Long Island Residents Launch Petition Against Sands Casino Plan
Posted on: March 20, 2023, 04:42h.
Last updated on: March 22, 2023, 11:05h.
Las Vegas Sands’ plan to bring a new casino hotel to Nassau County, N.Y., is facing opposition from locals, who believe the venue will do more harm than good.
The residents formed the “Say No to the Casino Civic Association,” which is not politically affiliated, to approach Nassau County policymakers about rejecting the gaming company’s overtures. They also started a petition on Change.org, which, as of this writing, has 1,759 signatures. They’re aiming to gather at least 2,500 signatures with the hope that, at that point, local news outlets will be more inclined to pick up the story.
This casino will change the character of Nassau County and the surrounding neighborhoods and will lead to an increase in crime, traffic and noise pollution. It will also put a strain on our local law enforcement and governments,” noted the association.
The association isn’t the only Long Island entity opposing the casino plan. Earlier this year, Hofstra University spoke against a gaming venue and recently reiterated that view. Likewise, the Garden City Village Board of Trustees believes the plan should be rejected.
Long Island Casino Opposition Not Unusual
Las Vegas Sands is among a cadre of well-known gaming companies vying for three downstate permits in New York. Others include Bally’s, Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts International, Resorts World, and Wynn Resorts.
As is the case with seemingly nearly every new casino proposal across the country, Sands is facing some opposition in Long Island — something that’s happening with a variety of the other New York City-area casino pitches as well. For example, there’s budding dissent against bringing gaming venues to Times Square and the Willets Point area adjacent to Citi Field in Queens.
In January, Sands said it entered into agreements to acquire the long-term leases pertaining to the site home to Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Should those transactions be approved, the gaming company would gain control of up to 80 acres. That would pave the way for it to develop a casino hotel if it is selected as one of the three recipients of new gaming licenses.
LVS CEO Rob Goldstein said in January the project could generate tens of millions of dollars in fresh tax revenue for Long Island, which could allow politicians to evaluate property tax relief. He added that a Nassau County casino could boost local businesses and community groups.
Long Island Casino Has Some Support
In a speech earlier this month, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman outlined some of the must-haves for a Long Island casino, including “a luxury hotel and entertainment component; it must bring significant revenue to the county and surrounding areas, including construction and permanent jobs; and third, it must have the support of the community.”
Blakeman previously said that conventions, dining, and entertainment should be the venue’s focus, with gaming secondary to those endeavors.
Sands’ intent to bid for a New York City-area casino permit was well-known. But the focus on Long Island is more recent and potentially prudent. In late 2022, former New York Gov. David Paterson (D), now a senior vice president at the gaming company, said he’d push his employer to consider Long Island.
When New York authorities will announce the winners of the three downstate licenses is the subject of ample speculation. Initially, the belief was it could happen late this year. But recent rumors surfaced, indicating the process could drift into 2024 or 2025.
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Last Comments ( 14 )
It is a travesty that Nassau County officials are trying to rush the lease transfer process through without listening to the community - the taxpayers own that land and should have a say in its future. A casino at the heart of the county would create long-term damage that would far outweigh any revenue gains. How lazy and cynical for elected officials to wish a casino on it's own community, where the most vulnerable among us will be fleeced of their cash, lured by slot machines that will be programmed for maximum addiction. A casino is designed to keep patrons inside - the busloads of customers that may flow in and out will not contribute a dime to surrounding businesses. But the those communities will see a decline in their property values, an increase in crime, and the majority of the sought after revenue will go to the casino, not to the community. Nassau County can do better, and should put the work in to champion a project that generates revenues and supports the long-term well being of the community.
