web feb 24

30 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE In April 2022, almost two years ago, Governor Kathy Hochul signed off on awarding three downstate licenses for casinos in New York. It was part of the $220 billion approved one-year state budget. Applicants had hoped that the licenses would be awarded by the end of 2023 or early 2024. NYS announced the request for applications in January 2023 and now, a year later, the casino licensing process is still in its first phase. Questions and Answers Long Awaited InlateAugust2023,theNYSGamingCommissionandGamingFacility Location Board released a 103-page report responding to the first round of questions fromNY casino bidders. Regulators addressed 613 queries and are reviewing the second group of questions submitted on October 6th. There is no set timeframe for the answers. Due to the slow and methodical process performed by gaming regulators, licenses may not be awarded until 2025. Thefive-monthturnaroundforthefirstsetofquestionshassurprised many, given that these casinos are expected to generate thousands of jobs, millions in local taxes, and billions in gambling revenue. Community Board 13 and most of its underlying four district neighborhood residents, remain opposed to Joseph Sitt’s (founder of Thor Equities) application for the Coney Project. Included in Community Board 13 is our own community and the Sephardic Community Federation. Bidding War for Gambling Licenses Coney Island is one of three downstate gambling casino sites in the NYC area for which developers and gaming companies are bidding for licenses. There are eleven known applicants in the bidding war for these three casino sites. They include big names in gambling, such as Bally’s, Caesars, Hard Rock, and Las Vegas Sands. Sitt’s Coney project has been called a pie-in-the-sky plan. Some say a Coney Island casino might be fun but it is unlikely that visitors would travel fromNJ, Connecticut, or upstateNY. ResortsWorldNYC (Genting Group) and Empire City Casino (MGM Resorts International) have been described as frontrunners for two downstate casino licenses.  Developers who are looking to build tourist attractions near transit hubs like Times Square may have an edge in the bidding war. Regulatorsmay prefer two venues that have gambling already, Yonkers Raceway and Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens. The Coney Project A 40-page public engagement report released last July by Brooklyn Borough President Reynoso had three responses opposing the Coney Project for every response in favor. Over 200 people provided feedback. Reynoso remains undecided about the casino plan and says the project deserves a hard look. Former City Councilman Ari Kagan, who represented Coney Island, took a strong stance against the project. The Coney’s proponents predict an ace-in-the-hole with increased employment, visitors, and income for the area. Opponents see minimal economic benefits, point to the disappointing outcomes in Atlantic City, and are wary of increased crime and traffic and limited security resources. They also voice serious concerns about the harmful influence of a casino on our children and families. The consortium continues to claim that The Coney will bring an economic boom and rejuvenate the iconic and aging boardwalk. Playing Dirty Joseph Sitt sponsored a nine-week basketball clinic in Coney Island and gave the children t-shirts with the logos of “The Coney” on the first day of the clinic. Large banners of “The Coney” were also used as a backdrop for the basketball clinic. Parents and coaches were not told of Sitt’s involvement. Coney Island community activist and member of Neighborhood Advisory Board 13, Kouichi Shirayanagi, wrote in an op-ed for the July 14 th issue of Brooklyn News , stating, “Sitt’s use of the neighborhood kids to market his project shows a blatant disregard for the national problem [of youth gambling addiction]. This was not the first time Sitt has splashed his money out onto the community to promote his casino project, but exploiting neighborhood kids, turning them into walking billboards to drum up his bid to bring a major multi-hundred-million-dollar gambling conglomerate to the Coney Island Peninsula was a new low for him. Children should never be used to promote gambling, just as they should not be promoting cigarettes, alcohol, or anything else that is illegal to them.” New Developments The New York City Planning Commission is starting a seven-month process for a zoning text amendment that will help pave the way for ELLEN GELLER KAMARAS The Debate Over Proposed Coney Island Casino Continues...