U.S. v. Schmitt

• Decision Date: 31 March 1998
• Docket Number: No. CV 89-2126 ADS.,CV 89-2126 ADS.
• Citation: 999 F.Supp. 317
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Adele SCHMITT, John Schmitt and Adam Schmitt d/b/a Channel Marine Suzucki and Schmitt's Marina, and Carl Mednica, individually and as President of Cave Diggers, Inc., and Adam Schmitt d/b/a Adams Fishing Station, Defendants. John SCHMITT and Adam Schmitt, d/b/a Channel Marine Suzucki and Channel Marine Sales, Inc. known as Schmitt's Marina, Third-Party Plaintiffs, v. The CITY OF NEW YORK, Third-Party Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York

999 F.Supp. 317

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Adele SCHMITT, John Schmitt and Adam Schmitt d/b/a Channel Marine Suzucki and Schmitt's Marina, and Carl Mednica, individually and as President of Cave Diggers, Inc., and Adam Schmitt d/b/a Adams Fishing Station, Defendants.

John SCHMITT and Adam Schmitt, d/b/a Channel Marine Suzucki and Channel Marine Sales, Inc. known as Schmitt's Marina, Third-Party Plaintiffs, v. The CITY OF NEW YORK, Third-Party Defendant.

No. CV 89-2126 ADS.

United States District Court, E.D. New York.

March 31, 1998.

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Zachary Carter, United States Attorney, Brooklyn, NY by Kevan Cleary, Senior Trial Counsel, for plaintiff.

Citak & Citak, New York City (Burton Citak, Gary Westfal, of Counsel), for defendants and third-party plaintiffs.

Paul Crotty, Corporation Counsel for the City of New York, New York City by Warren Shaw, Assistant Corporation Counsel, for third-party defendant.

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER

SPATT, District Judge.

The United States House of Representatives made the following observation of Jamaica Bay in a report on the proposed Gateway National Park:

The natural values of the area are astonishing. Here, one can escape the maddening crowds and be exposed to a wildlife sanctuary. Against the backdrop of the Manhattan skyline, he can observe numerous species of waterfowl and shorebirds that use the area as a nesting ground.

The saga of the development of the marina in Broad Channel known as the "Schmitt Marina," closely tracks the interesting history of the community in Queens County known as "Broad Channel," the only inhabited island in Jamaica Bay, known as the "Venice of New York" and the "Gateway to the Rockaways."

I. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

During these many hearings, the Court was furnished with a number of maps and aerial photographs and a history of Jamaica Bay (Def.Ex. C) which greatly aided the Court's endeavors. Also, the Court notes that the defendant John Schmitt personally obtained from the City of New York and other sources a plethora of maps, charts, photographs and other documents. These documents were of valuable assistance to the Court in its task of discerning the evolving history of the Broad Channel Community and recording a chronological review of the events that are relevant to these proceedings.

Jamaica Bay is located in the western portion of the south shore of Long Island. The Rockaway Peninsula is to the south of Jamaica Bay and is a long, narrow piece of land which forms a barrier between Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Jamaica Bay is bordered on the north by the mainland of Brooklyn, Queens and Nassau Counties.

Jamaica Bay is an estuary, meaning a body of ocean water diluted by fresh water runoffs from the land north of the Bay consisting of 18,000 acres of land and water in the shadow of the World Trade Center. It is one of the largest open spaces in Brooklyn and Queens, and is operated as a wildlife preserve. This grassy bay has become a haven for a multitude of fish, animal and floral wildlife. Jamaica Bay also is a stopover for migrating birds of all kinds. The grasses in the Bay provide prime spawning ground for a myriad of species of fish and minute animal life.

In the late nineteenth century there was a considerable development of Rockaway Beach, both in hotels and other residences. In the 1880s, a train track was constructed over the water of Jamaica Bay from the then Village of Jamaica south to the Rockaways. This rail line triggered further development of the Rockaways. On the path to the Rockaways, the trains stopped at a number of "fishing stations" along Jamaica Bay. These fishing stations, located in the middle of the bay, were docks at which fishing boats were tied up with a few buildings around the station.

One of the fishing stations in Jamaica Bay was called "Broad Channel," named for the channel near the station. The 1890 Hyde map and enlargement (Pl. Exs. 48 and 49)¹ reveal that the Broad Channel Fishing Station was comprised of four or five buildings located on a small island north of a larger, uninhabited, grass island called "The Big Egg Marsh," separated by a salt water channel. A photograph probably taken in the early 1900s, shows people waiting for a train at the "L.I.R.R. Ticket Office" at the "Broad Channel" station (Pl.Ex. 56).

