Citi Field project

Cohen, the billionaire hedge fund manager who purchased the Mets in 2020, wants to build the project on 50 acres of parkland currently used as a parking lot for Citi Field.

The centerpiece would be a casino run by Hard Rock Entertainment, requiring a license Cohen is vying for in a furious bidding war opened up by state legislation authorizing new downstate gaming facilities, which has drawn in some of the world’s top players in real estate and gambling for a once-in-a-lifetime moneymaking opportunity.

Casino and entertanment complex

To sweeten the pot, Cohen is pledging to transform the Willets Point area west of Citi Field into a major entertainment destination. The team behind Metropolitan Park has proposed building 20 acres of new public parks and 5 acres of new community athletic fields, accessibility upgrades at the Mets-Willets Point 7 train stop, improved roadways and cycling paths, and a $163 million “community impact fund” that would provide grants to local Queens nonprofits.

That’s in addition to a new live music venue and a “Taste of Queens” food hall featuring local vendors. Overall, Cohen’s team says the proposal would invest $8 billion in Queens and create more than 23,000 jobs, both permanent and temporary.

It would come as the city pushes forward on transforming the eastern part of Willets Point, long a derelict collection of autobody shops and scrapyards, into a destination in its own right, with a new soccer stadium for New York City Football Club and thousands of units of affordable housing.

Other casino bids for downstate New York

Still, Cohen is just one of a laundry list of players seeking to win one of three new casino licenses for downstate New York authorized by state lawmakers. With two of the licenses expected to be awarded to existing “racinos” — which have slot machines and horse racing, but no table games like poker or roulette — the competition for the third license is fierce.

Bidders are also seeking to build casinos in Times Square, Hudson Yards, the United Nations, Coney Island, and the former Trump Links golf course in the Bronx, among other spots.

Many of the bids have faced significant community opposition, a potential death knell in a system designed to center the input of local politicians. Cohen’s bid is facing particular headwinds: the parking lot at Citi Field is technically considered parkland, and allowing development on the site would require a “parkland alienation” bill in Albany.

But local state Sen. Jessica Ramos — now a candidate for mayor — threw a curveball to the project when she said in May she would not introduce the parkland alienation bill, citing what she said was opposition to a casino from her constituents. That stance drew rebukes from some fellow Queens pols, including Borough President Donovan Richards.

Reached for comment, Metropolitan Park spokesperson Karl Rickett said Ramos’ opposition didn’t necessarily kill the project, and in fact, any senator could theoretically introduce the parkland alienation bill in Albany’s upper chamber.

“The state never intended any one person to have the ability to single-handedly stop or approve a project, which is why this process is designed to engage the community and elected officials every step of the way,” said Rickett. “We have plenty of time and other avenues to get this done and feel confident given the overwhelming support from elected officials, unions, and the local community, that we have the best overall project. We are all in.”

Still, though, any casino proposal must also get the thumbs up from a committee appointed by local elected officials in the area where the proposal is sited if there’s any hope to proceed. For Citi Field, that would include a representative of Ramos. But aside from Richards, local Assembly Member Jeffrion Aubry supports the project and has introduced an alienation bill in his chamber, and local City Council Member Francisco Moya is also a backer.