New York Note: Metropolitan Park and NJ Transit Strike Ends

May 19, 2025

NYS Passes Bill for Metropolitan Park Casino Project

Last week, New York State Assemblymembers approved legislation that would allow for the construction of an $8B entertainment and casino complex on 50 acres of Citi Field’s parking lot. The plans for Metropolitan Park include a Hard Rock resort and casino, 25-acre public park, new shops and restaurants, a Taste of Queens food hall, redevelopment of the Mets-Willets Point subway station, and improvements to roads and bike paths. Members of the assembly voted 134-11 for a parkland alienation bill that would reclassify the parking lot, which is currently designated as public parkland, into commercial property.  Senator John Liu has introduced the bill in the State Senate, although Senator Jessica Ramos, who represents the area, has not sponsored it.

NJ Transit and Engineers’ Union Agree to Deal to End Strike

An agreement has been reached to end New Jersey’s first statewide transit strike in over 40 years, just three days after the strike began. The union representing NJ’s passenger-train drivers, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, announced that the strike was called off at 6pm on Sunday. Governor Murphy has not yet announced any details of the tentative agreement, but stated that it was “fair to NJ Transit’s employees while also being affordable for our state’s commuters and taxpayers.”

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