Casi-no, say some State Senate, Assembly candidates

Daily Point

Gambling at the Hub: Show us the money

Throughout this fall’s editorial board endorsement interviews with candidates for the State Senate and Assembly, statewide issues from education to public transit to the environment took center stage. But in multiple races, the future of the land surrounding Nassau Coliseum — and the Las Vegas Sands proposal to build a casino resort at the Nassau Hub — became a key topic of discussion for many candidates, including those seeking to represent neighboring communities.

Significant differences emerged in how the candidates viewed a casino at the Hub — or even whether they took a definitive position at all. Some of those distinctions mirror how the communities they’re vying to represent see the issue. Much of the opposition has come from Garden City; more support has emerged from Uniondale and the Village of Hempstead. What’s clear: The Hub impacts far more than just the single district in both the Senate and Assembly in which it’s located.

Three candidates expressed strong opposition to the casino proposal. Democrat James Lynch, who is running in the 9th State Senate District against Republican incumbent Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, said a casino resort would have "no economic value" to the county and applauded Hofstra University’s push against the plan.

"Nassau County does not need a casino," said Lynch, who lives in Stewart Manor. "It’s a boondoggle."

Similarly, Democrat Harpreet Toor, who’s running in the 17th Assembly District and lives in East Meadow, said he opposes the casino plan because of concerns over traffic and quality of life, and the impact on Hofstra University and Nassau Community College.

"In the middle, we are putting up a casino for the kids to come out of the school and gamble," said Toor, who is running against Republican incumbent John Mikulin.

In both cases, Toor and Lynch are running in districts that neighbor, but don’t encompass the Nassau Hub.

But Democrat Sanjeev Kumar Jindal is challenging Republican Assemb. Ed Ra in the 19th District, which does include the Hub. Jindal, who lives in Williston Park, emerged as a definitive critic of the casino, noting that he is a member of the Say No to the Casino Civic Association. He, too, cited nearby educational institutions as one reason.

"Gambling is not economic development of any kind," Jindal added.

The 19th Assembly District’s representative will play a significant role in the casino siting process, as they’ll appoint a member of the Community Advisory Committee that would have to give a go-ahead for the Sands casino to even be considered by the state’s Gaming Facility Location Board.

While Jindal made his opposition clear, Ra took a more nuanced stance, saying he recognized both the positives and the negatives — and would choose a representative who is willing to meet with community members and who could keep "an open mind."

The other incumbents, meanwhile, expressed stronger support for the casino proposal. Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick said that even though some of her constituents oppose the effort, she supports it, recognizing the job and economic development opportunities it could create. And Mikulin called the casino "the best option right now."

"I think it’s going to be a good way to put people to work, especially the unions, and also be an economic boon," Mikulin said.

Casino revenue, too, became a running theme, even from candidates whose districts don’t touch the Hub. Democrat Assemb. Michaelle Solages, for instance, raised the idea that a larger portion of casino funds could be used to help fund the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The casino plan also emerged as a key issue in the 18th Assembly District, where Democrat Noah Burroughs and Republican Danielle Smikle are competing for an open seat. Both Smikle, of Freeport, and Burroughs, of Hempstead Village, voiced support for the casino proposal, under the condition that the surrounding neighborhoods receive appropriate community benefits and job opportunities.

"If something is brought about and it’s meant to support the community at large, then I support that," Burroughs said.

On the State Senate side, the Hub is part of the 6th Senate District, which this year has an open seat. There, too, the representative will have a Community Advisory Committee appointment. Both Democrat Siela Bynoe and Republican Thomas Philip Montefinise were hesitant to take definitive positions on a casino at the Hub. Montefinise, who works as an attorney with Nassau County and lives in Oceanside, said he wasn’t opposed to the casino but would listen to those who are and look out for "all interests," from safety to job creation.

Bynoe, a Nassau County legislator, previously supported the transfer of the lease on the property to Sands and said she recognized the potential economic and tourism impacts a resort could have on Nassau — and the jobs it could bring to residents of the district. But she also noted that she’s currently participating in the state environmental review process. If those environmental concerns were fully mitigated, she said, she’d choose a committee member who would be "open" to the economic potential a casino resort could bring.

Given how many steps remain in the casino siting process, and how much delay there already has been, any input for any of those future representatives may be a long way off.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

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