|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
By: Ellen Cans
New York City Mayor Eric Adams released zoning change proposals which would allow casinos to be opened in the five boroughs, in alignment with the state-led process which will select up to three gaming sites to be opened in NYC.
As reported by Crain’s NY, under the city’s zoning proposal, quietly set forth on Friday, casinos would not be allowed in residential areas but would be permitted in any medium- to high-density commercial district in the city, and in manufacturing zones. Casinos would not have any size restrictions under the zoning proposal, which mean developers can tack on “related” facilities including hotels and restaurants. There are nine major contenders, consisting of NY-based developers paired up with gaming companies, working to push their bids for a lucrative NYC casino license. Still, the city has yet to amend zoning rules to allow any casinos. The proposed new zoning plan doesn’t imperil or block plans set forth by any of the nine bidders.
Previously, the Adams administration had planned to make the zoning allowance as part of a bigger package of business-friendly zoning reforms. In October, however, the mayor’s office, together with City Council leaders, said that they would advance the zoning changes for casinos separately, so that it can be subject to its own public review.
Per Crain’s, the new zoning plans allowing for full casinos, released Friday, include very few restrictions on the future casinos. The main restriction cited is barring casinos from being opened in residential areas. The Adams administration says that they kept the plan simple, and didn’t add on many limits to avoid redundancy, as the casino bidders will still be subject to the state’s monthslong review, which will include binding votes by six-person “community advisory councils” made up of local officials.
Despite the explanation, some experts were still surprised by the seemingly blanket permission set forth in the city’s zoning proposal. George Janes, an urban planner who consults with several community boards, said he was “shocked” that there was no added scrutiny worked into the city’s zoning proposal, including parking requirements or building height restrictions as usually seen for new developments. “They’re ceding all of the planning power that the city has in terms of locating these things, what they’re going to look like,” Janes said. “I’m shocked that they’re just ceding everything, even the urban design components of this, to some other body.”
Gail Benjamin, a member of the City Planning Commission, also criticized the proposed zoning changes on Monday, during a public hearing. Benjamin said that the open-ended language could encourage developers to sneak in different buildings under the pretext of a casino — such as hotels, which are usually heavily restricted in city code. “The hotel could be any size if there’s nothing that says the people who are staying in the hotel have to be gaming at the casino,” Benjamin said. “We are allowing things that would not be permitted, without any City Planning review, oversight, determination.”
The City Council still needs to approve the zoning plans, and may make changes to the proposal before it is passed, per Crain’s. Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said last month that passing a new zoning plan to allow casinos is important.
