Judge Rules: Kemper Park Changes Prohibited

by Judy Silberstein

Judge Bellantoni's Decree on Kemper Park

(January 7, 2005) The Mamaroneck School District and its Board of Education are prohibited from implementing their proposed move and reconfiguration of the Kemper Memorial Park, according to a decree from NY Supreme Court Justice Orazio R. Bellantoni filed on January 6, 2005. This is the latest act in the long-running controversy between the school district, which wants to move the park to make way for adding a ball field, and the Kemper family and their supporters, who want to maintain the park in its current location and configuration.

The decree first grants legal standing to Richard Cantor, grandson of Adolph and Helen Kemper who donated the park to the school district. This allows him to enforce the terms of the gift. He has been representing the family in dealings with the board since 2000, when the district first brought up the idea of moving the park.

The decree goes on to discuss “restrictive covenants” in the deed conveying the land to the schools that require the land to “be held and maintained in perpetuity for public and school uses as a memorial” to Lt. Richard Kemper and the other students and former students who died serving in World War II. (See: Excerpt from the Kemper Deed)

Judge Bellantoni sketches how the Kempers underwrote “virtually all costs to construct and beautify the memorial park” and writes, “However, respondents, the Mamaroneck Union Free school District and its Board of Education, are not fulfilling their part of the bargain.”

“Regardless of how ‘tasteful, visually appealing, and more visible’ plans for a new Kemper Memorial Park may be, the schools district’s proposal “does not significantly honor the sacrifice of those soldiers who gave their lives in service of their country, and violates the specific covenants” of the deed that conveyed title from the donor to the schools.

“Clearly, I’m delighted. It’s a victory for the community, for the veterans, for our family, for everyone,” said Mr. Cantor. “It’s a wonderful decision and it’s the correct decision.”

“We’re all so relieved and gratified,” said Jan Northrup, spokesperson for a community group that had formed last year to support the preservation of the park. (See: School District Enjoined from Altering Kemper Park: New Park Preservation Group Forming.)

School Board President Celia Felsher had no substantive comment when advised on Saturday that the judge had issued a decree. “We will have to look at it, talk about it with our lawyers, and talk about it internally to come up with a decision on what we’re going to do,” she said.

It was the board that first brought the issue into the legal arena last June when they asked for a declaratory judgment that they had the right to make changes to the park.(See: Schools Ask for Court Clarification on Kemper Plan.) In September, the NY Attorney General’s office determined that the district’s plan “was consistent with the deed restriction,” but Mr. Cantor sued to stop the district, and Judge Bellantoni issued a temporary restraining order enjoining the district from going ahead with their plans while he studied the merits of arguments from each side. (See: Kemper Memorial Controversy Has Its Day in Court)

As the board determines how to respond to the legal situation, it is also studying the financial aspects of continuing with its plan. Last week, it asked Superintendent Sherry King to evaluate the possibility of removing from the budget, at least for this year, $800,000 in funding for the park. The board already has $500,000 set aside from last year, but without the second installment, it would not be able to receive NY State authorization to proceed with its project. (See: Budget Talks: Kemper Funds Out, More Teachers In?)

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