Lawsuit Filed to End Fashion Week at Lincoln Center

Residents who live around Lincoln Center are fed up with the restriction on their access to Damrosch Park, a public neighborhood park, due to commercial events such as NY Fashion Week and Big Apple Circus.  These events cause the park to be occupied 10 months out of the year.  Moreover, environmentalist complain that 67 trees had to be removed from the park in order to make room for Fashion Week tents.

To that end, a lawsuit was filed by advocates and residents in NYS Supreme Court against NYC and Lincoln Center on Monday alleging that such use of a public park for commercial purposes is "illegal alienation" and seizure which violates among other laws, NYS Public Trust Doctrine, which provides that public spaces are to be used for public purposes.  The complaint also states that the city is required to ask the state Legislature for permission to lease the park and any revenue generated should be for the city's General Fund and not for Lincoln Center's coffers. Since 2010, Lincoln Center has received $32 million in revenue.

The lawsuit was announced today on the 44th anniversary of Damrosch Park's opening. The park was named in honor of the Damrosch family for their musical contributions to the city. Members of the Damrosch family were in attendance during the announcement of the lawsuit.

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NY Times: When Tents Rise in a Park, Residents See a Takeover; Lawsuit Accuses New York and Lincoln Center of Limiting Access to Damrosch Park
WSJ: Fashion Week in Our Park? Not Again