Key Queens lawmaker says she will formally oppose Citi Field-area casino

State Sen. Jessica Ramos, after months of hinted-at opposition to a proposed casino and entertainment complex in her Queens district, on Tuesday made her rejection of the project official.

“After three town halls, a poll, a survey, and I can't tell you how many conversations I've had around the district, I've concluded that the vast majority of our neighbors would not welcome a casino in our backyard,” Ramos, a Democrat, said in a Gothamist interview ahead of a formal announcement of her opposition. Her stance was first reported by New York Magazine.

Ramos’ approval was needed for the alienation of public parkland near Citi Field, where the project has been proposed, a required step for commercial development, according to her office and other lawmakers involved in the process.

New York Mets owner Steve Cohen has touted the project, dubbed Metropolitan Park, as a boon to the surrounding communities with its combination of gaming, hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues.

A spokesperson for the project, Karl Rickett, said in a statement following Ramos’ announcement that the project “enjoys overwhelming support from elected officials, unions, and the local community.”

“Our team remains committed to bringing Metropolitan Park to life, with gaming as the only viable economic engine to make the 23,000 jobs, $8 Billion investment and substantial community benefits possible,” Rickett said.

Ramos disputed Rickett’s claim that the project is popular with the local community, pointing to a poll she commissioned that found a majority of constituents did not want a casino anywhere in Queens. The survey by Slingshot Strategies found 61% said they would not want to see a full casino in Queens, and 75% said they opposed building one in their own neighborhood.

“People want a lot more parkland,” said Ramos. “They want spaces where they can enjoy their family. And that's really where our collective focus should be.”

Of those who did support the casino, Ramos said, “the vast majority” were those willing to tolerate or “hold their nose” for it due to the rest of the project,

“The feeling is that a casino would not necessarily help us build an environment that would be conducive to healthy families,” she said.

The announcement follows months of buildup and comes as state lawmakers rush to conclude the legislative session in the coming days. Ramos said she had come under considerable pressure from backers of the casino project and their allies.

This included community members who argued it would bring needed jobs.

“We deserve to have this project, we deserve 24,000 union jobs,” said Aaliyah Scott, a student who spoke at a May 13 rally organized by the Coalition for Queens Advancement in Jackson Heights. “Jessica [Ramos], we are calling out to you. We love you, but we need your help and without you this cannot go through.”

On May 20, three elected officials, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Assembly member Jeffrion Aubry and Council member Francisco Moya, both representing Queens, wrote a letter urging Ramos to sign off on the project.

The officials all sit on the project’s six-member Community Advisory Committee, along with Ramos.

“We believe that Metropolitan Park is an opportunity to transform the underutilized parking lots around Citi Field into a revolutionary sports and entertainment park with extensive publicly accessible open space,” they wrote.

“This would promote neighborhood connectivity and access, enhance the fan experience, increase economic development and tourism, and directly create more than 23,000 good-paying union jobs for area residents.”

Ramos was unmoved.

“I understand that from [Richards’] perspective, he of course wants to make sure that we are saying yes to as many investments in Queens,” she said. “I just don't agree that this is the best way moving forward.”

In his statement, Rickett said project backers retain “multiple pathways” forward, but he did not elaborate.

During a conference call with reporters, Ramos said she interpreted the statement to mean that supporters of Metropolitan Park would find another state senator willing to introduce legislation that would alienate the necessary parkland.

But the senator said she would be “surprised and offended if that were to happen,” citing the tradition within the legislative body of deferring to the elected official in whose district a project has been proposed.

“I would think that the majority leader would be very wary of creating such a precedent in our house, where a member of the super majority conference is ignored and bypassed,” Ramos said.

Richards insisted that the project with its thousands of potential jobs is the best hope for the residents of Queens, particularly poor residents who have struggled to stay afloat. He specifically cited those who have turned to street vending or sex work in order to get by.

“This is life and death for people up there,” Richards said. “They are hanging on by the margins, in many cases barely hanging on. So I'm struggling to find what is the alternative.”

This story has been updated with additional information.