Hundreds of people gathered at the New York Hall of Science for a town hall hosted by state Sen. Jessica Ramos Wednesday evening to provide encouragement—or disapproval—of the proposed casino plan by Citi Field or the alternative Phoenix Meadows proposal.
A huge line wrapped around the building as residents waited in anticipation to get inside. Part of the massive crowd were required to go into a standby auditorium to watch a live stream of the town hall via Facebook.
The meeting, the third to be held by Ramos, was significant, since she said she would make a decision whether or not to support the development of the site by the end of the legislative session in June. Given the site is public parkland, it needs Albany to pass legislation in order for private development to proceed via a parkland alienation measure.
The meeting got off to a rocky start due to technical difficulties with the live stream in the secondary auditorium. Disgruntled residents in that room vocalized their complaints about audio problems. Ramos came in to placate the crowd and offered headsets to those who needed them. Around 7:30 p.m., the issues were fixed, and onlookers were able to watch the livestream going on in the main auditorium.
The panelists at the meeting included representatives of Metropolitan Park, which is billionaire Mets owner Steve Cohen’s proposal, and Phoenix Meadows, consisting of a plan put forward by a neighborhood group.
The representatives of Metropolitan Park presented their $8 billion proposal that would boast 20 acres of new park space in conjunction with the development of a casino, hotel and entertainment complex. They said the plan, which is also dependent on a casino license, would bring 15,000 construction and permanent jobs and has the backing of several unions. They also touted a $1 billion community benefits package, which includes an athletic field and MTA station upgrades.
Meanwhile, the advocates for the Phoenix Meadows proposal,…
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