A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Islandia residents seeking to close Jake’s 58 casino.
Central Islip District Judge Joan M. Azrack on Tuesday upheld a 2018 federal Bankruptcy Court decision that recommended throwing out the casino opponents’ lawsuit challenging the Village of Islandia’s decision to approve the Suffolk OTB betting parlor.
Azrack rejected residents’ arguments that the Islandia Village Board employed illegal “spot zoning” in its initial 2016 approval of the casino and a subsequent 2017 zoning change allowing hotel-casinos in business and industrial zones.
In a statement, Suffolk County Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. spokesman Jon Schneider said OTB officials “were always confident that the village handled our approval correctly and we’re very happy to see this matter resolved and behind us.”
