§460cc–1 Acquisition of Property

Summary

The Secretary can acquire lands, water, or property interests inside the recreation area by donation, purchase, or exchange. Land owned by the States of New York or New Jersey, or their local governments, may only be acquired if given as a donation. Federal property inside the area may be transferred to the Secretary for management as part of the recreation area without payment if the federal agency that controls it agrees. In the Breezy Point Unit, the Secretary must get enough control of the mapped area to make sure the whole beach is open and accessible to the public. The Secretary may make an agreement with private owners to keep the rest of the area as a single-family residential community. That agreement must be binding unless both sides agree to end it, and it must allow a federal buffer zone, require Secretary-set building standards (including converting seasonal homes to year-round), and require prior Secretary approval for new businesses. If such an agreement is made, the Secretary will not try to acquire those private properties except for the beach. The Secretary may accept a gift from New York City of any city interest in the Rockaway parking lot at Riis Park, but that acceptance does not let the United States remove existing liens or let New York further encumber the property. In the Jamaica Bay Unit, the Secretary may accept donated land from New York City that allows the city to keep existing uses for a limited time if those uses follow plans the Secretary agrees to. The Secretary may accept the Broad Channel Community only if, within five years after October 27, 1972, all improvements are removed and a clear title is given to the United States.