The City Council is poised to approve the zoning changes Steve Cohen needs to build his casino complex next to Citi Field, but the billionaire Mets owner is still waging an uphill battle to get matching approvals at the state level in order to have a shot at a lucrative casino license.
Two council committees signed off on the changes on Tuesday, setting the stage for the full council to approve them Wednesday. Cohen mounted a major lobbying blitz to secure the approvals — spending more on lobbying than any other city client in 2024 — and will get them before the other three casino bidders who also need city zoning changes to build their projects.
Cohen and Hard Rock Entertainment want to build an $8 billion complex on the parking lot to the west of Citi Field, containing a casino, a 2,300-room hotel, a live music venue, a food hall and 20 acres of public park space. But Cohen needs city and state approvals to build on the parking lot, which is technically parkland — as well as other approvals to “demap” a few city streets, build new streets and allow commercial activity on the site.
There was little suspense before Tuesday’s votes: the local Councilman, Francisco Moya, has vocally supported the project, and all six community boards that surround the site had cast nonbinding votes to support it. At the state level, though, state Sen. Jessica Ramos has refused to introduce the bill Cohen needs to “alienate” the parkland, leaving Cohen’s team with just a few months to find a sponsor before the state-led casino process gets underway this summer.
“We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to create a world class destination that will benefit not only Queens, but all of New York,” Moya said before Tuesday’s vote by the council’s land use committee. “If we pass on this opportunity, we’re choosing to let valuable land remain underutilized, limiting the future growth and potential for Queens.”
All the land-use changes are conditional on Cohen winning one of three licenses for a downstate casino. If he does not, the site will revert back to its existing use, and Cohen has said he would leave the parking lot untouched.
Cohen, a hedge fund magnate, has assembled a big-name team to push his proposal. At a hearing earlier this month, he marshaled supporters including former Queens Councilmen Danny Dromm and Costa Constantinides, former city Comptroller Bill Thompson, and members of the influential Hotel and Gaming Trades Council union, who talked up its job-creating potential.
Some local residents testified against the project last week — some said the casino would blight the area, while another accused Cohen of a “shakedown” by threatening to build nothing if he does not get a casino license.
Karl Rickett, a spokesman for the project, said the outcome shows that “the community overwhelmingly supports” the development, which is known as Metropolitan Park.
“Now with the committee and subcommittee’s approval, Metropolitan Park moves one step closer to becoming a reality and delivering 25 acres of public park space, 23,000 union jobs, and over $1 billion in community benefits,” he said.
Of the 11 expected contenders for a downstate casino, three others need city-level approvals before even starting the state’s onerous licensing process: Bally’s, which needs similar parkland alienation to build on a Bronx golf course; Thor Equities, which is seeking to de-map city streets for its Coney Island bid; and the Related Cos., which is trying to change the terms of a 2009 rezoning to build its Hudson Yards megaproject.
All of those applications are still moving through the city’s monthslong land-use review process but are facing hurdles: Bally’s still needs to persuade Republican City Councilwoman Kristy Marmorato to support its parkland alienation bill, and the Related Cos. has run up against opposition from a Manhattan community board, Borough President Mark Levine and the nonprofit group Friends of the High Line. Thor Equities has also faced some neighborhood opposition in Brooklyn.
The state, which is awarding the maximum three casino licenses for the New York City area, is requiring all applicants to line up all of their needed local land-use approvals before being considered for a license. To give bidders more time, the state’s Gaming Commission has repeatedly delayed the start of the application process.
Under the current timeline, casino hopefuls must submit their applications by June 27. Six-person neighborhood committees will review each one and then hold binding votes by Sept. 30, and a five-person state panel will make final decisions on the three winners by Dec. 1. That panel — the Gaming Facility Location Board — has been shaken up in recent months by the unexplained resignations of two of its members, although both vacancies have been filled.
