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Citi Field casino plan clears major hurdle in Albany
By
Jon Campbell
Published May 27, 2025
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Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday RM via Getty Images
By
Jon Campbell
Published May 27, 2025
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New York Mets owner Steve Cohen’s plan to build a casino next to Citi Field took a step forward Tuesday as state lawmakers moved to clear one of the project’s major remaining hurdles.
The Democratic-led state Senate voted 54-5 on Tuesday to allow New York City to reclassify 50 acres of parking lots surrounding the Mets’ stadium, a key approval for the Cohen-backed project that is seeking one of the state’s three remaining licenses to operate a private casino.
The bill, which the state Assembly approved earlier this month, now heads to Gov. Kathy Hochul for her signature or veto.
The bill is crucial to Cohen and Hard Rock International’s $8 billion plan for a casino resort, entertainment district and park, which includes a proposed High Line-style pedestrian and bicycle bridge connecting Downtown Flushing and Willets Point.
The land, which is currently occupied by Citi Field parking lots, is currently public parkland. For the private project to move forward, lawmakers had to vote to allow New York City to “alienate” the parkland. The bill includes a requirement that Cohen and Hard Rock’s team develop 20 acres of the plot into a proper park.
“After years of community engagement, thousands of conversations, and the leadership of our local elected officials, we are one step closer to transforming these asphalt lots into something our neighbors can truly be proud of,” Cohen said in a statement.
Cohen’s casino plan still faces steep competition. It’s one of nine projects competing for the three available casino licenses, which the state Gaming Commission is expected to award later this year.
Alexis Kaloyanides, a Jackson Heights resident who has been organizing opponents of Cohen’s plan, accused Cohen of orchestrating a “land grab.”
“ I think the message it sends is that our elected leaders are more in line with a billionaire developer than they are the working-class neighbors in our community,” she said. “That’s the bottom line.”
Tuesday’s vote was the culmination of an expensive, two-year lobbying effort by Cohen and his partners, who spent more than $3.3 million on more than a dozen lobbying and consulting firms as of April, according to disclosure records.
Several of those firms are run by or employ former state and city officials, including former Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., former state Assemblymember Marcos Crespo, former state Budget Director Robert Mujica and former top Senate staffers.
Cohen failed to gain Senate approval last year after state Sen. Jessica Ramos, a Queens Democrat and mayoral candidate whose district includes much of the area surrounding Citi Field, withheld support.
But the bill’s prospects improved earlier this year, when Sen. John Liu, another Queens Democrat whose district includes a portion of the Citi Field parking lots, announced he would introduce the bill.
Ramos, a New York City mayoral candidate, spoke out against the bill during the Senate vote, saying a casino is “not the future I want to build for Corona, East Elmhurst or any part of Queens.”
“This is not about a building or a parcel of parkland,” she said. “It’s about power. It’s about whether communities like mine are treated as partners or as pawns.”
In a statement, Liu said the proposal would “create thousands of jobs for local residents and opportunities for local small businesses and provide over a billion dollars in transit, park, and other infrastructure improvements.”
Hochul has not signaled whether she supports the measure. Cohen has been a major financial backer of the state Democratic Committee, which Hochul leads.
Hochul spokesperson Kara Cumoletti said the governor will review the measure.
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Jon Campbell
Jon Campbell covers the New York State Capitol for WNYC and Gothamist. Prior to that, he covered the Capitol for more than a decade for the USA TODAY Network. He has twice earned the Walter T. Brown Memorial Award, an honor given annually by the Legislative Correspondents Association alumni for outstanding state government coverage. Jon grew up in the Buffalo area and graduated from the University at Albany. Got a tip? Email Jon at [email protected] or Signal at JonCampbellNY.90.
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