A planned Coney Island casino has received more criticism from local officials.
According to a New York Post report, a key member of the state community advisory council reviewing the plan said the project would create “traffic hell” for the area.
The council will vote on the project in the coming weeks. Unfortunately for project proponents, some members are not holding back their criticism. Council member Marissa Solomon told the New York Post she didn’t like the side effects of bringing gamblers to Coney Island.
“It’s not just going to be the summer of hell,” Solomon said. “It will be traffic hell all year round, and garbage hell, noise hell, crime hell.”
Criticism Mounts
The state is expected to award three downstate casino licenses by the end of the year. But regulators will likely only award one to a new gambling destination in New York City. Once New York awards the downstate licenses, the legislature may turn its focus to online casino legislation.
The Coney Island plan is one of several bids being considered. But it needs the support of four of the six community advisory council members to move forward.
Solomon and others in the area have expressed concerns about the $3 billion casino plan. They don’t want to change Coney Island’s image.
“You’re going to replace a piece of American history to build another casino?” Solomon said. “It makes no sense for the people who live here.”
The casino proposal includes a 500-room hotel, 70,000 square feet of retail space, a dozen restaurants, 92,000 square feet of convention space, a 2,500-seat concert venue, and more than an acre of publicly open public space.
The Chickasaw Nation, Legends (a joint venture of the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Yankees), Thor Equities and Saratoga Casino Holdings are backing the project. They dubbed the casino “The Coney.”
Additionally, the project faced opposition from local residents. They are concerned about how about the societal effects of adding a casino to their neighborhood.
However, developers, local business owners and a handful of residents said the project will bring more tourism, and of course, more jobs.
“We have heard time and time again that Coney Island needs a project that provides year-round economic support while also lifting up the infrastructure in one of the most densely traveled areas of the community,” Saratoga CEO Sam Gerrity said. “The Coney does just that.”
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