A state court ruled Thursday that a development group that includes the owners of the Mets cannot build a mall and movie theater on acreage next to Citi Field because it is parkland legally designated only for use as a stadium. The proposed construction of Willets West — on the parking lot where Shea Stadium once stood — is part of a long-planned project to redevelop the larger Willets Point area.
“We take no issue with the notion that Willets West is a potential driver of trade and commerce and that it is a worthy first step in the city’s long-stated desire to breathe new life into a neighborhood that is in dire need of improvement,” the Supreme Court Appellate Division, First Department, said in a unanimous ruling by three justices that reversed a lower court’s dismissal of the case.