The New York Islanders face just one more obstacle standing in the way of their new arena at Belmont Park. We can find out today after one final vote.
For the past couple of years, we’ve heard about this $1.3 billion project to bring the New York Islanders to Belmont Park. It appears the Islanders last hurdle is a vote that is taking place today in Manhattan.
At 3:00 pm Eastern Time, the six board members of Empire State Development and will vote on final approval for this project. If it passes, which is expected, the Islanders can break ground this month.
Nassau County Executive, Laura Curran had this to say:
"“This is about our pride as Long Islanders. The Islanders belong here — let’s get Belmont done,”"
Last month, Governor Cuomo announced a plan for a full-service LIRR stop that will cost $105 million. The train station was a huge get for the Isles who want to make sure the arena is accessible to fans outside of Long Island through Mass Transit.
Residents are concerned about the increased traffic, siting the Belmont Stakes as an example. What they fail to realize is there will likely only be 1/5 the crowd that you see on the biggest race day of the year.
Today is an extremely important day in Islanders history. There’s a very good chance we know the fate of this project by this afternoon (you might want to pick up a bottle of champagne on the way home, it’ll be good news).
Isles Tweet of the Day
I’m committed to securing @NYIslanders a permanent, state-of-the-art home on LI. Belmont will deliver thousands of good-paying jobs and spur growth in surrounding communities.
— Laura Curran (@NassauExecutive) August 8, 2019
But this is also about our pride as Long Islanders. The #Isles belong here.
Let’s get this done. ✅
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