A 1907 map of Jamaica Bay shows an area designated "sand filling" (Pl.Ex. 57, Tr. at 5459).² This area eventually became part of Jamaica Bay Boulevard, later renamed Cross Bay Boulevard, which traverses the Bay from the Belt Parkway area to the Rockaways in a generally north-south direction. (See the artist's rendering of Jamaica Bay Boulevard made in the early 1900, [Pl.Ex. 53].) During this period the saltwater passage between Broad Channel Island and Big Egg Marsh Island was filled in. From that time on, the two islands effectively merged into one, variously called Broad Channel and Big Egg Marsh.

A. The Noel Lease

In 1912, the New York State Legislature granted to the City of New York ("the City") title to the land and land under water in Jamaica Bay. On December 16, 1914, the City leased a boot-shaped parcel, which included Broad Channel and the Big Egg Marsh, to a developer named Pierre Noel, whose company was called the Broad Channel Corporation. Noel intended to use the leasehold for residential and commercial purposes (Def.Ex. B-152). The Jamaica Bay History (Def.Ex. C) records that in 1914 "all of Big Egg Marsh was leased to Pierre Noel for a term often years ... [with] the right to renew the lease for two ten-year terms." The area leased was described as comprising "454.22 acres" (Def.Ex. B-152). A 1914 map indicates that the entire Broad Channel area was called "Big Egg Marsh", was unsettled and without any buildings. (Def.Ex. B-152). However, by 1947, Broad Channel was divided into blocks and lots, and only the marsh area to the south and in the toe of the boot was called "Big Egg Marsh" (Def.Ex. 153).

An important document, often referred to during the trial, is what is known as the Noel Developer's Map (City Ex. DA). This map, entitled "Map of Broad Channel Beach," depicts Noel's development plan for a proposed "Broad Channel Beach." In this map, Noel laid out a network of streets and numbered blocks-lots in the portion of the boot-shaped parcel that eventually was developed into a residential and commercial area. The area to be developed shows 19 small parallel canals running in an east-west direction, to be dredged on the west side of Jamaica Bay Boulevard (now known as Cross Bay Boulevard). The canals are interspersed with short streets coming off the west side of Jamaica Bay Boulevard at right angles. (See Appendix Figure 1).

The Noel Developer's Map reveals that a large part of the southerly portion of the boot-shaped leasehold, the foot of the boot, was left undeveloped and in its natural state. There were no streets or canals in that southern portion. This undeveloped southern portion is referred to as the "Big Egg Marsh," the same name as the entire large marsh island now known as Broad Channel was formerly known. This area, south of the flourishing Broad Channel Community, has remained undeveloped to this day, and is the home of countless fish, bird, animal and other wildlife species.

Noel leased portions of the developed land in Broad Channel to individuals for residential and business purposes. Apparently Noel encountered financial difficulties during the Depression, and the City terminated his lease in 1939. From that time on, the City assumed the role of direct landlord to the former subtenants of Noel and all other tenants of Broad Channel. These lessees, almost all residential, then became month-to-month tenants of the City. The leases issued by the City used the block and lot designations set forth on the Developer's Map. The southerly marsh area, including the Big Egg Marsh, remained natural and undeveloped.

In tracing the historical development of the Broad Channel Community, there is some confusion caused by the fact that in some documents the names "Broad Channel" and "Big Egg Marsh" were used interchangeably to describe the same property. A good illustration of this interchange of names is shown in the pamphlet entitled "Jamaica Bay, A History" (Def.Ex. C). The first map in the pamphlet dated in 1911, prior to the Noel development (Figure 16), refers to the entire boot-shaped area as "Big Egg Marsh." However, the third map in the pamphlet dated 1940 (Figure 18), designates only the southerly undeveloped portion of the boot as "Big Egg Marsh".

B. The Robert Moses Plan

By the 1930s, New York City Parks Commissioner Robert Moses had plans for the 18,000 acres of water, marshland and meadowland in Jamaica Bay as "offering unlimited possibilities for recreational and residential development ... [on] the natural grassy islands." He envisioned public use of the meadowlands adjoining Cross Bay Boulevard, including Big Egg Marsh, and purification of the Bay's polluted waters. (Def.Ex. C). Moses also proposed to transfer all the islands of the Bay to the Department of Parks for recreational use, including fishing and boating, and for the preservation of wild-life.

The Moses vision was realized when the City transferred most of the Bay and its marsh islands, except a portion of Big Egg Marsh, to be retained by the Bureau of Real Estate, to the New York City Department of Parks on July 15, 1945. (N.Y.C. Local Law Nos. 31 and 32; Def.Ex. B-319). The city park area was known as the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. As noted in all the local laws and documents, and is stipulated by the parties, the boot-shaped area known as Broad Channel and Big Egg Marsh was not part of this City park land.

In 1946, the City formally adopted a street map for Broad Channel (City Ex. DB). The City continued to issue leases for occupancy of portions of Broad Channel. By 1982...