Eleven South Philadelphia residents opposed to the city’s reimagining of FDR Park have filed a lawsuit, asking a judge to issue an injunction on work across the park, as well a declaratory judgment stating that the city can’t move forward with the renovation plans. The group is represented by Samuel Stretton, who has successfully fought off new development in Kardon Park in Downingtown and Fox Chase Cancer Center’s proposed expansion into Burholme Park in Northeast Philadelphia. Stretton argues that FDR Park’s $250 million makeover, already underway, radically changes the nature of the space by adding dozens of acres of artificial turf, violating the Public Trust Doctrine, which gives residents in the state a right to pure water and “preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic value of the environment,” as well as other state regulations. Though the suit is calling for an injunction to work across the park, including what’s already underway, much of the focus is on plans for the former FDR Park Golf Club course, which closed in 2019 because of frequent flooding and lack of profit and where work has yet to begin. The city’s Parks and Recreation Department and the Fairmount Park Conservancy pitched the makeover as a necessary intervention as the 348-acre park, which was built over wetlands, is only expected to face more flooding in the face of climate change. Read more here. 
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 3/26/2024