Around fifty restaurant and small business owners from Corona, Jackson Heights, and East Elmhurst signed a letter asking state Senator Jessica Ramos to support the $8 billion Metropolitan Park proposal from New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International to build a casino and entertainment complex on the parking lot adjacent to Citi Field.
Jessica Rico, the owner of Mojitos Restaurant & Bar in Jackson Heights, hand-delivered the letter to a Ramos staffer while the Senator was in Albany on April 19.
Rico said she has known Ramos for years and felt that as a community representative, she should support such “a marvelous project” and the opportunity to create thousands of new jobs and improve the business community in neighborhoods around Citi Field.
“We see a good opportunity for us,” Rico said. “All year more tourists [would be] around here, it’s a good impact on all the small businesses in the area, so we hope she supports the project.”
Before construction could start, Cohen would need Ramos to introduce parkland alienation legislation in the Senate because the 50 acres of parking lot where Shea Stadium once stood is technically part of Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Ramos has hosted three town halls to garner feedback from her constituents and plans on making her decision known in mid-May.