Queens Casino Receives Approval From Committee, Almost Ready to Submit Proposal

New York Mets owner Steve Cohen’s casino group received another boost on Tuesday.

A Senate committee vote ended with a 4-3 majority supporting the allowance of construction on a parking lot near Citi Field, known as Willets Point. This is the planned site of the $8 billion “Metropolitan Park” casino project.

This comes after Cohen’s project in March received overwhelming support from the City Council to amend zoning regulations and would allow the casino’s construction.

Headline Another step forward

With the vote out of the way, all that is left between Cohen’s proposal and an official license application is the passing of a bill introduced by Sen. John Liu (D-Bayside) last month.

If approved, the bill would strip Willets Point from its parkland status. That’s crucial since New York law is strict on the use of public park space and often restricts construction of any kind.

Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-Queens), whose jurisdiction would be impacted by the bill and the casino project, recently acknowledged that she might not have the power to block the bill despite its targeted location.

“For decades, these 50 acres of asphalt have only been parking lots,” Metropolitan Park spokesperson Karl Rickett said in a statement, per Bloomberg. “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.” 

Cohen and his team, which includes casino company Hard Rock, would have until June 27 to submit their application for one of three New York casino licenses that will be made available by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Fighting for licenses

Checking all of the boxers related to zoning and local approval is almost a requirement for any prospective casino bidder. What has been an extremely drawn-out process is now at the final steps thanks to Tuesday’s vote.

As part of the project, Cohen and Hard Rock announced a partnership with Slate Property Group, LLC to build 450 housing units near the planned site of Metropolitan Park.

Competition is fierce for the licenses. The New York State Gaming Commission, with the advice of the Gaming Facility Location Board, will choose between a variety of elaborate proposals from high-profile suitors.

One expected bidder, Las Vegas Sands, announced last week it had dropped out of the running and hoped to find a replacement gaming sponsor to work with Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, which still hopes to host a casino.

Meanwhile, the Related Companies, Wynn Resorts, and Oxford Properties Group a couple of weeks ago scored a win as a rezoning plan for their Hudson Yards casino was approved. 

Early estimates suggest that the three New York casinos could generate $1.5 billion in early revenue and at least $500 million in annual tax funding.