CAC Forwards Metropolitan Park Proposal For NY Casino License

The Community Advisory Committee overseeing the $8 billion Metropolitan Park proposal for a casino adjacent to Citi Field in Queens unanimously voted the bid forward to the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) Gaming Facility Location Board on Tuesday.

The bid fronted by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock is the fourth to be advanced to the state agency among the eight that submitted applications. It joins gaming incumbents Resorts World and MGM Empire City as well as Bally’s proposal for a casino at Ferry Point in the Bronx as the ones to be considered for as many as three $500 million downstate licenses being offered by the NYSGC.

With the Metropolitan Park CAC making its vote on deadline day, the process to determine community support for the applications has concluded. Each CAC held two mandated public hearings to gauge those levels of support, and some of those hearings were contentious at times. The second hearing for Metropolitan Park was cut short by CAC Chair Larinda Hooks after a disruption in which she called for the ejection of an attendee who yelled “sellout” at a speaker offering comments on the project.

All three Manhattan-based proposals — The Avenir, Caesars Palace Times Square, and Freedom Plaza — were rejected by their respective CACs. The Coney, whose group proposed a casino in Coney Island in Brooklyn, was rejected Monday by its CAC.

The Gaming Facility Location Board will now review the four applications and is expected to make its decisions on licensure by Dec. 1. The NYSGC is then expected to complete the licensure process before the end of the year as a means of collecting the potential $1.5 billion in license fees “ahead of schedule.”

‘Queens get the money’

If New York City was the biggest loser of the CAC process, then it can be argued Queens and borough president Donovan Richards Jr. was its biggest winner.

Queens is represented by two of the four finalists, with Resorts World nine miles to the south of Citi Field. While the Gaming Facility Location Board will have to weigh whether two casinos can co-exist profitably in such proximity, Tuesday was a day for Richards to take a victory lap in getting both bids advanced for state consideration.

“This is truly a historic moment for the world’s borough,” said Richards, who detailed a lengthy list of obstacles Queens has been trying to overcome dating to the 2020 pandemic.

“Look at what we’re talking about five years later. We’re talking about creating more than 20,000 good paying jobs. We’re talking about creating hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars, in wages for Queens’ families.

“We’re talking about building a massive entertainment complex as Queens becomes the true cultural heartbeat of the city … and projects like this are proof that there is no ceiling for the world’s borough. We’re the heartbeat of the city now — not Manhattan, not Brooklyn, not any other borough. … I could not be more excited to vote yes on Metropolitan Park.”

Similar to his comments when casting his aye vote for Resorts World on Thursday, Richards threw in a “Queens get the money” during his comments, a nod to Crown Heights-born rapper Nas’ song of the same title. Nas, though, opted instead to participate in Resorts World’s sizzle reel pitch to its CAC.

Hard Rock offers some details

While the CAC did not vote on any amendments to Hard Rock’s application prior to Tuesday’s vote to move the bid forward, it did make inquiries on subjects including parkland, housing, mass transit, public safety, and public accountability via the formation of a Community Advisory Board and its Community Impact Fund. Hard Rock also affirmed its commitment to the Waterfront Alliance that either a SkyPark is built or $100 million will be invested in the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park area.

Hard Rock plans on delivering a 25-acre park, with five acres dedicated to community athletic fields. It noted in its response that “our master plan is built around this commitment to open space.” Hard Rock also stressed its housing and workforce plans to include current NYC Housing Authority communities has already begun.

The group says its plans to upgrade the Mets-Willett Point 7 subway station “will deliver transformational access for New York City.” Among the specific renovation plans is to make it fully ADA accessible and remove grade changes as part of a path that will lead from the station to an entrance plaza to Metropolitan Park.

Hard Rock told the CAC it has retained the services of former New York Police Department Commissioner Keechant Sewell to help design public safety features for Metropolitan Park and will work in partnership with the NYPD.

Lastly, Hard Rock has committed to providing quarterly reports to the Community Advisory Board for local hiring and minority and women-owned business enterprises (MWBE) as well as quarterly reports for MWBE contracting, hiring outcomes, and lending program results.