Assembly approves Cohen’s casino plan
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The State Assembly this week passed a bill that would allow Mets owner Steve Cohen to build his proposed casino and entertainment complex dubbed Metropolitan Park on city-owned parkland should he be granted a casino license. Rendering via Metropolitan Park
By Jacob Kaye
New York Mets owner Steve Cohen's recent string of luck continued this week after the State Assembly voted to grant him a crucial permission that would allow him to build an $8 billion casino and entertainment complex in Queens should he win one of the three casino licenses to be handed out by the state later this year.
The Assembly voted 138 to 11 on Tuesday to approve a bill that would give Cohen the right to build the project he’s dubbed Metropolitan Park on Citi Field’s parking lot, a 50-acre plot of land that is owned by the city, leased to the Mets and technically designated as parkland.
The legislation, known as a parkland alienation bill, lifts the limitations attached to the private use of parkland in New York City and gives Cohen explicit permission to construct the casino and other elements of the proposal should the state’s Gaming Commission give Cohen and his partner, Hard Rock, one of the three coveted licenses currently being sought by a little less than a dozen developers.
The parkland alienation bill was introduced and championed by Assemblymember Larinda Hooks, the freshman lawmaker who represents parts of East Elmhurst, Rego Park and Corona in the lower house of the legislature. The legislation is the second bill introduced by Hooks during the first few months of her term to be passed by her colleagues.
While the bill appeared to pass with ease through the Assembly this week, it’s unclear whether its Senate counterpart will be as controversy-free.
State Senator Jessica Ramos, who represents the area the casino would be built on, decided not to introduce a parkland alienation bill in the Senate last year, putting Cohen’s dreams of a casino on ice. However, his luck turned earlier this year when State Senator John Liu, whose district includes a 12-acre portion of the proposal, introduced the bill in the upper house.
But support in the Senate doesn’t appear to be strong. The Senate’s Committee on Cities voted to advance the bill to the full floor of the Senate last month, but none of the seven lawmakers on the committee voted in favor of the bill. Instead, four lawmakers voted to advance the bill without a recommendation, while the remaining three lawmakers on the committee voted against it.
While Liu has only recently begun publicly sharing his support for Metropolitan Park, Hooks has been doing so since before she was elected.
Speaking from the floor of the Assembly on Tuesday, Hooks told fellow lawmakers that she introduced the bill so that her constituents could potentially see the financial benefits promised by Cohen realized.
“This is the opportunity to bring real investment to our local economy,” Hooks said. “Having the bold vision of turning 50 acres of asphalt into an entity that delivers real benefits, this is about giving something back to residents [who have] given more than they've received.”
Assemblymember Larinda Hooks. Screenshot via NYS Assembly
In addition to the casino, Cohen’s Metropolitan Park proposal includes plans to build a hotel, several parking garages, a convention center, a live music venue and a food hall. It also would include 25 acres of open space interspersed within the complex.
According to Cohen, the project would create around 23,000 union jobs – around 16,300 would be temporary, construction jobs, while the remaining 6,700 would be permanent jobs.
If he’s granted the license, the Mets owner has also promised to pour $1 billion into the area in community benefits, potentially including improvements to the local 7 train station that would bring Metropolitan Park-goers to and from the complex.
"For decades, these 50 acres of asphalt have only been parking lots,” Karl Rickett, a Metropolitan Park spokesperson, told the Eagle after the Assembly’s vote. “The overwhelming Assembly approval brings us one step closer to delivering 25 acres of actual public park space, 23,000 union jobs, new entertainment options, and over $1 billion in community benefits for Queens."
In addition to Hooks, the bill received support from a majority of Queens’ lawmakers in the Assembly.
Assemblymembers Khaleel Anderson, Sam Berger, Ed Braunstein, Catalina Cruz, Jessica Gonzaléz-Rojas, Andrew Hevesi, Alicia Hyndman, Ron Kim, Steven Raga, Jenifer Rajkumar, Nily Rozic, Clyde Vanel and David Weprin all voted in favor of the bill.
Two Queens assemblymembers – Stacey Pheffer Amato and Claire Valdez – voted against the bill.
Valdez’s vote fell in line with those cast by a number of her fellow Democratic Socialists of America colleagues in the legislature, including Brooklyn Assemblymembers Emily Gallagher, Phara Souffrant Forrest and Marcela Mitaynes.
Pheffer Amato, who did not respond to request for comment on Wednesday, likely had a different reason for voting “no” on Hook’s bill.
The South Queens lawmaker is a longtime supporter of Resorts World New York City, the racino in her district whose owners are also vying for a casino license. The $5 billion plan from the Genting Group, the Malaysian-based conglomerate, would include an expanded casino, live music venue, a conference center and new hotels.
“I love to gamble and I’m a frequent person in this casino,” Pheffer Amato said during a Resorts World press event in January.
The Assembly vote marks the latest victory for Cohen, who has also earned approvals for the project from the City Council in recent months.
Without the passage of the parkland alienation bill, however, Cohen’s chances at a casino license would likely be poor.
The Senate has yet to schedule a vote on the bill, which the Committee on Cities passed at the end of April.
This week, a petition signed by over 1,000 Queens residents was sent to senators as a “last resort,” urging them to vote against the legislation.
The letter, organized by a number of nonprofit groups including Guardians of the Flushing Bay that have long-opposed the proposal, claims that despite Liu having a portion of the project in his district, lawmakers should defer to Ramos for their vote.
“We understand that the sponsor of the legislation to alienate parkland in our community represents a small portion of the project,” the letter read. “However, that should not outweigh the concerns of the community in which the majority of the project is located. Put simply: the casino will bring harms to our communities, and the developers do not have our consent to take away public parkland for this predatory casino project.”
The state’s Gaming Commission is expected to determine which developers are granted a license during the final days of 2025.
