Credit: SHoP Architects, Field Operations
Some good news for New York Mets owner Steve Cohen. The billionaire’s vision of a casino complex next to Citi Field is one step closer to becoming reality. On Tuesday, the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) overseeing the bid unanimously approved “Metropolitan Park,” advancing the proposal to the final stage: securing one of the state’s coveted downstate gaming licenses. Cohen’s bid joins three other CAC-approved proposals: Bally’s Bronx casino, MGM Empire City in Yonkers, and Resorts World NYC in Jamaica, Queens.
Metropolitan Park would transform 50 acres of parking lots next to Citi Field into an “economic engine,” featuring 23,000 union jobs, 25 acres of new public park space, upgraded transit, live music, a Queens Food Hall, and a Hard Rock Hotel and Casino with bars, restaurants, and more.
Designed by SHoP Architects and Field Operations, the public park space would include 20 acres of parkland and five acres of community athletic fields and playgrounds, equating to “more new parkland than Bryant Park, the High Line, and Union Square Park combined,” as 6sqft previously reported.
Plans also include an off-site affordable housing development with 450 units, added to the project in April. Queens Future LLC, a joint venture between Cohen, Hard Rock International, and Slate Property Group, plans to build a 100 percent affordable housing building on a parking lot at 54-19 100th Street in Corona.
To address local residents’ concerns about potential environmental impacts and gambling addiction, the project team has pledged $25 million for community health initiatives, including addiction and mental health services in Flushing. They also committed $163 million to borough-wide nonprofits through the Community Impact Fund, as 6sqft previously reported.
In March, the City Council voted 41-2 in favor of zoning changes for the project, clearing a major step in the approval process. All six community boards within the project area have already approved the plan.
The six-member CAC—comprising Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Assembly Member Larinda Hooks, Council Member Francisco Moya, Lin Zeng, Gregory Anderson, and George Dixon—unanimously approved the proposal.
At Tuesday’s vote, Zeng read a statement on behalf of Mayor Eric Adams’ office, highlighting the economic benefits of the casino project:
“We believe that casinos can serve as major economic development initiatives creating good-paying jobs and delivering benefits to the city, region, and local communities. The Queens future proposal is an exciting opportunity for the surrounding Queens neighborhoods to share in the benefits of a licensed, full-scale commercial casino in the downstate region.”
Dixon, appointed by Sen. Jessica Ramos—an outspoken critic of Cohen’s proposal—cast a surprising yes vote, according to QNS.
The plan has faced a challenging approval process. Until March, it appeared all but dead after Ramos declined to approve the “alienation” of the site, a required step for construction on designated public parkland.
The project was revived when Sen. John Liu, representing a small portion of the site, agreed to support the legislation if Cohen committed to exploring an elevated park connecting Citi Field to Downtown Flushing, according to Crain’s.
Metropolitan Park is now one of four proposals moving forward, alongside Resorts World NYC in Jamaica, MGM Empire City in Yonkers, approved Friday, and Bally’s Bronx casino in Ferry Point Park, approved Monday.
All three proposals in Manhattan, in Times Square, Hell’s Kitchen, and Midtown East, and the only bid in Brooklyn, The Coney, have already been rejected.
The advancing casino bids will be voted on in December by the Gaming Facility Location Board, followed by the Gaming Commission.
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