NY pols push casino plan to aid MTA as congestion toll mayhem reigns
Speeding up the selection process for the metro area’s three casino licenses could generate billions of dollars in much-needed revenue for the MTA after Gov. Kathy Hochul stalled the congestion toll, state pols say.
“We have to bring the casino deals to fruition — the MTA needs the money,” said state Assembly Racing and Wagering Committee Co-Chairman Gary Pretlow (D-Mount Vernon), who recently co-sponsored a bill to set up a faster timetable for the awarding of the licenses.
“The governor could open the bidding process right now, and that could help the MTA,” Pretlow told The Post.
Hochul created chaos last week when she suddenly put the kibosh on starting Midtown Manhattan’s new minimum $15 vehicle congestion toll June 30.
She claimed it was coming at a bad time for economically strapped drivers, while the transit agency and its supporters blasted her for pulling the rug out from under them out of nowhere — and throwing crucial mass transit projects dependent on the expected $1 billion a year in tolls into upheaval.
State pols say Hochul can clean up the mess by quickly signing the bill just passed by both the Senate and Assembly to speed up the awarding of the casino licenses.
The bill requires bidders to submit their casino plans by the end of August 2024. Currently, there’s no deadline. Final selection wouldn’t likely be made until Dec. 31, 2025.
The winning bidders are expected to cough up a minimum of $500 million apiece for a state gaming license — but it could be much more, a lawmaker said.
“We could end up getting $2.5 billion to $3 billion just from the casino licenses,” said state Sen. Joe Addabbo (D-Queens), who co-chairs the racing, gaming and wagering committee with Pretlow and sponsored the bill in the state Senate.
He said Albany can decide to redirect the money into the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s capital program instead of the operating budget to make up for the loss of revenues from the scuttled congestion toll to enter Midtown.
“The legislation brings clarity to the process,” a casino industry source added of the bill. “The state gaming commission has been kicking the can down the road.”
But many of the current proposals still have sticky issues that need time to be worked through.
Mets owner Steve Cohen’s plan with Hard Rock to land one of the licenses and build an $8 billion casino/entertainment complex next to CitiField requires a state law for the right to do so.
The lots around the ballpark are now considered parkland, and the legislature has to pass a bill to reclassify the property for commercial use.
State Sen. Jessica Ramos, who represents the Queens communities around the ballpark, opposes the legislation and the project.
Other casino bidders are grappling with land use issues or community opposition, too, including the Related Companies/Wynn project in Hudson Yards in Manhattan, the SL Green/Caesars Entertainment plan for Times Square and the Thor Equities and partners proposal for Coney Island in Brooklyn.
A Hochul spokesman told The Post that the governor will review the timetable legislation.
