200,000 reasons why Cuomo is a now a big Islanders fan

 

Field of Schemes

As I’ve often pointed out in this space, political corruption is seldom as simple as a quid pro quo, where a politician backs a favored project solely in exchange for campaign donations. There are other factors at work — wanting to have big shiny projects they can use to show they’re allegedly creating jobs, wanting to please “growth coalitions” of business leaders who band together behind development deals, wanting the damn lobbyists to finally go away — that are equally if not more effective than outright bribes.
 
That said, handing over stacks of twenties is a time-honored way to at least say thank you for services rendered. And according to campaign finance records compiled by Newsday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo collected more than $200,000 worth of small bills in recent weeks in the wake of his support of the New York Islanders‘ new arena at Belmont Park:

Cuomo received $50,000 from Scott Malkin, and another $50,000 from Jon Ledecky, with both contributions listed as occurring on July 10, according to state campaign finance records. Ledecky and Malkin are the co-owners of the New York Islanders, who are in the midst of building themselves a new arena at Belmont. Belmont is state-owned land – and the project’s approval came after strong support from Cuomo.

Adding to the Belmont sundae just a few days later, an entity referred to in campaign finance data as Sterling Mets LP provided another $50,000 to Cuomo’s political coffers. Sterling Project Development, the real estate arm of Sterling Equities, the owner of the New York Mets, is partnering with the Islanders on the Belmont effort.

The cherry on top came from Oak View Group – another partner in the Belmont effort. Oak View itself contributed $5,000 on July 8. But Oak View chief executive Timothy Leiweke gave Cuomo $50,000 on July 8, and another $3,000 on July 14.

Is $203,000 in donations a lot? Cuomo’s relection campaign committee raked in just over $2 mllion in the last six months, so the Islanders developers’ cash amounted to about 10% of his total take, which is significant if not overwhelming. Though Cuomo has long relied heavily on donations from big developers and other donors with business before the state, so you can certainly argue that the promise of campaign cash is what got the Belmont arena team a seat at the table, even if it didn’t buy them the entire table. 



Islanders lost in OT

Rally against Belmont proposal today

Hi Queens Crap,

Could you please write something on the proposed Belmont Arena project. This very large project is in Nassau County within walking distance to Queens will affect every surrounding community within miles of the arena. What they don’t tell you in this article is in addition to the 19,000 seat arena there is a 250 room hotel, a very large Retail Village (Mega mall) and NYRA is planning on making major renovations and changes to the race track. The project is to large, will create gridlock for miles, turn our residential streets into parking lots and devastate all the surrounding communities.

I am not a Islander fan but this project has very little to do with bringing the team back to Long Island. The Islanders will only use the arena 40-50 days a year. Between other events at the arena, racing at Belmont, seven days a week shopping at the mall we can expect easily an additional 30,000-40,000 people a day. Belmont Stakes day every day. Our communities are not against development at Belmont we are just asking for smart development.

There is a rally against the proposed arena on Sunday October 14th at 2:00PM on Hempstead Turnpike in front of the proposed site.

Thanks

Michael

Islanders moving to Belmont

From Metro:

The state announced on Wednesday that the bid submitted by the Islanders, Sterling Project Development and Oak View Group won the right to build a state-of-the-art arena on the 43 acres of land in Elmont, NY between Hempstead Turnpike and the Cross Island Parkway.

It is a $1 billion investment which is being completely funded by the Islanders, Sterling and OVG. The team is expected to get a 49-year lease and pay $40 million in rent, per Randi Marshall of Newsday.

The 43 acres of developed land will also include a hotel that will allow fans and opposing teams to stay at, 435,000-square feet of retail space and a cultural center.

Soccer or hockey stadium may be headed to Belmont

From CBS 2:

What does the future hold for the vacant lots at Belmont Park?

More than 200 of its neighbors went to Elmont High School on Sunday to find out what two New York sports teams have in mind. As CBS2’s Hazel Sanchez reported, most locals weren’t very happy about what they heard.

“Like it or not, the residents of this area are getting a stadium, and the congestion is going to be mind boggling,” one man said.

“It’s going to be nightmare,” another person added.

The New York City Football Club, partly owned by the New York Yankees, hopes to transform part of the property north of Hempstead Turnpike into a 26,000 seat open-air stadium for its professional soccer team.

Meanwhile, the New York Islanders want to turn that property into a world class sports and entertainment facility, including an 18,000 seat arena for the professional hockey team.

No more horse poop in sewers

From the Daily News:

The New York Racing Association has agreed to stop dumping water contaminated with horse manure and detergent from the Aqueduct Racetrack into city sewer drains.

The Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's office filed a lawsuit under the Clean Water Act alleging in 2013 and 2014 the racetrack had discharged more than 1 million gallons of wastewater into the Hawtree and Bergen Basins which ultimately flowed into Jamaica Bay.

