The plan for the $8 billion Metropolitan Park, a massive parkland improvement project centered on a parcel next to the New York Mets’ Citi Field ballpark, hit a major snag last week when state Senator Jessica Ramos formerly announced her opposition to introducing a bill to rezone the land from its current status as parkland.
Cohen is proposing an $8 billion casino, hotel and entertainment complex on 20 acres of current parking area at Citi Field. The surrounding property is home to Flushing Corona Park, the U.S. Open Tennis Center, and a planned soccer stadium for New York City FC, which is backed by Mayor Eric Adams.
The project 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,” and improvement of the transit facilities surrounding the area to the tune of $1 billion.
However, an act of the legislature is required for Citi Field’s parking space to be rezoned to accommodate a casino. Ramos has opposed it based on her opposition to relying on a casino to create green space, and because her own research has shown community opposition to the project. As she represents Corona, the neighborhood of Queens where the project would be located, it would normally fall to her to introduce the rezoning bill.
“I will not introduce legislation to alienate parkland in Corona for the purposes of a casino,” Ramos said in a statement last week. “Whether people rallied for or against Metropolitan Park, I heard the same dreams for Corona. We want investment and opportunity, we are desperate for green space, and recreation for the whole family. We disagree on the premise that we have to accept a casino in our backyard as the trade-off. I resent the conditions and the generations of neglect that have made many of us so desperate that we would be willing to settle.”
Ramos, whose position runs counter to Queens borough officials and state assembly members representing the borough, put forth a counter-proposal for an alternative project that would include everything envisioned for Citi Field—except a casino.
“I have drafted an alternative alienation bill that strikes a balance and would allow Mr. Cohen and Hard Rock to build a convention center and hotel, and more than double the proposed green space,” Ramos said. “The parcel in question is in strategic proximity to LaGuardia Airport and allows for visitors and tourists to feed into our vibrant food scene while addressing the consequence of climate change in the area. Mr. Cohen and Hard Rock would still make a profit, albeit less.”
Cohen, who had anticipated opposition from Ramos, has been in Albany searching for another legislator to introduce a bill to rezone the land, a plan that would be unprecedented.
Metropolitan Park spokesperson Karl Rickett quickly released a statement responding to Ramos’ position, in which he noted that only a casino would provide the economic engine necessary for a project of this scope.
“While we respect Senator Ramos’s point of view, the state never intended any one person to have the ability to single-handedly stop or approve a gaming project,” Rickett said. “As Metropolitan Park enjoys overwhelming support from elected officials, unions and the local community, we are confident that we have the best project in the best location.”
Ramos’ position was met with other opposition from project stakeholders and local officials. Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said in a statement that the Citi Field casino could create routes for building generational wealth for residents.
“There is very little generational wealth in Northwest Queens, where survival work is prevalent, public services are lacking and hard-working immigrant street vendors are displaced and demonized,” Richards said. “That’s why the families of this community so badly deserve the 25,000 good-paying union jobs, the $163 million community investment fund (and) the Taste of Queens food hall designed for borough-based vendors.
“No one elected official should be the sole arbiter of this $8 billion investment, so I strongly urge Governor Hochul and the state Senate to explore other avenues to bring the Metropolitan Park proposal to life and ensure that Queens continues to get the money we deserve.”
Cohen’s team said they will continue to pursue the project, despite the opposition from Ramos. “We have over a year and multiple pathways to secure the required approvals. Our team remains committed to bringing Metropolitan Park to life,” Ricket said in his statement.
Ramos doubled down on her position before reporters gathered at the state Capitol. “I think it’s a sad state of affairs when casinos are the premiere economic development idea in our state,” she said, according to Politico. “The business model for casinos, by definition, is to extract wealth from people… This is not something that would be beneficial.”
Cohen has until 2025 to secure a site. Even if he were to secure the Citi Field site, he faces competition from 10 other potential bidders for one of the three downstate casinos, which all would be located in and around New York City.
