Vision is out tonight at a community meeting in Carle Place with over 800 people tackling the proposed casino by Nassau OTB at Fortunoff in Westbury. Nassau OTB suggests 45% of net from the machines will go to NYS which is projected at $40 million. The County would receive some funding to support their budget and their would be some sort of local impact or host fee. According to OTB it seems the NYS Gaming Commission will be the lead agency and handle any SEQRA review not a local elected municipality. The consultant from OTB answered the question as to how the site was vetted. They claim that the Fortunoff site was ranked and selected out of 20 sites. Supporting elected officials tonight include Westbury Mayor Peter I. Cavallaro, North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth, Councilwoman Viviana Johnson Russell, Clerk Wayne Wink, Nassau County Legislators Siela Bynoe, Laura Schaefer, Williston Park Mayor and others. Uniondale and Carle Place Schools were also out. Vision spoke and raised questions on the market viability of gaming, the economic and social impacts of gaming and the lack of a public process in siting and reviewing this project. It seems there is more diligent review in siting a 7/11 or a deck in your backyard than a casino. The impacts on downtown redevelopment are real questions. Questions were raised from the community concerning the economic viability of the existing OTB. With only $3 million generated annually to the County since 2008 some suggested shutting down the OTB. Questions on crime, transparency and operations also were raised. Moving forward the group will speak out at the Nassau Legislature on Monday. Kudos to Carle Place Civic Association president John Hommel for putting together a productive forum.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 03:01:46 +0000
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