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Mayor's Flushing Meadows Park Alliance Violates City Laws, Official Says

By Katie Honan | July 6, 2016 2:27pm
 Councilman Rory Lancman, standing last week next to Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver at a ribbon cutting in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
Councilman Rory Lancman, standing last week next to Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver at a ribbon cutting in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
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DNAinfo/Katie Honan

CORONA — A local elected official filed a lawsuit against Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Alliance on Wednesday, claiming the mayor's newly-formed parks group violates city law by funneling private dollars into the park without oversight. 

Councilman Rory Lancman, who represents the southern part of the park by Willow Lake, accuses the FMCP Alliance, which was officially announced in November 2015, of being a "rogue organization bargaining off access to Flushing Meadows" without representation from all of its users.

"It’s unacceptable, it’s illegal, and it has to stop," Lancman said in the lawsuit filed in Queens Supreme Court along with Monica Corbett, the president of the Pomonok Residents Association.

Lancman said the board is populated by De Blasio cronies, and that Lancman wasn't included despite rules in both the City Charter and Administrative Code that require representation from all of the councilmen and women whose districts are affected.

"Flushing Meadows-Corona Park belongs to the public, and the public has a right to a transparent funding process and their full say in how funding decisions are made,” Lancman said in a statement. “Instead, the de Blasio administration has created yet another shadowy quasi-governmental entity to evade public scrutiny and reward its political allies with governmental favors."

The councilman has criticized the alliance since its inception, saying it was unfair the group's bylaws only allowed for a board appointment from Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras-Copeland — who helped broker the $10.05 million funding deal in 2013 in exchange for an expansion from the USTA.

The City Charter rules that all revenues of the city should be paid into a "general fund" with the usual budget process.

A spokeswoman for City Hall, Natalie Grybauskas, said Lancman's interpretation of the Administrative Code was "incorrect."

"The Board has a wide representation of elected officials and community members throughout the area, including Council Member Ferreras-Copeland — whose district covers the majority of this park — and Speaker Mark-Viverito, who represents the City Council," she said.

The board also includes local business leaders and representatives of business entities in and around the park, including the USTA, Delta Airlines and Con Edison. 

The mayor has come under fire for using third-party organizations to funnel donations to pet causes, including the mayor's Campaign for One New York, which is currently under investigation for potentially violating campaign finance laws.