An NYRA employee is responsible for making sure there are no discharges of contaminated water into storm drains when horses, wash pads, and manure bins are hosed down. Sixty-two trees will be planted at Belmont Park to help capture storm water runoff.

Cuomo wants to develop Aqueduct

From the Daily News:

From Gov. Cuomo comes the welcome news that Aqueduct’s days as a shabby and underutilized thoroughbred track are likely numbered.

In its heyday, Aqueduct drew tens of thousands of horse racing fans every day during its meet. Now, with racing’s steep decline and the availability of off-track wagering, it’s a hulking shell onto which has been grafted a video slot-machine casino.

The track and parking lots cover almost 200 acres of land in southern Queens that could be put to productive use — for example, as the site of affordable housing. This page has long called for shutting the place and moving its races to Belmont Park, just 8 miles to the east.

“I agree,” Cuomo said at a recent meeting with the Daily News Editorial Board.

“It’s been a waste,” he said. “You could do anything at Aqueduct. I mean, you’re right at the airport. It’s a great piece of property. It’s one of the largest pieces of property, probably, in the city of New York....

Here comes another taxpayer funded development scheme to benefit one of the Governor's friends...

Comrie concerned about Cosmos

From the Queens Courier:

Some politicians feel the New York Cosmos need to do everything they can to win the community.

The soccer club, which restarted recently after not playing a game in nearly three decades, is planning to construct a 25,000 seat stadium in Elmont’s Belmont Park near the Queens and Nassau border. The team currently plays at Hofstra University’s Shuart Stadium in Long Island.

The project has come under direct fire by Carrié Solages, a legislator in Nassau County, while on the Queens side Councilmember Leroy Comrie has brought up potential community concerns, such as increased traffic, noise and lights.

“It’s a residential community and you can understand that people want to keep it that way,” Comrie said.

Comrie is not against the stadium as he was with Major League Soccer (MLS) trying to put a similar-sized venue in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park for the New York City Football Club because that project called for taking land from the park. But he thinks Belmont could be a “suitable” location for a soccer stadium.

The councilmember will gauge concerns from the community through future meetings.

Soccer stadium coming to Queens-Nassau border?

From CBS New York:

The Islanders are moving to Brooklyn, but will Long Island soon gain a professional soccer team?

The New York Cosmos have big plans for a soccer stadium on the Queens/Nassau County border.

But as CBS 2’s Carolyn Gusoff reported Wednesday, not everyone’s a fan of the idea.

In the shadow of Belmont racetrack, sits a specific parking lot. However, soon, weeds could be replaced with stadium grass, and parking stalls with sidelines.

The Cosmos, a world famous franchise that was reborn recently following three decades of dormancy, has proposed a 25,000-seat privately funded soccer stadium for the site. Proponents say it’s just what Long Island needs to generate jobs and tax revenue.

“The whole idea of taking a weed-infested parking lot and replacing that with a state-of-the-art $400 million stadium, I think, just makes all the sense in the world,” said state Sen. Jack Martins (R-7th District)

The local soccer club president welcomed community fields.

But not everyone in Belmont’s backyard is cheering. Critics are going door to door gathering signatures against the stadium.

“Selling hot dogs just does not translate into sustainable economic development for any community,” Elmont community activist Aubrey Phillips said.

“We know crime will come up and we also know that traffic will be a nuisance, and we don’t want our property values to go down any further,” added Milagros Vicentre of the North Valley Stream Neighborhood Association.

Belmont sounds better

From Capital New York:

The New York Cosmos have submitted a bid to build a stadium in Elmont, just a dozen miles from where Major League Soccer wants to erect a stadium of its own, in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

M.L.S. has plans to create a second team in the New York market to complement, and compete with, the New York Red Bulls franchise, which is based in Harrison, N.J.

The Cosmos are a new organization. Next season they'll be playing in the sub-major North American Soccer League. Their official position is that they don't necessarily want to be the second M.L.S. team in the New York market. But they are widely believed to want to be that team.

The team responded to a state request for proposals to develop the south lot of the Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont, just over the Queens border in Nassau County.

"I am pleased to inform you that one of the proposals that was submitted includes a comprehensive plan to build a professional soccer arena, shopping, community park, restaurants and a hotel on the south lot," wrote State Senator Jack Martins on Jan. 14 in a letter to the Elmont Coalition for Sustainable Development. "The plan, submitted by the New York Cosmos soccer team, calls for a $400 million investment of private funds. This plan is real, it has been submitted to New York State, and I am proud to have helped foster its submission."

Unconventional convention center thinking

From Crain's:

Executives in the tourism and trade show business have been lukewarm about a convention center in South Ozone Park, because of its distance from, and lack of speedy transportation to, Manhattan. They say that the appeal of coming to New York for a trade show is being in Manhattan. Shows held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, for example, draw up to 15% more attendees compared with other cities.

