The Coney Community Advisory Committee (CAC) will gather for the first time on Wednesday ahead of a vote on a recommendation for a New York casino project.
The vote will play a crucial role in deciding the fate of three casino operators’ licenses, which will be awarded by the end of the year.
Key takeaways
- The board will eventually recommend that the state license or ignore a casino proposal.
- The project would place a 1.4-million-square-foot casino in Brooklyn’s Coney Island area.
- Seven influential groups are in the running for three casino operators’ licenses.
The meeting will be held at the Regina S. Peruggi Academic Center (V) Building at Kingsborough Community College. It will include six committee members who were appointed by state and local officials.
The members will vote to appoint a committee chair and schedule future meetings to discuss The Coney, one of seven casino projects that are in the running for an operator’s license.
The New York Gaming Facility Location Board, which will award the licenses later this year, confirmed that Wednesday’s meeting will be open to the public. However, seating will be limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Anyone unable to attend the meeting in person will be able to watch it online.
“The hearings need to be accessible to residents of the Coney Island community,” State Assemblymember Alec Brook-Krasny said on X (formerly Twitter).
What would the project look like?
The CAC has several crucial tasks related to the project. It will review the proposal, check the pulse of the local residents, and reach a determination regarding the casino’s viability and its impact on the community.
The Coney would cover several lots between Surf Avenue and the boardwalk of Coney Island in Brooklyn. Plans call for a 1.4-million-square-foot facility that includes a 500-room hotel, a 2,400-seat theater, a convention center, retail stores, dining options, and 353,000 square feet of gaming space.
Estimates suggest the project would create 4,500 construction jobs for union workers, along with 4,000 permanent hospitality jobs.
The project is headed by development firm Thor Equities, Saratoga Casino Holdings, the Chickasaw Nation, and Legends Hospitality. The group has already promised to pledge $200 million to a trust fund if the project is approved.
Bally’s out of the running
A variety of influential businesspeople are in the race to acquire a New York casino operator license. Competitors include Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, World Trade Center developer Silverstein Properties, and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, among others.
Bally’s appeared to be in the race for a license, which it would use to build a casino complex at its Golf Links at Ferry Point property. However, that project appears to be dead after the City Council rejected its rezoning proposal a couple of weeks ago.
