The new FDR memorial Four Freedoms Park is free to open on Roosevelt Island today, thanks to some quick work by a Manhattan judge.
Two lawsuits by major donors to the $50 million project to honor the 32nd president had threatened to delay its opening.
Both the Alphawood Foundation, which gave $10 million, and the Reed Foundation, which gave $2.5 million, were upset when the park reneged on deals to feature their names on previously agreed-upon prominent places at the eleventh hour.
The lawsuits accused the park of pulling a fast one, and sought court orders postponing the opening until the park’s directors lived up to their end of the bargain.
At a hearing yesterday, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Charles Ramos helped work out a deal between Alphawood and the park.
In return for agreeing not to be acknowledged in one area that the park was objecting to, they’ll now be thanked in three different spaces in the park.
The park and Reed Foundation were not able to settle their differences, so Ramos ruled in Reed’s favor.
That cleared the way for a grand opening today that will include former President Bill Clinton, former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw and Mayor Bloomberg.