VIDEO: Mangano, Murray Partner for New Coliseum Plan

larry May 12, 2011 at 10:05 am

we need the jobs and we need the venues and we need the facility and we need the casino,,we need these attractions and these are the right places for it.

Frank May 12, 2011 at 12:18 pm

Sure the Islanders need a new home to stay here in Nassau. Sure the jobs for construction workers and the revenue are needed. It’s 2011 since when does the government, local, state or the feds know anything about brining in dollars other then taxing its people. The government in charge of building a hockey arena? Negotiate with Wang on his deal. Don’t let Nassau County Government control this issue. August 1st, for a vote, and this is just the beginning. I agree with the other comment move the vote to Election Day.

larry May 12, 2011 at 12:31 pm

dont move the vote..dont play politics with every dam issue..this is enough time to get informed and be a part of the decision...no more delays...the casino will create jobs and tax revenue..instead of the people desirous of this pastime going to Connecticut or Atlantic City,,now we will draw New Yorkers here!..Lets keep our dollars here,and the arena is needed as fast as possible,,Every premiere city has an exceptional arena,,Nassau dosent!
Even though the politians always have motives that we dont see on the surface,,lets not let that derail or obstruct the real needs of nassau taxpayers..we need this and we need it as fast as possible..our residents are fleeing,,we cant afford to live here anymore!Between patronage jobs and the money wasted by our elected officials with frivilous lawsuits and legal fees they let theyre buddies bill,,Can you imagine Rifkin Radler billing 500,000 to sue NIFA..and they get tossed out of court..and Mangano or his co=horts worked there!!we could close the budget gap in Nassau. with the money we thro towards patronage jobs at the town animal shelters or OTB,,or the other 20 town agencies wasting money!!.allthough the politicians will tell you there is no budget gap,just let us borrow 200 million to close the gap and we have a balanced budget..I say..theyre all full of #$*t,,,but the one common denominator we all have is to allow expidited development of sound buisness ideas to create tax revenue that leaves our area now.

RDMLBNY May 12, 2011 at 06:24 pm

Let's face it if Mr. Wang could have made money as in the Lighthouse proposal his money should have been invested. Now we took that away from him and the impetus is on us the taxpayers to revitalize the area,the arena is 40 years old, and get local economies thriving

Frank May 12, 2011 at 06:41 pm

Elmont is the right place for a Casino? Really?

Frank May 12, 2011 at 06:47 pm

What we need is real jobs. The trades may milk this arena deal for a couple of years.... then what? Nothing. Better to bring in real jobs that bring new wealth into Nassau. Why not solicit fortune 500 companies to set up shop in Nassau County? We need real work for real people. We need our kids to have real jobs instead of flipping burgers for Wang or joining the mass migration of youth out of Long Island.
You wanna build, build something worthwhile!

larry May 12, 2011 at 06:49 pm

No community will want this in theyre backyard but lets face it..we allready have a gambling environment in this vast piece of realty,,if the casino is inside the track property..its inside a vast piece of real estate..and theres parking and the reality is the horse racing biz is dieing fast..this is logical..and not intrusive to the community as the entire facility can be inside this vast property..so yes..its in the right place,,,conveniently locate near highways and will draw the tri state area to it..it will be a huge win for the surrounding communities,

Frank May 12, 2011 at 06:49 pm

Why not ask Kate Murray why she would shoot down Wang's original proposal? She's to blame! Wang was going to fund the entire project, but Kate Murray was using every play in the book to thwart him.

larry May 12, 2011 at 06:56 pm

we should all kiss wangs ass,,,if not for a vastly wealthy guy taking over ..the team would never have gotten thru the last decade..allthough we all know he got ionto this for the big money that may someday get made,,we should all realize,,this is a huge challenge he has taken on,,and not too many would do it,,,he is entitled to profit...but to burden him with the development of the arena isnt fair,,the arena should pay for itself eventtually thru revenue...lets face it..this isnt the nfl and this isnt the dallas cowboys,,,dont insinuate he isnt entitled,.,,he is an enterprenuer and we are lucky he saw some value here...otherwise the team would be in some remote area and we would be watching them on cable ..like so many other cities have lost teams,,,,sit back and let progress evolve!!!

Frank May 12, 2011 at 06:58 pm

Larry, have you been on the Cross Island lately? I doubt Moses himself could make way to the Casino!

Frank May 12, 2011 at 07:01 pm

Larry, why don't you call Kate Murray and ask her why she shot down Wang's fully funded Lighthouse project? We wouldn't be in this mess today! She's to blame for blowing the chance to save taxpayer money by having a billionaire foot the bill!

larry May 12, 2011 at 07:02 pm

progress entails solving issues ..solve the issues and create opportunity..it can be done,,be a yes person and help the economy recover instead of doom and gloom...yes i drive the cross island daily and besides the bottleneck at the ramp to enter from the lie,,its pretty good most of the day,,rush hours a problem on every road,,,see the bikes in china,,u want to commute like they do in china,,,count your blessings!we can solve this too!

larry May 12, 2011 at 07:05 pm

she was smart to shoot it down..it was way over the top,,,we need an arena and avenue for entertainment ,not another city..and we can contribute if the development is done well,,why shouldnt we,,the billionaire is the one guy that dosent need to worry about this,,thank god for enterprenuers like him,,if it was up to you,,you'd suck the nipple of dependency forever and take advantage of others,,,you have no right to ask him or aqnyone to pay,,the development and revenue will pay for this..and we will all benefit,,stop pointing fingers!

