NEW YORK | Casino Development| FT| FLOORS

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by C.

So slow...

I wish they state would just preempt and get moving!

It's beyond slow. But I suspect some of it may have to do with the fact that New York City has to get it's approvals in order. They have to do everything the right way to prevail in the inevitable lawsuits. Now, casino approval in New York state was done years ago, with the upstate casinos coming first. The city has had YEARS to get this in order, but only chose to do so now. Ridiculous.

But as we get closer to the actual submittals, I think we can break it down into two parts. The CAC approvals, and those that survive going forward to the Location Board for final selection.

The CAC approval is the most interesting, because it is what will determine the so called "community support", which is a must before a proposal can move forward. In New York City, the 6 CAC members for each proposal will be a representative of 6 levels of elected officials, and approval is only needed by 4.

-Governor
-Mayor
-Borough President
-City Council Member
-State Senator
-State Assembly Member

So, two of those people can withhold approval, and it can still move forward, but no more than that. I suspect any resistance would come from the last 3 on that list. Those are the people most concerned about future elections, and will blow with whatever they determine the wind to be. Any suggested changes to proposals will be made during the CAC stage.

But once approvals survive the CAC, and move on to final approvals, it should be a matter of those factors posted above, with a 70% emphasis being placed on economic activity and business development. That's why I really can't see either of the 2 racinos being heavy favorites.

[NYguy]

https://w42st.com/post/roc-nation-ti...hells-kitchen/

Roc Nation Rolls the Dice in Hell’s Kitchen: Battle for a West Side Casino Heats Up





by Phil O'Brien
10/16/2023

Jay-Z’s Roc Nation is lobbying for locals to bet on their bid to bring a Caesars Palace casino to Times Square — just a couple of blocks away from their two-day promo popup at The Purple Tongue on W43rd Street. New York City is only expected to grant one gaming license, and Roc Nation has partnered with property developer SL Green and Caesars Entertainment to put forward a plan for installing a casino in their 54-floor office building at 1515 Broadway.

Flyers saying “It’s Time, Times Square” were being handed out around Hell’s Kitchen this afternoon (Monday) by Roc Nation, with the message that “some conflicted parties have attempted to spread misinformation, so we want to speak to you, New York City, directly.” On W43rd Street between 9/10th Avenues, passersby were encouraged to come into the popup, learn more and sign to support the new casino.

Aleta LaFargue, President of the Tenants’ Association at Manhattan Plaza — a 1,689 apartment complex that takes up the whole block — said it was frustrating that Roc Nation had come without warning to a residential area. She said offering free food in the hope of getting a signature of support from locals for a casino that would “do nothing but harm to our community” was predatory.

LaFargue added that Manhatttan Plaza residents had not been notified of Roc Nation’s casino popup. “How could you simultaneously invite members of the community and surprise us? This has most definitely been a surprise attack. As you can see, our block is filled up with people with signature clipboards, with little iPads, asking for people to sign, and then handing them flyers that say how they’re going to revitalize your community,” she said.

“When people think of Times Square, they don’t realize that it’s adjacent to a residential area where the people are really in jeopardy of falling prey to the predatory business that a casino is,” LaFargue said. “My family is from Atlantic City, and so I know very well what the methods of casinos are, and they are not to revitalize the communities that surround them.”

Angela Rye from Roc Nation shared why they had picked Manhattan Plaza and opted to provide lunch and dinner for locals on Monday and Tuesday. “From our perspective, the most important thing is the opportunity to break bread with people and answer questions. I know that when you have a conversation where people have strong opinions without breaking bread, it gets a lot more contentious and we don’t want that. We want to invite people in to receive feedback, whether it’s positive or negative or indifferent,” she said.

“Alicia Keys is a part of the Roc Nation family and she actually grew up in Manhattan Plaza,” said Rye. “We’ve learned about this building and the incredible ways in which they’ve built and established a community. It was a place where we knew we had to come.”

Artist and rapper Fat Joe told reporters that choosing Roc Nation’s casino option would bring diversity. “You’ll have Black and brown leadership,” he said while promising to be “ready to take care of all the arts” and “give hundreds of jobs out in this community”. When asked about the opposition from Broadway to the group’s casino proposal, Fat Joe said: “That’s the same people who’ve owned it for 150 years.”

