Community members, business owners and union representatives exchanged heated arguments for and against two controversial casino projects at public hearings in Queens and The Bronx Tuesday evening — taking their last swings at influencing local community advisory committees that will decide in less than three weeks whether casino bids in their neighborhoods advance toward potential state approval.
At a nonprofit community center in Throggs Neck in The Bronx, 88 speakers signed up to share their thoughts about a $4 billion plan by Bally’s Corporation to build a casino complex at Ferry Point Park.
In Kew Gardens, about 200 people packed the atrium of Queens Borough Hall, where 87 people signed up to offer their testimony for Metropolitan Park, an $8 billion plan by billionaire Mets boss Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International to transform a 50-acre parking lot at Citi Field into a sprawling resort and gaming destination.
