Oversight Committee Rejects Thor Equities’ Coney Island Casino Pitch

The spoiler alerts from last week were true: The oversight panel charged with saying yay or nay on a casino in Coney Island, Brooklyn, went with the latter option.

The Community Advisory Committee (CAC) voted against allowing the proposal by Thor Equities and its partners to advance to the next phase of approvals, eliminating their casino idea called The Coney from the running for three available downstate casino licences. 

CAC members vote 4-2 against The Coney due to its perceived lack of benefits for the surrounding community and the possible harm a gaming floor could do to the already precarious economic outlook for the south Brooklyn enclave.

Thor and its partners — Saratoga Casino Holdings, the Chickasaw Nation and Legends — had attempted to sweeten the pot at the last minute, increasing the size of the community trust it would create if awarded a license to $300 million and its public safety fund to a total of $100 million, as well as giving CAC members full command of how the money would be spent, Commercial Observer reported Friday.

The $3.4 billion plan had aimed to place a casino, hotel, conference center and entertainment venue, not to mention 70,000 square feet of retail, on four vacant blocks near the Riegelmann Boardwalk in what its backers believed would transform Coney Island into a year-around destination.

CAC members actively opposing the project included Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, Councilmember Justin Brannan and state Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton.

The applicants that have made it through the ringer and advanced to approval by the New York State Gaming Commission include Bally’s proposal for a resort near Ferry Point Park in the Bronx, which was approved Monday morning, and proposals from Resorts World New York City in Queens and MGM Empire City in Yonkers approved last week.

The applicants that have been blocked from proceeding to the next phase include all three Manhattan proposals:  Freedom Plaza, Caesars Palace Times Square and The Avenir.

Now the only application remaining unsettled is that of New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock Entertainment for a gaming facility adjacent to Citi Field. That proposal, known as Metropolitan Park, is up for a CAC vote on Sept. 30 at 11 a.m.

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.