Casinos in manhattan

Mayor Eric Adams wants to clear bureaucratic hurdles for those looking to set up casinos in New York City and locals aren’t having it, voting against the idea and calling it undemocratic.

Members of a Manhattan Community Board 4’s land use committee unanimously opposed the proposed amendment put forth by the city&#;s Planning Department on Wednesday.  

The proposal would allow for casinos to set up in certain commercial or industrial zoning districts — including within CB4, which encompasses Hell’s Kitchen and Chelsea — and permits proposals to bypass the city’s zoning process called the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, or ULURP. 

City Hall’s plan to cut out the public review process must, itself, go through its own public review process.

Board members Wednesday denounced the zoning workaround, saying it would take community boards out of the equation. Under ULURP, community boards are typically tasked with voting on an advisory opinion on land use plans.

“Shame on city planning to abdicate everything to the state,” board member Delores Rubin said. “You literally are just giving away any opportunity for what has been fought for by city planning, but more importantly, has been fought for by each community.”

Hell’s Kitchen resident David Korman railed against the idea via video conference on Wednesday, saying that ULURP was created to “democratize the planning process.”

“The community is not at the table,” he said of the CAC process. “If I understand it right, the proposed amendment would leave out the professionals at city planning, too, which is nuts.”

The Planning Department’s case for doing away with ULURP for casino proposals is that it would duplicate the state’s review process, in which Community Advisory Committees (CAC) will be created for each casino proposal. 

In New York City, each CAC will have six members, with Mayor Eric Adams, Gov. Kathy Hochul, the borough president and the local state senator, assemblymember and councilmember each picking one.   

The CAC will conduct its own public meetings, and then two-thirds of the members must approve the casino application in order for it to be considered by the state’s Gaming Facility Location Board. 

City Planning spokesperson Casey Berkovitz said in a statement to THE CITY that the amendment is “a more efficient use of city time and resources” because the agency will not have to process a rezoning application for each casino proposal.

“Along with other city agencies, we will continue to offer expertise and guidance as relevant throughout the state licensing process, both to members of CACs (which includes the Mayor or a representative) once established and to policymakers and the public more broadly,” he said.

Dan Garodnick, director of the city planning agency, has said the amendment will help those looking to open in the city compete with proposals elsewhere downstate: 

&#;It&#;s important that we create a level playing field for applicants within New York City so they can compete for this opportunity,” he said late last month.

Council Speaker Adrienne Adams has voiced her support for the amendment approval process, releasing a joint statement with Garodnick back in October. The City Council must approve all zoning and land use changes under ULURP.

“Casinos have the potential to bring jobs and economic opportunities to New Yorkers, but applicants within New York City are at a disadvantage today because the city does not currently have a mechanism in our land use regulations to properly review casino siting,” the statement read. 

Big Money?

A casino in New York City could result in as much as $ billion a year in revenue, according to a study commissioned by state gaming authorities, NY1 reported this summer. 

But a report from State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found that the four licensed casinos based upstate have raked in just $ million in tax revenue for local governments between and

Despite doubts about the impact of gaming in the city, Mayor Adams has said he would support casinos here.

Currently, ventures looking to open a downstate casino are going through their second round of questions to state gaming regulators. After that wraps up, expectedly in the coming weeks, those ventures will then submit their applications to the state for casino licenses. After that, the CAC process will begin.   

There are about a dozen casino proposals overall, but only nine for casinos in New York City. Five would be in Midtown Manhattan, another in Coney Island, another at a golf course that until recently bore the Trump name in The Bronx, and two would be at sites in Queens. 

While the amendment would allow for the proposals to undergo scrutiny in most cases, there still might be some instances that would necessitate ULURP, and some other proposals — such as the one being pitched by Mets Owner Steve Cohen at the parking lot surrounding Citi Field — would require state legislature approval because it requires park land alienation. 

Legislators and insiders have said one of the Queens proposals, from Genting Group’s Resorts World New York City, as well as the Empire City Casino in Yonkers, are likely to obtain licenses because they are best equipped to transition from facilities that house racetracks and electronic casino games to a full gaming operation, which would allow for live gaming such as table games. If true, that would mean only one downstate license is truly up for grabs.  

Under ULURP, the City Planning Commission must also vote on the proposal to scrap ULURP for the casino proposals. At the commission’s Nov. 27 review session, members raised questions about the amendment, saying it would allow for a hotel of any size without city planning oversight and that gaming facilities could be detrimental to local communities, according to Cityland, a New York Law School publication. 

If CPC votes in favor, the proposal would go to the City Council and mayor for approval.