In their flyer, Roc Nation say their proposal will draw tourists, enhance lives, give back to businesses, benefit mass transit, develop transportation, invest in sanitation and security, protect Broadway interests, provide opportunities and honor New York City’s culture.

Meanwhile, the No Times Square Casino Coalition describes the proposal as a “bad bet” and is concerned the proposed casino will increase congestion, draw visitors away from theaters and restaurants and attract more gamblers to the area. They believe this could jeopardize the neighborhood’s revitalization and have forming a coalition — which includes The Broadway League, in partnership with the Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood Association, Hell’s Kitchen Block Association, W47/48th Street Block Association, Manhattan Plaza Tenants Association and CHEKPEDS pedestrian safety group, among others — to oppose the casino plan over its potential negative impacts.

Other casino plans on the table locally include Silverstein Properties leading a casino and hotel development on 11th Avenue and W41st Street in partnership with Greenwood Entertainment and Entertainment Affiliates, and Hudson Yards developer Related and Wynn Resorts‘ proposal to build a 3-million square foot casino at the Western Rail Yards.

• Video Link



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https://www.casino.org/news/las-vega...ion-town-hall/

Las Vegas Sands Long Island Casino Opposition to Host Town Hall





October 17, 2023
Devin O'Connor

Las Vegas Sands wants to build a $4 billion integrated casino resort at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale but opponents of the gambling plan continue to voice their claims that a Las Vegas-style casino would bring many societal harms to the Long Island community.

“Say No to the Casino Civic Association” was formed soon after Sands announced its intentions to bid on one of New York’s three downstate casino licenses. The coveted gaming privileges were authorized through the state’s 2013 commercial casino bill, which included a 10-year moratorium on the state issuing the downstate concessions to allow the four upstate properties to open without competition from New York City, Westchester, or Long Island.

The downstate moratorium is up and Sands, along with nearly a dozen other firms, are prepping their bids. The New York Gaming Location Facility Board next year will begin fielding proposals and, eventually, grant the three licenses to the best suitors.

Sands is considered a front-runner, as the company has the largest market capitalization of any other gaming firm in the US.

Las Vegas Sands no longer owns or operates any casinos in the US after selling its Venetian and Palazzo resorts to Apollo Global Management and Vici Properties last year for $6.25 billion.

Sands has long derived the bulk of its annual revenue from Macau where it operates five integrated resorts, including The Venetian, Parisian, Plaza, Londoner, and Sands Macau. Sands additionally owns and manages Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, which is often cited as the “gold standard” of the global integrated resort industry.

Sands wants to use some of its Venetian/Palazzo Las Vegas proceeds to open an integrated resort on Long Island, but opponents with the “Say No to the Casino Civic Association” opine that such a destination would negatively impact the area.

The group will host a town hall on Wednesday, October 18, called “The New Epidemic of Teen and Child Gambling: What You Need to Know.” The meeting will be held at the Garden City Middle School at 7 p.m. EST.

Sands Response

Executives at Las Vegas Sands know the typical messaging that comes from anti-casino groups. Company reps say Sands has an array of safeguards that protect its casinos from increasing problem gambling rates where they’re located.

“Sands is dedicated to being a leader in corporate responsibility, anchored by our core tents of serving people, planet, and communities,” a Sands statement read. “Our ESG (environmental, social, and governance) leadership has led to inclusion on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for World and North America and recognition as one of Fortune’s ‘Most Admired Companies.'”

[NYguy]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/19/n...iev-group.html

Developer Promises Affordable Housing if Granted N.Y.C. Casino License
More than 510 apartments would be permanently offered below market-rate rent — but only if the developer, the Soloviev Group, wins the right to build a casino on a site near the U.N.




By Stefanos Chen
Oct. 19, 2023

A developer vying to build a casino near the United Nations in Manhattan has tried to sway skeptics with a Ferris wheel, a museum and a glowing field of lights on the 6.7-acre site.

Now Soloviev Group, the longtime owner of the lot, is trying a different tack: the inclusion of 1,325 apartments, nearly 40 percent of which would be offered permanently below market-rate rent, according to the firm. It would represent the largest number of such apartments to be built in the neighborhood in at least a decade.

But it’s a package deal: no casino, no affordable housing.

“We’re not required to do it,” said Michael Hershman, the firm’s chief executive, referring to plans approved by the city several years ago that would allow the developer to build mixed-use towers on the site without affordable housing. But the addition of a casino, which requires the support of local politicians and community members, would make the lower-cost housing “economically viable,” he said.

