New York Mets owner Steve Cohen’s plan to transform parking space at the team’s Citi Field ballpark in Queens into a casino resort cleared a major hurdle this week as a state Senate committee narrowly voted to advance a bill required to rezone the land for a casino.
The chance for Cohen’s $8 billion project to win one of three available downstate casino licenses hinges on passage of a bill to authorize construction of a casino on what is currently designated as parkland. Without such legislation, the plan to create what Cohen calls Metropolitan Park on 50 acres of city-owned land cannot move forward.
Such “parkland alienation” bills are normally introduced by the lawmakers representing the district in which the project is proposed. While Queens Assemblymember Larinda Hooks, who supports the project, introduced the legislation in the lower chamber, Queens state Senator Jessica Ramos refused to introduce an alienation bill, citing vehement opposition from her constituents.
The vast majority of the project is in Ramos’ district. However, 12 acres of the 50-acre project is within the district of Flushing state Senator John Liu. Last month, Liu introduced the park alienation bill after Cohen promised to build a pedestrian bridge over Flushing Creek to give easy access to his constituents, who he said have communicated an outpouring of support for the project.
Cohen agreed to explore building “Flushing Skypark,” a pedestrian bridge over Flushing Creek linking downtown Flushing to the project area. Liu has said the bridge would become an attraction in its own right. Cohen also pledged to donate $100 million over 10 years to Flushing Meadows Corona Park if the bridge isn’t built.
On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Cities advanced the bill to the Senate floor on a 4-3 vote, without a recommendation for passage by the full Senate.
The proposed Metropolitan Park would include a Hard Rock casino, a hotel and a music venue, plus 25 acres of green space, athletic fields, bike paths, and access to Flushing Bay. The project also would include a “Taste of Queens Food Hall,” a concert venue and improvement of the transit facilities surrounding the area to the tune of $1 billion.
Cohen has said he will offer a community benefits package with the project, with support for responsible gaming and improvement of youth and senior services, including $10 million for a health clinic in East Elmhurst, $10 million for a youth and senior center in Corona, and $5 million for addiction and mental health services in Flushing.
“For decades, these 50 acres of asphalt have only been parking lots,” Karl Rickett, a Metropolitan Park spokesperson, said in a statement published by the Queens Eagle. “Today’s committee approval brings us one step closer to delivering 25 acres of actual public park space, 23,000 union jobs, new entertainment options, and over $1 billion in community benefits for Queens.”
In a separate statement to the newspaper, Ramos doubled down on her opposition, “I have consistently voiced the will of the majority of my constituents and I will continue to do,” said Ramos, who is running for New York City mayor. “We do not want a casino in our backyard. The costs far outweigh the benefits.”
The narrow committee approval came after a hearing at which Liu testified in favor of the bill. “The site in question is primarily not in my district, but a fair amount of it is in my district,” Liu told the panel, according to the Eagle report. “Notwithstanding the precise boundaries of my district, or really any one district, the size and magnitude of what’s being proposed will clearly have very strong impacts on my district. It’ll have impacts, I dare say, even on your districts, just because it’s a very large New York City downstate project.
“The reality is that it also directly affects my residential and my commercial areas in Downtown Flushing. It’s a hop and skip away.”
The Assembly version of the park alienation bill has yet to be brought up for a committee vote. Formal applications for the New York casinos are due in late June, with decisions on the licenses expected by the end of the year.
