Queens pol wants to speed up dealing of casino licenses

Queens State Senator Joseph Addabbo proposed a bill last week that would expedite the process for doling out downstate casino licenses. Eagle file photo by Ryan Schwach

By Ryan Schwach

A Queens state senator last week proposed a bill that would speed up the state’s process for handing out a trio of casino licenses expected to hit New York City and its surrounding area next year.

The bill proposed on Friday by Queens State Senator Joseph Addabbo, the chairman of the Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering, aims to speed up the licensing process for new casinos, a process which has stagnated in recent months as the state’s Gaming Commission begins to consider proposals for three downstate licenses – two of those proposals are for potential casinos in Queens.

If Addabbo’s bill were to become law, applicants for the three downstate casino licenses – which include Resorts World in Southeast Queens and Mets owner Steve Cohen’s Metropolitan Park at Citi Field – would have to finalize and submit their casino plans by July 31 of this year, regardless of any outstanding land use issues, like the ones currently being experienced by Cohen.

The bill could spell trouble for Cohen’s Citi Field-adjacent Metropolitan Park, which is planned for a city-owned parcel of land that is technically designated as parkland, a designation that doesn't allow for a number of developments, including casinos.

Addabbo, a longtime supporter of the plan to bring casinos to the five boroughs and whose former district included Resorts World New York City, has argued that casinos in New York City, and Queens more specifically, would bring economic benefits to the city and state.

Over the past several months, he’s publicly complained that the state’s process for handing out the license has been moving slower than he’d like it to move.

In a conversation with the Eagle on Monday, Adddabbo said his new bill would simply set a deadline where there currently isn’t one.

“We could have this conversation four years from now, there's no deadline,” Addabbo said. “That's the intent of the legislature. But the fact is that these three licenses sit on the shelf, and we're not collecting the revenue or the jobs attached to it.”

At the February announcement of Resorts World’s $5 billion casino proposal, Addabbo expressed strong support for the project, saying if it were up to him, “we’d have a ribbon cutting tomorrow.”

Now, his bill hopes to make “tomorrow” come sooner.

According to the bill’s text, the legislation would set fixed deadlines for each step of the licensing process, which has stagnated in recent months as several proposals, including Cohen’s, face land use holdups.

“The revised legislation is designed to prevent stagnation and ensure that the licensing process moves forward efficiently, supporting the state's goals of economic enhancement through the gaming industry,” the bill’s justification read. “This change is not only vital for meeting the state's developmental timelines but also crucial for maintaining investor confidence and community engagement in the planned gaming projects.”

After the July 31 deadline, the bill orders the New York State Gaming Commission to immediately begin its review of proposals.

The bill says that once the applications are submitted, the board will have until March 31, 2025 to make its determination as to which proposals are awarded a license. The bill also allows for a singular extension until September 2025 at the latest.

The text also specifically states that all proposals must have their “state and local zoning requirements” in order before March 31 of next year, or must provide evidence that they will eventually be met within two years.

Some projects however, like Cohen’s plan, are awaiting land use approval that could kill the proposal altogether, and have delayed the process with the Gaming Commission, which has said it wants to weigh all projects more fully, void of any pending approvals.

Addabbo’s legislation would allow projects like Metropolitan Park to submit a plan pending land use approval, and would give them two years to rectify the issue.

“At the same time that some of these sites are dealing with the land use issues, let's start the process,” Addabbo said. “I think that they had enough time, but for those who need more time…they [would] get two years after being awarded a license to finalize all the land use.”

If the developers behind the proposals can’t get their land use complications solved within the two years, they will have to hand over their license back to the state.

“We're giving them an opportunity,” Addabbo said.

A bill proposed by Queens State Senator Joseph Addabbo would require the state gaming commission to speed up the handing out of casino licenses to developers in New York City and its surrounding areas. Eagle file photo by Ryan Schwach

While potentially speeding up the clock for plans with zoning issues, other projects like Resort’s World would be relatively unaffected, since they don’t require any additional governmental approval.

Metropolitan Park, an $8 billion plan which includes various amenities like a live music venue and food hall in addition to a casino, is no guarantee unless the state legislature passes a bill to specifically allow for a casino to be built on the land the project is planned for.

Last year, State Assemblymember Jeffrion Aubry proposed the “parkland alienation” bill that would give Cohen what he wants, but Aubry’s senate counterpart, Jessica Ramos did not, and has yet to decide whether or not she eventually will after holding several town hall discussions on the matter.

Ramos said she intends to make her Metropolitan Park decision by the end of May, and also expressed her support for Addabbo’s bill.

“The legislature agreed to issue these licenses because the promise is billions of dollars for our schools and public transit,” she told the Eagle in a statement. “I agree with Senator Addabbo that something in this process has got to give. If this is our premier economic development idea, we need to move the process along.”

With 11 days left in the legislative session, Addabbo hopes the bill can get through the Senate and the Assembly.

“We're going to try it,” he said. “It does no good for New Yorkers to wait. Something this beneficial should have a timeframe.”

A bill proposed by Queens State Senator Joseph Addabbo would require the state gaming commission to speed up the handing out of casino licenses to developers in New York City and its surrounding areas. Eagle file photo by Ryan Schwach

A spokesperson for Metropolitan Park declined to comment for this article.

The New York State Gaming Commission did not respond to a request for comment.