{"id":994,"date":"2024-09-23T19:31:07","date_gmt":"2024-09-23T19:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extraniceshirts.org\/?p=994"},"modified":"2024-10-01T14:43:30","modified_gmt":"2024-10-01T14:43:30","slug":"cohen-hard-rock-unveil-renderings-for-queens-casino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/extraniceshirts.org\/index.php\/2024\/09\/23\/cohen-hard-rock-unveil-renderings-for-queens-casino\/","title":{"rendered":"Cohen, Hard Rock Unveil Renderings for Queens Casino"},"content":{"rendered":"

Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International recently unveiled renderings of the proposed \u201cMetropolitan Park\u201d project, which includes plans for a casino hotel near Citi Field in Queens, NY.<\/p>\n

\"Queens
A rendering of part of Metropolitan Park. Backers of a Queens casino are promising green space and transportation enhancements. (Image: Metropolitan Park)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The release of the sketches for Metropolitan Park arrived about five months after the plan suffered a serious blow when State Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-Queens) said she wouldn\u2019t endorse legislation<\/a> to alter the parkland status of Willets Point, a necessary step in the effort to convert the \u201casphalt jungle\u201d near the New York Mets stadium into a gaming venue.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“For the past three years, New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and his partners have been listening to their neighbors. After 16 community workshops, and meeting with thousands of local residents, the two most frequently mentioned community needs are jobs and green space. It\u2019s time 50 acres of asphalt at Citi Field turn green,\u201d according to Hard Rock.<\/p>\n

The Cohen\/Hard Rock plan calls for 25 acres<\/a> of parkland for public use, including five acres of athletic fields, dining options, a live music venue, enhanced cycle access and roads as well as a $163 million community impact fund. The casino resort operated by Hard Rock would be the focal point of Metropolitan Park.<\/p>\n

Big Promises Accompany Queens Casino Plan<\/h2>\n

For decades, Willets Point has been no more than a parking lot, and multiple efforts to develop the land have failed, but that\u2019s not preventing Cohen from offering up some bold proposals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 25-acre park\u2019s design, by the local team of SHoP Architects (Domino Park) and Field Ops (The High Line, Domino Park), integrates input, ideas, and feedback collected from 15 community workshops, hundreds of meetings with local leaders, and over 20,000 door-to-door conversations with our neighbors,\u201d according to the Metropolitan Park<\/a> website. \u201cAt the same time, it pays homage to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park\u2019s iconic World\u2019s Fair history and architecture, and the storied history of the Mets, Shea Stadium, and Citi Field.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the pledge for green space, improved infrastructure is part of the Metropolitan Park plan. That includes renovating the Mets-Willets Point 7 train station.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As is par for the course with all of the downstate casino proposals, there\u2019s a significant jobs pledge<\/a> accompanying Metropolitan Park, with the project\u2019s backers promising 23K permanent and temporary roles.<\/p>\n

Queens Casino Politics<\/h2>\n

The aforementioned decision by Ramos to not support parkland alteration legislation is a headwind to the Queens casino effort, but not necessarily a death knell.<\/p>\n

\n

While she’s the state Senator representing the district. including Willets Point, any member of that chamber could introduce a bill to change the parkland classification of the property. That indicates there\u2019s some hope for Metropolitan Park supporters, particularly with New York politicians and regulators dragging their feet on opening the bidding window for the three downstate casino permits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

State Rep. Jeff Aubry (D-Queens) introduced a related bill in the New York Assembly last year, but companion legislation is needed<\/a> to advance the bill.<\/p>\n

The post Cohen, Hard Rock Unveil Renderings for Queens Casino<\/a> appeared first on Casino.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International recently unveiled renderings of the proposed \u201cMetropolitan Park\u201d project, which includes plans for a casino hotel near…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/extraniceshirts.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/994"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/extraniceshirts.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/extraniceshirts.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extraniceshirts.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extraniceshirts.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=994"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/extraniceshirts.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":997,"href":"https:\/\/extraniceshirts.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/994\/revisions\/997"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extraniceshirts.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/extraniceshirts.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extraniceshirts.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extraniceshirts.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}