Schools Ask for Court Clarification on Kemper Plan

by Judy Silberstein

(July 1, 2004) On Wednesday, June 23, as school was letting out for the year, the Mamaroneck School Board held one last special meeting to approve filing of a “declaratory judgment action” to provide clarity in the ongoing controversy over the Kemper Memorial Park. The board is asking the court to rule on whether a proposal to relocate and redesign the park to make room for a new varsity-sized playing field is allowable. The board’s action takes the controversy into the courtroom and into a new arena for resolving a situation that has spanned over four years.

The Kemper monument still sports its Memorial Day decorations as construction continues at Mamaroneck High School on the other side of the parking lot.

The filing with the New York Supreme Court in Westchester County asks for support, either because the board’s project it is in keeping with the 1945 deed by which Adolph Kemper donated the land to the schools “for public and school uses as a memorial to the late Lt. Richard Kemper and the other students and former students” of the district who died in service during World War II, or because conditions have changed so much that “it is no longer practicable to carry out the charitable disposition in the exact form provided by the donors.”

The board believes its plan, which shifts the park 40 yards and creates a space that is the same size as the original deeded land, to be “in keeping with both the spirit and the legal requirements,” said board president Bob Martin at a press conference on June 25. He also noted that the undisputed need for more playing fields has been exacerbated by a separate court’s ruling on June 4, 2004 that requires the district to move girls' soccer from the spring to the fall, the most crowded season for field sports. (See: Girls' Soccer at MHS Will Move to Fall.)

Mr. Martin also recognized “this is an emotional issue” and others have different views, including those who believe the board does not have the legal right to implement its plans.

Adolph Kemper’s surviving relatives and members of local veterans and historical groups have vigorously disputed the board’s position and consider moving the park to be in violation of the deed. (See: Larchmont Historical Society Supports Preservation of Kemper Memorial for a copy of the deed.)

“ I was surprised in this complaint how many inaccuracies and misrepresentations there are,” said Jan Northrup when contacted by the Gazette. She has opposed the board’s plans for the Kemper Park since 2000 and has researched the deed and the district’s legal position. Richard Cantor, grandson of the donor and spokesman for the family, called the move “desperate,” and suggested the project might not get past next year’s budget vote.

This May’s vote on the school budget, which included $500,000 of the $1.3 million estimated cost for the park/field project, passed – but by only 76 votes. (See: School Budget Passes: 1520 to 1444) Both opponents and proponents viewed the vote as encouragement for their positions, and both sides are preparing for next year’s budget vote, which will include the second half of the project’s funding. The possibility of legal action has come up a number of times in different contexts, but this week’s move by the board was the first substantive legal move.

A declaratory judgment in its favor would be helpful to the school board’s position next May. “No matter how it plays out, we’re pretty comfortable that we will have a decision before we have to make decisions about next year’s budget,” said Celia Felsher, vice president of the board. “That’s one reason we acted promptly.” The board meeting was called hastily. As required, legal notice was faxed to the two newspapers of record the day of the meeting, however neither the reporters nor the public saw the notice.