The proposal to build a casino across from Citi Field in Queens may have the upper hand as New York narrows in on awarding three downstate casino licenses.
State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who opposes building a casino anywhere in New York City, said the plan led by New York Mets billionaire owner Steve Cohen has “a very good shot” at being approved, despite inherent risks.
Casino concerns for New York City
There have been no decisions on which casino bids will be awarded a license, but it stands to reason that two could go to Yonkers Raceway and Aqueduct in Queens, since both already have racinos. That would leave one license for a handful of new casino bids in the downstate region, mostly in New York City, including Coney Island, Times Square, Manhattan’s East Side and Citi Field.
Hoylman-Sigal appeared Sunday on CBS News New York’s “The Point with Marcia Kramer.” The current Democratic nominee for Manhattan borough president believes casinos do more harm than good to their surrounding areas, and he’s especially against the Times Square and East Side bids.
“If you want a casino in Manhattan, don’t vote for Brad Hoylman-Sigal,” he said, adding, “If you want to exacerbate the problem of quality of life in a neighborhood, drop a casino in the middle of that. Crime, traffic, addiction. Casinos feed on all of those societal problems.”
New York needs the revenue
The New York City casino plans have all seen a degree of community opposition. Last week, several Broadway theaters lit up their marquees with the phrase “No Times Square Casino” during a community rally. But there’s also support, since they stand to be major moneymakers.
“In my opinion, [that’s a] shortsighted way to raise revenue for the state, because look at the other side. Again, the problems that casinos bring to neighborhoods are well documented. Those cost the public purse a lot of money too,” Hoylman-Sigal continued. “That said, if a community strongly embraces a casino in another borough, more power to them. I think the one at Citi Field has a very good shot after we amended a statute in Albany to allow that casino to go forward.”
The casino would be located in Citi Field’s parking lot. Construction started on NYCFC’s Etihad Park, the city’s first soccer-specific stadium, across the street from the ballpark last year.
While new casinos could help New York make up for lost revenue due to federal budget cuts without raising income taxes, Hoylman-Sigal said the state could consider other options, like taxing digital advertising revenue instead.
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