Justin Brannan Voted in Favor of Casinos in NYC
Last Thursday, Justin Brannan voted in favor of the “City of Yes Gaming Facility Text Amendment,” which changes zoning in NYC. (News)
You can see NYC Council’s bill here.
The Council’s vote was 35 to 15And Justin Brannan’s vote:
This bill allows casinos to be constructed in commercial and manufacturing zones in NYC. The developers that win one of the three casino licenses in NYC will no longer need to go through NYC’s process, called ULURP (Uniform Land Use Review Procedure).
Brannan’s social media accounts failed to mention the casino vote.
Most of the casino projects will be able to happen without additional rezoning, except for these four locations: Coney Island, Hudson Yards, Citifield and Bally’s Golf Links in the Bronx.
Councilman Kalman Yager, who also represents part of Coney Island voted NO. He said: “Gaming venues near schools and where families live amounts to “bad policy.” (Source) Yager also asked: “Why would we unilaterally give up a level of authority that we have over land use matters? We’ve been granted this privilege by the voters, by the city charter to rule on these things, and we’re walking away from it.”
The bidding for casino license in NYS will open in 2025. “Developers and casino operators must submit their proposals before the June 30, 2025 deadline, and they must be approved by the Community Advisory Committee.” (Source) By the time that is decided at the end of 2025, Justin Brannan will be out of office (due to term limits).
At a press conferences, Justin Brannan said “I think the CAC process is going to be robust and rigorous. But in order to get to that process, and for the community to provide input on whether they want it or not, we need this text amendment.“
Brannan continued: “What we were seeing was one applicant starting at second base, the other guy was still in the dugout. This text amendment at least puts everyone at the same footing and then we go from there.” (Source)
Justin Brannan was lobbied by Thor Equities, who wants to put a casino in Coney Island:
Like Brannan, Councilmember Kristy Marmorato represents an area where a casino is being planned in the Bronx (at Bally’s). “Marmorato said passing the zoning amendment could lead to a slippery slope in which the city attempts to circumvent its typical rezoning process whenever it chooses.” (Source)
Justin Brannan knew that NYC overwhelmingly is against casinos as 19 Community Boards voted against them and 30 Community Boards declined to weigh-in. ** Community Board 10 did not vote (See here) Community Boards in Brooklyn even voted in Downtown Brooklyn, even though there is casino planned for that area. Only four community boards voted in favor of the casinos. (Source)
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Hugs,
marlene
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