Queens Casino Land Re-Zoning Bill Advances In New York Senate

One of the two re-zoning bills required to make the Queens casino bid fronted by Hard Rock International and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen viable began its journey through the New York legislature Tuesday when S 7121 advanced out of the Senate’s Cities Committee by a 4-3 vote.

Sen. Ted Liu sponsored the bill, which authorizes the re-zoning of the 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:

“… to discontinue the use as parkland and alienate through entering of leases or other agreements with Queens Future, LLC, or affiliates, the lands described in section three of this act for the purposes of developing, constructing, maintaining, operating, using, or occupying such lands with a gaming facility … “

Liu’s bill has been added to the Senate calendar and could potentially be heard as early as Wednesday for a full vote since the upper chamber is currently in session.

Liu a key player for Queens bid

Though most of the property in the $8 billion Metropolitan Park bid for one of the three downstate casino licenses is in state Sen. Jessica Ramos’ district, Ramos, who is also a New York City mayoral candidate, has been a consistent and vocal opponent of the casino plans. Liu, meanwhile, supports the venue and also has a portion of his constituency within its property lines, prompting his filing of the bill.

There is a companion bill in the New York Assembly, A 6781, sponsored by Assemblyperson Larinda Hooks, whose district includes Corona Park in Queens. That bill is currently in the Cities Committee of the lower chamber and could be heard as early as next Tuesday.

Hudson Yards sweetens its housing pot

The Hudson Yards casino proposal for the West Side of Manhattan has reportedly modified its $12 billion proposal to more than double the number of housing units from 1,500 to 4,000, as first reported by Crain’s New York.

The notable alteration ahead of a City Council vote removes a 1,400-foot office tower and replaces it with two residential buildings. The switch puts the bid fronted by Wynn Resorts and Related Companies more in line with an original 2009 re-zoning of the area that targeted 5,000 residential units. In the modified proposal, Hudson Yards noted the following:

“Revisions to the plan were shaped by feedback from over 200 community meetings where housing emerged as a top priority of the local community. During those meetings, countless New Yorkers sincerely requested that Hudson Yards West find ways to boost housing supply, while also recognizing the severe financial restrictions imposed by the platform.”

The bid received approval from the City Planning Commission this month prior to the modification. The proposal retains previous elements of the bid, including a projected 35,000 construction jobs, a new K-8 school, and an estimated $2 billion in annual revenue for the MTA.

Hudson Yards plans on using a PILOT (payments in lieu of taxes) program to cover the financing for the additional housing, which would also cover the estimated $2 billion in construction costs to build the platform over the existing railyards.

A similar PILOT program for the eastern portion of the proposed site that included a new public park and expansion of the No. 7 subway line has remitted more than $500 million in excess revenue for the city according to Hudson Yards. It also forecast an additional $2 billion in revenue by 2028.

There are still opponents to the proposal, with the most notable groups being the Friends of the High Line and Community Board 4.

Hudson Yards is one of four bids vying to put a casino in New York City. The other three:

• The Avenir, which would put a casino near the Javits Center in midtown Manhattan.
• Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and Caesars, which want to bring a gambling venue to Times Square.
• The Soloviev Group and Mohegan, which have proposed a casino on the Upper East Side near the United Nations Plaza.