Editorial

Nassau OTB's process was flawed

Posted

The decision earlier this month by Nassau Regional Off Track Betting to establish a gaming facility in Westbury has been met with strong opposition by nearby residents, who have expressed their outrage at several community meetings and public protests.

Nassau OTB’s announcement raised a number of questions. Who authorized the facility? Why do local governments lack the ability to block it? And, most important of all, why didn’t OTB seek any public input when deciding on a location?

The agency said it chose the site, a vacant space in the Source Mall that most recently held a Fortunoff, from 20 respondents to its public Request for Statements of Interest. But there was no input from the public, no community forums or hearings to give residents the chance to voice their opinions on where such a facility should go. That’s just plain wrong.

Nassau OTB is authorized to establish the gambling parlor by a state law, passed in 2013, which was primarily designed to boost economic activity upstate with the development of four casinos. But the law also authorized both the Nassau and Suffolk OTBs to establish facilities containing as many as 1,000 video lottery terminals. Though the law was tied to a constitutional amendment that was not approved by voters until the following November, state lawmakers said that language in the law would have allowed both OTBs to set up the facilities regardless of whether the referendum passed.

Both Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano and Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray have said they have no jurisdiction to veto the proposal. Only the New York State Gaming Commission, which has oversight of regional OTBs, can block it.

We find it puzzling that such a facility is exempt from local zoning regulations. Virtually any other structure that is developed here must face a rigorous approval process by zoning boards and planning commissions, yet a gambling parlor, which is sure to draw opposition from its potential neighbors, requires no such scrutiny? The process is clearly flawed.

It remains to be seen whether Nassau OTB officials will acquiesce to public demand and move the facility elsewhere, but it seems obvious to us that the next time the agency contemplates development, it needs to be more transparent and inclusive.