Off to the races

A new era of New York horse racing began at Aqueduct Racino as hundreds gathered for the official groundbreaking on Thursday, October 28.
The project – Resorts World New York – gives the city its first-ever casino, right in South Ozone Park, and is expected to generate $300 million in annual revenue for the state. Genting New York, the developer behind the Queens racetrack, plans to install 1,600 Video Lottery Terminals by the end of March, with the casino becoming fully operational in 18 months.
“What a long, strange trip it’s been,” said New York Lottery Director Gordon Medenica, noting the nearly decade long process of finding a suitable developer for the project.
Governor David A. Paterson was on hand and said that though it took a very long time to come to fruition, he believes the benefits of the Aqueduct Racino will help the state out of the financial doldrums.
“With today’s groundbreaking, New York continues its confident march out of recession and back to prosperity and job growth,” he said. “The addition of the Resorts World New York Casino at the historic Aqueduct Race Track will create employment for thousands of New Yorkers, help revitalize the state’s racing industry and serve as a powerful generator of state revenue – money that will go toward education.”
Many of the elected officials in attendance spoke about what they felt was the project’s greatest byproduct – jobs for locals. Genting has started ramping up its hiring for the project’s more than 1,300 construction jobs and will soon announce job fairs for the 800 permanent jobs at the Racino.
“The long-awaited project couldn’t come soon enough for the people of Queens, as it will create exactly the right kind of jobs – good paying, stable and local – that are in such high demand throughout this neighborhood,” said State Senator Joseph Addabbo.
Assemblymember Audrey Pheffer, who many at the groundbreaking credited with keeping Aqueduct on everyone’s mind, said that job growth in the area can go a long way in spurring a borough-wide economic bounce-back.
“The economic benefits of this project – from the more than $300 million a year in state revenue to the more than 2,100 jobs created – are tremendous,” she said. “With so many New Yorkers needing work, Genting has answered our community’s needs for jobs. I am confident that Resorts World New York at Aqueduct will be an overwhelming success.”
Genting awarded the contract to renovate the existing grandstand to Tutor Perini Corp., who will begin work sometime in November.
“This is one of the proudest days in the history of the Genting organization,” said Genting Chairman K.T. Lim. “Working alongside our elected officials, union representatives and our neighbors in the south Queens community, we will deliver a world class tourism and entertainment facility that all New Yorkers can be proud of.”