"In the first hour or so, most of the pro-casino people said their bit and left; their talking points were uniform and matter-of-fact, about creating jobs and bringing more people to the area. All the passion, with few exceptions, was coming from the antis. One of those folks told me - and it was reported elsewhere, too, and seemingly caught on an audio recording - that a lot of the pro-casino speakers had been paid with $80 gift cards in exchange for making some noise."
"As the evening lengthened, though, the room grew more and more unified in opposition. There was talk of traffic snarls and strain on the power grid. (The Belt Parkway is already at capacity, and the neighborhood had its share of blackouts this summer.) Quite a few people talked about adding gambling to a neighborhood that already has its share of addiction problems."
Outside the Coney Island YMCA on September 10, a large crowd gathered to consider a proposed casino-hotel-mall project led by Thor Equities in partnership with groups including the Chickasaw Nation. Approximately 500 people attended and more than 150 signed up to speak. Pro-casino attendees often left after an hour, focusing on jobs and increased visitors, while anti-casino speakers expressed sustained passion. Concerns cited included traffic congestion on the Belt Parkway, strain on the power grid amid recent blackouts, and the impact of introducing gambling into a community with existing addiction problems.
Read at Curbed
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