That is the challenge for a growing number of developers competing for three state gambling licenses in and around New York City. Casino projects have met a frosty reception citywide, but the Soloviev Group plan, called Freedom Plaza, is tying the proposal to two of the local community’s greatest needs: housing and green space.

The new proposal includes two residential towers that share a podium, the taller of which would rise about 600 feet and include 513 income-restricted units ranging from studio to three-bedroom apartments. Prices have not been determined, but the units would be offered to renters making an average of 80 percent of the area median income, or less than $102,000 for a family of three. The rest of the apartments would be a mix of market-rate rentals and condos. If the company is granted a gambling license and zoning approval is prompt, construction could begin in 2025, Mr. Hershman said.

Many in the neighborhood have been left unconvinced by the previous proposals from the Soloviev Group. Manhattan’s Community Board 6, which includes the site, voted last year to reject any plans that would include a casino, because of concerns about traffic and general skepticism about its benefits.

But the latest iteration could sway some members, said Reshma Patel, the chair of the board’s budget and governmental affairs committee.

“I can’t speak for everybody, but there will be people now who will reconsider,” she said, although she still opposes the plan. “Why can’t we do all these things without a casino?”
The project, on a long vacant stretch of First Avenue between East 38th and East 41st Streets, would create more affordable housing than has been built in Midtown East from 2010 to 2020 — just 356 apartments, according to the New York University Furman Center.

The plans also include a 1,200-room, champagne-colored hotel with a sky bridge; new retail and dining establishments on the street level; a museum dedicated to democracy, with slabs of the Berlin Wall on display; and 4.7 acres of waterfront green space that would be open to the public. The firm canceled plans for a huge Ferris wheel after residents balked.

The casino, expected to be built mostly below street level, with about 1,500 parking spaces for residents, visitors and hotel guests, is comparatively discreet. The developer is working with Mohegan, the casino and resort operator that is an extension of the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut. Bjarke Ingels Group, the star architecture firm, is designing the project.

Without a doubt, we’d have to reimagine the project as a whole” if the casino license is not granted, said Mr. Ingels, the founder of the architecture firm — because of both the casino’s location on the site and its financial benefits to the development.

No casino bid can proceed in the state-mandated licensing process without support from local elected officials, and bidders have gone to great lengths to appease critics.
At least 11 bids for a downstate New York casino license are expected to be submitted to the state, including proposals in Times Square and Hudson Yards in Manhattan, near Citi Field in Queens and at the soon-to-be renamed Trump Links golf course in the Bronx. Nearly all of the proposals have emphasized economic benefits while downplaying gambling.

No decision on where casinos might be approved is expected for several months, if not longer, while the New York State Gaming Commission responds to questions from developers.

As part of its campaign to gather support, Soloviev Group has commissioned a light installation on its sprawling site, created by Bruce Munro, with over 17,000 fiber optic stems that change color. (The opening has been pushed to December because of permitting, Mr. Hershman said.)

[NYguy]

Broader view...

[NYguy]

https://news.worldcasinodirectory.co...um-site-110887

Las Vegas Sands Pays $241 Million In Lease To Take Control Of Nassau Coliseum Site


Marija Malenovic
October 27, 2023

Fighting for its bid for a proposed New York casino-resort which will be located in Nassau County, Long Island, to win one of 3 available downstate New York casino licenses, Las Vegas Sands has officially paid an overall price of $241 million to buy the lease to take control of the Nassau Coliseum site, according to the firm’s latest quarterly report submitted on October 20 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

$92 million “goodwill” premium:

The total cost involved a “goodwill” premium of $92 million, which is definitely more than the actual value of the complex. Additionally, said lease purchase price was paid directly to Nassau Live Center LLC, which was led by Nicholas Mastroianni II, who had control of the complex.

During May, the Nassau Legislature validated a 99-year lease deal that would permit the aforementioned firm to construct a casino on the site of the Nassau Coliseum if it wins the aforementioned battle. Relatedly, the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) filling displayed that Sands made an initial payment of $54m to Nassau County and that its following “minimum lease payments” will be $1 million for this year, then $6m yearly for the period from 2024 to 2027 and finally $1.77 million after that period.