One scenario for the future might include a land grab by Genting for the adjacent racetrack, whose operation would move to the nearby Belmont track.

“We wouldn't oppose a move to Belmont,” said Mr. Goode. The governor has even vaguely hinted that Genting's expansion could affect Belmont.

“There has always been talk about consolidating racing at Belmont,” said Rick Violette, president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, which represents owners and trainers at the Saratoga, Aqueduct and Belmont tracks.

“I'm sure Genting is interested in the land, but we would be very defensive against any initiative that would harm this industry,” Mr. Violette added.

And from the NY Times:

The city’s Economic Development Corporation, which is spearheading the Willets Point overhaul, did not respond directly to questions about the governor’s Aqueduct proposal. Despite that proposal, Jennifer Friedberg, a spokeswoman for the corporation, said, “our plans have not changed.”

City officials do, however, seem to be less wedded to the convention center as part of a reborn Willets Point. For example, officials take pains to point out that any convention center is years away from being built and is not included in the first phase of the project, which covers 20 of the roughly 61 acres. That phase imagines 400 apartments, 35 percent of which will be for people of limited income, a hotel and 680,000 square feet of retail space.

The corporation is poring over proposals for the first phase from a half-dozen developers and should select a winner in coming weeks. It is also close to acquiring 90 percent of the needed land and is prepared to condemn the rest through eminent domain.

Both Mr. Cuomo’s push for an enormous convention center in southern Queens and the convention center plan for Willets Point come at a time when the centers are losing their appeal.

Uh huh. Although a convention center was the main selling point for the project because of the jobs it would allegedly create, it was never a mandatory part of the Willets Point plan and is not part of phase 1. EDC has been at "90% of the needed land" for a long time... Oh, and phase 1 is more like 10 acres, not 20. Half of the acreage is a buffer zone.

Why doesn't anyone in this state talk to each other about the boondoggle projects they seek to inflict on the public?

Belmont, Aqueduct and Saratoga may all close

From the Daily News:

The agency that runs the state's major thoroughbred racetracks says it will close them down on June 9 unless lawmakers agree to a bailout.

The New York Racing Association, which operates the Belmont, Aqueduct and Saratoga tracks, made the announcement Friday after sending out layoff notices to its 1,400 employees.

The financially beleaguered NYRA said it would "begin the implementation of plant closures" at the tracks on June 9 - three days after the prestigious Belmont Stakes.

"NYRA continues to pursue solutions with the state of New York that may avert the cessation of operations," NYRA said in its statement.

The Belmont meet is scheduled to end on July 18. The storied Saratoga season runs from July 23 through Sept. 6.

UPDATE: Crisis averted!

Belmont closing?

From the Huffington Post:

The New York Racing Association is running out of money and may have to shut down in less than three weeks, the day after the Belmont Stakes.

One leading horseman described the situation as "catastrophic" and said that even Saratoga – the jewel of New York racing – could be threatened by the turmoil.

NYRA president and CEO Charlie Hayward said Monday that cash problems must be resolved with the state "to make it through the entire Belmont Park race meet."

He did not give a timetable for a possible closing, but several horsemen said racing could be halted June 6 – a day after the Belmont is run without any star power since Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver and Preakness winner Lookin At Lucky are bypassing the final leg of the Triple Crown.

The Belmont meet ends July 18 before racing shifts upstate to Saratoga for the state's most lucrative meet, which runs July 23-Sept. 6.

"NYRA's current cash position will not allow us to make it through the entire Belmont Park race meet," Hayward said in a statement. "We are in discussions with the state regarding potential avenues for us to acquire funding."

Shinnecocks plan casino at Belmont

From the Daily News:

The Shinnecock Indians and their super-rich partners have spent more than $1 million to lobby state and federal lawmakers to let them build a "world-class" casino on Long Island - possibly at Belmont Park racetrack.

The impoverished Southampton, L.I., tribe doesn't have the money for the project, but their backers and development partners, Gateway Casino Resorts, has plenty to invest.

Gateway's principals are Marion Illitch who, with her husband, owns the Detroit Tigers, the Detroit Red Wings, and Little Caesar's national pizza chain, and wealthy gambling czar Mike Malik.

Gateway's only stated business purpose is the Shinnecock casino enterprise, and Malik has made significant contributions to politicians who could turn the plan into reality.

The casino needs the approval of the governor, the Legislature and Congress.

The partners have hired Mercury Public Affairs, whose star lobbyist is Rodney Capel, a former top official in the state Democratic Party. Capel has also worked for Sen. Chuck Schumer, Rep. Charles Rangel, and Assemblyman Herman (Denny) Farrell.

Discussions on the project, some as recent as two weeks ago, have been held with Gov. Paterson, major state leaders, Rangel, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Schumer's chief of staff, Martin Brennan, said Capel, whose firm has been paid more than $200,000.

