Hundreds of Nassau residents gathered Saturday,
Jan. 17, 2014, in opposition to a video slot machine parlor proposed in
Westbury, citing concerns about property values, traffic and crime
rates in their neighborhoods. (Credit: Jessica Rotkiewicz)
Hundreds
of Nassau residents filled the sidewalk for a quarter-mile in front of
the old Fortunoff building in Westbury Saturday to rally against a
proposal to offer casino-style gambling at the site.
Residents, many from Carle Place and Westbury, said they believed the Fortunoff location at The Source mall is too close to homes, schools and bus stops, and would attract crime, snarl traffic and lower property values.
"No, no, casino," protesters chanted at passing vehicles on Old Country Road. Some held signs with slogans such as "Stop the casino at Fortunoff" and "We will remember in November."
Story1,000+ furious LIers protest gaming parlor plan "We care about our community," said Kristin Biggin, 45, of Carle Place, a teacher who grew up in the area and whose mother worked at Fortunoff, a retailer that closed in 2009. "Carle Place is a family community of generations. We want to keep it that way."
The afternoon rally followed a raucous meeting Thursday night that drew more than 1,000 residents to a Westbury elementary school to protest the plan.
Opposition has mounted since the Nassau Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. announced last month it was negotiating to purchase the Fortunoff building and open a gambling parlor with up to 1,000 video slot machines that would operate 20 hours a day.
OTB, in a statement Saturday, said it's "redoubling its
efforts to engage the community as to what this proposal is -- and
equally important -- what it isn't."
The corporation said the gaming parlor would be a "responsible neighbor" and projects it would create 200 jobs and generate $20 million a year for financially strapped Nassau County.
But protesters, who at one point stood briefly in the middle of Old Country Road, said they believed negative effects to nearby neighborhoods would outweigh any economic positives.
"This doesn't belong in a communal area," said Bonnie Healy, 66, of Salisbury, a retired X-ray technician who said her family moved to Carle Place when The Source mall was farmland. "This doesn't belong on Long Island. There's no empty space."
County Executive Ed Mangano on Monday joined a bipartisan group of Nassau officials opposed to gambling at the site. North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth, Town Clerk Wayne Wink and Westbury Village Mayor Peter Cavallaro participated in Saturday's protest.
"My wife and I love casinos, we go to them all the time, but not in this area," said Ronald Cavallaro, 76, of Westbury, the mayor's uncle, who lives three blocks from the site and has eight grandchildren who live nearby. "We're protecting our kids. Someone has to have some common sense about where to put this."
certainly the people of Carle Place should have found Cairo an Italian Restaurant to put in the Carle Place Branch of Nassau OTB?
Stop scratching on holidays
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.
Residents, many from Carle Place and Westbury, said they believed the Fortunoff location at The Source mall is too close to homes, schools and bus stops, and would attract crime, snarl traffic and lower property values.
"No, no, casino," protesters chanted at passing vehicles on Old Country Road. Some held signs with slogans such as "Stop the casino at Fortunoff" and "We will remember in November."
Story1,000+ furious LIers protest gaming parlor plan "We care about our community," said Kristin Biggin, 45, of Carle Place, a teacher who grew up in the area and whose mother worked at Fortunoff, a retailer that closed in 2009. "Carle Place is a family community of generations. We want to keep it that way."
The afternoon rally followed a raucous meeting Thursday night that drew more than 1,000 residents to a Westbury elementary school to protest the plan.
Opposition has mounted since the Nassau Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. announced last month it was negotiating to purchase the Fortunoff building and open a gambling parlor with up to 1,000 video slot machines that would operate 20 hours a day.
The corporation said the gaming parlor would be a "responsible neighbor" and projects it would create 200 jobs and generate $20 million a year for financially strapped Nassau County.
But protesters, who at one point stood briefly in the middle of Old Country Road, said they believed negative effects to nearby neighborhoods would outweigh any economic positives.
"This doesn't belong in a communal area," said Bonnie Healy, 66, of Salisbury, a retired X-ray technician who said her family moved to Carle Place when The Source mall was farmland. "This doesn't belong on Long Island. There's no empty space."
County Executive Ed Mangano on Monday joined a bipartisan group of Nassau officials opposed to gambling at the site. North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth, Town Clerk Wayne Wink and Westbury Village Mayor Peter Cavallaro participated in Saturday's protest.
"My wife and I love casinos, we go to them all the time, but not in this area," said Ronald Cavallaro, 76, of Westbury, the mayor's uncle, who lives three blocks from the site and has eight grandchildren who live nearby. "We're protecting our kids. Someone has to have some common sense about where to put this."
certainly the people of Carle Place should have found Cairo an Italian Restaurant to put in the Carle Place Branch of Nassau OTB?
HI-
Thanks for
the help. The item’s below. I’d be happy to mail you a copy,
if you give me a mailing address.
Claude Solnik
(631) 913-4244
Long
Island Business News
2150
Smithtown Ave.
Ronkonkoma,
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LI Confidential > Stop
scratching on holidays
Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.
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