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QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, November 30, 2023 Page 14
C M SQ page 14 Y K
Ramos still not sold on casino after town hall
Unions want jobs; others try to come up with a Plan B by Sophie Krichevsky Associate Editor
Hundreds of Queens residents attended a town hall at the Elmcor Youth and Adult Activities Center hosted by state Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-East Elmhurst) Monday night to discuss Mets owner Steve Cohen’s proposed Metropolitan Park, a plan that would convert the Citi Field parking lot, which is legally parkland, into a casino, 250-key hotel, concert hall, food hall and 20 acres of green space. But while the community seemed split on Cohen’s plan, it was clear that Ramos still has questions for the billionaire about the proposal, and seemed to be searching for a feasible alternative from within the community — though whether one exists remains an open question. Ramos’ town hall follows her previous one in May, where community members were split with about twothirds of attendees against the casino (the details of Metropolitan Park were not formally unveiled until Nov. 7). Ramos announced then that she would not introduce the parkland alienation bill necessary for Cohen to build a casino at the site in the 2023 legislative session, even as her colleague Assemblyman Jeff Aubry (D-Corona) had. Now about a month away from the next session, Ramos has yet to make a decision, she reminded the audience. Unlike the senator’s previous town hall, Monday’s event primarily consisted of a workshop, where attendees could discuss what they might want to see in a community benefit agreement — which would legally obligate Cohen’s team to provide the community with certain attributes in exchange for supporting the project — or what ought to be included in an alternative proposal for the site. Ramos pointed to a com-
munity land tr ust, a nonprof it formed by community members that treat land as publicly owned, as a mechanism for an alternative plan. Even before the town hall began, some community members, most of whom are from Flushing, rallied outside the event to call on Ramos not to support a casino. That included people with the MinKwon Center in Flushing and the Flushing AntiDisplacement Alliance, which is made up of various community organizers and residents. In addition to opposing the casino and supporting FADA’s proposal for a hillside park in the space with parking underneath, known as the Phoenix Meadow Park plan, some voiced concerns that the town hall was just for show. “We will not legitimize this process,” FADA organizer Joseph Zhang said. “We demand that Senator Ramos oppose Steve Cohen’s Metropolitan casino Park plan outright, and we demand that she invest in the community’s vision to protect and restore public parkland.” And while Zhang referred to the town hall as a “sham,” not only could Ramos be seen speaking with attendees throughout the two and a half-hour event, even interjecting to ask some to elaborate on their positions, she also had some reservations about Cohen’s project. W hile addressing the audience early in the evening, for example, Ramos commented that a casino “could become obsolete now that all the gambling is happening on people’s phones.” And when speaking with reporters at the beginning of the workshop portion of the night, she expressed concerns about the viability of such a project on what is — in her words — “an actual swamp.” “I have had other architects question whether the renderings are actually feasible,” she said. Ramos also
Hundreds of Queens residents attended state Sen. Jessica Ramos’ town hall Monday night regarding Steve Cohen’s proposed casino and accompanying complex. Community members discussed the plan and alternative ideas in a PHOTOS BY SOPHIE KRICHEVSKY workshop format. said she has not seen renderings that include plans for basement space. And while the plan’s draft scope of work shows the project is designed to be several feet above the required design f lood elevation, when the Ch ronicle asked Astrid Aune, Ramos’ deputy chief of staff, about that Tuesday, she said that in itself is telling. “If everything is being built 12 to 20 feet above elevation, it implies that something is inherent in the terrain that requires the development to be elevated,” Aune wrote in a message to the Chronicle. Ramos said in a statement Tuesday her position has not changed. “If I was to introduce parkland alienation legislation, it would only be because my community has ironclad commitments where the benefits vastly outweigh the risks associated with a casino and that there is somehow no better alternative to address the problem of the asphalt parking lot,” it read. She plans to have another town hall in 2024. “Senator Ramos has been very clear that the community and its residents must come first and we agree
While some people made clear they want a casino for the jobs it will create, Ramos has not yet committed to backing Cohen’s plan.
— which is why we have held more than a dozen community workshops and hundreds of conversations with local leaders and neighbors,” a Cohen spokesperson said in a statement Monday night. “We believe Metropolitan Park is exactly the kind of revolutionary proposal that Senator Ramos and other community leaders can support.” As the workshop continued, those in favor of the plan were asked to come up with ideas for a community benefit agreement, which they’d share on index cards. But in reality, discussion quickly turned to the reasons why residents suppor ted Cohen’s plan. Many of the supporters were members of various trade unions, including Iron Workers Local 46, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3, the New York City District Council of Carpenters, the Transport Workers Union and Cement and Concrete Laborers’ Local 20. Not only did iron workers and East Elmhurst residents Steve Perez and John Clausman want the job opportunity the project offers, they were generally impressed with Cohen’s proposal. “It’s just amazing how they’re looking to put this together,” Clausman said. “And like they said, if a casino doesn’t go, it’s going to stay a parking lot.” When Ramos asked one carpenter if his union has a memorandum of understanding with Cohen’s team, he said they are still in discussions. An IBEW member did not have an answer for Ramos when asked that. Nonunion members were also supportive of the project, mainly because of the economic activity it would spark in the World’s Borough. Those included Jackson Heights resident Tammy Rose, who helped form
a group known as the Coalition for Queens Advancement, which came together after May’s town hall in support of Cohen’s project. “We want to make sure we can bring more jobs to our community, make sure that we can build our community and make sure that we can have a community space as well, and that includes parks, places for entertainment,” Rose said. Meanwhile, some of those who are against Cohen’s proposal emphasized the need to protect the site, which has been known to f lood. Some argued that the Phoenix Meadows Park plan — which organizers described as, essentially, a big rain garden — would accomplish that. But others who took up the mantle on pondering alternative proposals for the site found themselves wondering what Ramos was hoping they’d accomplish. “My sense is she wants to see if there any viable alternatives to the casino, and that’s why we’re here: to see if somebody can come up with it,” Jackson Heights resident Bill Bruno said. “But she wants that as a backup. Because again, she’s very clearly said, something has to be done.” When it came time to summarize the groups’ discussions for the entire audience, most of the poi nts remained the same: While those in favor wanted jobs and economic activity, those opposed want to protect the parkland and worry about crime and the ills they say can come with a casino. One community member who is opposed to the casino, Casey Labatt, summed up the discussion: “I haven’t heard anyone say on the other side that they’d love to have a Q casino.”