Tribal leader Fred Bess said, "We're looking to build a world-class facility" which would include a full complement of table games like blackjack and poker, plus slot machines, a big hotel and Vegas-style entertainment.

A casino would be a billion-dollar jackpot for the 1,066-member tribe whose desolate reservation is near Southampton's luxurious mansions.

LI pols want Indian casino at Belmont

From Newsday:

Key Long Island political leaders expressed support Thursday for the idea of locating a possible Shinnecock casino at Belmont Park.

Should the tribe receive approval to open a gaming facility, Belmont is "the only place it would possibly make sense," said Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi.

A spokesman for State Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) added that the Senate minority leader "would be open" to an Indian-run casino there.

Skelos, who represents neighborhoods south of Belmont Park, and other state lawmakers from Nassau have pushed for the installation of slotlike gambling machines at the Park to compete with ones slated to open at nearby Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens.

Pony Express to come to a halt

From 1010WINS.com:

As Albany Democrats try to increase pressure on Republican senators to help bail out the New York transit system, the first casualty of cutbacks appears to be the Belmont Park race track.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Jeremy Soffin says the Long Island Rail Road will discontinue regular service to the thoroughbred track in Elmont at the end of April, when racing resumes. The train will run on June 6 for the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown.

State plans revamping of Belmont

From Newsday:

The complex at Belmont Park horse racing track in Elmont could be home someday to a hotel, video-lottery parlor, sports complex and senior housing, according to plans released Monday.

The 54-page report, from Empire State Development and the state Racing and Wagering Board, envisions new building projects adjacent to the famed track. Some would be contingent on legislative approval of the installation of slot-like gambling machines at Belmont, which so far has met with resistance in the Democratic-controlled Assembly. Nearby Aqueduct race course already has gained such approval.

At Belmont, an eight-acre parcel near the grandstand could accommodate a hotel and gambling parlor. A 20-acre parcel could be used for a hotel, senior apartments, big-box retail stores and a recreational facility, or a combination of these ideas.

The plans also call for revamping the racing facilities, including employee housing and the grandstand.

Assembly's Silver opposes video slots at Belmont

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) - New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver says he's against installing lucrative video slot machines at Belmont race track, throwing a road block at a proposal pushed by the Senate and Gov. David Paterson.

Silver says building a video slot center at the historic track on Long Island would compete with video slot machines already planned for nearby Aqueduct race track in Queens. Silver, a Democrat, says revenue to the state and racing would simply be split, not increased.

Paterson and the Senate's Republican majority proposed slots at Belmont on Sunday to raise revenue as the state faces multi-billion dollar deficits over the next three years.

But opposition from Silver, who spoke Monday at an event in Rochester, would block the plan.

NYRA saved by NY state

State Saves Racing Group, Takes Over Three Race Tracks
By: NY1 News

Belmont and Aqueduct Racetracks are now officially owned by the state and the New York Racing Association is no longer in danger of bankruptcy.

As part of a deal to shed its Chapter 11 protection, NYRA is handing over its claim to land for the Queens tracks and upstate Saratoga Racetrack.

Albany will also cover NYRA's debts and operating expenses until revenue starts to come in from video slot machines at Aqueduct.

NYRA has run the three race tracks since 1955 and will continue to do so under the deal.

The starting gate at Belmont

Belmont Park will be packed on Saturday as Big Brown, who has won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, tries to win the Belmont Stakes to become the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years. Thousands of spectators will try to get as close as they can to the finish line. But what happens at the beginning of the race might be just as important, and that is where the workers at the starting gate come into play.

When races are held on a normal weekday at Belmont, a visitor can drive down a leafy road connecting back parking lots and amble up to the chain-link fence to watch the starting gate action close up.

Life at the Starting Gate at Belmont Park

Belmont Park's day care center

Just beyond the stable gate at Belmont Park, within earshot of the galloping fillies and disgruntled gamblers, 2,000 employees labor on the racetrack's backstretch.

As a rule, they speak Spanish and begin the day at about 5 a.m. Because so many have children, this presents a monumental problem. After all, there aren't many day-care centers on the border of Queens and Long Island that accommodate workers adhering to farmers' hours.

Until recently, the children were left to fend for themselves, hanging out in cars or trainers' offices, or sitting home and watching novelas with older siblings, who'd miss school themselves. Another option—according to Donna Chenkin, director of the Belmont Child Care Association—was being wedged into "illegal babysitting" arrangements, accompanied by a dozen or so other kids and one weary overseer with little incentive to teach.

Then, in 2003, Chenkin's organization started the first day-care center on the grounds of an American racetrack, opening the doors at about 4:45 a.m., seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Belmont Park's Backstretch Plays Home To a Most Unusual Day-Care Center