Anti-Casino Town Hall in Queens Draws State Officials and 200 Visitors

While New Yorkers await decisions on three casino projects seeking operational licensing, a group of people are still trying to shut down one hopeful.

Around 200 people visited an anti-casino town hall hosted by the Muslim Center of NY, Flushing Workers Center, and the FED UP Coalition on Sunday, Oct. 19. The topic of discussion was New York Mets owner Steve Cohen’s Metropolitan Park in Queens, which could be licensed as soon as December.

Attendees of the town hall criticized the project and state Sen. John Liu, whose 16th district includes Queens, for introducing the legislation needed for the project to seek approval during earlier stages of the review process.

Counting their chickens?

Liu was behind a parkland alienation proposal in April that reclassified the Citi Field parking lot from public parkland to commercial property. This was a crucial step in getting the proposal through a variety of hoops before it could go before a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) and the Gaming Facility Location Board, which is currently reviewing the application.

Sen. Jessica Ramos, whose jurisdiction includes parts of Queens and the majority of the area where development would occur, stood firm in her decision not to suggest the parkland alienation during the process. Liu eventually suggested the bill despite his jurisdiction representing a smaller portion of the area where development would take place. 

“Even though I’m sure he (Steve Cohen) and his team think they have it in the bag, they absolutely do not,” Ramos said at the town hall. “There is no reason why the Gaming Facilities Board has to do three licenses. They can say they will only do two licenses. We can stop this altogether. I think there can be a world where no casino licenses are granted.”

Ramos had the chance to make a bigger fuss earlier in the process. She settled for the amicable route, but is now fighting back against the casino.

“I respect his right to introduce legislation,” Ramos told QNS in May. “That didn’t mean I had to agree with it or vote for it, and I didn’t. So I’m going to stand on my principle.”

The Senate eventually voted 54-4 in favor of the alienation bill, while a companion piece of legislation was approved in the Assembly, 134-11. 

Casino plans and protests

Metropolitan Park wouldn’t have been possible without the parkland alienation, since it aims to build on top of 50 acres of designated parking lot space near Citi Field.

Plans for the casino call for the creation of a 25-acre park to help add more greenery back into the local community.

The project is expected to run Cohen and Hard Rock International, one of his partners in the project, $8 billion by the time the casino has finished its development, pending approval.

Plans for development call for an entire entertainment complex with the park, retail stores, bars and restaurants, a Taste of Queens food hall, and a total redevelopment of the Mets-Willets Point subway station. 

They would also create new roads and bike paths to improve transportation around the casino.

Although the town hall criticized Sen. Liu, with whom Sen. Ramos disagreed, even Ramos’ appointee to the six-member CAC, George Dixon, joined in voting in unanimous support of the casino.

“This should not be allowed to happen,” former state Sen. Tony Avella said. “Parkland is sacred and must always be protected for future generations. Shame on those elected officials who support the plan who are allowing this to happen.”

Organizers of the town hall plan to hold a community rally against the casino outside of a public library in Flushing on Sunday, Nov. 16.