A state court judge has dropped a bomb on Long Island, ruling that the city of Islandia overstepped its authority in allowing Jake’s 58 Hotel and Casino to open.
The slots-only venue, which has enjoyed increasing success since opening earlier this year at the site of Suffolk County’s bankrupt OTB, is the target of a lawsuit filed by local residents and businesses who contend the expansion, which includes a hotel, has disrupted the surrounding neighborhood with noise and traffic and parking problems.
“It’s an amazing victory to me because we moved here to have a nice family community,” said April Meyer, whose home abuts the casino.
“It shows that ordinary taxpayers, if they unite and they coalesce and they have the courage and the fortitude, they can take on these unholy alliances, as I call them, of the big money and the unprincipled politicians,” said Paul Sabatino, the attorney for the casino’s opponents.
Sabatino argued that city officials rushed the casino application through against municipal code without a public hearing. The judge agreed, stating, “The accessory use of a casino was not necessary for the hotel’s operation.”
The casino, which grossed $220 million August, remains open pending a follow-up hearing next month. The city has until December 8 to appeal the ruling.
