Steve Cohen-backed Queens casino delayed as socialists flood little-known board meeting
It’s a high-stakes game of Flushing Hold ’em.An obscure city panel threw a wrench into plans for a new casino at Citi Field when it on Tuesday tabled approval of the facility’s design after angry residents, including members of the Democratic Socialists of America, flooded a meeting with objections.The nine-member Public Design Commission was supposed to only review how the new casino and its grounds were supposed to look and accommodate the public — but critics at the meeting attacked the project by Mets owner Steve Cohen over objections to gambling and how it would affect the area.And even though those kinds of complaints were not supposed to be entertained by the board because the casino already has full state approval, the commission unanimously voted to table action on approving the designs, thus potentially delaying the project.The $8 billion Cohen-Hard Rock Metropolitan Park casino is expected to open in 2030.It’s not clear how long the tabling of the design approval will delay the project, though reps for the casino tried to downplay the effect.The New York State Gaming Commission last December awarded the Cohen-Hard Rock Metropolitan Park bid a license to operate a casino in Flushing Meadows/Willets Point.The project also includes a hotel and music venue alongside the gaming center, and when completed, it will provide easier pedestrian access to the Flushing Bay waterfront.The state legislature also passed a law repurposing the lots around the Mets ballpark — designated parkland for the World’s Fair — for commercial use.
Six local Queens community boards overwhelmingly voted to back the casino project.But a group of community activists — including members of the Democratic Socialists of America — oppose the project and testified Tuesday at the design panel’s meeting.Alexis Kaloyanides, a member of Community Education Council 30 and an NYC-DSA member, said, “As a parent and public school advocate committed to the future generation of...