WILLETS POINT - A plan to build a mega mall on a Citi Field parking lot has been ruled invalid by an appellate court judge who overruled a Supreme Court decision — stopping the project in its tracks and drawing cheers from opponents.
A lawsuit against the "Willets West" plan — which is part of a larger project to revitalize the former "Iron Triangle" near Citi Field — was first filed in February 2014 by state Sen. Tony Avella, The City Club of New York, New York City Park Advocates, businesses and residents.
Opponents said the plan by Queens Development Group, the joint venture of Sterling Equities and Related Companies spearheading the project, violated the "public trust doctrine" that protects public parks.
Last August a Supreme Court Justice sided with developers and gave the project the all-clear, but last week an appellate judge sided with opponents — invalidating approvals already given to the project and creating a permanent stop to any further construction to the mall without state legislative authorization or proper zoning, according to Avella.
“Today’s decision sends a message loud and clear – our parks are not for sale," Avella said in a statement.
Queens Development Group can appeal the decision.
In a statement, developers blasted the court's decision.
"This decision, which overturns a well-reasoned decision of the New York Supreme Court, blocks a plan that has been embraced by a wide variety of stakeholders from the City Council to civic groups to labor organizations and others," a Queens Development Group spokesman said.
"We believe the Appellate Division Court misinterpreted the statute, improperly narrowing the broad authority it conveyed which would result in an unacceptable status quo, instead of enabling a widely supported investment that will reverse 100 years of pollution and create thousands of much-needed good paying jobs."
They added that their "community driven plan is the best way to rejuvenate Willets Point, a community that has been neglected for decades."
A 1961 law allowed the Mets to build Shea Stadium inside the public Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, despite a shield that required approval to build private development on public parkland.
Those opposing the current development plan said the approval to develop on parkland wasn't intended to extend to the Willets West development five decades later.
“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," lawyer John Low-Beer, who is representing the plaintiffs, said in February 2014.
