - By Geoffrey Croft 

De Blasio Declines To Join Willets Point West Appeal - Not Due To 

Preserving Parkland Or Legal Grounds However

A Walk In The Park - August 20, 2015 

Court Rejects Parkland Shopping Mall Deal In Flushing Meadows Corona Park
A Walk In The Park - By Geoffrey Croft 

City Begins Land Use Process On Willets Point Land Grab

A Walk In The Park -  March 22, 2013 

Casino Sought For Flushing Meadows Park - Willet's Point Documents Reveal
A Walk In The Park - February 5, 2013

Judge Dismisses Flushing Meadows Park "Willets Point West" Lawsuit - Group Vows To Appeal

A scheme hatched by the Bloomberg Administration and the City Council aims to hand over 47. 5 acres of Flushing Meadows - Corona Park worth as estimated $ 1 billion dollars to The Related Companies and Sterling Equities to build a 1.4 million sq. ft. mall known as Willets Point West. They are attempting to push the massive project through without receiving any approvals or even a vote. (Photo: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) 

Queens

A New York State Supreme Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed to prevent dozens of acres of public parkland from being developed into the city's largest shopping mall.  The group vows to appeal.     

Justice Manuel J. Mendez  dismissed the lawsuit which challenges the give-away of 47 acres of public parkland in Flushing Meadows Corona Park worth an estimated $ 1 billion to The Related Companies/ Sterling Equities to build "Willet's West," a 1.4 million square foot mega-mall adjacent to CitiField.  (full decision below)

A coalition of area residents,  environmental groups, business and home owners, and State Senator Tony Avella filed a lawsuit in New York County Supreme Court in February demanding the City halt its illegal handing over of mapped Parkland to build a mega-mall.

The suit also asks the Court to nullify actions taken by the Planning Commission, and approved by the Council in October of last year, to permit construction of parking facilities in Willets Point in lieu of the affordable housing and supportive facilities called for by the 2008 plan.  

The complaint alleges that the project cannot proceed without approval by the State Legislature under the “public trust” doctrine that protects all parkland throughout the State against non-park uses without the consent of the Legislature which was not requested or obtained.

The City and developers claim entitlement to the land based on a 1961 law which authorized the construction of Shea Stadium.

The suit claims that the 1961 law never granted the defendants the use of the premises for these purposes.  

During the oral arguments on July 30th the developers and the City spent most of the time talking about the alleged benefits their project and very little time addressing the legal issues before the Court.  The Plaintiffs argued that the defendants were brazenly violating State law and the City Charter's land use provisions. 

“Most of their response, in their argument, had actually nothing to do with the issue at hand," State Senator Tony Avella commented after the hearing last month.

"The issue is that they still have to get the necessary approval from the State Legislature and undergo the City’s land use process before being able to develop on-site. As things stand right now, the developers are illegally taking away parkland and the City is letting them!" the Senator said.


Related Companies and Sterling Equities are attempting to build a 1.4 million square foot mall on 47.5 acres of mapped parkland in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, west of Citi-Field stadium.  This represents the largest public parkland giveaway in recent history. The proposed project would allow the seizing of the public parkland to be used exclusively for non-park purposes without first getting State Alienation approval as is required under the law.  The construction of such a mall on public parkland would be unprecedented. 

The oral arguments also  provided some colorful moments.  Former Chief NY State Supreme Justice Judith Kaye, counsel at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom representing the developers  explicitly inferred that shopping was a "recreational use." 

Plaintiff's include State Senator Tony Avella, City Club of New York, Queens Civic Congress, several members of Willets Point United Inc., and nearby residents/business owners, and NYC Park Advocates. 

"The decision flies in the face of the Public Trust Doctrine and ignores long-established case law, " said NYC Park Advocates, president Geoffrey Croft, a plaintiff in the suit. 

