Union Sq. Park Community Coalition, Inc. v New York CityDept. of Parks & Recreation
2013 NY Slip Op 04544 [107 AD3d 525]
June 18, 2013
Appellate Division, First Department
As corrected through Wednesday, July 31, 2013


Union Square Park Community Coalition, Inc., et al.,Respondents,
v
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation et al.,Appellants.

[*1]Michael A. Cardozo, Corporation Counsel, New York (Deborah A. Brenner ofcounsel), for New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, Adrian Benepe, TheCity of New York and Chef Driven Market, LLC, appellants.

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, New York (Victor A. Kovner and Camille Calman ofcounsel), for Urban Space Holdings, Inc., appellant.

Super Law Group, LLC, New York (Reed W. Super of counsel), for respondents.

Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman LLP, New York (Jeffrey R. Wang of counsel),for amici curiae.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Arthur F. Engoron, J.), entered January 9,2013, as amended on February 5, 2013, which granted plaintiffs' motion for apreliminary injunction restraining defendants from altering Union Square Park's Pavilionto accommodate a restaurant, granting any further approvals for the restaurant,implementing a license agreement and operating the restaurant, and denied defendants'cross motion to dismiss the complaint, or, in the alternative, for summary judgment,unanimously reversed, on the law, without costs, plaintiffs' motion for a preliminaryinjunction denied, and defendants' cross motion to dismiss the complaint granted. TheClerk is directed to enter judgment accordingly.

The seasonal restaurant and holiday market concessions at issue do not violate thepublic [*2]trust doctrine (see generally Friends of VanCortlandt Park v City of New York, 95 NY2d 623 [2001]), since they arepermissible park uses (see 795 Fifth Ave. Corp. v City of New York, 15 NY2d221 [1965]) and the concession agreements are revocable licenses terminable at will, notleases (see Miller v City of New York, 15 NY2d 34, 38 [1964]).Concur—Sweeny, J.P., Saxe, Gische and Clark, JJ. [Prior Case History: 2013NY Slip Op 30020(U).]


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