The spokesperson did not share how many attendees explicitly were in favor of building a gaming facility. A spokesperson for Queens Future, the new group Cohen created to spearhead the development of the lot, said less than 4 percent of attendees explicitly said they did not want to see a casino built on the site. The sessions, which were held at both Citi Field and a number of community facilities across Northern Queens, were attended by local residents, business leaders, elected officials and Mets fans, all of whom shared ideas about how to develop the 50-acres of parking lots surrounding the stadium.Īnd while a vast majority of visioning session attendees told Cohen and his team that they want to see something built on the city-owned land, they were less clear about their wishes for a casino. The billionaire hedge fund manager who purchased the Mets in 2020 began holding a number of “ visioning sessions” toward the end of last year. The legislation, if passed in both the Senate and Assembly, would be one of the earliest steps taken toward realizing Cohen’s ambition to bring a casino to Citi Field.Ĭohen is competing with around a dozen other developers for one of three downstate casino licenses to be granted by the state’s Gaming Commission in the next couple of years. State Senator Jessica Ramos, who represents the Northwest Queens area in the Senate, was not consulted on the legislation and has no immediate plans to introduce a companion bill, according to her spokesperson.Īubry did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Wednesday afternoon. The legislation, which was first reported by THE CITY, was not introduced in the State Senate, raising questions about its future. Queens Assemblymember Jeffrion Aubry introduced the bill to allow the Mets owner’s lobbying group, New Green Willets, to lease the city-owned land currently used by the ballclub as a parking lot – and technically designated as parkland – and build a casino atop it. A Queens lawmaker introduced legislation on Wednesday that would allow Mets owner Steve Cohen to build a casino, hotel, entertainment facility, retail space and other developments on Citi Field’s parking lot.

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