"Equally troubling is it bestows the powers of the former Board of Estimate for  land-use decisions to one person, the Mayor.  This is ironic considering the Board was declared unconstitutional because it violated the "one man, one vote"  provision of the Equal Protection Clause  which was determined to be un-democratic.  This is an issue that every NYC resident and elected official should be greatly concerned with," Croft stated 

"Plaintiffs believe that the decision misunderstands the common law doctrine that prohibits any nonpark use of parkland without the specific and explicit approval of the State Legislature,"   the plaintiff's attorney John Low-Beer said in a statement.  

"The State Legislature, when it passed the 1961 law permitting the construction of Shea Stadium, did not intend to allow construction of a shopping mall.  That law did not allow the construction of anything except a stadium and related facilities on the site.  Plaintiffs will appeal, and believe that this decision will be reversed on appeal."

"It was disheartening to learn of Justice Mendoza's decision today in respect to the Willets West lawsuit," NY State Senator Tony Avella, who represents the 11th Senatorial District, and a plaintiff in the lawsuit stated. 

"We made some very good legal arguments and strongly believe that we are in the right on this issue. I look forward to submitting an appeal alongside the other plaintiffs and feel confident about a future positive outcome."



Rendering of the $ 3 billion dollar Willets Point projects.

Read More:

Park Advocates Set to Fight Back After Judge Affirms Queens Mega-Mall Legality

NY 1 - August 21, 2014 -  By Ruschell Boone 

Judge dismisses lawsuit seeking to halt massive Willets Point redevelopment

New York Daily News - August 21,  2014 - By Eli Rosenberg

Despite win, Willets Point developers are cautious

Crain's NY Business -  August 21, 2014 - By Joe Anuta 

City overlooks law in Willets Point project

New York Daily News - August 4, 2014,  By Tony Avella & John Low-Beer 

Lawsuit Filed To Stop Mega-Mall In Flushing Meadows-Corona Park

A Walk In The Park - February 11,  2014 

LESSONS OF WILLETS POINT: TRADING PARKLAND FOR DEVELOPER'S DONATION

City Limits - November 1, 2013 - By Patrick Arden

Legal Questions Emerge About Citi Field Mall
City Limits - July 30, 2012 - By Patrick Arden

Related Co. Strikes Gold As City Council Approves Park Land Grabs Deals - Willets Point West & Ruppert Playground Development Approved

A Walk In The Park - October 10, 2013 

Save Flushing Meadows-Corona Park

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Willets West Court Decision by Save Flushing Meadows-Corona Park

Lawsuit Filed To Stop Mega-Mall In Flushing Meadows-Corona Park

The Bloomberg Administration and the City Council are attempting to hand over 47. 5 acres of Flushing Meadows - Corona Park worth $ 1 billion dollars to The Related Companies and Sterling Equities to build a 1.4 million sq. ft. mall known as Willets Point West. They are attempting to push this through without receiving any approvals or even voting on the massive project.  

Queens

A coalition of area residents,  environmental groups, business and home owners, and State Senator Tony Avella filed a lawsuit in New York County Supreme Court on Monday demanding the City halt its illegal handing over of mapped Parkland to build a mega-mall.

The suit also asks the Court to nullify actions taken by the Planning Commission, and approved by the Council in October of last year, to permit construction of parking facilities in Willets Point in lieu of the affordable housing and supportive facilities called for by the 2008 plan. 

The complaint alleges that the project cannot proceed without approval by the State Legislature under the “public trust” doctrine that protects all parkland throughout the State against non-park uses without the consent of the Legislature which was not requested or obtained.

The Bloomberg Administration and the City Council are attempting to hand over 47.5 acres of Flushing Meadows - Corona Park in Queens worth $ 1 billion dollars to The Related Companies and Sterling Equities to build a 1.4 million sq. ft. mall known as Willets Point West.   They are attempting achieve this without receiving any approvals or even voting on the project.  

The complaint also alleges violations of the City’s Zoning Resolution and Charter, and seeks annulment of approvals granted by the City to date for the related Willets Point plan.

