The New York State Court of Appeals yesterday "blocked a proposed shopping mall" near Citi Field, ruling that developers of the proposed Willets West project "needed expressed consent from state legislators and the governor’s office before moving forward," according to Yancey Roy of NEWSDAY. In a 5-1 decision, the Court of Appeals said that "because the area developers are eyeing was originally part of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park -- later home to Shea Stadium -- the state’s public trust doctrine prevents parkland from being turned over to developers without specific state legislative approval." The outcome of the "long-running lawsuit not only impacts the plans of the Queens Development Group -- which includes the Mets and developer Related Cos. -- but also potentially" the Islanders. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman recently said that the Islanders were "considering the Willets site for a new arena, although they have been more focused on the Belmont Park area" (NEWSDAY, 6/7). In N.Y., Glenn Blain notes Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration "appeared to be a reluctant supporter of the project" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 6/7). The VILLAGE VOICE's Max Rivlin-Nadler noted the land in question is "currently the Mets parking lot." The court found that a '61 law "allowed that parkland to be used for stadium purposes, a cut-out that a mall would not have satisfied." The Mets owners were "arguing that by using the mall to fund the remediation of Willets Point (a parcel of land on the other side of their current stadium), and eventually the construction of both affordable housing and a school, the mall was fulfilling the public trust doctrine." But the court found that to be "unconvincing, and also didn’t believe the Mets owners were actually going to build the housing or schools" (VILLAGEVOICE.com, 6/6).
