The Department of City Planning approved expansions at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Wednesday, May 22, pushing the project another step toward a final green light.
U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) officials want to expand the center’s campus in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park by 0.68 acres, build a new stadium and make renovations. The plan is headed to the City Council for the final vote on the project.
State Senators will not have to vote on the lost green space because the land in question is considered to be of little value.
Expansions at the Tennis Center have been met with opposition, as have two other projects involving the park. USTA was not originally required to give back any land lost in the project. But officials ultimately agreed to transfer ownership of two parcels of parkland USTA has been renting to the Parks Department.
Park advocates criticized the plan as giving back land that was already accessible to the public.
