Bill Tied To Queens Casino Bid Passes New York Assembly

The re-zoning bill required to become state law in order for the Queens casino bid to move forward in New York rolled through the Assembly on Tuesday and advanced to the Senate.

A 6781 passed by a 32-2 count in the Ways and Means Committee and was then reported to the Rules Committee. It was promptly added to the calendar on third reading, where it again overwhelmingly advanced with a 27-1 vote.

The lower-chamber bill is sponsored by Assemblyperson Larinda Hooks, whose constituency includes Corona Park in Queens. The bill authorizes the re-zoning of 50 acres of land surrounding Citi Field from parkland to commercial use and specifies the purpose of the re-zoning in conjunction with the casino bid.

The companion bill in the Senate, S 7121, passed through the upper chamber’s Cities Committee in late April and was likely awaiting passage of Hooks’ bill to be read on the Senate floor.

The $8 billion Metropolitan Park plan, fronted by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International, is one of nine bids currently vying for three downstate licenses in the Empire State.

Continuing to line ducks up

It has been a series of small steps of progress for the Metropolitan Park plan, which found a sponsor for the needed legislation in Sen. Ted Liu; Jessica Ramos, a New York City mayoral candidate and fellow sate senator, opposes the casino plan.

Earlier this month, Hard Rock CEO and Chairman Jim Allen offered some details about the immediate steps that would be taken should the bid be selected for one of the three licenses. Allen estimated it would take 18 months to build the casino from when the final contracts are sourced.

The Metropolitan Park bid already has approval from the New York City Council to re-zone the 50 acres of parking lots surrounding Citi Field.