Willets Point United Inc. is disappointed, but not surprised, that today the Court of Appeals has decided to grant the developers' motion for leave to appeal the "Willets West" case to the Court of Appeals – especially in light of the fact that the developers are represented by attorney Judith Kaye, who is none other than the former Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals. She also happens to head the search committee for the new incoming Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, who will ultimately participate in deciding this case.
We expect Judith Kaye to recuse herself from personally arguing this case at the Court of Appeals. In any event, we are confident that the Court of Appeals will uphold the July, 2015 unanimous decision of all four Judges of the Appellate Division – which went as far as to state that "No reasonable reading of Administrative Code section 18-118 allows for the conclusion that the legislature in 1961 contemplated, much less gave permission for, a shopping mall, unrelated to the anticipated stadium, to be constructed in the Park."