Too late to cry about it now....
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/06/r...-concerns.html
When Vegas Comes for Queens
Plans for a sprawling casino development in Flushing Meadows Corona Park spark concerns over the future of the park and the neighborhoods surrounding it.
By Anna Kodé
March 6, 2026
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For years, a vast slab of land in Queens has been neglected. Surrounding Citi Field, home of the Mets, most of it is taken up by parking lots.
Technically, the land was, until recently, designated as parkland, part of the nearly 900-acre Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
But last year the city separated much of it from the park to allow for commercial use, making way for one of New York’s three newly approved casinos. Backed by $8 billion in funding from Hard Rock and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, the planned Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Metropolitan Park site promises 5,000 slot machines and 375 live dealer tables. It will take up 78 acres.
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“They put a bunch of handball courts around Queens in the past, so then we all grew up playing handball,” said Graciela Quispe, 27, who lives in Corona. “If you put a bunch of casinos in all of our neighborhoods, we’re going to see people going to the casinos.”
Flushing and Corona, which border the park, have large working-class and immigrant populations. Many worry what the development means for the park and the well-being of neighbors.
“It’s going to feel like Vegas in the middle of Flushing Meadows Corona Park,” said Rebecca Pryor, the executive director of the nonprofit Guardians of Flushing Bay.
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The developers have said that the site will also include 25 acres of new park space and that it would lead to thousands of jobs, all of which would benefit the community. “Metropolitan Park will transform a sea of underutilized asphalt into a vibrant, year-round destination,” Karl Rickett, a spokesperson for the development, said over email.
Neighbors, who use the parking lots for carnivals and festivals, remain skeptical. Several said they would like to see it turned fully into green space or a community center. Regardless of its current use, the removal of parkland sets a “terrible precedent,” said Jack Hu, a 35-year-old Flushing resident. “Why don’t we turn every single piece of parkland in the city into development?”
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Also called the World’s Park, Flushing Meadows Corona Park is the cultural heart of Queens. It’s home to the open-air Night Market, the zoo and the Queens Museum. It’s where Venus and Serena Williams faced off against each other in the U.S. Open, and it’s where the Yankees defeated the Mets in the 2000 World Series. A long history of development has shaped the park’s character and physical boundaries.
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Previous plans to reshape the park have also been met with intense local resistance. In 2012, neighbors protested the proposed development of a 1.4-million-square-foot shopping mall on parkland, which a court ruled against.
Flushing Meadows Corona Park is surrounded by a maze of highways, also built by Moses. They create a barrier between the surrounding neighborhoods and the park, said Gregg Pasquarelli, a founder of SHoP Architects who led the design team for the casino project. “There’s no separated bike lanes. There’s no welcoming lighting. There’s a lot of chain link fence.”
Mr. Pasquarelli added that he thinks the casino development will improve access to the park. “How many times do you get the opportunity to right the wrongs of Robert Moses?”
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Several community boards voted in favor of the plan, and it gained the support of Donovan Richards, the Queens borough president. Mr. Richards said he wants the area to become a regional destination, adding, “A lot of Mets fans say, ‘Where do I go after the game?’ We want to keep that disposable income in Queens.”
“I’m not the most excited about gambling,” Mr. Richards said. But he believes that the public space investments will be beneficial for the community. “If we didn’t have this plan, it would just be concrete.”
Not everyone is as optimistic. Jessica Ramos, the state senator who represents several Queens neighborhoods, has raised concerns about gambling addictions and increased traffic. “Queens absolutely deserves investment in parks and infrastructure, but those improvements should not be contingent on accepting a casino,” she said in an email.
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Last edited by NYguy; Mar 6, 2026 at 4:08 PM.
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