Appeals court dismisses Freeport schools' bid to claim ownership of Cleveland Athletic Field, ending legal battle

A New York State appellate court dismissed an appeal by the Freeport school district over the ownership of the Cleveland Avenue athletic field, ending a five-year legal battle.

The Appellate Division, Second Department, ruled the Cleveland Avenue Field was owned by the Village of Freeport and licensed by the school district as a practice field for athletics since 1949.

The village and school district have been litigating over who owned the field, as the village had once sought to sell the 9-acre property to a warehouse developer working with Amazon. The village planned to relocate teams that used the field to new playing fields at Cow Meadow Park.

But Thursday, Freeport Mayor Robert Kennedy said the village did not plan to sell or develop the field. "We're not going to develop it," Kennedy said. "We're keeping it as parklands."

"We wanted to make sure that we own the property, which we do, and that's what the courts decided," Kennedy said. "It's the Village of Freeport's property, and they have a lease on that, a license agreement that could be terminated any time. It's not the school board's property."

The school district had claimed it owned a permanent easement to use the property, which now sits behind a BMW dealership between Sunrise Highway and Merrick Road. The village sued the school district in 2021, two weeks after the school district had announced plans to file a suit against the village. The village's lawsuit asked a judge to decide the field’s ownership and sought $45 million in damages for lost development revenue.

Gov. Kathy Hochul also vetoed a parkland easement on the property in 2022, required by the village for development.

A Nassau Supreme Court justice ruled in 2024 that the village owned the field and dismissed the claim for damages. The school district appealed the decision.

In the appellate court’s decision Wednesday, the court ruled the school district "holds only an easement ... or a revocable license, to use the property."

The village has said it had no plans to revoke the school district’s license.

No further appeals

Freeport school district officials said they planned to drop any further appeals.

"We are aware of the court’s ruling and the board has agreed to drop all claims and not proceed with any appeals," Michael Pomerico, president of the Freeport school district, said in a statement.

Kennedy said the village was no longer pursuing damages but also did not move forward with additional fields and athletic improvements at Cow Meadow Park. The village made other improvements, including $500,000 in playground equipment, Kennedy said. 

The village plans to continue to allow the school district to use the Cleveland Avenue Field but may also use it for village athletic activities when it's not in use, Kennedy said. The village will not generate income from the development, he said, but residents will have to absorb the legal fees through district funds. 

"That would have been a nice boost for the residents. But bygones be bygones. It's now a park. It'll stay as a park, and the village owns it," Kennedy said. "It's unfortunate our residents were charged $800,000 in additional school taxes to satisfy this frivolous lawsuit."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.