The casino wars are heating up in New York City.
Three prized gaming licenses are up for grabs and there are already nearly a dozen bids with big name support. The latest proposal comes from Coney Island, which joins the long list of other bids in Long Island, Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx.
New renderings were shared Friday of a boardwalk casino as Coney Island tries to beat the odds and win one of the few coveted licenses. Behind the bid is Guiness Book record holder and former city council member Robert Cornegy.
"I'm involved because I have been screaming and crying for economic development, especially in underserved communities," Cornegy said.
The former Bed-Stuy council member faces the tall order of edging out giant competition for the city's first caino license.
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Competition is fierce because even though downstate New York is eligible for three licenses, many are expecting Queens racetrack Aqueduct and Yonkers Raceway to each get one because they already have slot machines. That leaves one prize among the remaining contenders: a list that includes a plan to build a ferris wheel and casino on the east side near the UN and a casino on the roof of Saks Fifth Avenue.
And that's not all.
There's a proposal for a casino at Hudson Yards, another one for a site next to the Nassau Coliseum and a plan to remove the Trump name from Trump Links and build a casino in the Bronx. Those are in competition to plans for a high-rise hotel and casino known as Caesar's Palace Times Square and a bid to land a casino license next to Citi Field.
Grassroots groups opposed to Mets Owner Steve Cohen’s widely reported plan gathered against the project in Flushing on Friday.
"We are here to say no to this attempt to rob public land for a casino," Joseph Jung, of the Flushing Anti-Displacement Alliance, said.
Spokesperson for Mets owner says they've been listening to the community through six different listening lessons about what to do with the land next to the field, they say what the community wants is more than a parking lot.
The decision will come down to the state-controlled Gaming Commission. When it became an issue in the race for governor in the fall, Gov. Kathy Hochul stayed focused on the economics of a casino.
"We have an opportunity to create thousands of jobs for people in hospitality for people who haven’t come back because of the pandemic," she said.
About three weeks from now, the commission will consolidate all the bids and open a second round of questions for the applications. Clarity on where a community would go could come around late spring or early summer.
