Steve Cohen now has lot more work to do if he wants to get his Queens casino and entertainment complex off the ground.
The New York Mets owner and billionaire hedge fund manager suffered a major setback Tuesday when State Senator Jessica Ramos announced a decision to turn down a legislative attempt to turn a parkland and city-owned parking lot at Citi Field into Metropolitan Park.
Cohen and partner Hard Rock are banking on a $8 billion project in the Queens neighborhood of Corona to bring gaming, a hotel, restaurants, a music venue, park space, and parking garages close to the Mets’ home stadium.
Cohen must have state legislative help to secure the site.
“I will not introduce legislation to alienate parkland in Corona for the purposes of a casino,” Ramos wrote in a statement Tuesday. “Whether people rallied for or against Metropolitan Park, I heard the same dreams for Corona. We want investment and opportunity, we are desperate for green space, and recreation for the whole family. We disagree on the premise that we have to accept a casino in our backyard as the trade-off. I resent the conditions and the generations of neglect that have made many of us so desperate that we would be willing to settle.”
After much careful consideration, I have made a decision regarding parkland alienation in Corona for the purposes of a casino.
— Jessica Ramos (@jessicaramosqns) May 28, 2024
My full statement: pic.twitter.com/wQEidzhrJs
Counter offer
Despite pressure from Queens borough president Donovan Richards, state assembly member Jeff Aubry, and city council member Francisco Moya, Ramos shot down the legislation suggestions and instead countered with a different location.
“I have drafted an alternative alienation bill that strikes a balance and would allow Mr. Cohen and Hard Rock to build a convention center and hotel, and more than double the proposed green space,” Ramos said. “The parcel in question is in strategic proximity to LaGuardia Airport and allows for visitors and tourists to feed into our fibrant food scene while addressing the consequence of climate change in the area. Mr. Cohen and Hard Rock would still make a profit, albeit less.”
Aubry, Ramos’ counterpart from the assembly, recently introduced alienation legislature at Cohen’s preferred site, catching the senator off guard.
Ramos hopes Aubry will consider her proposal instead and present that bill to the governor’s office.
Potential workaround
Cohen is reportedly looking for a workaround to Ramos’ decision by having another legislator introduce a bill to allow for his complex.
“The state never intended any one person to have the ability to single-handedly stop or approve a gaming project,” a spokesperson for the project told The New York Times. “We are confident that we have the best project in the best location.”
Cohen has until 2025 to secure a site. He’s among a host of investment groups looking to land one of three New York Gaming Commission licenses to operate land-based U.S. casinos in the most populous city in the country.
Cohen must have the green light from state and city officials before he can break ground on Metropolitan Park, which is looking a lot dicier following the decision of Ramos.
