Metropolitan Park Lawsuit Seeks to Strip Queens Casino License

^{New York Mets owner Steve Cohen plans to build a casino as part of his Metropolitan Park Project next to Citi Field in Flushing, Queens, New York. (Photo: Gordon Donovan / Alamy)}

A group of residents in Queens neighborhoods near Citi Field are pursuing a lawsuit in state court, arguing that New York State illegally awarded a casino license to the Metropolitan Park project spearheaded by Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International.

A group of five residents in Flushing, Jackson Heights, and Woodhaven filed their lawsuit on March 2 in the State Supreme Court in Manhattan.

Lawsuit Rejected Over Jurisdiction Concerns

On March 27, State Supreme Court Justice Nicholas Moyne rejected the request to invalidate the license and issue a temporary restraining order against work on the casino complex. According to Moyne, New York County was an improper venue for the case.

However, the residents filed a second request on March 28 seeking an emergency hearing, in which they argue that the court was mistaken in that determination. If that fails, the residents say they’ll continue to seek other venues to pursue legal action.

“We’re not going to be denied our day in court to pursue justice due to a technicality,” anti-casino organizer Jack Hu said via QNS.com. “I think the judge is mistaken here.”

The petitioners are arguing that the New York State Gaming Commission erred in multiple ways in granting a license to the Metropolitan Park proposal. For one, they say that public hearings on the project were not conducted fairly or in accordance with the laws governing the casino approval process. They also say that officials failed to consider the moral character of Hard Rock and Cohen.

Residents Say Public Hearings Were Flawed

According to the residents, public hearings that were designed to give the community a chance to weigh in were designed purposely to tilt discussion towards casino supporters. They also say that Assemblymember Larinda Hooks (D-Corona), who served as chair of the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for Metropolitan Park, had a conflict of interest due to having taken campaign contributions from Cohen.

“Despite knowing all of these problems because members of the public alerted the Gaming Commission to the problems, they approved the license to Metropolitan Park,” the group said in a statement.

Metropolitan Park officials have pushed back against the characterization of the process. In a letter to the Queens Chronicle, a spokesperson for the project said that the Metropolitan Park CAC heard from 127 people for more than four hours over two public hearings, with more individuals speaking out than for either of the other approved casinos.

“With nearly four years of community engagement, over 30 public meetings, and approvals from six community boards, the City Council, the State Legislature, the CAC and the Gaming Commission, Metropolitan Park has undergone one of the most rigorous and transparent public reviews of any project,” the letter read. “The community has been heard, and their message is clear: they want Metropolitan Park.”

But regardless of the early difficulties they’ve found in getting the case heard, the community members say they’re going to continue their mission to stop Metropolitan Park from becoming a reality.

“We urge the court to do the job the Gaming Commission has failed [to do],” Flushing resident Bernadette McCrann, one of the plaintiffs in the case, said during a Wednesday press conference. “Listen to the people and reverse the casino license.”