Elmont Legislator Worries Nassau OTB Will Look To His Community To Open Casino
ELMONT, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - Now that the Nassau County Off-Track Betting has decided not to pursue opening a casino in Westbury, one Elmont, New York, legislator is worried it will look at his community.
Carrie Solages tells WCBS 880's Sophia Hall for the same reasons a casino in Westbury would not work, it would also not work in Elmont.
"All the arguments apply for Westbury, apply for here as well. It is 500 feet within the nearest residence and we pay a lot in property taxes. We fear also the effect it might have on our property value," Solages said.
Elmont Legislator Worries Nassau OTB Will Look To His Community To Open Casino
"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 came 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.
Critics and supporters gathered outside the Belmont Racetrack Tuesday, where gambling already exists, to take a stand or support the notion of another casino parlor in Elmont.
"The casino would not be a positive advantage for this neighborhood," Solage said.
Elmont Legislator Worries Nassau OTB Will Look To His Community To Open Casino
But Pat Nicolosi of the Elmont East End Civic Association sees it as an opportunity to make money.
"I am in favor, I'm in favor of the revenue," Pat Nicolosi of the Elmont East End Civic Association told 1010 WINS' Mona Rivera.
Hall asked Solages about the fact that gambling already exists in Elmont at the Belmont Race Track.
"That is not the same type of gambling that we're talking about here. We are talking about a 20-hour facility, they don't have that now, a 20-hour facility," he said.
A Nassau OTB spokesperson said the new list of possibly locations for the casino has not yet been announced; however, Belmont Park, Nassau Coliseum and Jones Beach have been mentioned as possible locations for the OTB, CBS2's Dave Carlin reported Saturday.
