Economy
The Costs Behind Hockey’s Return to Long Island
A “privately financed” venue for the New York Islanders has been touted by Governor Andrew Cuomo as a “win-win-win.” But it comes with open-ended public costs.
Last December, as New York State officials weighed two proposals for state-owned land at Belmont Park in western Nassau County, New York Islanders superfan Patrick Dowd, known as “The Sign Guy” for his array of in-game messages, hoisted a sign outside a hearing: “Belmont Park & Islanders Simply Priceless.”
Ironically, that assessment might apply to the murky deal struck for a new arena project at Belmont, with retail, hotel, and office space aimed to open in 2021. While “privately financed” (as media reports stressed) and touted by Governor Andrew Cuomo as a “win-win-win," given the opportunity to activate fallow land, it involves a seeming lowball lease and an unclear public cost to upgrade Long Island Rail Road service.