Court of Appeals Backs School Board on Kemper Park

Are the Lawsuits Over?

by Judy Silberstein

(September 6, 2006) Efforts to preserve the Kemper Memorial Park in its current location and configuration received two blows last week: one from the weather and one from the courts.

This large tree at the memorial park was uprooted by Ernesto. "As a result of the storm damage to the trees in the front of the high school, we are examining all of the trees carefully and will remove any trees that pose a safety hazard to students or the public," said school spokesperson Joan Rosen

High winds leftover from Hurricane Ernesto snapped a number of large trees and tree limbs in and around the park on Saturday, September 2. The storm followed on the heels of an August 31 ruling from the New York State Court of Appeals that was unfavorable to the preservationist position.

The terse ruling denied a petition by Richard Cantor to appeal a January 24 decision from the Appellate Division that found in favor of the Mamaroneck School Board’s proposal to relocate the park to make way for a soccer field and further found that Mr. Cantor did not have standing to bring his suit. The current ruling affirmed a May 5 unanimous decision from the Appellate Division upholding its January 24 ruling (see: Latest Kemper Appeal Denied; Case Goes to Court of Appeals).

“In our view the litigation has ended and the legal issue has been resolved,” said the school board’s president, Cecilia Absher on September 1. “It feels very good to have this part of the process concluded – it’s been a very long, arduous process.”

The first school board plan surfaced in 2000; but was put aside in the face of opposition. A second plan proposed in 2003 has been tied up in litigation. A 2004 ruling from Supreme Court Justice Orazio R. Bellantoni restrained the school board from pursuing its plan; the last three appeals have been in the school board’s favor.

“Much work remains to be done,” said Ms. Absher, including a new look at “whether the proposal remains the only practicable option.” She added, “It’s important for us to go back and remember what the last proposal was: recreating the park; basically the same size, with the monument centrally located on the donated land.” Next steps would involve community involvement and consultation with the three municipalities, who face their own shortages of field space.

The Mamaroneck School Board's plans have been on hold for years: an artist's sketch showed a provisional design from 2003 (See: Kemper Kemper Memorial Debate Rolls On.)

“It’s not over,” said Paul Rooney, the attorney with Reed Smith LLP, that is representing Mr. Cantor pro bono. “There is no appeal from what the Court of Appeals did,” but there are other options available, he affirmed. He and his client declined to discuss the next legal move.

“We intend to press forward with our campaign to preserve the Richard M. Kemper Memorial Park and we encourage members of the public to join us in our efforts,” wrote Jan Northrup, president of the Kemper Preservation Fund, in response to the most recent court ruling. Her group along with the Kemper family contends that, regardless of design or location, changing the park would destroy the memorial. “ The intrinsic value of this donation lies in the integration of the land, the landscaping, the monument and the sprit of the original donors, recipients and the deceased,” she stressed.

Outside of the legal arena, the family and the Preservation Fund have already been waging an intense public relations campaign. The fund has been running a weekly feature in The Sound and Town Report with photographs and brief biographies of individuals whose names appear on the memorial. An August 22 rally at the Kemper Park hosted by Mr. Cantor included appearances by John Faso, the Republican candidate for governor of New York, and Thomas Suozzi, a Democratic candidate. The two joined in criticism of their opponent in the gubernatorial race, NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer for filing briefs that supported the Mamaroneck School Board’s position in the 2004 case and the later appeals. Since then, there have been further letters, columns, articles and radio shows keeping the controversy in the public eye.

It’s not hard to predict that further controversy over the Kemper Park is likely.