In Uniondale, battle lines drawn on proposed hotel-casino on Nassau Coliseum grounds
Battle lines were drawn Thursday on plans to build a privately funded, multibillion-dollar hotel and casino on the grounds of the Nassau Coliseum, as supporters cited the prospects of high-paying jobs and new tax revenue and critics expressed concern the project could attract crime and spike gambling addiction.
Meanwhile, the lawmakers whose approval could make or break the project, including state, county and town officials, declined to show their hand, promising only a thorough review of the mega proposal.
Las Vegas Sands has proposed spending an estimated $4 billion to build a hotel with a full casino, performance venue, day spa, pool, convention space, restaurants, outdoor community space and tiered parking at the Coliseum site. The casino, officials said, would represent about 10% of the project's total square footage.
Sands officials said they've secured agreements to take over the lease of the 72-acre Nassau Hub — the largest tract of undeveloped land in the county — and operations of the 50-year-old Coliseum. The transfer from current leaseholder Nick Mastroianni II to Sands is subject to approval by the GOP-controlled Nassau County Legislature.
While Sands officials say they'll take over the lease regardless of whether the state grants them a casino license, they concede the project can't move forward as envisioned without the gambling.
"It can't be the size and scale, with the amenities that we're proposing, because the casino helps generate the revenue," said Ron Reese, Sands' senior vice president for global communications and corporate affairs. "Without the casino license in place, we would not contemplate the project as it was announced."
Sands, he said, does not operate comparably sized developments without a casino.
While previous efforts to build a casino at the Coliseum — plans offered by former County Executive Edward Mangano and the Shinnecock nation — as well as a video lottery terminal in nearby Westbury, failed to materialize, support for the Sands project appears more comprehensive.
On Thursday, Sands officials distributed an eight-page list of local supporters for the project, including the Nassau Chambers of Commerce, NAACP New York State Conference, the Long Island Contractors Association, Citizens Campaign for the Environment and the Long Island Association, the region's largest business group.
Jeannine Maynard, co-facilitator of the Greater Uniondale Area Action Coalition, expressed "cautious optimism" about the project, while Theresa Sanders, president of the Urban League of Long Island, said the proposal would "help empower those in need of life skills and workforce training to obtain jobs that close income disparities in low- to moderate-income communities."
John Durso, president of the Long Island Federation of Labor, said the project will bring needed revenue. "We must not miss this opportunity to deliver for our residents," he said.
But Pearl Jacobs of Uniondale, president of the Nostrand Gardens Civic Association, said the casino would attract crime and vagrancy and would corrupt the area's youth.
"Why would you build this right in the backyard of Uniondale, a community that remains disenfranchised?" said Jacobs, who is organizing a rally against the project Friday in Hempstead. "My children here in Uniondale need competent employment. They do not need to be exposed to a casino."
In a statement, Hofstra University said a casino is a poor mix for an area with thousands of local students.
“Siting a casino at the Nassau Hub is not a new idea, but it is still a bad idea, and Hofstra University remains opposed to it," the school said.
Last week, the State Gaming Facility's Location Board opened the application process for casino operators seeking to build three Las Vegas-style gambling facilities.
In the coming months, regulators are widely expected to approve licenses to two sites that already have gambling — most likely Aqueduct Racetrack and Yonkers Raceway — leaving a third site up for grabs. Among the other sites under consideration are Hudson Yards and Times Square, both in Manhattan, and Willets Point behind Citi Field in Queens.
Phil Boyle, managing director of Suffolk OTB, which operates Jake's 58, a hotel and video lottery terminal facility in Islandia, conceded a Nassau casino could siphon some of his business.
"It might have some impact," he said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul's office did not respond to requests for comment Thursday, while a spokesman for Hempstead Town Supervisor Donald Clavin, whose board would need to approve any development at the Coliseum, said the plan "will be given consideration, along with the community's input, when it is submitted."
Presiding Officer Richard Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park) said he hasn't seen details of the plan but pledged to "conduct a thorough review of any casino proposal before taking any required action.”
Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport) said that while many residents oppose the casino, "it's important to listen to everyone so we can move forward together."
It remains unclear how the project could impact existing elements of the Nassau Hub.
Developers, Reese said, have not determined what to do with the 14,500-seat Coliseum, which has struggled to secure major shows since the opening of the UBS Arena in Elmont. Typically, he said, Sands' performance venues are connected directly to the hotel and casino and don't operate as a stand-alone facility.
Sands has yet to engage with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, which operates a five-acre facility on the southwest portion of the property. And a source familiar with the process said Sands plans to pursue a purchase of the 615-room Long Island Marriott hotel next to the arena.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said that while traffic and community support are important concerns, the Coliseum is no longer viable and it makes no sense for the acres surrounding the arena to remain vacant.
"There is going to be something there," Blakeman said at a news conference in Mineola. "I'm not going to go four years in office and let it lay fallow. … The status quo is not acceptable to me."
Battle lines were drawn Thursday on plans to build a privately funded, multibillion-dollar hotel and casino on the grounds of the Nassau Coliseum, as supporters cited the prospects of high-paying jobs and new tax revenue and critics expressed concern the project could attract crime and spike gambling addiction.
