AG James files petition to stop sale of Freeport ballfield to warehouse developer 

New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a petition seeking to block the Village of Freeport’s sale of a nine-acre ballfield to developers who intend to build a distribution warehouse.

James' office did not take a stand on the development itself, officials said, but challenged the sale because no environmental review was done.

Freeport village trustees voted last month to rezone the property, known as the Cleveland Avenue fields, between Merrick Road and Sunrise Highway, and sell it to the Irvine, Calif.-based Panattoni Group for $49 million.

In the petition, known as an Article 78, filed in state Supreme Court in Mineola, James and Philip Bein, the attorney general’s environmental protection counsel, challenged the sale by Freeport based on the environmental review process.

The legal action claims the village board found the development would have no adverse environmental impact without doing a proper review evaluating the environmental effects. The petition argued against the destruction of open green space and community recreation space, also citing increased stormwater, flooding and increased truck traffic air pollution from the project.

“The sale would destroy the nine-acre Park, significant open green space in a low-income community of color, and replace it with a storage warehouse, order fulfillment center, and industrial distribution facility,” the petition states.

Freeport village officials said they would defend the sale of the property. “The case is without merit and the village will be vindicated in court,” Freeport Village Attorney Howard Colton said.

Developers have been eyeing the property as a last-mile warehouse and the village was previously in discussions with Amazon for a possible warehouse distribution site on that property. But it ended those discussions, Colton said.

The village also rezoned properties surrounding the Cleveland fields, including the former Moxey Rigby housing project and a former adjacent manufacturing site totaling 15 acres to build warehouse and distribution facility.

In the petition, attorney general officials cited community use of the property and the impact on the heavily minority community, which has 25% of residents living below the poverty line.

“Conditions in the area are among the worst 20% of environmental justice areas in the state based on health, social, and environmental burdens,” the petition states.

In a statement Wednesday, the attorney general's office said the project needed further review before a sale to developers.

“It's important that we always review the true impacts of large-scale developments to ensure our communities are not unduly harmed. We are working to resolve this issue so that Long Islanders have access to the resources they need without causing widespread harm to the environment and our families,” the statement said.

Freeport village officials have touted economic development and jobs for the village while also promising a new athletic facility at the village’s newly acquired Cow Meadow Park from Nassau County, with rights to the school district.

Ownership of the property has been in dispute for nearly a year. The Freeport Union Free School District has claimed a right of access for the past 70 years. The school district has used the property as practice ballfields for the high school baseball team.

Freeport has also sued the school district for $45 million, seeking damages for interfering in business relations and awaiting a judge to determine ownership of the property.

Groups such as the Teamsters Joint Council 16 praised the petition to preserve the fields and urged Gov. Kathy Hochul to veto a pair of bills passed by the State Senate and Assembly lifting a park easement that has protected the land from development.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.