Cohen Enhances Queens Casino Bid with Housing Pledge

Posted on: April 2, 2025, 07:34h. 

Last updated on: April 3, 2025, 09:35h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More

Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

• Hard Rock, Mets owner partnering with developer
• Plan calls for 450 affordable housing units near proposed Queens casino site

New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International are attempting to boost their chances of winning a license for a proposed casino hotel in Queens, announcing Wednesday that the plan will feature a previously undisclosed affordable housing component.

The hedge fund boss and tribal gaming giant are partnering with Slate Property Group, LLC to bring 450 new residential units to an area a couple of miles away from the proposed site of Metropolitan Park — the proposal by Cohen and Hard Rock to develop a sprawling entertainment district, including a casino resort, near Citi Field.

Slate is a real estate investor with leasing and property management units, and it’s likely that if it moves ahead with developing the Queens land, it will be by way of its contracting arm.

SD Builders & Construction, an affiliate of Slate, is a general contractor and construction manager that services our extensive project pipeline. With experience spanning across affordable and market rate projects, our team delivers across the full spectrum of multifamily living,” according to its website.

Slate and Queens Future, LLC — the Cohen/Hard Rock partnership — reached a memorandum of understanding (MOU) calling for 450 units, all of which would be considered affordable, at a space currently occupied by a parking lot at 54-19 100^th Street. That’s two miles from the proposed casino site.

Housing Sweetener Could Help Queens Casino Bid

The partnership with Slate expands the $1 billion-plus in economic benefits Queens Future is pledging to drive to the community should the consortium win one of the three downstate casino licenses.

Should the Slate development move ahead in Queens, the units would carry the “affordable” designation for at least six decades and be open to people from an array of income ranges. Some of the units would be designated as “deeply affordable.”

“From day one, Metropolitan Park has been Queens-focused, with a comprehensive vision that addresses community priorities and economic needs,” said Cohen in a statement. “In addition to creating 23,000 good-paying local jobs, we have been committed to working with local community organizations to improve the quality of life for our neighbors.”

Queens Casino Plan Gaining Tailwinds

News of the housing units arrived just days after State Sen. John Liu (D-Bayside) introduced a bill proposing the redesignation of Willets Point’s parkland classification, which is essential to the hopes of Metropolitan Park coming to life.

Liu’s legislation was unveiled about six weeks after the City Planning Commission approved zoning changes needed to advance the plan. So it can be said there is momentum for the Queens casino project, but that’s not to the liking of all locals.

Some fret that if Metropolitan Park is approved and Resorts World New York also lands one of the three downstate permits, those venues will face difficulty in filling their combined 4,300 hotel rooms because Queens isn’t as desirable as Manhattan for overnight stays. Others say two casinos in the borough will make it feel like Macau while others are worried about the gaming venues draining locals of their hard-earned dollars.