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In light of the recent financial meltdown on Wall Street and the projected billion-dollar 2009-2010 state budget deficit, it’s surprising to some that Albany hasn’t picked up speed on money-making decisions.
Gov. David Paterson has not yet awarded a contract for the operation of video lottery terminals at Aqueduct Racetrack — an agreement that would generate millions of dollars in revenue annually for the state.
But, according to Queens community leaders, the city can expect a decision soon. They just hope it’s not the wrong one.
Capital Play Limited, Delaware North Companies and SL Green Realty Corp. are vying for the opportunity to create a gaming floor that houses 4,500 VLTs at the South Ozone Park track.
Of the three, Delaware North is the least appealing to residents living around Aqueduct because it has been the least communicative about its plans, according to Community Board 10 Chairwoman Betty Braton.
Capital Play, she said, has been the most transparent and community friendly: it has met with board members, presented proposals and asked for community input. SL Green has also kept C.B. 10 abreast of developments, but to a lesser degree, Braton said.
[Clarification: Board 10 Chair Betty Braton and the Committee Chair have been invited to sit-in on various meetings between elected officials and the vendors. CB 10 has no decision making power in this matter...it is solely the decision of Governor Paterson.]
Rumors that Paterson favors Delaware North — because it plans to give the state more money up front — have circulated, worrying C.B. 10 members.
While the community board has no say in the matter — it’s solely up to the governor — it made its unofficial stance known to state Sen. Serphin Maltese and Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer, who have fought on behalf of the community to save Aqueduct.
The issue will likely be raised at the next C.B. 10 meeting set for Thursday, Oct. 2 at 7:45 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall, located at 135-45 Lefferts Blvd. in South Ozone Park.
The governor’s office revealed the identities of the three bidders in April and promised that by mid-May one would be selected. It’s been six months and Paterson has not yet chosen a winner.
Early last month the New York Racing Association, which operates the Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga racing tracks, emerged from bankruptcy, thanks to a state bailout that will cover debts and operating expenses.
In exchange for the bailout, NYRA relinquished ownership of the three racetracks it has run since 1955 and handed the deeds over to the state, which will give it $105 million to pay off creditors and to continue operating the tracks until the VLTs are installed and begin garnering revenue.
A deal granting NYRA a 25-year state franchise to continue running the tracks was also finalized last month, turning the racing association into a new nonprofit corporation.
According to published reports, when the VLTs start bringing in revenues, NYRA will have the needed capital to do a variety of things, including build two dormitories — at a cost of $30 million each — for backstretch workers at the Saratoga and Belmont tracks.
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