In previous reports, Newsday talked about the aforementioned lease but without the price, as Sands didn’t disclose it. Meanwhile, the firm said in a filling: “On June 2, 2023, we paid $241 million to acquire Nassau Live Center, LLC and related entities (the ‘Nassau Coliseum’), the owners and operators of an entertainment arena in the State of New York. The purchase of the Nassau Coliseum, which continues to operate following the closing of the sale, primarily included the fixed assets related to the arena and the right to lease the underlying land from the owner, the County of Nassau in the State of New York.”

In addition, the firm’s spokeswoman verified the details of the firm’s aforementioned SEC filling and commented: “The agreement gives the company 100% control of the lease.” The firm didn’t offer any additional comment or stated why it made the decision to accept to pay the aforementioned $92 million “goodwill” premium.

This specific casino proposal by Sands needs a zoning change, which is why the company has already submitted a zoning application to the Town of Hempstead. In this regard, when asked about possible development issues with the proposed property, Goldstein replied: “We have both control of the property and we are approaching the zoning very seriously and our bid will be very, very strong.”

As for the layout of the proposed casino-resort, it will involve 2 hotels, a casino and a live-performance space equipped with 4,500 seats. On that note, during the interview held on October 24, Mastroianni said: “Myself and investors held debt of approximately $120 million on the Coliseum site as various plans over the past decade failed to come to fruition. My group sold the lease to Sands at a discount even though he believes it’s worth at least $350 million, now that the company has a 99-year lease. Am I relieved? Hmm, yeah. But what I’m happy to see is a company with financial strength behind the project. So no matter what happens there, they have the wherewithal to build it.”

https://www.playny.com/zoning-applic...ino-hempstead/

According to a zoning application filed in the Town of Hempstead, Sands intends to build over 3.7 million square feet of development above ground, another 3.9 million square feet for parking and garages and more than 765,000 square feet of underground space.

But the big number, according to the application: 396,726 – the proposed square footage for the actual Sands NY casino.

If approved by officials, the community and ultimately state regulators, that would make Sands New York the third-largest casino in the US and among the biggest in the world.

Only WinStar World Casino & Resort in Oklahoma and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut would boast larger casinos than Sands New York. (Interestingly, both groups are also vying for one of the three downstate New York casino licenses – the Chickasaw Nation, the tribe that runs WinStar, with a Coney Island proposal and Mohegan Gaming with the Soloviev Group.)

While certainly a big draw for potential tourism, that expansive casino does not sit well with some locals. Especially after Sands indicated earlier this year that casino gambling would only account for about “10%” of the project.

But, according to the math, nearly 400,000 square feet of casino gaming would only be about 10%, considering Sands intends to develop over 3.7 million square feet (not including parking) above ground.

That includes:

-1,670 rooms between two hotels
-31,200 square feet of retail space
-60,000 square feet of “public attraction space”
-213,000 square feet of meeting space
-147,929 square feet for restaurants and bars
-4,500-seat live performance venue

[NYguy]

https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-e...casino-license


Vornado folds in competition for city casino license


AARON ELSTEIN
October31,2023

Vornado Realty Trust is stepping back from a heated battle for a casino license in New York City.

“ It is highly likely that we will not pursue a casino…”

[NYguy]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/01/n...er-casino.html

Planting a Field of Lights Where a Developer Hopes to Raise a Casino
Is an immersive piece featuring 17,000 illuminated, flowerlike stems a precursor to a huge gambling hall along the East River?





By James Barron
Nov. 1, 2023

It’s beginning to look a lot like the Christmas tourist season in part because of an installation that will put 17,000 illuminated, flowerlike stems on a vacant lot in Midtown facing the East River. The opening is scheduled for Dec. 15.

That date is three months later than originally planned for the display, which is by the British artist Bruce Munro. The installation will be temporary: The Soloviev Group, the development company that owns the site and is covering costs of the art display with its charitable arm, wants to put a casino there.

At least 10 firms have similar casino dreams for sites in Times Square, Hudson Yards, next to Citi Field and even atop the Saks Fifth Avenue department store near Rockefeller Center. Stefanos Chen, a colleague who has covered the competition for casino licenses, noted that the commission of Munro’s work was a sign of what developers were willing to do to engender good will — an important factor in winning over local officials and residents who will have a say in the licensing process.

