Early last month, the New York Court of Appeals issued a decision that has made development of a particular blighted area of Queens significantly more difficult—and that may have similar repercussions in the future for the development of other property throughout the state.
In Matter of Avella v. City of New York, 2017 N.Y. Slip Op. 04383 (N.Y. June 6, 2017), the court upheld a decision by the Appellate Division, First Department, blocking construction of the so-called “Willets West” project on Citi Field’s parking lot, where Shea Stadium once stood. The court, relying on the public trust doctrine—a fixture of New York law for well over a century—found that the proposed development had not been authorized by the New York State Legislature and, therefore, could not move forward. The court’s narrow reading of what the Legislature had authorized—over the dissent of Chief Judge Janet DiFiore—suggests that in the future it might construe other legislative directives as narrowly when the public trust doctrine is at issue.
