Residents of the Flushing neighborhood in Queens, New York, held a public rally last week to protest the plan of Seminole Hard Rock to build a casino near the New York Mets’ Citi Field stadium along with the team owner, Steve Cohen.
However, the casino plan—one of several proposals for the three downstate casino licenses to be granted by the state—may have a steeper hill to climb because of its parent company’s business ties to Russia.
Protesters told a WABC-TV news reporter that building a casino in the area would “devastate the Flushing community.”
“Flushing Workers Center is happy to join others in speaking out against the treatment of our community and to unequivocally say no to a casino at Willets Point,” said Workers Center spokeswoman Sarah Ahn. “This is not about whether or not we like to gamble, it is about whether or not we sit silent and let someone come in and get more people hooked to gambling, destroy families, and bring only more problems to Flushing.”
“There are no two ways about it,” added Rebecca Pryor, executive director of the Guardians of Flushing Bay. “Privatizing 50 acres of public parkland in the middle of low- and middle-income communities of color is environmental injustice. This is not the time to sit back and enable a 50-acre, public park land grab.”
Local resident protests, however, are not the biggest roadblock to the plan, supported by Mets owner Steve Cohen. The larger problem may lie in an executive order issued last year by New York Governor Kathy Hochul. The order, issued after Russia invaded Ukraine, bars any state entity from contracting with a firm that does business in Russia.
There are Hard Rock Cafe franchisees in both Moscow and St. Petersburg. Seminole Hard Rock released a statement stressing that both Hard Rock facilities in Russia are independently owned and operated, but nevertheless, as of today, March 13, both operations will have closed.
“Hard Rock does not own or operate any property in Russia,” the statement said. “The independently owned Hard Rock Cafe in Moscow closed months ago. The independent operator of the Hard Rock Cafe in St. Petersburg agreed to close operations March 13.
“Since the beginning of the war, Hard Rock International joined the millions of people around the world condemning the unprovoked attack on Ukraine and its people. At that time, Hard Rock vowed to suspend all future investment and development in Russia, (and to) donate all profits from the two franchise locations in Russia to humanitarian causes in Ukraine.”
“As part of Governor Hochul’s strong actions to stand with Ukraine and against Russia’s unjust war, the Governor issued Executive Order 16 (EO 16) prohibiting state agencies and authorities from contracting with businesses conducting business in Russia, ensuring no future investments would aid Russia,” a spokesperson for Hochul told the New York Post.
“In order to comply with EO 16, affected state entities must obtain a certification from bidders as part of a solicitation for a new contract or extension of an existing contract that the business has no dealings with the Russian government, including those on the federal sanctions list.”
A spokesman for the New York Gaming Commission noted in an interview with the Post that no formal proposals have been submitted, as no submission date has been set for formal bids.
“No applications have been submitted for consideration—and won’t be submitted until the due date, which is to be determined,” said commission spokesman Brad Maione. “Beyond that, we are not commenting or opining on any potentially proposed project.”
The Citi Field proposal is part of a growing field of competitors for the three available downstate licenses.
Other contenders include Bally’s Corporation, Soloviev Group/Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment, Saks Fifth Avenue, Vornado, MGM Resorts, Genting Malaysia, Caesars and SL Green Realty, Wynn Resorts, and a consortium of Saratoga, Legends and Thor Equities.
The proposals are for casino projects in prominent locations across New York’s five boroughs, including Times Square, the top floors at Saks Fifth Avenue, Coney Island in Brooklyn, at former President Donald Trump’s golf course in the Bronx, and at the site of the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, in addition to the Queens proposal.
