In recent months, progressive Democratic leaders like the incoming mayor, Zohran Mamdani, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have proclaimed, \u201cNew York City is not for sale,\u201d claiming to fight the oligarchy. As Queens residents, we beg to differ. Local officials have sold us out by giving away public parkland for billionaire Mets owner Steve Cohen\u2019s casino complex, misleadingly called \u201cMetropolitan Park.\u201d<\/p>\n
With just three bids remaining, the Gaming Facility Location Board and the Gaming Commission will decide on up to three casino licenses by the end of the year.<\/p>\n
Cohen has waged an expensive, relentless campaign, spending more than $9 million<\/a> across 18 lobbying firms, far more than any other downstate bid. He uses public relations, nonprofit donations, and paid neighborhood consultants to manufacture the illusion of community support.<\/p>\n On Queens Community Board 3, Councilmember-elect Shanel Thomas-Henry and Tammy Rose were paid Cohen consultants in 2024, disclosing it only at a November meeting on city map amendments. Though they abstained from voting, they downplayed their financial ties while promoting the project. Assembly Member Larinda Hooks, chair of the \u201cCommunity Advisory Committee\u201d that voted in favor of the casino, has benefited from Cohen-hosted fundraisers<\/a>.<\/p>\n The casino\u2019s \u201ccommunity support\u201d is clearly manufactured. On Sunday, nearly a thousand rallied against the casino<\/a> in Flushing; last month, hundreds marched<\/a> in Corona. A community-organized town hall drew overwhelming opposition<\/a>, and thousands have written to state officials<\/a> rejecting the plan. Surveys by state Sen. Jessica Ramos<\/a>, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund and the MinKwon Center for Community Action<\/a> show that 70-75% of local residents oppose a casino in their neighborhood.<\/p>\n Local politicians (except Ramos, who has opposed the project) largely look the other way. So-called \u201cprogressive\u201d officials, including Assemblywoman Jessica Gonz\u00e1lez-Rojas, state Sen. John Liu (in a stunning reversal<\/a>), and City Council Parks Committee Chair Shekar Krishnan, voted to alienate 78 acres of parkland for a Vegas-style casino in a neighborhood where more than 80% of residents are renters<\/a>.<\/p>\n Disappointingly, Mamdani missed the state Assembly vote that allowed Cohen\u2019s proposal to advance. Both Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez have expressed personal opposition to casinos but have remained largely silent on the plan nearest to their districts.<\/p>\n At her May town hall, Ocasio-Cortez acknowledged local opposition but noted that \u201cmany are in support.\u201d She co-sponsored a bill<\/a> barring former officials from lobbying, yet Cohen\u2019s campaign depends on exactly that: lead lobbyist Julissa Ferreras-Copeland is a former Queens Council member, and former Councilman Costa Constantinides, CEO of a nonprofit that received $65,000 from Cohen\u2019s Amazin\u2019 Mets Foundation<\/a> has also spoken in support.<\/p>\n If Ocasio-Cortez remains silent while a billionaire threatens to privatize public parkland in her district, her anti-revolving-door bill is purely performative.<\/p>\n Les Bernal, national director of Stop Predatory Gambling, has criticized Mamdani for failing to challenge the billionaires and unions pushing casinos. Bernal believes that if New York City held a binding vote on whether residents want casinos, voters would reject them.<\/p>\n Despite claims that casinos boost the economy, studies show they drain wealth<\/a> from local communities, siphoning customers from nearby businesses.<\/p>\n