In your January 9th appearance on PIX11 News, you addressed the "visioning session" held by Mets owner Steve Cohen on January 7th and referred to "a proposal, of course, to do a casino on Steve Cohen's lot." You further said Cohen “would take that concrete jungle and turn it into its own little utopia.”
We are extremely disappointed to hear you refer to the land at issue as "Steve Cohen's lot" and “a concrete jungle” when in fact it is municipal parkland, which belongs to the people, is being held in trust for us by the State, and regularly hosts events best suited for a large, paved location. You must not be misled to believe that Mr. Cohen is entitled to develop said parkland for his profit. To the contrary: As the elected representative of the people of Queens, we expect you to protect our parkland, and prevent any unnecessary loss of this irreplaceable resource.
Moreover, it is unnecessary for the City to sacrifice any parkland in order to obtain a new casino. Numerous proposals reportedly will be made to site new casinos in areas that do not impinge upon parkland, including at Hudson Yards, Times Square, on Fifth Avenue, near the United Nations, at Coney Island and on Staten Island, to name a just few.
Sincerely,
Coalition Membership of Save Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
SaveFMCP.org
SaveFMCP@gmail.com