The First Department, in affirming the decision of the Hudson River Park Trust to enter into a lease of Pier 55 on the Hudson River, noted that there is no case law in New York applying the public trust doctrine to state, as opposed to municipal, parkland, and, even if the doctrine applied, the lease did not violate it:
There is no case law in New York applying the public trust doctrine to state, as opposed to municipal, parkland (see Matter of Niagara Preserv. Coalition, Inc. v New York Power Auth., 121 AD3d 1507, 1511 [4th Dept 2014] … ). We need not decide whether to follow the [4th] Department because even if the doctrine applies here, the project and lease do not violate it. The Hudson River Park Act expressly authorizes the use of the park for revenue-generating events, including performing arts events (see Uncons Laws §§ 1642[c], [e]; 1643[h][ii]; 1647[10][a]), and courts have upheld the charging of fees for park facilities, provided that overall public access is not unduly constrained … . Here, beyond the performances for which Pier 55 is designed, most of the park-like pier, most of the time, will be devoted to even more fundamental “public park uses, including passive and active public open space uses” (Uncons Laws § 1643[h][ii]). Additionally, the lease requires that 51% of the performances be free or low-cost. Matter of City Club of N.Y., Inc. v Hudson Riv. Park Trust, Inc., 2016 NY Slip Op 05954, 1st Dept 9-8-16
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (USE OF PIER 55 FOR REVENUE-GENERATING EVENTS DOES NOT VIOLATE THE PUBLIC TRUST DOCTRINE)/PUBLIC TRUST DOCTRINE (USE OF PIER 55 ON THE HUDSON RIVER FOR REVENUE-GENERATING EVENTS DOES NOT VIOLATE THE PUBLIC TRUST DOCTRINE)/HUDSON RIVER PARK TRUST (USE OF PIER 55 ON THE HUDSON RIVER FOR REVENUE-GENERATING EVENTS DOES NOT VIOLATE THE PUBLIC TRUST DOCTRINE)/PIER 55 (USE OF PIER 55 ON THE HUDSON RIVER FOR REVENUE-GENERATING EVENTS DOES NOT VIOLATE THE PUBLIC TRUST DOCTRINE)/PARKS (USE OF PIER 55 ON THE HUDSON RIVER FOR REVENUE-GENERATING EVENTS DOES NOT VIOLATE THE PUBLIC TRUST DOCTRINE)/PIER 55 (USE OF PIER 55 ON THE HUDSON RIVER FOR REVENUE-GENERATING EVENTS DOES NOT VIOLATE THE PUBLIC TRUST DOCTRINE)