Michael Hershman, the chief executive of the Soloviev Group and a member of the Soloviev Foundation’s advisory board, said the installation would stay up for a year “regardless of whether we’re awarded a license or not.” He also said that if Soloviev were to win a casino license, part of Munro’s exhibit would figure in the landscaping design. “It’ll become a permanent fixture,” Hershman said.

The installation will be an immersive, walk-through experience, like “Bruce Munro: Light at Sensorio,” which open in 2019 in Pasa Robles, Calif. Our writer Patricia Leigh Brown called the California exhibit a “mind-bending spectacle” that has become an Instagram phenomenon. “The subtly changing patterns of this light safari, activated by a nebula of fiber-optic cables attached to hidden projectors, seem to inspire a cathedral-like awe,” she wrote.

Hershman said the conversations that led to commissioning Munro for the East Side site began before the pandemic, when Hershman and the sons of the developer Sheldon Solow were considering the future of Solow’s art collection. In the decade before his death in 2020, Solow had become a major seller of masterpieces at auction, but he “was not willing to give the public access” to the art that he had acquired, Hershman said.

After Solow died, his son Stefan Soloviev (who uses a pre-Ellis Island family name) became chairman of the renamed Soloviev Group, and took “a completely different approach, to open the collection to the public,” Hershman said. The foundation, also renamed, “wanted to do something as a gift to the city, to let the city know that we’re operating in a much different mode than Sheldon operated in,” he added.

“We thought, coming out of this Covid era, we need to do something to bring a little happiness and a little brightness back into people’s lives,” Hershman said. “Little did we know that after Covid, we’d still be under a huge shadow with so many crises going on.”

He added: “There’s so much stress in our lives, so much uncertainty, so much unhappiness, that anything we can do or anyone can do to try to take people’s minds away from whatever problems the city is dealing with or they individually are dealing with can only help.”

The installation will be open three nights a week — Thursday through Saturday — from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. It will also be open on the upcoming Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day holidays. Visitors will need tickets for a time slot, but unlike other Munro installations admission will be free.

Munro, 64, said the Soloviev installation would be his first in New York City, where he has not spent much time. “I first visited New York late in life — I was about 40,” he said. He said his trip reminded him of a call he received from his mother while she was visiting New York when he was young and at home in England. “She said it was like the movies,” he said. “She went to Tiffany’s. She did all the touristy things.”

So on his first trip he called her, only to realize he was saying the same things. “I said, ‘Mum, I’m in New York; it feels like you’re in a film with the yellow cabs and the high buildings.’”

[NYguy]

https://www.casino.org/news/new-york...s-says-expert/

New York Casino Awards Likely in 2025 as ‘Circus’ Takes Shape, Says Analyst


October 31, 2023
Todd Shriber

New York regulators are unlikely to award three downstate casino licenses next year, likely pushing the matter off to 2025 as the state extends its reputation as “the circus” of casino politics.

That’s the sentiment of B Global Advisors Brendan Bussmann. In a new report by way of Truist Securities, Bussmann comments on the gaming political landscapes in several states, including New York. The awarding of three New York City-area casino licenses is already moving at a glacial pace, making Bussmann’s 2025 timeline plausible.

"One has to wonder how long the second phase of this initial stage will take, let alone the subsequent stages that arguably are more challenging and daunting over several multi-billion projects,” wrote the analyst.

He added another potentially larger surprise is looming: Genting and MGM Resorts International might not be sure bets to capture two of the three downstate licenses.

...Bussmann pointed out that the “favored-nation” status of Genting and MGM has eroded on the back of the Sibella scandal. That could open the door for the likes of Caesars Entertainment, Las Vegas Sands, and Wynn Resorts, among others, to emerge victorious in New York. One thing is clear: things won’t be easy in New York.

The B Global founder cautioned about “a drawing of straws between real estate moguls, a politically juiced process” and “an inflated race to the bottom as we have seen with sports betting’s tax rates.”

[NYguy]

https://therealdeal.com/magazine/nat...oloviev-group/

CEO Michael Hershman leads Soloviev Group’s next act
He cut his teeth as a detective and a spy. Now he’s in charge of Stefan Soloviev’s next big bet


NOV 2, 2023
By Harrison Connery

A 2 a.m. call to Michael Hershman’s hotel room relayed a simple message: Take $1 million to stop investigating payments from the Bofors arms company to Indian government officials, or be killed.

