The Coney Makes Its Pitch And Feels The Heat

Offering the potential of revitalizing Coney Island to its heydays and a pledge to fill jobs locally, The Coney made its pitch to its Community Advisory Committee (CAC) on Wednesday in Brooklyn.

Fronted by Thor Equities, Saratoga Casino Holdings, Chickasaw Nation, and Legends Hospitality, The Coney is a $3.4 billion proposal that would bring gaming to Brooklyn along with a 500-room hotel, more than 115,000 square feet of convention space, a 26,000-square foot venue for entertainment, over 90,000 square feet of retail space, and more than 20 restaurants.

The Coney is among eight applications submitted to the New York State Gaming Commission looking to be awarded one of the three $500 million downstate licenses. It is also the lone Brooklyn-based proposal among the eight. The Coney, however, is a longshot as two of the three licenses are expected to go to Resorts World and Empire City as they look to expand their offerings.

The CAC requires a two-thirds majority — four votes — to advance the applicant to the New York Gaming Facility Board by Sept. 30. Should it fail to hold a vote by that date, the applicant is deemed rejected. The board would then make its selections for the licenses Dec. 1, which would be followed by the commission license consideration before the end of the year.

Casino would revitalize Coney Island

The Coney provided a video presentation that offered a mix of what a casino could bring to Coney Island, once considered one of the top entertainment destinations in the United States, especially during the 1940s through 1960s. What is now largely a summer destination would be transformed into a year-round place to visit, anchored by the casino and 500-key hotel room.

The presentation also provided glowing endorsements of Chickasaw Nation from local and state officials in Oklahoma, where it operates WinStar World Casino. It is the largest casino in the world with more than 10,000 slot positions and 100 table games, along with 55 poker tables spanning 370,000 square feet of gaming space and nearly 1,400 hotel rooms.

Peter McEneaney, the undersecretary of Chickasaw Nation, said the project could generate up to 10,000 jobs, with 9,000 of them union-based as a means of combating a 17.2% local unemployment rate twice the level of Brooklyn overall. The Coney, which is a fully private investment project that is shovel-ready, has also proposed a $200 million community trust and pledged an additional $75 million toward security and first responders over the first five years of the project should it be awarded a license.

“We heard three resounding things,” McEnaeney said. “One, create a year-round destination, right? Coney Island is amazing, it’s three months a year today. Number two, security, and how do you solve public safety concerns? And three, how do you create jobs and meaninful jobs and careers for the people of Coney Island?

“This is not just casino in a box. It’s a mixed-use entertainment project that fits in with the framework of Coney Island and provides 10,000 jobs between the construction and permanent careers that will be created.”

Solomon gives a grilling

The first four applicant groups vying for the casino licenses faced limited pushback during question-and-answer sessions held with CAC members. The presenters for The Coney, however, ran into a buzzsaw Wednesday from Marissa Solomon.

A volunteer for the Coney Island Museum and selected to the committee by New York Assemblymember Alec-Brook Krasny, Solomon was skeptical about the amount of jobs that would remain local. Using information from the application submitted to the gaming commission, she gleaned that fewer than 200 jobs would go to actual residents of Coney Island.

During the video presentation prior to a Q-and-A, The Coney noted that unemployment in Coney Island is at 17.2%, and Solomon said those jobs would only lower that rate to 16.4%. She also took aim at the lack of diversity with Global Gaming Solutions, the commercial arm of Chickasaw Nation, and Thor Equities. These issues will likely come to the forefront during the two public meetings that The Coney CAC is required to hold given the diverse racial mix of Coney Island and Brooklyn.

CAC’s duties, responsibilities

Besides choosing whether to vote an applicant forward, the most important duty for each Community Advisory Committee is to hold at least two public hearings to solicit comment. In addition, it reviews public comments submitted on a project and votes to reflect the public support or lack thereof.

A CAC can solicit changes to an application, but there are limits to the changes that can be made. The committee has the power to request a bidder change or modify its application, but that also must be put in writing prior to the deadline.

The CAC cannot make any changes or modifications necessitating change to the Environmental Quality Review Act.

The CAC for The Coney voted New York City Councilmember Justin Brannan as its chair. Brannan appointed himself to the committee. The other five members are:

• Portia Henry, program manager at Amtrak, appointed by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul;
• Alex Sommer, director of the Brooklyn office for the city Department of City Planning, selected by New York City Mayor Eric Adams;
• State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, self-appointed;
• Marissa Solomon, volunteer at the Coney Island Museum, tabbed by state Assemblymember Alec Brook-Krasny;
• Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, self-appointed.

Meanwhile, from the mayor’s office …

Also on Wednesday, Mayor Eric Adams vetoed the New York City Council’s disapproval of having a portion of the land rezoned for a commercial enterprise. That disapproval vote earlier this month left Bally’s $4 billion proposal for a casino in the Bronx in limbo because casino applicants can only move forward after having satisfied all state and local zoning requirements.

“A casino in New York City would bring good-paying union jobs and an economic boost to the surrounding community, which is why I have long advocated for a fair process with as many competitive bids as possible,” Adams said in a statement explaining his veto. “In stark contrast, the City Council’s disapproval of the Bally’s Bronx bid deprives the Bronx of the ability to even compete for a $4 billion private investment that would deliver 15,000 union construction jobs, 4,000 permanent union jobs, and more than $625 million in community benefits — including millions in funding for schools, parks, youth programs, nonprofits, and public safety — if selected by the state.”

Adams, who gave Bally’s a boost in June by declaring public support for the proposal to clear a legislative hurdle with a lower threshold for passage, added his veto was “an action I feel is necessary to best ensure a fair and competitive process.”

The veto sets up a potential showdown with the City Council, considering it may have the needed two-thirds majority to override Adams’ veto. The vote to disapprove the zoning change was 29-9 with four abstentions.