Las Vegas Sands peddles misinformation and spin. There are no "fresh tax revenue", the vast majority of tax dollars will be taken from pockets of Long Island gamblers who visit the mega casino. Nassau County politicians will never provide residents "property tax relief" - they will just spend the tax revenues and much of those revenues will go to pay the infrastructure cost of having a mega casino in the heart of our county - more police enforcement, more cost to maintain roads, more DWI accidents to investigate, etc. As to the claim that the mega casino will "boost local businesses and community groups" - only gas stations will benefit from the all the extra traffic - visitors to the mega casino will stay in the casino. As to "community groups', we don't need any more visits from David Beckman or token contributions to try to buy us off - Long Island residents will never be bought off by Las Vegas Sands.
Placing a casino within walking distance of forty thousand plus students ranging in age from Preschool to Graduate school is a terrible idea. Nassau County is already struggling with a plethora of environmental, traffic, and addiction issues. Having a casino would considerably exacerbate these problems and create new ones. Our elected officials should focus on developments that would improve our Quality of Life not destroy it.
We have enough casinos in New York. That site is surrounded by a world-class medical institution, a wonderful college and university as well as a top high school in addition, wonderful residential communities . None of these are a great mix for a gambling complex right next to them. New York State and the counties have to stop worrying about making money at the expense of quality of life.
Thank you for this coverage of the community's opposition to the proposed casino in Nassau County! Have you considered embedding the hyperlink to the petition in the text of this story so your readers can more easily check the current signature count on the petition? The URL for the petition is: https://www.change.org/p/say-no-to-the-casino
Long Island does not want or need the chaos that a casino would bring. An addiction to gambling causes the death of many dreams. Gambling chaos often turns happy homes into broken homes!
Where are the environmental impact studies for this proposed casino complex? How can the Nassau County Legislature even consider transferring the lease for this property to the Sands without them? There is plenty of research that shows the deleterious social effects casinos have on surrounding communities and we have no reason to expect they wouldn’t hold true here. But where are the specific studies that show the effects this proposal would have on the air, traffic, noise, and aquifer? What about the infrastructure requirements? Additional police and fire services? It would be irresponsible to approve transferring the lease without this information at minimum.
Thank you for highlighting the strong opposition to Blakeman’s Casino project
A community of 40,000 students is an entirely inappropriate location to build a casino.
The notion that our communities could be so intensely shaped and changed forever, without any say or support from those of us that live here is inherently contrary to everything a democratic society stands for. As a mother, this threat scares me for the future. Reports from Las Vegas Sands PR that the community supports their prescience are categorically false and I pray that our local politicians do not fail us in defending the clear, loud, and seemingly universal opposition to this casino proposal.
Stop funding our communities with VICE! Gambling is already causing quality of life issues for Long Island residents. Say NO to the casino!!
I hope our elected officials read the local Newsday article this weekend, which stated we are on the cusp of a gambling addition crisis here in Long Island - especially among young men. Long Island is one of the TOP gambling locations in the country, and treatment centers already can't keep up. If approved, in a few years we will have an epidemic of people crashing down on us in Nassau Co who need treatment and the resulting crime rates WILL skyrocket. Any benefit from taxes will have to go into treatment facilities as we will have a terrible problem on our hands. Furthermore, the fact that you are even considering placing this venue across from Hofstra University, Nassau Co Community College and a high school is really unconscionable. Have you no shame? Please don't do this to our youth.
Bruce Blakeman notes it is important to have community support. Each person I speak with opposes the casino as there are so many better ideas for useful growth. Are there plans, for example, to build new state-of-the-art public schools with the proceeds? The answer is, based on the history of casinos, “no”. That is not the plan for this hotel/casino project. The proceeds will end up in the hands of the worst people. The founder and longtime CEO of Las Vegas Sands is Donald Trump's largest donor Sheldon Adelson. The man who made it a life goal to fight against medical marajuana, with billions of dollars. Their company has no affiliation with doing public good. The company does have a fleet of 8 massive airplanes "which handles the personal affairs of the Adelson family." They do have a running list of Anti-bribery violations with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and similar charges with members of congress. There isn't a feel-good counter argument for why this casino should be built. Casinos degrade neighborhoods for ten miles around. Say no to a casino.
Issue of interest.