Mets’ casino gamble could crap out in parking lot
State law and a complicated bond financing deal stand in the way of bringing legal betting to Citi Field area
EDITORS’ NOTE: The location of CitiField, home of the Nets, was solicited by Robert Moses, the architect famous for car-centric urban development and design around the New York metropolitan area and contiguous states. Since the last midcentury and post-war fruition of personal automobiles – quintessential to the suburban lifestyle – the Queens neighborhood of Willets Point (as well as all Long Island) has evolved, sculpted by population influxes, exoduses and a new urban class. Yet, the utilization of urban spaces for activities like gambling evokes the question of whether those casinos, which may bring in crucial tax revenue for the city government, are in the right place at all. Better here, around Queens-Brooklyn working families, or in Atlantic City, maybe Las Vegas? Other sites for the potential construction of casinos, as well as licenses for casinos, have been discussed or given out: sites-of-interest include Manhattan’s Times Square and Hudson Yards.
The owner of the Mets has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying city officials in connection with his push to build a casino near Citi Field — but there could be multiple legal hurdles to bring the slots to Queens.
Both state law and the team’s own lease agreement with the city stand in the way, in particular a financing deal tied to the parking spaces, and rules about building on park land.
Owner Steve Cohen’s dream of turning Willets Point into a gambling hub materialized earlier this year when Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed creating three more downstate casino operator licenses.