Queens residents to have their say on casino project eyed for near Citi Field

Residents of Queens on Thursday get to weigh in on Metropolitan Park, a sprawling entertainment complex and casino eyed for property neighboring Citi Field.

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, who backs the project, is hosting a public hearing on the proposed development at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at Queens Borough Hall. The meeting will also be streamed on the borough president’s YouTube page.

New York Mets owner Steve Cohen has touted the project as an economic boon to the area that will feature a mix of gaming, hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues. The project is one of 11 vying for state officials' approval but has faced opposition from local state Sen. Jessica Ramos.

Tom Grech, the president and CEO of the Queens Chamber of Commerce, said he intended to speak in favor of the project, which backers have said would bring the area $8 billion in private investment and 23,000 union jobs.

“To me, it's more than consequential and a once-in-a-generation, maybe a lifetime, to get this thing done and approved,” Grech said.

Karl Rickett, a spokesperson for Cohen, said community support has been building, with five out of five Queens community boards voting in support of Metropolitan Park as part of an extensive land use review process.

“The community has made it abundantly clear: They want Metropolitan Park and the 25 acres of public park space, $1 billion in community benefits, and 23,000 good-paying union jobs that come with it,” Rickett said in an email.

Rickett noted that the community boards that voted in favor of the project include CB 3, which represents Jackson Heights and Elmhurst.

Ramos’ approval is needed to designate the parkland near Citi Field for non-public use — a formal step known as alienation that is required for commercial development — according to her office and others involved in the process. But Rickett said the project has “multiple pathways” to approval, including the possibility that another state legislator could introduce the legislation for alienation.

Pointing to a poll she commissioned earlier this year, Ramos has said a majority of constituents did not want a casino anywhere in Queens. In an interview this week, Ramos said she maintains an “open-door policy” and is willing to continue discussions but remains skeptical about the project's economic benefits.

“The idea of a casino is to trap people inside for hours at a time,” she said. “So I have trouble accepting that we would see the multiplier effect that is being promised along our commercial corridors.”

“I don't think that people who would drive to Citi Field to gamble at the casino would then find a place to eat in Jackson Heights, and that's particularly true if they've lost all their money," she said.

However, Grech argued that Queens particularly stood to benefit in the wake of the pandemic, which he estimated had caused as many as 1,000 restaurants in the borough to shut down.

“Here we have a golden opportunity where we're not chasing anybody to come here,” Grech said. “They want to come and invest. And that's why I think it's so important, especially now and in that place.”

Proposals to the state’s Gaming Facility Location Board, which oversees the casino siting process, are due next June, with final decisions expected at the end of 2025.