MGM Empire City Holds First Public Hearing On Casino Expansion

MGM Empire City held a public hearing Monday night for its $2.3 billion proposal to expand its Yonkers-based racino, with the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) listening to local residents’ thoughts.

This was the first of the eight CACs to hold a mandated public hearing as part of the application process to be awarded one of three $500 million downstate casino licenses from the New York State Gaming Commission. Each CAC must conduct two hearings.

Monday night’s hearing at the Grinton I. Will Public Library Auditorium was strictly a listening affair, with approximately 40 people offering their opinions. There was no dialogue with the CAC and no questions asked of the five members.

Trades represented well at meeting

Many of the proponents who spoke were unionized workers, some of whom had previous interactions or business on the racino grounds. Tom LeCount, the business manager for the mechanical insulators for Local 91 based in Yonkers and the Hudson Valley, said he was “treated with dignity and respect by the director of maintenance” when he did work on the cooling towers on the grounds. 

LeCount pointed out that “at least 1,250” of the 6,500 of the projected construction jobs for the expansion would be apprenticeships. Those are key, he explained, in starting a career path.

“The apprenticeship programs that we provide aren’t just jobs for the duration of the job,” LeCount said. “It’s a job, it’s a career, it’s a skill you’re going to learn for a lifetime. And this can be a launching pad for all those apprentices that are brought in.

“Everybody that goes through the trades remembers the first big job you were on. And several years later, it’s the foundation for your learning or trade.”

MacKenzie Forsberg, a member of the the Yonkers Planning Board and a small business owner in the community, said the “city understands that elevating business trickles down to elevating their employees and elevating their vendors. Empire City’s casino expansion fully aligns with supporting the ecosystem of the city, not just the casino itself.”

Opponents make their voices heard, too

There were frequent mentions of traffic concerns among opponents of the proposal, while multiple people also addressed the lack of specifics in terms of community benefits.

Margaret Vitulli, a self-described lifelong Yonkers resident, said, “The fact we are here, begging MGM, a multimillion-dollar international cooperation, for a few lousy concessions is a disgrace. They should have been begging us with concessions to come here.”

Vitulli also lamented that a zoning change has already taken place, feeling it should have been used as a bargaining chip in negotiations.

Dr. Judith Garrett pointed out the lack of specifics in terms of community benefits and contrasted that with her personal tax hikes of 5.9% and 2.2% in the last two years despite MGM’s presence.

“The money is not getting down to the kitchen tables,” Garrett said.

“This is either the renaissance of Yonkers or the rape of Yonkers. I want to see the renaissance, and we need the leadership of everybody in Yonkers to bring everybody up so we can be an example for the nation of what can be done.”

Putting a wrap on things

CAC Chair James Cavanaugh pointed out that Yonkers and MGM have negotiated a host community agreement, and the panel overseeing the hearing has no impact on it. The city council is expected to vote on the host community agreement in early September.

“I just want to thank everyone because I know that you’re sitting here giving us the feedback, and we appreciate that,” said CAC member Maria Fernandez shortly before adjournment. “Feedback is a gift. It’s not always welcome sometimes, but it always, always is a gift.”