With clock ticking, pols urge Ramos to bet on Cohen’s casino dreams
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Queens State Senator Jessica Ramos was urged by Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Assemblymember Jeffrion Aubry and City Councilmember Francisco Moya to introduce a bill that would open the door for Mets owner Steve Cohen to build a casino on Citi Field’s parking lot. Eagle file photo by Jacob Kaye
By Jacob Kaye
A trio of lawmakers this week upped the peer pressure on State Senator Jessica Ramos to open the door for Mets owner Steve Cohen to build an $8 billion casino and entertainment complex in Corona.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, State Assemblymember Jeffrion Aubry and City Councilmember Francisco Moya said in a letter to Ramos, who is believed to be in the final days of weighing whether or not she’ll use her power to clear a land use issue complicating Cohen’s casino dreams, that she should support the massive project planned for area currently used as Citi Field’s parking lot.
At the very least, the lawmakers said that if Ramos doesn’t want to give the project her stamp of approval, she should give Cohen the opportunity to fully present his “Metropolitan Park” proposal to the state’s Gaming Commission.
Following in the steps of Aubry, the trio urged Ramos to introduce what’s known as a parkland alienation bill. The legislation, which Aubry has already introduced, would clear the way for Cohen to build the casino – should he also receive one of three coveted licenses to do so from the Gaming Commission – on the parking lot, which is not only owned by the city but is, more importantly, designated as parkland.
Only the state legislature can give Cohen permission to bypass the land’s designated use. And while Aubry has long been open to allowing the billionaire hedge fund manager to pursue the project, Ramos has held her cards close to her chest.
Holding three town halls on the project in the past year, the senator has not yet said she outright supports the project. But she also hasn’t said she’s opposed to it.
In their letter, Richards, Moya and Aubry “encourage[d]” Ramos to introduce the parkland alienation bill in the waning days of the Senate’s legislative session.
Introducing the bill would “allow Metropolitan Park to move forward with the local community review process, and provide our constituents a chance to have their voices heard on this once-in-a-generation opportunity,” they said.
“Advancing permitted use legislation will not be the final word on this project,” the three elected officials said in the letter, which was first reported by the Daily News. “It is only the first step in the open and transparent review process our community deserves.”
‘The discretion of one person’
Aubry, who is set to retire at the end of the year after serving three decades in office, first introduced his parkland alienation bill in March of last year.
Ramos, who serves as Aubry’s Senate counterpart, told reporters at the time that she was not given a heads up about the bill, despite it being customary for local lawmakers to be the ones to introduce parkland alienation bills for projects within their district.
“I was taken aback this morning, it was quite a surprise to see legislation submitted,” Ramos told THE CITY, who first reported that Aubry’s bill had been introduced last year. “Not only do I have some reading to do but I also have some conversations to be had.”
Aubry’s bill – and potentially a parkland alienation bill introduced by Ramos – would allow for the land to be leased to New Green Willets, one of several names for Cohen’s casino venture, for an undetermined amount of time, and would allow for the development of “a gaming facility and, in conjunction with such facility, commercial, retail, entertainment, recreational, hotel, convention, and/or community facility uses, parking, and/or roadways.”
The casino is central to the bill – and also to the greater Metropolitan Park project, which will not be built unless Cohen is given the green light by the state and city to build the casino. The last section of the legislation states that the lease with New Green Willets will be terminated “if construction of a gaming facility on the parklands…is not commenced within fifteen years of the effective date of this act.”
A bird’s-eye view of Citi Field, where Mets owner Steve Cohen has proposed building a casino. Photo via Metropolitan Park
Not long after the introduction of Aubry’s bill, a spokesperson for Ramos’ office said that they believe the changing of the land’s designation should not be a decision left up to one lawmaker, THE CITY reported.
Moya, Richards and Aubry harkened back to that statement in their letter on Monday.
“We all deserve to have a voice in this process and have our votes be cast after a thorough and transparent community discussion about the full details of the project included in the [Request for Applications],” they said. “As you made clear last year, ‘alienation of public land shouldn't be at the discretion of one person.’”
“We appreciate that, like us, you have taken a deliberative and thoughtful approach to weighing the benefits of this project, and that you will continue to evaluate its support among your constituents,” they added. “We have also heard from our shared constituency. The community wants Metropolitan Park.”
In May 2023, Ramos held her first town hall on the casino proposal, the details of which had yet to be made public – many of the project’s details remain unclear.
Ramos went on to hold two additional town halls on the project – the most recent and final one was held in February.
Support and opposition to Metropolitan Park, which, in addition to the casino, includes a hotel, 20 acres of new park space, a live music venue, a food hall, bars, restaurants, public athletic fields and several parking garages in the immediate 50-acre area surrounding the baseball stadium, has been split.
During the first town hall, those in opposition appeared to outnumber those in support. During the second town hall, which was attended by a large number of labor union members who support the project, the split appeared to be relatively even. At the third town hall, supporters appeared to slightly outnumber those who are opposed to the casino plan.
Supporters and opponents of Steve Cohen’s plan to build a casino in Western Queens during a town hall organized by State Senator Jessica Ramos in May 2023. Eagle file photo by Jacob Kaye
According to Ramos’ office, all three of the letter’s signatories were invited to attend each of the town halls. Neither Richards, Moya or Aubry attended a single one.
“I’m curious what ‘deliberative process’ the authors of this letter think they have taken,” Ramos said in a statement. “I haven’t seen them attend one of my town halls, let alone host their own.”
In an interview with the Eagle on Wednesday, Richards said that while he didn’t personally attend any of the town halls, he has an understanding of the issues surrounding the project.
“We have a pulse on what's happening in that community because we're up there every day,” the borough president said.
“We've been doing town halls since we've been here,” he added. “We don't need a town hall about Steve Cohen's project to know what the challenges are there.”
Monday’s letter marks the first time Richards has come out in support of Cohen’s casino proposal. He told the Eagle that the “mathematics” of the proposal make it too good to pass up – representatives from Metropolitan Park claim the project will create 23,000 new jobs and $1 billion in various community benefits.
Richards said that he believes the project will benefit Ramos’ district in particular, which was once the epicenter of the city’s COVID-19 crisis.
“We're in a state of emergency in that district,” Richards said, noting that a stretch of Roosevelt Avenue in the Senate district has made headlines in recent months for an alleged increase in sex work and illegal vending there.
“We have to pick up publications and see millions of people viewing that community like they are nothing, when these are individuals who are just looking for opportunity,” Richards added. “So, damn right, I want to see this project move forward, because this is an opportunity to put people on a path of upward mobility.”
Ramos is expected to make a decision on whether or not she’ll introduce a parkland alienation bill before the end of May.