The private investigator didn’t take the money. It wasn’t the first time he’d been threatened. He did switch rooms.

“I have always found that those who threaten you, anonymously or otherwise, are the last people you have to be worried about,” said the now 78-year-old executive, who took over as Soloviev Group CEO in 2021. “You have to worry about the folks that don’t threaten you.”

.....A career that began in counterterrorism led him to government investigations, including work on the Senate Watergate Committee, and eventually to private investigations, all of which he says honed his instincts as an executive.

“I’m calm in the eye of the storm,” he said. “A crisis doesn’t faze me. … I confront it, I work on it in a calm fashion.”

He faces a new challenge as the right-hand man of one of New York City’s most ambitious real estate scions, Soloviev Group Chair Stefan Soloviev.

Hershman, who has leeway to control projects with little to no oversight, is being entrusted to spearhead the company’s bid for a casino project. To clinch one of three downstate New York casino licenses, the proposal will have to win public support.

Hershman’s ascent to the top of the Soloviev Group began roughly 30 years ago, when Fairfax was hired to consult for Sheldon Solow’s development company.

“I liked him, I respected him because he was really a visionary in so many different ways,” said Hershman of the late developer and Stefan Soloviev’s father.

They struck up a friendship, and he came to find himself in the billionaire’s inner circle. He got to know Solow’s different personas: the charming, easygoing friend and the notoriously difficult real estate operative.

Their friendship spared him Solow’s wrath and allowed Hershman a level of candor that few people enjoyed with him.

“If he came up with a dumb idea, I’d say, ‘That’s the most stupid thing I’ve ever heard, Sheldon,’ and he’d laugh,” said Hershman. “Nobody else would ever say that. And from time to time I was successful in stopping him from doing something that would be a mistake. He appreciated that.”

.....Stefan grew close to Hershman when his father’s associate looked after him during a trip to Russia. Soloviev took over the company in the wake of his father’s death in 2020, and made Hershman CEO the following year.

“I think we work really well together,” said Soloviev. “I have more respect for him than probably any other person.”

Casino royale

Hershman might be direct with Soloviev, but he’s taking a diplomatic approach on the casino proposal, which he says is more than just a casino.

“It is an integrated entertainment district project,” he said, “with the casino as part of it, but not the largest part.”

It may be just one component of the proposal, but the casino is the golden ticket at the heart of the development, which would be built on Soloviev’s 6.7-acre lot in Midtown East. Besides the casino, which would be mostly underground, the proposal calls for two residential towers, a hotel, a park and a democracy museum.

Hershman said he’s had more than 40 meetings with community groups and representatives as well as union leaders. He recently revealed that if the casino license is awarded, the project’s residential component would have over 500 affordable units, one of the largest affordable developments in the neighborhood’s history. Soloviev Group would also donate a part of its profits to a community fund “with no strings attached,” Hershman said.

Residents like the project’s affordable component and green space, according to a Murray Hill Neighborhood Association survey, but the casino plans triggered negative reactions, and community opposition remains.

Community Board 6 opposes the project and insists the company hasn’t been proactive enough in its engagement. Its chair, Kyle Athayde, said the group was made aware of the proposal and subsequent updates through news coverage.

“After more than a decade of ignoring the community, the Soloviev Group has suddenly decided to start beautifying the vacant pit with art exhibits and promising the world to the community, which is so obviously disingenuous,” Athayde said in a statement.

The community board said it is concerned about an increase in traffic and security risks associated with more visitors to the area. They say any development should maintain the neighborhood’s residential character.

Hershman said he’s made several concessions to appease the concerns. There won’t be any entrances on First Avenue, and the casino would bus people directly from Grand Central to cut down on traffic.

“There’s going to be development there whether you like it or not,” he said. “We have the right to build four towers and, under the plans we have approved now, there would be higher traffic volume, less security and less convenience than this improved plan. So they have a choice.”

Sounds like a threat, lol. The bussing thing isn't going to work, just as it won't work with the proposed Bally's in the Bronx.

[NYguy]

https://nypost.com/2023/11/07/metro/...opolitan-park/

Mets owner Steve Cohen unveils $8B casino plan in new ‘Metropolitan Park’


By Carl Campanile and Josh Kosman
Nov. 7, 2023

The billionaire Mets owner finally unveiled his long-awaited Queens casino plan Tuesday — revealing a sprawling $8 billion gaming center, hotel, and music venue near Citi Field that he has dubbed “Metropolitan Park” after the team’s full corporate name.

