Hearings Begin Tonight For Islanders Arena At Belmont

The first public meetings for the Islanders proposed arena at Belmont Park are scheduled to begin tonight in Elmont.

Tonight's meeting is scheduled for 6 to 9 p.m. at the Elmont Memorial Library, located at 700 Hempstead Turnpike.

Meetings are also scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday at the library. The Wednesday meeting will go from 4 to 6 p.m. and then adjourn, and then continue from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. On Thursday, the meeting will be held from 6 to 9 p.m.

The meeting will give residents a chance to view the environmental impact statement of the project, and ask questions of Empire State Development, the public head of the project.

The $1 billion redevelopment project will feature an 18,000-seat arena for the Islanders, a new 435,000-square-foot retail and entertainment complex, a new hotel and other community amenities.

According to News12, a study of the project found that it would create significant traffic during the morning and evening rush hours, and on weekends.

You can view the environmental impact study before the meeting by clicking here.

Photo courtesy New York Arena Partners and Gov. Cuomo's Office