It’s official: Steve Cohen is getting his casino.
The Gaming Commission of New York met Tuesday at the Robert Frederick Smith Center in Harlem to decide on the fate of Metropolitan Park’s casino, along with two other licenses.
All three were approved, leading to Cohen and the Hard Rock Casino leaping the highest hurdle toward revolutionizing the area surrounding Citi Field.
The board, along with New York state politicians, casino board members, and journalists, all sat in front of the board and their Christmas decorations as the Gaming Commission listed off all the criteria that all three groups passed to be awarded their casino:
- The character and fitness test
- Their promise to the community
- The benefits to the economic landscape of the community and state of New York
“My understanding again is that state police background material has no singular items accumulator that would inhibit the positive consideration of a facility license,” Brian O’Dwyer, the Gaming Commission Chair, stated before motioning for the vote that would award Cohen his gaming facility license.
Part of the promise that the Hard Rock Metropolitan Park made to the community were jobs. It promised to hire a portion of local and minority workers, giving the residents of Flushing the opportunity to reap the rewards of the new mega-facility.
“Obviously, a significant portion of each project is the minority-owned, women-owned, service developed, veteran-owned business utilization and eventually general workforce utilization,” O’Dwyer stated. “This commission, as well as the governor, takes their diversity and minority hiring very, very seriously.”
“And each one of you can be assured that we will be monitoring that to ensure that residents of those, many of those who are minorities, benefit greatly from the work that you’re doing.”
It was a monumental decision for the state of New York, but in the lens of the Mets, it completely overhauls the landscape of how Mets’ fans will view the area in the future.
Metropolitan Park. Photo Credit NYC/FDC
Metropolitan Park Comes to Life
The casino will be immersive. It includes 286,208 feet of gaming space, which holds 5,000 slot machines, 375 live dealer tables, 30 poker tables, and 18,381 square feet dedicated to sportsbook betting and bars.
Not to mention, there’s more to gambling with the addition of the Hard Rock Casino. Attached will be a Hard Rock Live theater venue with 5,650 seats, 18 food and beverage venues, 38,459 square feet that includes a spa, pool, and fitness space, 97,564 square feet dedicated to conference and meeting spaces, approximately 20,00 square feet dedicated to retail space, and 1,000 total hotel rooms, with 393 of those rooms being suites.
It also adds multi-story parking garages, which are expected to increase the parking to capacity from 7,750 to 13,750. The Southfield Parking Structure will be eight levels high and sit near Roosevelt Avenue and Seaver Way. The Northfield Parking Structure will be built over Shea Road and allow for a covered public walkway from Willets Point to Metropolitan Park. The Taste of Queens structure will also include parking.
The casino is the first step completed in Cohen’s vision for the area surrounding Citi Field. You can read about the entirety of Metropolitan Park’s proposal here.
Via Hard Rock Casino
Construction on Metropolitan Park to Begin Soon
There still are multiple hurdles to clear for Cohen before the implementation of the casino and Metropolitan Park. Firstly, the construction. The group is expected to start building right away, beginning in January 2026. The finished project will be expected in 2030.
The Hard Rock Metropolitan Park group must also execute a contract with an independent, Gaming Commission-approved, third-party monitoring agency to assure it meets its promises to the Gaming Commission and Gaming Facility Location Board. This contract must last at least five years.
O’Dwyer, however, also had a stern message for the board.
“You can be assured that this commission takes our responsibility of keeping your feet to the fire very, very seriously—with great respect.”
O’Dwyer, however, also explained that he and the board are excited for the opportunity ahead, as Metropolitan Park and the two other casinos should bring numerous jobs to New York in the near future.
“For myself, as a longtime lawyer, for labor unions in this city, I am looking forward to the creation of hundreds, if not thousands, of good union jobs in Queens and the Bronx,” he said. “You all have an important charge ahead of you and a great responsibility.”
