SEQRA Hearing on Proposed Casino on September 9th at 5PM

All Nassau County residents are urged to attend an upcoming environmental hearing that will be held at the County Legislature on September 9th at 5PM at 1550 Franklin Avenue in Mineola.

The purpose of the hearing is to provide public input on the scope of the environmental impact study.

The Say NO to the Casino Civic Association issued the following statement on the upcoming hearing:

"Our County leaders chose to not bother to proactively inform the public by sending mailers to residents inviting participation in scoping hearing. They know that if enough of their constituents understand the dramatic extent of environmental damage that erecting the country’s second largest casino will cause, they may very well lose their reelection bids. Given that a ‘pay to play’ system has been legitimized, legalized, and baked into the casino siting process, it’s no surprise though, that our County is opting to solve for the needs of a out of state gambling company over the health and safety of its current and future residents.

We believe the County is again skirting the law by holding the hearing at this time. The SEQRA process should have been completed prior to entering into any lease agreement with Las Vegas Sands. The abounding harmful impacts of this massive casino are clearly unmitigable and should have informed any decisions on land control.

In the wake of a recent study that shows Long Island’s drinking water safety is under immediate threat from saltwater intrusion due to climate change, over-pumping, and industrial supply wells, we are outraged that the County would even consider causing additional serious environmental harm by supporting the development of a 4-million sq ft casino project.

We find the preliminary scoping document to be woefully inadequate as it excludes many detrimental impacts that should be quantified, including the economic harm to local businesses, the significant reduction in home values, and the costs of increases in crime, DWIs, and gambling addictions. There are so many unmitigable, negative impacts that we don’t see how this project could possibly get approved; unless of course our elected officials continue their pattern of ignoring their constituents, ignoring the law, and ignoring factual evidence.

We find it ironic that the same politicians who claim to want to ‘Save Our Suburbs’ are among the loudest voices in favor of forcing the country’s second largest casino, and the boundless long-term negative environmental, economic, and social consequences, into our community.”