A state board is still months away from selecting up to three locations for New York City-area casinos but some bidders are rolling the dice as if they’ve already won — with a boost from state lawmakers.
Last month, the owners of the Mets, who want to put an entertainment complex anchored by a casino next to Citi Field, began “exploratory boring” in at least two places to prepare for construction.
THE CITY spotted the heavy drilling in at least two places in the parking lot, which is legally park land that only the state can authorize for development — currently barring it from being used for the casino plan team owner Steve Cohen has pitched as a major economic boost for Queens.
But his bet could pay off. On Sunday, State Sen. John Liu — a former foe of gambling in his backyard — announced he would introduce a bill this week that would allow development on the section of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park near Citi Field where Cohen has pitched his “Metropolitan Park” casino project.
A day later, two Bronx lawmakers, State Sen. Nathalia Fernandez and Assemblymember Michael Benedetto, announced they would introduce an alienation bill this week in the legislature for Bally’s proposed casino at Ferry Point Park.
These two projects are among nearly a dozen vying for one of the downstate casino licenses, which are expected to be announced late this year after the three-member Gaming Facility Location Board makes recommendations to the New York State Gaming Commission.
The Flushing and Thoggs Neck sites are the only ones that require state-level authorization to build on park — known as parkland alienation.
The Mets’s home ballpark and the surrounding parking lots, for example, are technically part of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
Can’t Beat Em, Join Em
Liu told THE CITY on Monday he is still opposed to gambling and casinos — last year, he co-wrote an op-ed critical of casinos preying on predominantly Asian communities — but has conceded that they will be built no matter what.
And if billionaire Mets owner Cohen gets his dream of one of three downstate licenses, Liu’s vision of a pedestrian walkway over Flushing Creek may come true, too, he said.
“If I really had my druthers I would have voted no against any casino licensing, but the casino licenses are a reality,” he said.
“There’s going to be three casinos nearby anyway and there are lots of people in favor,” he said, adding that Cohen’s team was “vigorous” in their push for his sign-on — even though his district is merely adjacent to the one where the casino would be located.
“The support in my community — notwithstanding my warnings — far outweighs and outnumbers the few who are opposed.”
Liu’s bill would function as companion legislation to the one introduced last month by Queens Assemblymember Larinda Hooks, who does represent the parcel of land that needs to be alienated.
The state senator for the Metropolitan Park parcel, State. Sen. Jessica Ramos, remains opposed to a casino, telling THE CITY on Monday her position hadn’t changed. (Ramos is also a candidate for mayor and spoke about the casino plan on the FAQ NYC podcast.)
“I cannot support a casino in Corona and am a definitive no on any alienation bill that goes against my neighbors’ wishes,” she said in a statement.
Liu’s bill goes against what’s known as member deference — an informal tradition where the legislator whose district is affected by a project gets to determine its future.
But he said there was enough local support, including the City Council voting unanimously earlier this month to back a city-issued land-use change that would allow casino-related development on the Mets’ parking lot.
Pie in the Skypark
The idea for a “Skypark” pedestrian bridge began under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, as part of the city’s failed bid to host the 2012 Olympics, Liu noted.
In a signed grant agreement between Cohen’s team and Liu shared with THE CITY, the bridge would cross west of 39th Avenue over Flushing Creek, providing pedestrian and cycling access between the bustling downtown Flushing and the new separate development at Willets Point.
Like every promised improvement tied to the casino bid, it only happens if Cohen and Hard Rock receive a casino license.
Even then, the grand design would require approvals from a host of city and state agencies, including the Department of Transportation, the Parks Department, Department of Environmental Protection, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the grant agreement shows.
If the Metropolitan Park casino complex is built and the Skypark is found to be either not feasible or delayed within six years — and doesn’t secure enough private and public funding — Cohen and company will have to pay out $100 million in annual $10 million installments to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, the agreement says.
Even without the necessary approvals, Cohen’s casino group has already begun scoping work for future construction.
Last month, construction workers conducted “exploratory boring” — drilling — on at least two locations in the Citi Field parking lot, with permission from the Department of Parks and Recreation.
The drills were gone this weekend, a few days before the Mets’ opening day.
Some community groups across Queens are still opposed to the proposed Citi Field casino and organized a protest Friday in front of the Flushing branch of the Queens Library.
Rebecca Pryor, the executive director of the environmental group Guardians of Flushing Bay, said at the rally that the promised 20-acre park is “not an investment in public park land.”
Alexis Kaloyanides from Jackson Heights Indivisible said at the rally the casino is portrayed as “an economic engine that’s going to fund all the nice things that we deserve, but [Cohen’s] going to be doing it on the backs of our most vulnerable communities.”
The improvements Cohen has promised as part of the development — like subway station upgrades — could be done “yesterday,” she said.
“Asking our neighbors to fund and further enrich a billionaire so he can further line his pockets is just beyond egregious,” she said.
Karl Rickett, a spokesperson for the project, said it will include a fully public park. “Metropolitan Park is paying to build it and maintain it,” he said. “Metropolitan Park will have to operate and maintain the park to Parks Department rules and specifications.”
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