With New York State Governor Cuomo smiling….
The shelves went into the ground for the symbolic first ground to be broken in the $ 1.3 Billion redevelopment project that will have a new Stadium for the NY Islanders NHL Hockey team, a hotel, Retail space and more….
In addition?
There is going to be a spruce up of the Belmont racetrack area and new Long Island rail Road commuter station b built on the site…
Two lawsuits have been filed against the project but that hasn’t stop the celebration today and the begging of construction tomorrow…
On an outdoor stage set up in front of bulldozers and piles of dirt on the property of Belmont Park, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and dignitaries gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking of a project that will add a 17,000-seat arena for the New York Islanders of the NHL.
Islanders fans were seated in front of the stage and cheered both the return of the Islanders to Long Island as well as the 10,000 construction jobs and 3,200 permanent jobs at a development that will use largely unused parking lots on the Belmont property to build the arena, a 250-room hotel, and a retail village.
Empire State Development acting commissioner, president, and CEO Eric Gertler said the $1.3 billion public-private construction project will use 43 acres of the site and will offer 350,000 square feet of development.
“We are proud of the great benefits this project will bring to Long Island—from jobs and new tax revenue to a permanent home for the Islanders—and are excited to break ground today,” Gertler said. “This project has gone through an open, robust, collaborative process, and I’d like to acknowledge those New Yorkers who participated, helping create a better project here at Belmont, which we all can be proud of.”
Gov. Cuomo said the project is exactly what Long Island deserves.
“This property sat unused for a long, long time,” Cuomo said, later adding, “This will be one of the largest and most impactful developments in the downstate region in a long, long time.”
The ceremony did not include any new details of renovation at Belmont Park racetrack. It did note that the new arena will include salutes to Belmont Park in its architecture and will offer overlooks of the track.
Belmont Park racetrack also figures to benefit from improved access to the Long Island Railroad. That $105 million project will be partially operating in time for the planned first hockey season at the new arena in the fall of 2021 and fully operationally in late 2022….
Top image….Newsday.Com
I went past the site today….
There might be two lawsuits filed …
But?
They ARE working on the base construction of the project at the site already….
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Tuesday he did not believe lawsuits against the $1.3 billion Belmont Park project have “any credibility” as he defended New York’s approval process for a new arena and entertainment complex for the New York Islanders.
In a radio interview on Tuesday, Cuomo said there’s always “negativity” associated with large-scale projects. But he dismissed two lawsuits against the Belmont development as NIMBYism similar to opposition to the Long Island Rail Road’s Third Track project.
“We went through a whole environmental process. We consulted with everyone. We had hearings. We talked to everyone. Everyone’s concerns were considered. If there is any issue that needs to be fixed as we go along, we’ll fix it,” Cuomo told Jay Oliver of Long Island News Radio…..
More…
The Village of Floral Park filed for a temporary restraining order on Friday against the developers behind the Belmont redevelopment project to stop some construction activities.
Floral Park Mayor Dominick Longobardi said in a phone interview Monday that there is already a lot of increased traffic in the village after the “groundbreaking” for the Islanders arena in September. The main cause of increased traffic for the village is construction trucks for the project driving on Plainfield Avenue, he said.
Longobardi said that there is no court date for the two parties because it keeps getting moved.
“There are all kinds of activities going on,” Longobardi said.
The filing in state Supreme Court in Mineola was part of a lawsuit the village has filed challenging the project’s approval.
The request for a temporary restraining order does not ask for all construction to be halted, Longobardi said. He said the village is requesting a halt on construction trucks traveling on Plainfield Avenue and construction work going on in the park’s north lot, which is close to the John Lewis Childs school, he said….
More…
Update…
A state judge has denied a temporary restraining order on work the Belmont arena project requested by the legal team representing the Village of Floral Park, Floral Park Mayor Dominick Longobardi said Thursday.
Longobardi said in an interview that he was not upset over the ruling because project developers New York Arena Partners have begun correcting issues raised by the village in the restraining order motion….
…
Longobardi said the judge overseeing their case, Roy Mahon, has scheduled a preliminary injunction hearing Dec. 5 with a possible ruling on the Village’s article 78 lawsuit.
More…