BY T’NEIL GOODEN
Flushing residents, like the members of the Flushing Workers Center, are enraged by the recent approval of the building of casinos in their hometown of Flushing and are demanding answers.
“We are outraged by the Gaming Facility Location Board’s decision to give billionaire Steve Cohen, who was at the head of the largest insider trading scandal in American history, a license to build a casino on public land in our community. To be clear, this is a racist attack on our communities,” the center stated in their press release immediately following the approval of the casinos.
The New York Gaming Facility Location Board approved the licensing for the final three casino candidates on Dec. 1st. The approved licenses are for the building of casinos in the Bronx and Queens, leaving residents within these communities furious with the agreed-upon outcomes.
This licensing approval allows Bally’s Corporation in the Bronx, and Metropolitan Park and Resorts World in Queens to advance to the next round of approvals, which will allow the building of the casinos in these areas.
Though community members are mourning the approval, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul and some Flushing organizations welcomed the news.
In a statement, Gov. Hochul said, “The three projects approved today [Dec 1st] promise to unlock billions in funding for the MTA and create tens of thousands of jobs. It is critical that they keep those promises. I look forward to the Gaming Commission’s review of the Board’s recommendations in the weeks ahead.”
The Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the area where the Metropolitan Park casino is set to be built, maintained its favorable opinion when it comes to the building of the casino in its park.
Rob Carson, the media contact of The Alliance for FMCP, stated, “The Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona Park supports the Metropolitan Park development that will bring thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investment to Queens. However, the Alliance wants to see more investment go directly into the park, from both public and private sources. Our concern is that the influx of visitors to the new development will not be met with adequate maintenance support for the parkland outside of its footprint.”
A representative of Metropolitan Park spoke about the positive impact this casino will provide to the Queens community, in an article by The City.
“After years of community engagement and support, Metropolitan Park is one step closer to becoming a reality,” said spokesperson Karl Rickett. “Following a fair, transparent, and rigorous process, the Gaming Facility Location Board has validated the positive economic impact this project will have with billions of dollars in tax revenue, 23,000 union jobs, and over $1 billion in community benefits.”
Queens residents have been rallying against the casino for months, hosting protests, meetings, and fundraisers to abolish the casino from their neighborhood.
Graciela Quispe, a lifelong resident of New York City and member of the Flushing anti-casino group, explained, “Not only is a casino in the neighborhood obviously going to bring gambling addictions, but it will also make my entire neighborhood a casino town, where we all work for the casino, live for the casino.”
Quispe followed this statement by stating, “We deserve to not be bound to work at a casino for the rest of our generations. We deserve to dream bigger. The Flushing Anti-Casino Group demands the release of all communications between Steve Cohen, Assembly member Larenda Hooks, State Senator John Liu, and any private gaming facility location board meetings. We demand the release of all redacted information on the Metropolitan Park applicant.”