Meanwhile, the lawmakers whose approval could make or break the project, including state, county and town officials, declined to show their hand, promising only a thorough review of the mega proposal.
Las Vegas Sands has proposed spending an estimated $4 billion to build a hotel with a full casino, performance venue, day spa, pool, convention space, restaurants, outdoor community space and tiered parking at the Coliseum site. The casino, officials said, would represent about 10% of the project's total square footage.
Sands officials said they've secured agreements to take over the lease of the 72-acre Nassau Hub — the largest tract of undeveloped land in the county — and operations of the 50-year-old Coliseum. The transfer from current leaseholder Nick Mastroianni II to Sands is subject to approval by the GOP-controlled Nassau County Legislature.
WHAT TO KNOW
- Plans to build a multibillion-dollar hotel and casino at the Nassau Coliseum property have attracted a wide variety of supporters and opponents
- Las Vegas Sands said that without the casino, the size and scope of the project can't move forward
- The company has not yet decided what to do with the aging Coliseum but a sources familiar with the process said it plans to pursue a purchase of the neighboring Long Island Marriott hotel.
While Sands officials say they'll take over the lease regardless of whether the state grants them a casino license, they concede the project can't move forward as envisioned without the gambling.
"It can't be the size and scale, with the amenities that we're proposing, because the casino helps generate the revenue," said Ron Reese, Sands' senior vice president for global communications and corporate affairs. "Without the casino license in place, we would not contemplate the project as it was announced."
Sands, he said, does not operate comparably sized developments without a casino.
While previous efforts to build a casino at the Coliseum — plans offered by former County Executive Edward Mangano and the Shinnecock nation — as well as a video lottery terminal in nearby Westbury, failed to materialize, support for the Sands project appears more comprehensive.
On Thursday, Sands officials distributed an eight-page list of local supporters for the project, including the Nassau Chambers of Commerce, NAACP New York State Conference, the Long Island Contractors Association, Citizens Campaign for the Environment and the Long Island Association, the region's largest business group.
Jeannine Maynard, co-facilitator of the Greater Uniondale Area Action Coalition, expressed "cautious optimism" about the project, while Theresa Sanders, president of the Urban League of Long Island, said the proposal would "help empower those in need of life skills and workforce training to obtain jobs that close income disparities in low- to moderate-income communities."
John Durso, president of the Long Island Federation of Labor, said the project will bring needed revenue. "We must not miss this opportunity to deliver for our residents," he said.
But Pearl Jacobs of Uniondale, president of the Nostrand Gardens Civic Association, said the casino would attract crime and vagrancy and would corrupt the area's youth.
"Why would you build this right in the backyard of Uniondale, a community that remains disenfranchised?" said Jacobs, who is organizing a rally against the project Friday in Hempstead. "My children here in Uniondale need competent employment. They do not need to be exposed to a casino."
In a statement, Hofstra University said a casino is a poor mix for an area with thousands of local students.
“Siting a casino at the Nassau Hub is not a new idea, but it is still a bad idea, and Hofstra University remains opposed to it," the school said.
Last week, the State Gaming Facility's Location Board opened the application process for casino operators seeking to build three Las Vegas-style gambling facilities.
In the coming months, regulators are widely expected to approve licenses to two sites that already have gambling — most likely Aqueduct Racetrack and Yonkers Raceway — leaving a third site up for grabs. Among the other sites under consideration are Hudson Yards and Times Square, both in Manhattan, and Willets Point behind Citi Field in Queens.
Phil Boyle, managing director of Suffolk OTB, which operates Jake's 58, a hotel and video lottery terminal facility in Islandia, conceded a Nassau casino could siphon some of his business.
"It might have some impact," he said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul's office did not respond to requests for comment Thursday, while a spokesman for Hempstead Town Supervisor Donald Clavin, whose board would need to approve any development at the Coliseum, said the plan "will be given consideration, along with the community's input, when it is submitted."
Presiding Officer Richard Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park) said he hasn't seen details of the plan but pledged to "conduct a thorough review of any casino proposal before taking any required action.”
Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport) said that while many residents oppose the casino, "it's important to listen to everyone so we can move forward together."
It remains unclear how the project could impact existing elements of the Nassau Hub.
Developers, Reese said, have not determined what to do with the 14,500-seat Coliseum, which has struggled to secure major shows since the opening of the UBS Arena in Elmont. Typically, he said, Sands' performance venues are connected directly to the hotel and casino and don't operate as a stand-alone facility.
Sands has yet to engage with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, which operates a five-acre facility on the southwest portion of the property. And a source familiar with the process said Sands plans to pursue a purchase of the 615-room Long Island Marriott hotel next to the arena.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said that while traffic and community support are important concerns, the Coliseum is no longer viable and it makes no sense for the acres surrounding the arena to remain vacant.
"There is going to be something there," Blakeman said at a news conference in Mineola. "I'm not going to go four years in office and let it lay fallow. … The status quo is not acceptable to me."
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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