Elmont Online

Board would be good for community

February 28, 2008

Elmont deserves a consolation prize for having come up empty in this month's New York Racing Association sweepstakes. Home to Belmont Park, this community, which is struggling to redefine itself, has put up with the problems of having a racetrack in the neighborhood but gets none of the benefits. It deserves a seat in the owner's box.

In the recent deal giving NYRA a new franchise, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) blocked the introduction of video lottery terminals at Belmont, to protect the revenue of Aqueduct Racetrack, on city turf. He also blocked any funding to the community to mitigate the problems associated with Belmont, such as traffic, crime, noise, illegal apartments, additional children in the schools, even the occasional chicken escaping from the backstretch. Then, when the dust settled, it turned out that Albany hadn't even authorized a community advisory board for Belmont, a privilege awarded to Aqueduct and Saratoga.

State Sens. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) and Craig Johnson (D-Port Washington), whose political rivalry grows more intense each day as their parties fight for control of the Senate, have each introduced bills to establish a 15-member board with representatives from Hempstead Town, NYRA and the Elmont and Floral Park communities. Skelos' bill goes further, probably too far, in seeking $20 million in funding and approval of VLTs. Considering Silver's vehement opposition to this just a few weeks ago, Johnson's foot-in-the-door approach seems more feasible. The GOP should support it; there's already been enough political jockeying on Belmont.