Development of Willets Point Blocked on Appeal

Appellate panel found the authorization for private construction on parkland did not extend to a shopping mall.  On October 9, 2013, the City Council approved Queens Development Group’s planned 10-story, 200-room hotel and 30,000-square foot mall complex on the Willets Point West site, formerly the location of Shea Stadium.  The site was once the north end of Flushing Meadows Park until the state legislature authorized the stadium’s construction in 1961.  The development would anchor further … <Read More>


Court Dismisses Action Against Willets Point Developers

Public trust doctrine did not apply to Willets Point West development project.  On August 15, 2014, the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan denied petitions for declarative and injunctive relief against the Willets Point Development Project in Queens.  The petitions were brought by a coalition led by New York State Senator Tony Avella, The City Club of New York, and New York City Park Advocates.  The petitioners argued that constructing a shopping … <Read More>