§460cc–1 Acquisition of Property

Summary

The Secretary can get land and water inside the recreation area by gift, purchase, or trade. Land owned by New York, New Jersey, or their local governments can only be taken if it is given. If a federal agency that controls property inside the area agrees, that property can be transferred to the Secretary for no payment. In the Breezy Point Unit, the Secretary must secure enough interest to make the whole beach open to the public. The Secretary may make a binding agreement with private homeowners to keep the neighborhood as single-family homes. That agreement can create a federal buffer zone, set building rules (including changing seasonal homes to year-round), and require the Secretary’s approval for new businesses. If such an agreement is made, the Secretary will not try to buy those private properties (except the beach). The Secretary may accept the city of New York’s rights in the Rockaway parking lot as a gift, but neither the United States nor New York can cancel existing legal claims on that property or add new ones. In the Jamaica Bay Unit, the Secretary may take donated land from New York City if the city keeps short-term rights that fit agreed plans. The Secretary may take Broad Channel only if, within five years after October 27, 1972, all improvements were removed and clear title was given to the United States.