A lawsuit centered on planned construction in a portion of Kings Point Park is headed to the New York State Court of Appeals, according to Newsday.
Residents sued the Village of Kings Point over plans to construct a Department of Public Works building on the 5.4 acre site, which has not been used for park purposes for decades. The village lost a case before the State Supreme Court in 2011, with the court prohibiting the building of the facility and ordering the removal of existing village structures at the site.
The village appealed the decision, and the court of appeals announced on June 4 that it would hear the case, according to Newsday. The village is expected to submit a brief to the court by Aug. 3.
The village planned to build a new department of public works headquarters on the parcel and sell the site of the old department of public works. The sale would net about $3.5 million, saving taxpayers the cost of a new building.
The 5.5-acre parcel has been used for non-park purposes for more than 60 years. At the time of the lawsuit it housed a salt shed, garage, and construction materials such as sand and wood chips.
Great Neck residents Daniel Capruso, Elizabeth Allen and Alan Berkower filed the original suit after trustees sought to remove the site from recreational use.
In 2011 a supreme court judge ordered the village to remove all non-park related materials and structures, and pay for plaintiff attorney fees.
The village declined to comment on the ongoing legal matter, but in 2011 Village of Kings Point Mayor Michael Kalnick said the appeal was necessary to protect village facilities and spare the village the cost of removing the buildings on the site.
“We have to preserve what we have now,” he said. “The court order said to remove those structures. That costs residents money. We need a salt storage shed.”
