Nassau Judge Dismisses Garden City Challenge to Casino Rezoning

A Nassau County judge has dismissed Garden City’s lawsuit challenging neighboring Hempstead’s decision to rezone the Nassau Coliseum site for a casino resort.

Filed last year in Nassau Supreme Court, Garden City alleged that Hempstead’s decision to rezone the 72-acre events arena grounds harmed the village and its 23,000 residents. The village’s lawsuit sought to annul the environmental review and rezoning on the claims that a casino resort would cause havoc on its roads, infrastructure, and emergency services.

In 2024, Las Vegas Sands entered into a 42-year lease with Nassau County for the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum complex, commonly referred to as The Hub.

Sands had planned to demolish the aging Coliseum to make way for a sprawling casino, resort, and entertainment destination. Sands backed out on concerns that New York might legalize iGaming.

Despite Las Vegas Sands folding on the $5 billion project in April 2025, Garden City continued to seek the withdrawal of the rezoning to protect against possible future developments at the multipurpose indoor arena that’s owned by Nassau County.

The Town of Hempstead is the largest township by population in the United States, with almost 800,000 residents. The town includes Hofstra University.

Case Dismissed

Nassau County Supreme Court Judge Gregg Roth dismissed Garden City’s claims, ruling that the village lacked legal standing to challenge the town’s decision.

The judge ruled that Garden City’s case is “premature” and “too speculative.”

“Conclusory allegations of injury to community character are insufficient; the injury must be actual and concrete,” Roth wrote, adding that the court “cannot issue an advisory opinion.”

The Village of Garden City was opposed to Sands’ plan from the beginning. In February 2023, the Garden City Village Board of Trustees unanimously approved a resolution opposing a casino in Nassau County.

“The Board has received considerable input from residents opposing a casino and other uses at the Nassau Hub site. The serious security issues that surround casinos are well known, including illegal activity, crime, human sex trafficking, DWIs, prostitution, drugs, and problem gambling,” the resolution read.

The resolution claimed a casino would “permanently impact the character of the surrounding communities.”

Future Unknown

Sands continues to search for a party to take over its lease at the Nassau Coliseum, for which it has already paid the county $54 million. While the property remains zoned for commercial use, no additional downstate commercial casino licenses remain available from the New York State Gaming Commission.

The site could theoretically be redeveloped into a Video Lottery Terminal (VLT) facility, similar to Suffolk OTB’s Jake’s 58 in Islandia.

However, regional operator Nassau Downs OTB has shown little appetite for taking on a project of that scale at The Hub.