The proposed entertainment playground, which will be operated with Cohen by Hard Rock International, also offers the community goodies such as 20 acres of green space and access to Flushing Bay.

“It’s time the world’s greatest city got the sports and entertainment park it deserves,” said Cohen.

“When I bought this team, fans and the community kept saying we needed to do better. Metropolitan Park delivers on the promise of a shared space that people will not only want to come to and enjoy but can be truly proud of.”

But the fate of Metropolitan Park is still about as secure as a Mets late-inning lead.

As the land for the new facility is legally designated as parkland, Cohen would need to get the state legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul to pass a law allowing commercial development there.

Key lawmakers — particularly state Sen. Jessica Ramos whose district includes Willets Point and the neighborhoods around it — have not agreed thus far to support such legislation.

Names of legislators were conspicuously missing from a press release showing support from business and community leaders.

Cohen’s plan projects an investment of over $8 billion in order to generate $130 billion in economic impact over the next 30 years, generating more than 10,000 permanent and construction jobs.

It calls for 20 acres of new park space and 5 acres of community athletic fields, bike paths, playgrounds, and climate-ready infrastructure including solar, green roofs, and flood mitigation.

There will be new pathways to the Flushing Bay waterfront, and Flushing-Corona Park from the surrounding community and improved mass transit, road networks, and parking.

[NYguy]

Site plan

[BK1985]

It would have been nice if we got some renderings of their planned buildings but the greenspace looks nice.

[Busy Bee]

I don't know if this can be confirmed or anything but it seems like there is already a giant park right next door... meadow something... something about a world's fair...

Doesn't matter anyway, there not putting a casino here. The playground next to the Corona yard lead would be cool though.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by BK1985

It would have been nice if we got some renderings of their planned buildings but the greenspace looks nice.

Looked around, couldn’t find anything, even on the website. But so far, we’ve seen plans from Long Island, Coney Island, con Ed site, Times Square, Saks, Silverstein West Side, and now this. What I’m really waiting for is Related’s West Side plan.

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

I don't know if this can be confirmed or anything but it seems like there is already a giant park right next door... meadow something... something about a world's fair...

Doesn't matter anyway, there not putting a casino here. The playground next to the Corona yard lead would be cool though.

This Queens proposal is technically part of that same park, which is why it won’t happen. But I think Steve Cohen knows the chances are slim, and is trying to push forward the conversation of something being built on that site to enhance Citifield. And in that, he is right. This is part of a major city park, and it needs to be more than just a parking lot. Plans for extending the proper park, and whatever that may contain, need to be afoot.

But it boggles my mind that the city couldnt move the soccer stadium - shown on the graphic on the opposite side of Citi, to this site, along the Grand Central. That would leave room to extend the formal park between the two stadiums all the way to the waterfront. And another bonus to that would be opening the soccer stadium site up to much needed residential space instead.

[Busy Bee]

^That's a solid thought, but I personally wouldn't mind FM-CP not connecting to the waterfront. As long as the stroll between the two is interesting...

Agree in theory with the soccer stadium being better suited west of Citi and Willets Point maxed out with housing.

Whatever happened with that giant mall proposal for this piece of land? What was that called? Seems like that's been 10 years ago.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

Whatever happened with that giant mall proposal for this piece of land? What was that called? Seems like that's been 10 years ago.

It was killed for the same reason Cohen's proposal won't move forward...



State's Highest Court Rules Massive Mall Planned Next to Citi Field Can No Longer Proceed


By Gene Apodaca Queens
Jun. 06, 2017

In a 5 to 1 decision, the state's highest court sided with the opponents of the Willets West development, saying it flatly refutes the proposition that the legislature granted the city the authority to construct the controversial development.

At the center of the argument was the handing over of 46 acres of parkland to a developer to build a massive mega-mall next to Citi Field, a transaction that the court ruled needed to have legislative approval.

"Obviously, our elected officials should not be handing over billion dollar pieces of parkland for developers," said Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates. "That's outrageous."

State Senator Tony Avella was one of the plaintiffs.

"Winning this case not only saves parkland, but it sends a powerful message across the entire state that parkland is not up for sale," Avella said.

