Gov. Spitzer is exploring the possibility of shuttering Aqueduct Race Track and putting the property in South Ozone Park, Queens, to more productive use. The idea demands study, and not just in Albany's back rooms. City leaders and the public at large must be involved in handicapping the pros and cons.
Aqueduct is, alas, a shadow of its former glory. Built to hold 75,000 fans, it typically draws 3,000, and betting is down 70% since 1989. In the long off-season, the place hosts flea markets.
This is hardly the best use of 192 acres near JFK Airport in a city starved for land. As Spitzer told the Daily News Editorial Board, putting Aqueduct out to pasture would clear the way for all manner of development.
The time to talk this through is now. The franchise of the New York Racing Association, which manages the Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga tracks, expires at the end of the year. Bidders are competing to run the venues. Some have grand plans to reinvent Aqueduct as an adult playground, with resort hotels, shopping centers, concert halls and nightclubs. The proposals are based on the assumption that racing will remain.
But New Yorkers who play the ponies have access to Belmont, just over the city line in Nassau County. And the needs of the racing industry must be weighed against the best interests of the city as a whole. The land might be better used for critically needed affordable housing, schools or even a park. The opportunities are endless. Spitzer is right to think outside the exacta box.
