A blog devoted to tracking news related to Aqueduct.
According to reports, Genting is thinking about installing a convention center near to the Aqueduct racetrack. Genting officials unveiled the plans before a state board and state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. last month.
Addabbo said a convention center would likely be welcomed in Queens because of the revenue it would generate for the city and state.
Currently, the only convention center is the Jacob Javitz center in Manhattan.
With all the hype of a racino coming to South Ozone Park, residents have expressed concerns about safety at almost every community meeting.
In May, over 100 neighborhood residents attended Community Board 10’s monthly meeting to address the potential problems that the rush of visitors would bring the neighborhood.
They all asked Patrol Borough Queens South Assistant Chief James Secreto one question: how many police officers will be assigned to the area surrounding the soon-to-open Resorts World Casino in Ozone Park?
Even, Councilman Eric Ulrich requested more police presence at Aqueduct. He sent a letter to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly in June, stating that he believes “this request is warranted given the size and scope of the new venue and the necessary planning that will go into maintaining a good quality of life for area residents.”
At the time, Secreto assured the residents that he was working on the issue and trying to get more cops from the 106th Precinct around the racino. Last month, he told attendees of the 106th Precinct Community Council meeting that if One Police Plaza didn’t give him the additional police officers he has requested, he will provide them from the borough’s resources.
Not everyone is so sure that the area will receive a greater police presence before the racino opens. Howie Kamph, president of the Ozone Park Civic Association, told the Leader-Observer paper, “I hope they give it to us, but I think they’ll play the wait-and-see game.” He applauded Ulrich for making the effort to get more cops.
There is a projected 8.4 million people visiting the casino annually, there is set to be an average of 23,000 people who will be passing through the community
“One way or another we are going to have cops there,” Secreto said.
The new racino is hiring entry and mid-level employees.
A hiring center was opened last month in an effort to hire more people from the neighborhood. The company is said to hire 1,150 employees.
Local residents have already started to take advantage, like Shatima Williams and Najah Abdulkhabir but others are concerned. The Jamaica branch of the NAACP is worried that the company will not hire enough residents from Southeast Queens, which was hit especially hard by the economic recession.
The center will be open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Four RWNY staff members will be on hand to help people with the application process. Potential employees can either drop off their resumes or fill out an application.
For more info, check their website.
On top of promising jobs and good entertainment, RWNY is also promising good food.
According to YourNabe.com: “From Cantonese cuisine to Wolfgang Puck, the developer of the Aqueduct racino announced the numerous food options that will be available at the Ozone Park track.”
There will be two signature restaurants – Genting Palace, which will serve authentic fine-dining cuisine by veteran Hong Kong chefs, and RW Prime, which will feature prime steaks, fresh seafood and other fine gourmet offerings.
Both are said to have 200-person seating capacities. In addition to the signature restaurants, Resorts World is also offering an international buffet that will be able to seat 450 guests.
Here’s a list of other food spots:
· Stage Deli
· Wolfgang Puck Express
· Queens Burgers
· Good Friends Noodle House
· Cups n’ Cones (Proudly serving Starbucks)
· Fiesta (Latin & Mexican Cuisine)
As Genting prepares to open the new Resorts World New York casino come the end of summer, they’ve sent out a few renderings as to what the space should look like.
According to RWNY president, Mike Speller, the look inside, “gives our customers just a small taste of the excitement that will greet them when they walk through the doors.”
Under the schedule, 2,500 Video Lottery Terminals will be operational – rather than the 1,600 originally slated – when the casino opens in the late summer.
The Resorts World New York casino is opening its doors earlier than expected. Although the expected date is not yet determined, the opening is set for late summer.
According to the Queens Ledger, 2,500 video lottery terminals (VLTs) will be operational – rather than the 1,600 originally slated – when the casino opens.
According to the article, with the accelerated schedule – which will now take place in two phases, rather than three – not only will more VLTs be operational when the first stage launches, but the main entry, the international buffet and the parking garage will be part of the initial opening, as well.
So, what do you think? Excited about this development? Will you visit the casino? Or does the idea of a casino in a residential neighborhood sound like a bad idea?
Add another place on your list to hit this summer – the new racino at the Aqueduct racetrack.
The gaming facility is said to open this summer after the installment of 1,600 video lottery terminals. That’s just phase one.
Phase two is said to be completed shortly after and it will bring in all 4,500 VLTs as well as two restaurants – an Asian restaurant and a steak house. The facility will also house an indoor spa.
The new gaming space is said to be open 7 days for 20 hours to attract tourists, new customers and local residents.
Avneet Bindra packs up for the day. As dark sets in at 5:30 p.m. on a windswept evening in early winter and vandalized trucks pull out of the Aqueduct racetrack parking lot, the 22-year-old upstart folds up the wares from his blanket business. He motions to his father, Rumpy Bindra, who has manned a separate blanket business in the market for 25 years, asks the older Bindra if he needs space on his truck. They are among last few vendors who have held out on this bitterly cold December day in Ozone Park.
Bindra has grown up in this flea market, learning the tricks of the trade from his father. The iconic flea market, which has operated out of the parking lot of Aqueduct in Southwestern Queens for 30 years, is a noisy and sprawling hub for 500 vendors, many of whom are Indian, Guyanese and Caribbean immigrants making their way up the economic ladder by hawking cheap bargains to other immigrants. Now Bindra, who is paying his way through college with this business, is bracing himself for December 31, when he has to uproot his shop…
Read more: Queens Ledger – Genting’s 380 million dollar bet on Queens
