abstract:The public trust doctrine is the principle that certain resources are preserved for public use, and that the government is required to maintain them for the public's reasonable use.
Thomas Merrill, a professor at Columbia Law School who has studied the publictrustdoctrine, agrees the city can't transfer a public park into private use without permission of the state Legislature.
In the 35-page complaint, the residents and parks groups argue that the city is required to ask the state Legislature for permission to lease Damrosch Park under a statute known as the publictrustdoctrine, which provides that public spaces should be used for public purposes.