POL BLOCKS COHEN’S BET
Says no deal on Qns. casino
A Queens Democratic lawmaker is getting in the way of Mets owner Steve Cohen’s bid to built a casino next to Citi Field.
State Sen. Jessica Ramos, who represents the Flushing-Corona area where Cohen wants to erect an $8 billion “Metropolitan Park” casino-entertainment complex, says she will not introduce legislation allowing the billionaire baseball owner to obtain a permit needed for his project to go forward.
‘Green space’
Cohen and his proposed-casino partner, Hard Rock, need a state law enacted to redesignate the lots around Citi Field from parkland to entertainment use.
“I will not introduce legislation to alienate parkland in Corona for the purposes of a casino,” Ramos said Tuesday.
She said her constituents are “desperate for green space, and recreation for the whole family,” not gambling.
“We disagree on the premise that we have to accept a casino in our backyard as the trade-off. I resent the conditions and the generations of neglect that have made many of us so desperate that we would be willing to settle,” the Queens lawmaker said.
Without the rezoning, Cohen’s project can’t even get into the batter’s box for consideration by state regulators, who are fielding his city casino bid and a host of others.
Theoretically, another state senator could introduce the bill to aid Cohen’s plan. But lawmakers are reluctant to big-foot a colleague on a project important in his or her district, and it would be rare to do so, sources said.
A proposed redesignation bill has been introduced in the state Assembly, but needs to travel the same course in the state Senate, too.
Nearly a dozen different bidders are vying for three state casino licenses to operate in or around the city.
Site selection and licenses are expected to be awarded by the end of 2025, so Cohen has some time to lift the odds — but not much.
“Mr. Cohen and Hard Rock would still make a profit, albeit less,” Ramos acknowledged in her statement.
“Mr. Cohen and his team have often declared their love for our community and said they recognize our potential. Finding a path forward would be a good way to show it.”
Some support
Ramos’ opposition to a casino is a setback for Cohen, who has spent millions on a lobbying and a charm offensive and whose foundation recently donated $116 million to CUNY’s La Guardia Community College.
His casino project has won support from other key Queens politicians, including Borough President Donovan Richards and City Councilman Francisco Moya, who also represents the area.
Cohen’s camp is vowing not to give up on the project, while arguing Ramos should not have sole veto power over it.
“While we respect Senator Ramos’s point of view, the state never intended any one person to have the ability to single-handedly stop or approve a gaming project,” said Karl Rickett, a spokesman for Metropolitan Park-Cohen, in an e-mail to The Post.