The fight for casino licenses in NYC invites suspicion

Mets owner Steve Cohen has struck out, for now, on beefing up his bid to open a casino near Citi Field.

Specifically, he whiffed on cashing in a return favor from Gov. Hochul, who raked in a combined $136,700 in donations from Cohen and his wife in 2021.

The key moment: The Post reported that Hochul was planning do it in the 2025 state budget , by inserting a measure to broaden the permitted uses of city parkland and so clear a major hurdle for Cohen’s proposed $8 billion “Metropolitan Park” casino-entertainment mammoth in Queens.

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Sunlight worked: On Thursday, Hochul insisted she has “no intention” to use the budget process (when she has the most leverage) to push the new park rule.

Note: She’s not saying she won’t help Cohen out, just that it won’t be during budget negotiations.

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This sort of hedging is important when you want the gravy train to keep rolling.

Now is really not a good time to be caught doing favors for big donors, what with the wide-ranging corruption investigations that are hollowing out the Adams administration .

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And the now-put-off favor was smellier than most: Per the Gaming Facility Location Board, lobbyists are barred from contacting any government entity “who is not the designated contact person in an attempt to influence the award.”

But mega donations? That’s legally above board.

Which is the rotten thing about the whole casino-in-NYC competition: It’s designed to maximize the legal palm-greasing, as industry giants all jockey for position to nab one of the coveted three licenses up for grabs.

This kind of process is New York politics at its slimiest: encouraging bidders to compete by paying off as many politicians, influence-peddlers and special interests as possible, making the question of which plan (if any) is best for the public into an afterthought.

It invites corruption, though Hochul, and every other pol involved, should be going the extra mile to show they’re keeping their hands clean — in perpetuity, not just when the dirty-dealing makes headlines.

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