Nassau activists ramp up opposition to Sands casino

Daily Point

Hub plans will hurt local businesses, 'choke' region with traffic, group argues

As the state’s process to award three downstate casino licenses starts to ramp up, a group of grassroots activists who oppose Las Vegas Sands’ proposal to build a casino on the land surrounding Nassau Coliseum are intensifying their efforts as well.

Representatives with the Say NO to the Casino Civic Association visited the Newsday editorial board Wednesday to discuss their efforts and concerns regarding the size and scope of the Sands’ proposal, and the environmental, economic and social impacts they say it could have on Nassau County.

"We think it’s an awful thing to place right in the heart of our community," said Garden City resident Rich Catalano.

The discussion came as Nassau lawmakers are leading the state environmental review process for the proposal. The civic, which has 1,300 members on its Facebook group and obtained more than 4,200 signatures on a petition opposing the casino, recently generated more than 1,000 letters to the county legislature in response to its draft environmental impact statement, Catalano said.

The group, which included civic representatives from Garden City, Manhasset, Baldwin and Uniondale, emphasized the size of the development, noting it would amount to nearly 4 million square feet, with nearly 400,000 square feet devoted to the casino itself. They noted that it’s expected to bring in 10 million visitors a year who, they said, would "choke" the region with traffic and spend money at the resort, rather than at other Long Island shops and restaurants.

"I don’t see how this does not hurt businesses on Long Island," Garden City resident George Krug told The Point.

The activists also pointed to the potential air quality impact of increased traffic and concerns over the project’s expected daily water usage, noting that its projected water use would be the equivalent of what 2,000 homes would use every day. They suggested that the resort would increase crime and lower property values and would adversely impact the students who attend high schools and colleges in the area.

"This would be a disaster for our youth," said Uniondale resident Pearl Jacobs.

While Manhasset resident Allison O’Brien Silva told The Point she would like to see a park at the Nassau Hub, arguing that the county is "already overdeveloped," other civic representatives said they’d be open to alternative ideas. Several suggested medical facilities, life sciences space, or even housing as appropriate for the site.

"We’re in favor of development, but reasonable development that helps our town," said Baldwin resident Steve Rolston. "We don’t need desperately something like this."

Other representatives pointed to previous proposals like one by developer Scott Rechler, that suggested bringing research and housing to the Hub. But two years ago, Rechler indicated that such a plan was not viable, due in part to a lack of willing anchor tenants and to what he called an "economic albatross" — the Coliseum itself.

"We don’t want to create jobs that inflict harm on a community," Catalano said. "We could have had better and bigger visions for the Nassau Hub."

The civic leaders also criticized Sands’ efforts to provide public benefits to local nonprofits and nearby communities, including Uniondale and East Meadow.

"To me, I see that as bribes," O’Brien Silva said.

Las Vegas Sands is expected to file its full application for one of the three available licenses by the June 27 deadline set by the state’s Gaming Facility Location Board. All environmental reviews and zoning approvals must be completed before Sept. 30. Each applicant also must be approved by a Community Advisory Council, selected by local elected officials, by that Sept. 30 deadline.

The state board has said it expects to make decisions by Dec. 1, at which point its recommendations will move to the state Gaming Commission, which hopes to officially provide the three licenses by the end of 2025.

Catalano said the civic has no money behind it and has not been contacted by or worked with other casino bidders, relying instead on its members’ contributions and a small fundraising campaign. But he also noted that the group is prepared to continue the fight.

"This thing’s not over," he said. "It’s not a done deal."

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

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