{"id":3538,"date":"2024-10-09T21:29:24","date_gmt":"2024-10-09T21:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/?p=3538"},"modified":"2024-10-17T13:29:05","modified_gmt":"2024-10-17T13:29:05","slug":"hochul-could-rescue-donor-cohens-queens-casino-bid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/2024\/10\/09\/hochul-could-rescue-donor-cohens-queens-casino-bid\/","title":{"rendered":"Hochul Could Rescue Donor Cohen\u2019s Queens Casino Bid"},"content":{"rendered":"

In what could be a case of it paying to have friends in high places, New York Mets owner Steve Cohen\u2019s effort to bring a casino hotel to Queens could be rescued by Gov. Kathy Hochul \u2014 a Democrat to whom the billionaire financier is a major donor.<\/p>\n

\"Seneca
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks to reporters on June 7. Her 2025 budget could contain a provision boosting the Queens casino plan. (Image: AP<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The New York Post<\/em> broke the news earlier today, citing unidentified sources that said Hochul\u2019s 2025 budget could include a provision that would allow parkland to become suitable for gaming venues. Earlier this year, the Queens casino plan, known as Metropolitan Park, suffered what some believed was a fatal blow when State Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-Queens) refused to author legislation<\/a> that would strip Willets Point of its parkland designation. She represents the Citi Field area and has balked at the district becoming home to a casino.<\/p>\n

New York Assemblyman Gary Pretlow (D-Mount Vernon) who\u2019s long pushed for expediting the downstate casino process<\/a> authored a bill in the lower chamber that would\u2019ve pulled Willets Point\u2019s parkland classification, but companion legislation didn\u2019t emerge in the State Senate.<\/p>\n

While he supports Hochul broadening the uses of parkland in her budget proposal, Ramos does not. She told The Post<\/em> that would be an \u201cunfortunate\u201d move by the governor. Ramos is believed to be considering a run for mayor of New York City<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Cohen Wooing New York Democrats<\/h2>\n

Cohen and Hard Rock International are pitching an $8 billion project<\/a> known as Metropolitan Park, which if approved, would include entertainment venues, green space, and local eateries.<\/p>\n

\n

As part of the effort to land one of the three downstate casino permits, Cohen has been a major donor to New York Democrats<\/a> in recent years. State election records show he and his wife Alexandra contributed $136,700 to Hochul\u2019s campaign in 2021. From Jan. 1, 2023 through July 11, 2024, Cohen donated $235,000 to the New York State Democratic Committee, reports Gothamist<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Post<\/em> reported that earlier this year, Cohen and his wife hosted Hochul in a luxury suite at Citi Field for a Mets game, drawing rebuke from some New York political observers who said that could be a sign the governor was displaying favor to the Queens casino plan.<\/p>\n

Hochul\u2019s 2025 budget is expected to be released in January and it could include expansion of the Uniform Land-Use Reform Process (ULURP). Cohen and Hard Rock could also push another politician besides Ramos to sponsor a bill to join Pretlow\u2019s legislation to alter the classification of Willets Point. That\u2019s an indication Queens casino backers have options and Ramos can\u2019t hold the effort hostage on a permanent basis.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hochul Move Could Help Other Casino Plans<\/h2>\n

While Hochul introducing a budget featuring expansion of the ULURP could be seen as favoring Cohen, the move could benefit some other downstate casino efforts, including Bally\u2019s plans in the Bronx and the Related Cos.\/Wynn Resorts proposed development on Westside of Manhattan.<\/p>\n

At the golf course formerly known as Trump Golf Links<\/a> at Ferry Point, Bally\u2019s faces a parkland classification issue similar to what\u2019s being contended with in Queens. Assemblyman Michael Benedetto (D-The Bronx) represents the district that includes Ferry Point and he said in May he won\u2019t propose a bill to alter the classification of that land.<\/p>\n

On the Westside, Related and Wynn proposed a $12 billion development, but it\u2019s being opposed by the High Line and other groups that want to preserve the iconic park of the same name.<\/p>\n

The post Hochul Could Rescue Donor Cohen\u2019s Queens Casino Bid<\/a> appeared first on Casino.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In what could be a case of it paying to have friends in high places, New York Mets owner Steve Cohen\u2019s effort to bring a casino hotel to Queens could be rescued by Gov. Kathy Hochul \u2014 a Democrat to whom the billionaire financier is a major donor. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3540,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3538"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3538"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3541,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3538\/revisions\/3541"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}