Nassau OTB Backs Off Plans For Casino In Westbury Following Strong Opposition
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- After thousands of residents protested and a lawsuit was filed, the Nassau Regional Off-Track Betting has decided to do an about face on plans to open a casino in Westbury.
As WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reported, Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth fought against the plan from the beginning.
"I'm looking at my emails, cause I really do answer all my emails. There's one after the other coming in -- 'Thank you.' 'Thank you.' 'We stood together.' 'We did it,'" Bosworth said. "Not only was it not passing, but the voice of the opposition was getting stronger and was growing."
"While we firmly believe that this site would have received all of the necessary approvals, it is clear that the level of opposition from the surrounding neighbors and their elected representatives no longer made the Fortunoff's property a viable option," an attorney for OTB told CBS2.
The move comes just one day after Nassau OTB was in court for a lawsuit brought by the towns of Hempstead, North Hempstead and Westbury.
"When you put one of these gaming facilities near residential properties, it has a tremendously negative impact on those properties and the community so the community wasn't going to stand for it," Westbury Mayor Peter Cavallaro said.
The judge had refused to sign a temporary restraining order in the case, making Nassau OTB's decision to not pursue the site even more surprising.
Belmont Park, Nassau Coliseum and Jones Beach have been mentioned as possible locations for the OTB, CBS2's Dave Carlin reported.