Credit: SHoP Architects, Field Operations
New York Mets owner Steve Cohen’s $8 billion casino proposal near Citi Field cleared a major hurdle this week. On Tuesday, the City Council voted 41-2 in favor of zoning changes for the Metropolitan Park development, a sports and entertainment complex planned for 50 acres of parking lots around the Mets stadium. While the approval grants Cohen and his partners the ability to make zoning changes on the site, which sits on city parkland, the project still requires approval from several local and state officials.
Cohen’s proposal also needs to win one of the three downstate casino licenses soon to be awarded by the state’s Gaming Commission. The billionaire is up against a slew of other projects from prominent developers, including the Bjarke Ingels-designed Freedom Plaza near the U.N., “The Avenir” complex across from the Javits Center, one atop Saks Fifth Avenue, a Jay-Z-backed Caesars Palace casino in Times Square, and a proposal in Coney Island.
Representatives of the project have said the development will not proceed unless it wins one of the licenses, according to QNS. The Gaming Commission intends to issue the three licenses by the end of 2025.
Led by Cohen and Hard Rock Entertainment and designed by SHoP Architects and Field Operations, the proposal would transform the 50 acres of parking lots next to Citi Field into a complex with a hotel, live music venue, restaurants, a casino, 20 acres of public space, a “Taste of Queens” food hall, a renovated Mets-Willets Point subway station, and more.
The proposed 20 acres of new public park space and five acres of community athletic fields and playgrounds would bring “more new parkland than Bryant Park, the High Line, and Union Square Park combined,” as 6sqft previously reported.
The development promises to create 23,000 union jobs, a key selling point for Council Member Francisco Moya, who represents the neighborhood and supports the project.
“I’m proud to support this transformative project and help make it a reality for our district, for Queens, and for the entire city,” Moya said in a statement to QNS.com.
“This project is about more than building a sports and entertainment park. It’s about creating meaningful job opportunities with 100% union jobs, investing back into our community, and elevating our local economy to unprecedented heights.”
The design would honor the history and architecture of the World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, along with the history of the New York Mets.
Other key elements of the plan include enhancements to public infrastructure and transportation, including expanding waterfront access, improving walkability and cycling access, and widening public transit options.
All six community boards within the project’s area have already approved the plan. During a four-hour public hearing in December, most speakers voiced support, though some local residents raised concerns about potential environmental impacts and gambling addiction, as reported by Gothamist.
To ease these worries, the project’s financial backers have pledged to commit $25 million in community health care investments, including addiction and mental health services, in Flushing. They have also committed $163 million to nonprofits serving communities in the borough through the Community Impact Fund.
Although the 50-acre site currently consists of parking lots, it is still technically city parkland, established in 1939 as part of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. This requires the state to “alienate” the site to allow for development.
State Sen. Jessica Ramos, who represents the neighborhood, last year decided against introducing a parkland alienation bill, and has more recently said she doesn’t intend on doing anything differently this year, according to the Queens Eagle.
The development also requires two-thirds approval from a local community advisory committee, made up of a mayoral representative, gubernatorial representative, a City Council representative, the local assemblymember, the local state senator, and the borough president.
With the City Council’s approval, marking the final step of the uniform land use review procedure (ULURP), the zoning changes head to Mayor Eric Adams’ desk for final review.
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