Former Queens senator takes job with Metropolitan Park

Former State Senate majority Leader Michael Gianaris has taken a job with Steve Cohen’s Metropolitan Park project. Eagle file photo by Ryan Schwach

By Ryan Schwach

Michael Gianaris, the longtime Queens state senator who recently retired from his role in Albany, has been hired to work for billionaire Mets owner Steve Cohen and his Metropolitan Park casino venture.

Gianaris, the former deputy majority leader of the State Senate, will work as senior vice president of external relations for Metropolitan Park, according to a spokesperson for the casino and entertainment complex.

The lawmaker’s new gig was first reported by Politico New York.

Gianaris started the job last week. He officially retired from the Senate on Aug. 10, after first announcing he planned to finish out his term, which would have come to a close at the end of the year.

Gianaris “will work with the community and other stakeholders as the project moves forward” as part of his new job.

By law, Gianaris is not allowed to lobby his former colleagues in the state legislature for two years, but he is not prevented from working with other powerful friends in politics. The Astoria senator is a longtime ally of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who once represented some of the same constituents as Gianaris when Mamdani served as an Assemblymember.

Gianaris could not be reached for comment on his new job in the private sector.

While his State Senate district did not include the land around Citi Field where Cohen and Hard Rock are building the $8 billion casino-centered project, he supported the plan.

Last year, he voted with 53 other senators in passing a bill that allowed Cohen to use the land, which is legally designated as parkland, to build his casino.

“I think it’s important to recognize that we’re not picking to put a casino on that site,” Gianaris told the New York Post at the time. “We’re just allowing them to apply with all the other potential candidates.”

Gianaris was lobbied by Cohen and Metropolitan Park, according to records, and Michael Sullivan, Cohen’s right-hand man who spearheaded the casino project, gave the senator a $5,000 campaign donation.

Susan Lerner, the executive director of the good government group Common Cause New York, said that “revolving door” jobs, where an elected official becomes a lobbyist immediately after leaving office, are incredibly common.

“It's all too frequent that a heavily influential member of Congress leaves Congress and becomes a lobbyist and uses his extensive list of contacts for private industry, or maybe for a worthwhile cause,” Lerner said. “But this is not atypical.”

Outside of the two-year restriction on lobbying the branch of government that an elected official just left, the lobbying gigs are completely legal. But they can be seen as an ethical gray area by some.

“I think it raises questions in the minds of the public,” Lerner said. “There's a sense that people go in and out of government and build expertise and influence while in government, and then revolve out to use that insider knowledge either for their own personal gain or the advantage of people who hire and pay them.”

“It sometimes alarms members of the public who feel that the expertise that is gained in serving the public is now being used for private purposes,” she added.

Lerner stressed that Gianaris’ history as a well-liked and respected elected official makes him a “smart hire” for the Mets owner.

“He's done admirable work for the public, and certainly he's been a very effective leader of the Democratic Party, so he knows a lot of people and he has a lot of influence,” she said. “He has tremendous skills and he has tremendous contacts.”

In February, Gianaris announced he would not be seeking reelection in order to spend more time with his family.

“Public service is a tremendous and often thankless sacrifice, even more so in today's divisive climate,” Gianaris said. “I honor all those who dedicate their lives to making things better for their neighbors. I tried my best to do that during my decades in public life and am proud of the contributions – large and small – I was able to make.”

Democratic Socialist Aber Kawas defeated Assemblymember Steven Raga in the race to succeed Gianaris during the June primary. She will face off against Republican Han-Khon To in the November general election.

Cohen was awarded a license to build Metropolitan Park by the state’s Gaming Commission in December. Also selected were Resorts World New York City in South Queens and Bally’s in the Bronx.

While Metropolitan Park told state licensing officials that it planned to begin constructing major elements of the casino project in April, the developers were running behind schedule earlier this summer.

Officials have yet to host an official groundbreaking ceremony for the project.

In May, Metropolitan Park’s spokesperson told the Eagle the project was still on pace to be completed by 2030.