.....The legislature would have to vote to use the land for Willets West for non-park purposes. It would also have to find a replacement property to designate as parkland.

[Busy Bee]

Ah yes, it's all coming back now.

[TonyNYC]

Originally Posted by NYguy

Looked around, couldn’t find anything, even on the website. But so far, we’ve seen plans from Long Island, Coney Island, con Ed site, Times Square, Saks, Silverstein West Side, and now this. What I’m really waiting for is Related’s West Side plan.





This Queens proposal is technically part of that same park, which is why it won’t happen. But I think Steve Cohen knows the chances are slim, and is trying to push forward the conversation of something being built on that site to enhance Citifield. And in that, he is right. This is part of a major city park, and it needs to be more than just a parking lot. Plans for extending the proper park, and whatever that may contain, need to be afoot.

But it boggles my mind that the city couldnt move the soccer stadium - shown on the graphic on the opposite side of Citi, to this site, along the Grand Central. That would leave room to extend the formal park between the two stadiums all the way to the waterfront. And another bonus to that would be opening the soccer stadium site up to much needed residential space instead.

I'm definitely not a fan of this casino proposal, but what parkland is it really taking up? The development will be built on the large parking lot in "front" of Citifield.

Only structure E (parking garage) would be an addition to the actual park on the opposite side of the LIRR. The junk yard are behind Citifield is still there for development.. including possibly a soccer stadium.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by TonyNYC

I'm definitely not a fan of this casino proposal, but what parkland is it really taking up? The development will be built on the large parking lot in "front" of Citifield.

Only structure E (parking garage) would be an addition to the actual park on the opposite side of the LIRR. The junk yard are behind Citifield is still there for development.. including possibly a soccer stadium.

That's the entire point. It's a parking lot that's supposed to be part of a "park". Flushing Meadows has the sprawling USTA tennis center - which is integrated into the park, as well as Citi Field. It can accommodate the soccer stadium. What you don't do is put a casino in the middle of a city park. Regardless of if it's on a parking lot, it's still a city park. It's no more proper a location for a mega casino as it is for a mega mall. And behind the promised "perks" (we will finally build that park extension!) of the casino, it's meant to boosts Cohen's own interests. Let him propose his casino elsewhere (he won't). There are too many other viable locations and alternatives floating around to even consider this option.

[NYguy]

https://nypost.com/2023/11/09/metro/...-sands-casino/

State judge blocks Nassau County lease for $4 billion Sands casino






By Carl Campanile
Published Nov. 9, 2023

A state judge invalidated the Nassau County government’s approval of a 99-year lease agreement allowing Sands to construct a $4 billion casino complex at the Nassau Coliseum site.

The judge ruled officials short-circuited the open meetings and environmental laws before voting.

The lease is now void and Nassau County planning officials are left to start new hearings with the county legislature and vote again if they want to approve it.

The decision issued Thursday by Supreme Court Judge Sarika Kapoor is a big victory for Hofstra University, the plaintiff in the case whose campus is located next to the coliseum hub and opposes the casino plan.

Hofstra filed the lawsuit in April, claiming county planning officials and lawmakers failed to provide sufficient notice for public meetings and environmental review preceding votes in the spring.

“We appreciate the court’s thoughtful ruling and the court’s granting of reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs to Hofstra incurred in connection with several of the claims,” said Hofstra U. president Susan Poser.

“The court recognized the public’s right to participate in decision-making about the current redevelopment plan for the Nassau Hub. We look forward to contributing to the planning process and advocating for the use of the Hub in ways that will best contribute to our thriving community, while protecting against environmental and other harms,” the Hofstra honcho said.

The bombshell comes just days after Mets owner Steve Cohen unveiled his bid to erect a $8 billion casino-entertainment complex next to Citi Field as part of a rebranded Metropolitan Park.

“The respondents violated both the Open Meetings Law and SEQRA [State Environmental Quality Review Act] approving the lease transfer,” Kapoor, a 2004 Hofstra Law School graduate, said in her 32-page opinion.

But Sands, in a statement, said it would not be deterred by the ruling.

“Las Vegas Sands is proceeding proudly and enthusiastically with our proposal for an integrated resort and entertainment center at the Nassau Hub. We are grateful for the wonderful response we have received from the Long Island community and we will be continuing our very comprehensive outreach as we present this transformational project,” the company said.