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The bid to open a Queens casino has hit a new obstacle after the United States Tennis Association (USTA) challenged the city’s handling of Citi Field’s parking lots. A New York judge has ordered the Adams administration to temporarily halt any new agreements involving the lots, following a USTA lawsuit alleging the city violated its lease terms to aid Steve Cohen’s $8 billion casino proposal.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Nancy Bannon’s temporary restraint could disrupt Cohen’s effort to secure a casino license, as it blocks the city from entering fresh deals tied to the Citi Field parking area.
The USTA argues that it has a superiority clause that affords it first access to the parking lot during the US Open. The lot in question is owned by the city but leased to the Mets. The USTA argued that the clause was violated earlier this year and any fresh agreements would violate it once again, especially if the casino bid is granted as expected.
“To ensure this essential suite of protections for the US Open, the Lease mandates a superiority clause in favor of the NTC,” reads the lawsuit. “Specifically, the Lease requires the City to include in every subsequently entered ‘deed, lease or license’ with third persons involving specified City-owned lands around the NTC facilities a statement: namely, that all rights granted under such subsequently entered deed, lease or license ‘are subject and subordinate in all respects to the rights of the USTA National Tennis Center’ (the Superiority Clause).”
Could this affect the Citi Field casino?
While the casino bid was expected to be approved in the next couple of weeks, this lawsuit could throw a spanner into the multi-million dollar works. A new agreement over the lot (which the judge has now blocked) was part of the promises made by the team behind the proposed casino, Metropolitan Park.
In their June application to the state’s Gaming Commission, Metropolitan Park stated that they would have a “negotiated binding agreement to control property no later than November 17, 2025 and a signed agreement before December 31, 2025.” However, this is now unable to move forward thanks to the judge’s temporary restraint.
It’s as yet unclear if this could endanger the license application. ReadWrite has reached out to both the USTA and Metropolitan Park for further details.
Featured image: Hard Rock
