The hits keep on coming, just not on the field. Not only are the New York Mets struggling this season, but now plans for a casino project around Citi Field have also been rejected by a key state senator.
Team owner Steve Cohen, in partnership with Hard Rock International, hopes to win a New York City casino license and build an $8 billion project called Metropolitan Park. The development would include a casino, hotel, music venue, 20 acres of green space, and access to Flushing Bay.
The plan faced some key obstacles, however, including winning over local support and needing a zoning change to enable construction. On Tuesday, state Sen. Jessica Ramos (D), who represents the area, said she would not be introducing legislation to make that happen and expressed her opposition.
“We want investment and opportunity, we are desperate for green space, and recreation for the whole family,” she said in a statement. “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,”
Facing Long Odds
Theoretically, another senator could propose the zoning change needed for the project. However, that remains a long shot, according to local media, as senators generally defer to local legislators on these types of projects.
A bill has been introduced in the state assembly, but it would still need approval in the senate. That now seems unlikely. The plan is only one of several proposals for a New York City casino license.
Ramos now says she would introduce a bill allowing for a convention center and hotel without the casino component. The bill would allow for twice the green space of the current plan.
Cohen has spent millions of dollars lobbying for the project and has also received support from other local officials. The project was expected to create 23,000 jobs and provide “substantial community benefits.” Despite odds against the project, Cohen and Hard Rock aren’t giving up.
“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,” Karl Rickett, a spokesman for the project, told the New York Post.
“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. We have over a year and multiple pathways to secure the required approvals.”
In related news, the team behind a proposed casino project in Coney Island recently released plans for that development.
