Willets Point landowners filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking unspecified damages, saying the city is neglecting the area to make it easier to acquire and redevelop the Queens neighborhood.

The area is well known for its high concentration of auto body shops.

"This is our property," said Feinstein Ironworks Owner Dan Feinstein. "It's been in our family for generations. This is our legacy to our children and our grandchildren, and we're not going to allow this administration to steal it from us."

After years of fighting to stay in Willets Point, some of the landowners are going to court to try to stall the city's $500 million redevelopment plan for the area.

The mayor says Willets Point is a blight in the borough. Local residents say it's only because the city has been withholding services for decades.

"We're asking the city to provide streets, sewers, gutters, sidewalks, street cleaning and all the necessary things that we're entitled to," said Anthony Fodera, owner of Fodera Foods.

The men are among a group of ten landowners who claim to own about half of the 70-acre site. They say they have no choice but to sue.

"What we hope to accomplish in the lawsuit is a court order requiring the city to give Willets Point the essential city services that every other neighborhood in the city receives," said attorney Micheal Gerrard. "We are also looking for money damages because of the loss of property value, due to the city's refusal to provide those services."

In the court papers, the landowners accuse the city of willfully neglecting the area so it can use eminent domain to take the land. The city says eminent domain would be used only as a last resort, but the attorney for the landowners says they are not taking any chances.

"If the city were to provide the essential services, then we think they would be less likely to want to grab the land for redevelopment," said Gerrard.

In the stands at Shea Stadium for opening day Tuesday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg insisted redeveloping the neighboring area would be a perfect complement to the new stadium being built for the Mets.

"It brings the history of New York back and it is also the future," said Bloomberg. "A modern stadium with all the conveniences and it's the linchpin for the development of all of the whole Willets Point area. So you're going to see housing and hotels and stores and businesses all growing out of that one project, and it's a wonderful thing for New York City."

The Willets Point residents filing suit say that redevelopment would not be "wonderful" for them.

- Ruschell Boone