With Donation to Park, U.S.T.A. Wins City Council Approval for Expansion

With a $10 million donation to Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the United States Tennis Association won over city council members who voted yesterday to approve the organization’s $500 million expansion into the park. In a 47 -1 vote the council approved the association’s bid to expand onto 2/3 of an acre of the park. The association is also returning 1.56 acres of land that it has been using but the land and tennis courts on it were previously open to the public. The donation will go to a new public-private organization tasked with maintaining the park much like the Central Park Conservancy does with that park. The tennis association will demolish two older stadiums and replace them with new ones. Will Sweeney, a park advocate who opposed the expansion until the organization agreed to the donation, told the Daily News, “the investment can lead to Flushing Meadows-Corona finally reaching its potential as a world class park.”