In October the City Council approved zoning amendments to the Willet's Point plan,  allowing a multi-phased development and temporary parking on part of the Willets point site.   These amendments however do not permit the building of a massive 1.4-million-square-foot shopping mall much less a massive 1.4 million square foot shopping mall on mapped parkland.


Related Companies and Sterling Equities are attempting to build a 1.4 million square foot mall on 47.5 acres of mapped parkland in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, west of Citi-Field stadium.  This represents the largest public parkland giveaway in recent history. The proposed project would allow the seizing of the public parkland to be used exclusively for non-park purposes without first getting State Alienation approval as is required under the law.  The construction of such a mall on public parkland would be unprecedented. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) 

The Bloomberg administration and the City Council are attempting to bypass land use procedures including the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP),  and  state law which requires State Alienation legislation approval to use parkland for non-park purposes.   Mayor Bloomberg claimed all land use powers of the former Board of Estimate as belonging to him, clearly a violation of ULURP.  

From 1964 to 2006,  30.7 of the 47.5 acres of the site near the northerly end of the Park was occupied by Shea Stadium.  When Shea was demolished and replaced in 2009 by Citi Field at a location slightly east of the Shea site, the project site became a parking field for visitors to Citi Field.  The site has also been used for a variety of public recreational events including foot races, circus performances, an annual wheelchair baseball game, and concerts.

In 2012, Sterling Equities and the Related Companies convinced the Bloomberg administration to allow the massive shopping mall on Park property.

In October Council member Julissa Ferreras attempted to justify and explain why the public parkland was now part of the deal and was given away - the developers and the Mayor wanted it.   

"The mall is something that the developers and the administration believe is necessary to be able to support the build-out of Willets Point,"  she said.  

In 2008 the City Council approved a Willets Point plan to place the intended retail development in the neighboring Willets Point development project along with affordable housing, the Park was never part of the project.


Delivering The Deal.  Big Winners. A beaming Related Companies' Charles  J.  O'Byrne, Queens City Council member Julissa Ferreras,  Jeff Wilpon - New York Mets COO and the executive vice-president of Sterling Equities and son of New York Mets principal owner Fred Wilpon, and Glenn  A. Goldstein - president of Related Retail and registered lobbyist pose on October 8th shortly after the City Council vote. (Photo: William Alatriste /New York City Council) 

“Parks are intended to serve the people, to provide open space, landscaping, opportunities for recreation, playgrounds for children, and escape from the hordes and noise of a busy commercial city," said State Senator Tony Avella, a plaintiff in the suit.   

"The only commercial uses that belong in them are those, such as snack stands, that enhance the park experience.  A shopping center is not one of them.  We have a wonderful law that is supposed to assure all of this, known as the ‘public trust doctrine.’  I’m outraged when the people who are supposed to administer parks for everyone turn them over to private interests without seeking the State Legislature's consent as the public trust doctrine requires.  So, I am very pleased to be a party to this action.” the Senator said.

The contention that the 1961 law exempts this transaction from the public trust doctrine, says John Low-Beer, one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers, is wrong. 

“The 1961 law was intended to allow a stadium and uses directly related to a stadium, such as parking, concessions, and other commercial activity typically incidental to a professional sports arena.”

Low-Beer adds that the 1961 law “says nothing about a shopping center.  In fact, the Legislature explicitly prohibited any purely commercial uses other than ones strictly related to the stadium, such as concession stands.  The public trust doctrine requires that any legislative consent be very specific about what it will allow.  If it doesn’t specify a use, then that use is not permitted.”

The suit was filed on behalf of State Senator Tony Avella, The City Club of New York, NYC Park Advocates, a City-wide parks advocacy group that helped to establish “Save Flushing Meadows Park.” 

The plaintiffs include Paul Graziano, Ben Haber, and Alfredo Centola who have prominently opposed a spate of recent proposals for new or enlarged sports venues in the Park, as well as the shopping center.

