Coney Island boardwalk casino hearing draws raucous crowd

From Brooklyn Eagle

By Gabriele Holtermann

Emotions ran high as supporters and opponents of the proposed The Coney Casino and Entertainment Resort clashed at a Community Board 13 public land hearing at the Coney Island YMCA on Jan. 9. 

Community members had the chance to make their voices and feelings heard regarding the mega-development along the iconic boardwalk that has served as a background for movie classics like “The Little Fugitive,” and their testimonies were often interrupted and drowned by the raucous crowd’s boos and cheers.

Thor Equities Group and its partners — Saratoga Casino Holdings, the Chickasaw Nation and Legends Hospitality Group — are behind the five-acre project along Stillwell Avenue, which includes a casino, a 500-room hotel, a convention center and event space, retail and restaurant space, a concert venue, parking and one acre of public space. The Coney is one of 11 contenders vying for one of the three casino licenses that are up for grabs in the greater New York City area.

Opponents argued that the project would change the characteristics of Coney Island, block the view of the beach and institutions like Deno’s Wonder Wheel, worsen traffic, hurt local businesses, demolish 90% of Luna Park rides and vendors, bring more crime and exacerbate the gambling addiction crisis.

Adam Rinn, artistic director at the nonprofit arts organization Coney Island USA, said he was testifying to “put an end” to the casino, which he described as a “monstrosity and greedy structure.”

“This is by far the worst thing that could happen to this neighborhood,” said Rinn, who fears that Coney Island USA, home to the Coney Island Circus Sideshow, the Freak Bar and the Mermaid Parade, would be “engulfed” by the casino. 

“[The casino] will destroy everything that we are as a not-for-profit arts organization,” Rinn said. “As a resident who lives on the eastern end of the district, closer to Ocean Parkway, I don’t want the traffic. I don’t want the crime. I don’t want the drugs. I don’t want anything that’s associated with the casino.”

Midwood resident Yaakov Kaplan is the vice president of Community Board 12. He testified that in 2022, the same year New York legalized online sports betting, calls to the New York State gambling addiction helpline increased by 26%. Kaplan told this paper that instead of building economic growth, casinos build tragedies. 

“Addiction is a hard enough issue right now,” Kaplan said. “To bring a massive casino here in our neighborhood is a sham that the government’s willing to trade possible tax dollars for the effects of addictions that gambling brings.”

Before the hearing, The Coney announced a $200 million community trust for the Coney Island community if it was granted a gaming license. The trust fund would support local projects like boardwalk improvements, community grants, public art and workforce development. The move was questioned by Community Board 13 member Lucy Mujica Diaz. 

“It’s $200 million that you’re placing in a trust. Will you still be giving that money to the community if you do not receive the gambling license? In addition, why have you not given $200 million to the community as of today?” Mujica Diaz asked the consortium representatives. 

Twenty-eight-year-old Bushwick resident Artina Darkly told this paper that she’s been coming to Coney Island her entire life and wants new generations of kids to experience the Coney Island she grew up with. 

“[Coney Island] still brings joy to people my age, and it’s not something that we’ve ever forgotten. Coney Island is such a staple of New York City, and I feel like we’re losing so much of New York City’s culture,” Darkly said. 

However, proponents say The Coney will bring year-round, well-paying jobs to an underserved area with a high unemployment rate where many residents rely on seasonal work. The Coney will give preference to Coney Islanders in the hiring process and provide career training. 

Former New York City councilmember Robert Cornegy is a consultant on the Coney Island casino bid. He said that his current role was an extension of his work on the City Council, where he chaired the NYC Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) Task Force. 

The Coney, Cornegy explained, would improve the quality of life for residents by creating $30-per-hour union jobs while ensuring that minority-owned businesses are part of the project.  

“My role here is to ensure that there’s M/WBE participation and that the community is represented in all phases of the project,” Cornegy said. “The M/WBE participation portion of it, which I get the most excited about, is having small, minority-owned businesses represented in the project, whether it’s on the casino floor, as in restaurants, or whether it’s helping development.”

For Cornegy, the project is not only about providing low-income residents with upward economic mobility or improving infrastructure; he is also excited about bringing a “world-class” entertainment venue to Coney Island.

“[Coney Island] has been deemed an entertainment district since I was a child and before I was a child. So actually, it’s consistent with what the fabric of Coney Island has been,” Cornegy explained. “Generations of families have come to Coney Island to celebrate and to be entertained. [The Coney] is just an elevated opportunity for that to happen.”

Martin Allen, president of People for Political and Economic Empowerment (PPEE), an organization that supports young people finding trade jobs, is also a staunch supporter of the project. 

Allen was born and raised on the peninsula. He spent almost 30 years in prison and was released in 2000. Allen told this paper that the resort would give young people career opportunities he had been denied as a young person. 

“Coney Island’s dying. It’s a cancer. They’re killing each other,” said Allen, whose nephew was killed last week. He said the casino would train people and set them up for the long-term jobs desperately needed in Coney Island, keeping them off the street and decreasing crime.