Design panel holds off on Metropolitan Park casino vote after hours of testimony about flooding

New renderings of the Metropolitan Park casino and resort planned next to Citi Field got a long public airing Tuesday, but no vote. The city's Public Design Commission unanimously decided to table its review of the project's preliminary design after hours of testimony, much of it about flooding, the Queens Daily Eagle reported.

"We can't really think about this until we make sure that we understand what the site as a whole is doing," commission President Deborah Marton said, according to the Eagle. Commissioners cited a need for more information about the project's stormwater management plan, Gothamist reported. The design team is expected to return at a later date; none has been set.

What was up for review

The item on Tuesday's agenda was the "Integrated Resort": the gaming facility, hotel, retail and events complex in the Metropolitan Park master plan, north of Roosevelt Avenue between the Grand Central Parkway and Seaver Way, south of the World's Fair Marina and adjacent to Citi Field. The commission set out to look at a public-facing piece, the stairway and balcony area that would connect the casino to a public park planned between the complex and the ballpark, the Eagle reported.

Presenters from the developers' team, which includes SHoP Architects and Field Operations, showed changes including more glass panels, wider walkways and a repositioned bike path, Gothamist reported. The commission has already approved other parts of the project, including its master plan, lighting and a parking garage, according to the Eagle.

Supporters, opponents and a full room

Before the meeting, the group Queens Anti-Casino rallied on the City Hall steps and asked commissioners to vote no. Opponents have also sued, arguing the approval process did not comply with a state public engagement law, the Queens Ledger reported. Supporters at the hearing pointed to jobs and the local economy; the project is expected to bring 23,000 union jobs, 25 acres of green space, infrastructure upgrades and a revamped 7 train station, Gothamist said. Commissioner Laurie Hawkinson, a decade on the panel, said she could not recall a meeting that drew more public interest, the Eagle reported.

Commissioners noted that their job is the design of public spaces and structures, not whether the casino gets built. "I'm sure we'll get to a yes," commissioner Merryl Tisch said, according to the Eagle.

Where the project stands

The $8 billion-plus complex from Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock won one of three downstate casino licenses from the state Gaming Commission last year; Resorts World in Queens and a Bally's casino planned at Ferry Point Park in the Bronx hold the others. Construction of the 78-acre project is "well underway," spokesperson Karl Rickett told the Eagle, though the paper has reported that work on the casino itself, scheduled to begin in April, was pushed back.