Well, I am confident that Steve truly does want to improve the neighborhood, so I imagine he will build bike lanes and art installations and all the other non-casino stuff that the “visioning session” suggested because ABC7 reports…
Community members rallied against potential plans to build a casino near Citi Field in Queens.
Protesters say building a casino in the area would “devastate the Flushing community.”
There are no two ways about it,” said Rebecca Pryor, Executive Director of the Guardians of Flushing Bay, “privatizing 50 acres of public parkland in the middle of low and middle income communities of color is environmental injustice. This is not the time to sit back and enable a 50-acre, public park land grab. Our neighbors have been flooded in their homes, our waterways are soaked in sewage and our local park is one of the most prone to flooding in NYC. Communities from Flushing to Corona to East Elmhurst are in the 95th percentile for toxic air quality and proximity to traffic. We do not need a backroom deal casino. We need transparently planned, community-generated neighborhood projects that absorb rainfall, reduce air pollution, protect our public parkland and prioritize-rather than prey upon-our environmental justice communities. We call on local community organizations, NYC parkland advocates and elected officials to oppose the Citi Field casino license, protect parkland and stand with us as we fight for an environmentally just future for our northern Queens watershed.” (via ABC7)
