§460cc–1 Acquisition of property

Summary

The Secretary may get lands and water inside the recreation area by donation, purchase, or exchange. Land owned by New York, New Jersey, or their local governments can only be taken by donation. With the agreement of the agency that now controls them, federal properties inside the area can be turned over to the Secretary at no cost to be run as part of the recreation area. In the Breezy Point Unit, the Secretary must secure enough control to guarantee public use and access to the whole beach. The Secretary may make a lasting agreement with private owners to keep the rest of the area as a single-family residential community. The agreement must allow a buffer on federal land, require construction and conversions to meet Secretary standards, and let new businesses happen only with Secretary approval. If such an agreement is made, the Secretary cannot acquire those private properties (except the beach). The Secretary may accept from New York City a donation of its interest in the Rockaway parking lot at Riis Park, but this does not remove existing claims on the property or let New York add new ones. In the Jamaica Bay Unit, the Secretary may accept donated land from New York City with limited continued uses if they match agreed plans, and may accept Broad Channel only if, within five years after October 27, 1972, all improvements were removed and a clear title was given to the United States.