The efforts of “Save Flushing Meadows Park,” a coalition of many Queens civic groups and individuals helped thwart the proposed professional soccer stadium, though it was unable to stop a half-acre expansion of the Tennis Center.  Several of the plaintiffs have also led opposition to the shopping center.

Other plaintiffs are individuals and businesses falling into several categories including nearby residents, park users, and businesses along Roosevelt Avenue and in Willets Point having special concerns about traffic and business displacement.

The efforts of the “Save Flushing Meadows Park” group were recently bolstered by the City Club which took on the shopping center as a major project after successfully participating in a campaign to defeat a proposed upzoning of the East Midtown area around Grand Central Terminal that would have doubled the permissible bulk in much of the area.  After Council leaders announced in early November that the Council would vote against the plan, Mayor Bloomberg withdrew it.

Michael Gruen, President of the City Club, said that the City Club joined the shopping center fight out of concern that “Flushing Meadows Park has long suffered from neglect in maintenance and from getting eaten away as a recreational park by a voracious assumption that every new idea for a commercial sporting activity should be given a home in this one Park.

Fortunately some of the worst, such as a proposed “grand prix” race track around the lake, have been defeated.  But this is a beautiful park and it deserves much better treatment.”

Gruen added that the City Club sees the shopping center project as “perhaps the most egregious example of commercialization of parkland throughout the city.  There are places where the annual cycle of fashion shows and holiday bazaars leave little time for enjoying the open space and landscaping. That it is the worst of a pattern of treating parkland as an asset to be sold off for commercial use caused us to take it on so that we could get the courts to draw a clear line:  commercial uses that do not enhance the recreational experience of parks do not belong in the parks.”

Gruen said that the City Club hopes “clearly to confirm that any alienation of parkland requires legislative action, very specifically stating what uses are to be allowed.  The legislative consent must then be construed narrowly by the courts so that ambiguities in statutory language cannot be exploited, as the developers here are trying to do, to justify other commercial uses that the legislature had no evident intention of condoning.”

The case is filed in the New York County Supreme Court.  John Low-Beer, Lorna Goodman and Meredith Feinman represent the plaintiffs.

The complaint asks the Court to declare that the shopping mall project is illegal and to enjoin further steps toward its construction without compliance with applicable law including the public trust doctrine, and without imposing appropriate zoning regulations on the site.

It also asks the Court to nullify actions taken by the Planning Commission, and approved by the Council in October of last year, to permit construction of parking facilities in Willets Point in lieu of the affordable housing and supportive facilities called for by the 2008 plan.  The complaint asserts that the Commission and Council knew that the changes in the Willets Point plan were needed for no other purpose than to accommodate stadium parking displaced by the intended shopping center, and knew that the shopping center project itself is illegal without approval of the legislature.

They knew that their action would facilitate illegal construction of the shopping mall, the promoters of which had clearly stated their belief that they could proceed with without legislative approval.  The Commission and Council thereby acted illegally, and arbitrarily and capriciously.


The proposed mall across from CitiField.

Read More:

Politician suing NYC over ‘illegal’ development of Willets West mall

New York Post  - February 11, 2014 - By Minsi Chung

City illegally plowing on with proposed multimillion-dollar mega-mall in Queens: suit   

New York Daily News -  February 11, 2014 - By Beth Stebner   

Suit challenges legality of Flushing Meadows mall plan in Queens

Queens  Chronicle -  February 10, 2014  by Peter C. Mastrosimone 

Suit Seeks to Quash Willets West Mall Project

DNAinfo - February 11, 2014 - By Katie Honan

LESSONS OF WILLETS POINT: TRADING PARKLAND FOR DEVELOPER'S DONATION

City Limits - By Patrick Arden

Legal questions emerge about Citi Field mall 
City Limits - By Patrick Arden

Related Co. Strikes Gold As City Council Approves Park Land Grabs Deals - Willets Point West & Ruppert Playground Development Approved

A Walk In The Park - October 10, 2013 

Save Flushing Meadows-Corona Park

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