New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has vetoed a bill that aimed to accelerate the licensing for three commercial casinos in the vicinity of New York City. The bill would have established statutory deadlines for certain milestones in the process to hurry things along. Hochul’s veto is a setback for the bill’s New York Senate sponsor, Sen. Joseph Addabbo, who has been vocal in raising concerns about how long the process is taking.
Perhaps heightening those concerns is that one of the four members of the siting board for the licensing process has resigned. That does not immediately create an insurmountable issue but might prove more problematic as the process continues.
While Addabbo plans to sponsor another bill to impose deadlines in the next session of the New York legislature, it’s unclear if Hochul will be more amenable to the idea then. That could depend on progress in the licensing process or lack thereof.
Hochul vetoes bill, as expected
Hochul’s veto of S9673/A10572 was no surprise. The deadline the bill established for the submission of all license applications was Aug. 31, 2024, making that part of the legislation obsolete.
However, New York law gives Hochul the power to amend sections of bills. She could have conferred with members of the Assembly and Senate to codify new deadlines into the bill before signing it.
According to Rebecca C. Lewis of City & State New York, Hochul said that she “cannot support a bill that aims to change the rules in the middle of the process” regarding her veto. With that move, state agencies involved in the licensing process are still free to move at their own pace. At least for the time being, anyway.
Addabbo intends to try again
In late August, Addabbo told Bonus that he will file similar legislation in the 2025 regular session of the New York Assembly. That session begins on Jan. 8, 2025.
In August, Addabbo expressed his displeasure with the pace at which the process was moving and expressed his belief that it’s necessary to codify deadlines to combat stagnation. The New York State Gaming Facility Location Board has set its own deadlines for its part of the process. The first of those deadlines now sits at June 27, 2025.
Applicants have until then to submit their paperwork and pay appropriate fees. From there, the Facility Location Board has given itself until Dec. 31, 2025, to make its recommendations to the New York State Gaming Commission.
To Addabbo’s point, though, the Facility Location Board has given itself leave to extend its own deadline for selection through March 2026. Because of Hochul’s veto, it would not be illegal for the Facility Location Board to delay the process further.
The enactment of a new bill toward that end could stymie further delays. The situation with the Facility Location Board just got more complicated, though.
Facility Location Board loses member
Jason Beeferman of Politico reported on Nov. 22 that one of the four members of the Facility Location Board, Quenia Abreu, has resigned. Abreu is the CEO of the New York Women’s Chamber of Commerce.
The Facility Location Board can still render its selections with just three members. If the board loses another member, however, that would render it impotent until its numbers are restored.
If there is no replacement for Abreu, that increases the workload for the three current board members. That workload could be reduced if there are fewer applicants than expected.
Potential bidders encountering obstacles
While parties have expressed interest in licenses to potentially create 11 separate bids for up to three licenses, the formation of those bids is not moving along smoothly for everyone. Two potential applicants have encountered significant local opposition to their plans.
A collaboration between businessman Steven Cohen and Hard Rock is in question because the New York Senator for the area, Jessica Ramos, has stated that she will not file a bill to change the parkland designation of the site on which Cohen/Hard Rock want to build. Such a change is necessary for the site to be selected.
On Long Island, a bid to convert the Nassau Coliseum into a casino resort has faced significant local opposition. Additionally, there are questions over whether the Coliseum’s current lessee, the Las Vegas Sands Corp., is truly interested in New York due to the state’s potential future regulation of online casino play.
Fewer bids could mean less deliberation for the agencies reviewing applications. Addabbo’s point, though, is that those entities can still take as long as they want to perform that deliberation.
New Yorkers will discover whether Hochul shares his sense of urgency if another bill to impose deadlines reaches her desk in 2025. Until then, June 27, 2025, is the next key date in the downstate casino licensing process.
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