Steve Cohen’s downstate casino move: A game changer for Nassau?

Daily Point

Sands could face stiff competition from push to allow development at Citi Field

When New York Mets owner Steve Cohen acquired star outfielder Juan Soto, Mets fans were betting on a winning season.

And Cohen apparently isn’t done with new, game-changing partnerships. His latest move could impact far more than on-the-field play. It’s not about baseball, but the quest for a state casino license that could impact other bidders — including Las Vegas Sands’ efforts in Nassau County.

Over the weekend, Cohen and State Sen. John Liu sat side-by-side at a news conference, where Liu announced plans to introduce state legislation that would allow development on the Citi Field parking lots — which are currently designated as parkland and therefore require a process known as alienation to permit commercial development.

Sen. Jessica Ramos, the state senator who represents the bulk of the proposed gaming site and opposes a casino there, had refused to go along with Cohen’s desire to change the parkland designation. For a while, that seemed to make Cohen’s casino proposal, known as Metropolitan Park, an impossibility, as he needs control of the land and the ability to build there to bid for one of three available downstate casino licenses.

Bids are due in June.

Cohen and Liu also announced that in addition to the casino and other development already planned, Cohen hopes to build Flushing Skypark — a bridge over Flushing Creek similar to Manhattan’s High Line. The Skypark could connect the Willets Point area with downtown Flushing. Liu’s district includes a sliver of the Citi Field parking lots, particularly those south of Roosevelt Avenue, along with some of Flushing Creek and downtown Flushing.

Liu’s involvement could breathe new life into Cohen’s casino bid. And a revitalized Citi Field proposal could spell trouble for other bidders, including Las Vegas Sands, which is planning to bid on a downstate casino license at the Nassau Hub.

But questions remain. If Liu’s bill is successful — would the state Gaming Facility Location Board and the state Gaming Commission also want to place a casino resort in Uniondale? And what about Resorts World New York City at Aqueduct Racetrack — which hopes to turn its video lottery terminal complex into a full casino?

Last year, Nassau County officials unveiled text messages and an email that seemed to indicate potential connectivity between Hofstra University, which has long opposed a casino at the Hub, and those involved in Cohen’s bid, including messages that seemed to suggest Hofstra President Susan Poser was interested in pushing Cohen’s bid forward.

That, some sources have said, could be because Hofstra officials think that a Cohen win could mean a Sands’ loss in the casino bidding wars.

But it may not be that clear-cut. All the potential sites are close together. While the Nassau Hub is about 20 miles from both Citi Field and Aqueduct, Yonkers Raceway, which also plans to bid and is considered a potential favorite, is just 11 miles away from its closest competitor — the Bronx golf course now owned by Bally’s Corp. And the multiple Manhattan proposals are, in some cases, within walking distance of one another.

It’s unclear whether the Senate majority will side with Liu, or whether Ramos, who is running for mayor, will attempt to quash it. Sands’ plans for the land around Nassau Coliseum, meanwhile, still require the remaining stages of an environmental review, led by the Nassau County legislature, a lease for the Hub land that allows a casino to be placed there and zoning approvals from the Town of Hempstead.

And every bidder must successfully navigate its own Community Advisory Committee, whose members are chosen by that contender’s local elected representatives. For Sands, that would include representatives chosen by State Sen. Siela Bynoe, State Assemb. Ed Ra, and others. For Cohen’s bid, that would mean Ramos will have a second bite at the apple.

Whether or not it’ll be a home run apple, like the one that sits in Citi Field’s center field, remains to be seen.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Flatlined

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Final Point

Patchogue mourns two public servants

A community can feel loss almost like a family does. When someone dies, people react by helping their neighbors.

So it’s no surprise that Patchogue Village, with 12,337 residents in 2.2 square miles, is still recovering after the deaths of two officials in March.

Trustee Joseph Keyes died March 10. Former Patchogue Village Clerk Patti Seal died March 15. Both were influential in Patchogue’s renaissance over the past two decades, Mayor Paul Pontieri told The Point.

Keyes, 73, served as a trustee since 2009, having first been appointed and then elected. He was previously the chair of the Community Development Agency and a force in Patchogue’s environmental initiatives. With Keyes’ guidance, Patchogue banned plastic bags before the state did. He authored the village’s policy on buying electric vehicles.

Seal, 68, was elected to the board of trustees in 2004 and then served as the village clerk from 2005-2020. In 2018, she was named the New York State Clerk of the Year.

“They were instrumental in helping make Patchogue what it is,” Pontieri said.

To honor Keyes and Seal, the village is considering a dedication, perhaps a room in the Parks and Recreation Department building on Bay Avenue, Pontieri said. The specific details are still being worked out, though Pontieri said the idea is to memorialize his two longtime friends and colleagues so village residents are reminded of their significant contributions.

Pontieri and Seal were both elected in 2004 on the same local political party line. At the time, Patchogue, like many Long Island downtowns, was struggling. The Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts had yet to experience its resurgence; several storefronts were dilapidated; the iconic department store Swezey’s on the Four Corners was vacant. Pontieri and his team — including Seal and then Keyes — worked to make Patchogue better for its residents and business owners.

Seal and Keyes brought tremendous energy and expertise to their positions, Pontieri said. Their combined experience will be tough to replace, but like a family carries on during tragedy, so too will the Patchogue Village community.

Keyes was most recently reelected in 2022 to a four-year term. Pontieri said the village will appoint a replacement for Keyes’ seat in the coming weeks.

— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com

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