Electronic gaming casino coming to former chemical plant site

With a little luck, and a three-way agreement between the state Senate, Assembly and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, an electronic gaming casino will soon be coming to Orange County.
Owned by Resorts World, the video lottery terminal (VLT) license will be transferred from the now-closed casino at Monticello Raceway to a new site in Woodbury/Harriman, following the passage of legislation sponsored by state Sen. James Skoufis (D-Hudson Valley).
Currently in committee, the bill is expected to pass, according to a press release from Skoufis’ office.
Although racing continues at Monticello, gaming operations at the raceway ceased as of April 23, according to Empire Resorts’ website. Empire Resorts is the parent company of Resorts World.
The former Nepera Chemical plant
“I’m not particularly pro- or anti-gambling so I used this opportunity to deliver real, substantive economic benefits to the constituents I represent,” Skoufis said. “The former Nepera Chemical Plant property has been a contaminated blight in our community for years; as a result of this project, it will now be cleaned, put back on the tax rolls and employ approximately 400 local residents.”
The 400 jobs created would be union positions, according to the release.
As part of the deal, Skoufis required that the company clean up the property and pay taxes in full to the Monroe-Woodbury School District, Town of Woodbury and villages of Harriman and Woodbury.
Resorts World agreed to both conditions.
The cost of municipal services associated with the project, such as fire and police, would be fully offset by the more than $1.2 million in VLT impact aid that would be created, according to the release.
With the nearby construction of Legoland New York, and the proposed expansion of Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, traffic in the area is expected to increase substantially.
Construction on Route 17 is currently underway to ease the anticipated congestion when Legoland New York opens next year.
Woodbury Town Supervisor Frank Palermo said the project would be a net gain for the community.
“This development will bring lasting jobs to our community and clean up a contaminated, blighted property," the supervisor said.
Objections
Village of Woodbury Mayor Michael Queenan didn’t quite see it that way.
“I think it’s a big mistake, I don’t think it’s going to be good for the area,” he said. “I don’t think it’s the type of business we need here in Woodbury.”
Queenan said that the Village of Woodbury was looking to bring in Caesars casino in 2014, but that the deal never went through.
“They (legislators) didn’t give us a casino when we wanted one, but now they’re looking for us to help bail out Resorts?” he said. “I think that’s a real slap in the face.”
Additionally, Queenan said that the Village of Woodbury was not consulted about the Resorts electronic gaming casino potentially coming to town.
“I don’t understand why this was done in the shadows,” he said. “Something smells rotten here. If this was such a great thing, how come we never heard anything about it until about five days ago?”
Instead of the casino, Queenan said he would rather see a corporate park or another similar type business in its place, with professional jobs and higher salaries.
As for the contaminated property, Queenan said the benefits Skoufis’ office is touting are things that should be happening regardless.
“They talk about cleaning up the property? Well they were supposed to clean up the property anyway,” he said. “They’re talking about, ‘Oh, they’re going to pay their property taxes.’ Well, they’re supposed to pay their property taxes. I pay my property taxes.”
Welle: Pros and cons
In the neighboring Village of Harriman, Mayor Stephen Welle said, “As with any project, there are pros and cons.”
Welle identified getting the contamination cleaned up, the property reassessed and reinstating tax revenue to the village as positives.
In the negative column, Welle said that traffic might be a concern, but that he was unsure how much new movement it would create.
“I don’t know how much additional traffic will come for this,” he said. “I believe a lot of the traffic that’s generated by this will be people that are already at Woodbury Common. I think this’ll just be another stop for them.”
Noting that the developer would have to come up with a plan to deal with increased traffic, Welle stressed that the state’s approval is only the first step in the process.
“This is far from a done deal,” he said. “Just because the state has approved that it can happen, there’s a lot that has to be done to allow it to happen.”
The Nepera property will eventually be cleaned up, Queenan said, although he’s unsure why remediation hasn’t already occurred.
“There was a fund for that,” he said. “I don’t know where that money went, but there’s a lot of things that don’t add up about this casino.”