Thanks to @benjaminengle for sending this to me. This is an article from May 9th and I don’t know too much about the subject but enjoy reading about it so I can learn more.
According to the state Parks Department, whenever parkland is leased, sold or discontinued, it is considered alienated. No statute stipulates that it must be replaced. Instead legal precedent called the Public Trust Doctrine often mandates that it should be replaced if the matter is taken to civil court.
The developers said they are not legally required to replace the roughly 32 acres of asphalt, technically part of Flushing Meadows Corona Park, that would be taken up by the mall.The reason behind this decision is a 1961 law that leased the parking lot area to the Mets and allows them to use the land for any purpose that benefits the team, the developers contend.
Since Sterling Equities is owned by the same people who own the Mets, the group maintains that the law holds water, although critics have argued the statute was never intended to allow such a large development on the land.
via First Willets plan called for parkland swap • TimesLedger.