The necessary legal intervention for a potential Hard Rock Casino in Queens, New York, is still merely theoretical. Despite unconfirmed reports that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul would intervene, that is not going to be the case.
Hochul refuted those claims on Thursday, explaining she would not use her executive power in a move that could aid New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock in their proposal. For that reason, the options for Cohen and Hard Rock are decreasing.
Hochul dispels the misinformation
According to Laura Nahmias and Zach Williams of Bloomberg, Hochul addressed the media on Thursday and spoke directly to tabloid reports. Those stories claimed that Hochul plans to insert an item in the 2025 budget that would alienate current parkland in Corona for commercial use.
“I have had no intention to put this (the alienation measure) in my executive budget, so I don’t know the source of that,” Hochul stated.
Hochul also called the notion of doing so as a favor to Cohen, who was a donor to her 2021 election campaign, “wildly inappropriate.” Even if Hochul had included such a measure, though, Cohen couldn’t have necessarily begun making plans to break ground.
New York governor is only part of budget process
In New York, the governor submits an executive budget to the state legislature each year. That’s really just the beginning of the process of finalizing a plan for the state’s treasury for the year, though.
Both chambers of the General Assembly in New York must approve a uniform budget. Those bodies can modify the governor’s proposal at their discretion although many of the proposals in the executive budget do typically remain.
There still would have been no guarantee that a Corona alienation measure would have survived the negotiations between the two chambers and Hochul. In fact, there’s some reason to believe that would not have been the case.
Opposition to Cohen plan in the Senate
One of the factors behind the notion that Hochul might have aided the Hard Rock casino bid comes from the fact that the state senator representing the area is not on board with the plan. The support of Sen. Jessica Ramos could make or break the proposal.
In order for Cohen’s/Hard Rock’s bid to be complete, the designation of the preferred site must change. Only the New York legislature can affect that change.
Ramos has been firm that she will not submit a bill to that end. She has submitted legislation that would create an alternative site to the one near Citi Field, home of the Mets.
It’s unclear whether Ramos’ counterpart in the New York Assembly, Assemblymember Catalina Cruz, will file the necessary bill. If that should happen, Cruz will have to move quickly.
Clock ticking on downstate casino bids
If the necessary legislation surfaces, it will probably happen early in the 2025 term in Albany. Barring any further delays, interested parties must submit bids to the New York State Gaming Facility Location Board by June 27, 2025.
Sen. Joe Addabbo has sought to speed up the downstate casino process so the legislature can turn its attention to New York online casinos.
If Hochul and Ramos keep their word and Cruz also doesn’t act, Cohen and Hard Rock would be in desperate need of a lifeline for their project as they desire it. The only choices might be to drop the matter or pivot to Ramos’ alternative site.
With months to go before deadlines approach, myriad possibilities remain. Currently, however, the situation looks rather bleak for Cohen’s casino ambitions.