Frank May 12, 2011 at 07:17 pm

If we are talking about real solutions to our local economy, it is through the solicitation of real business to our county in an effort to bring in new wealth and jobs for the long term. A Casino and Sports Arena only re-distributes the wealth already contained in the area. You're practically fleecing Peter to pay Paul. I for one would like to see Karsan build an auto plant in Nassau County, especially since Bloomberg blew the chance to give the local communities a real chance at economic recovery. In addition, good work will keep our youth from fleeing our communities. Honestly, you think that a Black Jack Dealer, Hot Dog vendor, or Slot machine mechanic is a good career move for our kids?

Frank May 12, 2011 at 07:35 pm

Really Larry? We really need entertainment being in NYC's backyard? Sorry, that argument holds no water, or gin for that matter. The Lighthouse project would have supplied much needed housing stock for our youth. Kate Murray blew it and I will continue to point the finger at her without hesitation. As for me suckling on the nipple of dependency, you haven't been reading my posts. You should talk to Thomas T or Eileen Coles for that. I want to bring in big business to give jobs to our community... how is that dependency? Actually it is you who is suckling on the till as this whole project is dependent on taxpayers' money to fund the "big icebox" to watch sports.

larry May 12, 2011 at 10:54 pm

frank,,inside these venues there are retail stores and restaurants and the jobs are extremely important as well as the sales tax it will generate,,maybe we can stop raising school taxes so much,,,,and i also pray that the politicians wont fill these places or the process wont become one filled with patronage jobs..as most agencies in nassau are run by incompetent ,pension padding buddies of the officials we elect.
I think this will be good for the county and i didnt mean to attack you...I am very pro buisness and capitalism...this project is a winner,kate never should have allowed Wang to build a city in Nassau..he was way over the top,,but a venue with entertainment and pro sports,,Thats a winner!..I live here because i dont want to go to manhattan to see a game or a show..we are over 1million homes and we need these recreational buisnesses right here...and the middle to lower middle income jobs they will generate as well as the mangerial and executive jobs,,as well as the construction,,its a win all around,,dont cry over spilt milk..the original wang project was a disaster,,we dont need more housing with all the homes on the market now,,belive me if that was viable ,Wang would not have thrown in the towel so fast...but this entertainment complex,,and casino,,this is a much needed project...and we will all win,,we wont pay for it,,it should pay for itself,,the money gets borrowed to finance construction and the site creates revenue to repay the debt...lets get this done!

Frank May 13, 2011 at 03:11 pm

Larry, I cannot argue that increased sales revenue will help. However, it's the nature of where it's derived. Would prefer tax revenue to come from the Fortune 500. To me, service oriented businesses are a dead-end in an area swamped with retail outlets, chains, and mini-malls.
The biggest issues facing Nassau is the retention of its residents and the lack of affordable housing. Without a strong job base that pays enough to acquire and maintain the current housing stock in Nassau County, more and more people will leave. I myself have to work in Manhattan as there is a dearth of well-paying jobs in Nassau. The arena and casino does nothing to solve these major issues facing our fellow residents. The arena will be a temporary boost to the economy, nothing more. If we get 25% of all winnings from the Casino to subsidize our taxes, I am willing to sacrificially vote Elmont into the ground. Short of that, a $400 million bet by Nassau Residents on a Casino and Arena is a bet against the house… and the house always wins.

MerrickGuy May 13, 2011 at 04:58 pm

Frank couldn't agree more! My vote is no.

MerrickGuy May 13, 2011 at 05:04 pm

Charles doesn't want to foot the bill to pay for the construction... investors won't pay to privately fund the project... but Mangano thinks this is going to be a huge payday for taxpayers... Chances are if the private sector isn't interest we shouldn't be either. Let New York State pay for it, they funnel all our money up to Albany anyway.
And on the casino, we are supposed to be a family values community. I am not quite sure how a casino supports that objective. Building a casino will ruin the surrounding area and be a 'black eye' for Nassau County.

MerrickGuy May 13, 2011 at 05:07 pm

Let the Islanders leave. The coliseum is falling apart and the land is valuable. I am sure that someone would be happy to develop the area. I think the Islanders should go to Brooklyn. Plenty of transit options and the coliseum will be brand new. If we want to spend money, we need to develop our transit system first so we can get office space back into Uniondale. That area has so much wasted potential.

Frank May 13, 2011 at 06:08 pm

Good Points MerrickGuy! The land is valuable and we should develop real industry for the area. And your statement about the wasted potential is so true... just look at how many vacancies are already posted in Uniondale! Nassau and Town of Hempstead should be begging real companies to take a chance on us and give enough incentive to use what's currently available.

R. Callahan May 13, 2011 at 06:43 pm

These people lie. Let Wang pay for this on his own. He is worth millions! Taxpayers will be left holding the bag on this.
We dont need casinos. We dont need people in our communities addicted to gambling, becoming jobless and poor and destitute. Bad bad idea both morally and economically. Government should be ashamed of itself. This is a horrible economy and only getting worse. Hockey of all sports will not survive it when baseball is barely hanging on. Bad timing and bad idea. Let Wang pay for it!

Frank May 13, 2011 at 06:52 pm

Imagine a moral decision? I applaud your comment.

MerrickGuy May 13, 2011 at 07:15 pm

Our local governments are falling apart. We need some real leadership. If the best ideas coming out of our local government are casinos and tax-payer funded private sector projects, we are in serious trouble. Let's get some high-tech jobs, or perhaps a state of the art medical research center (since Hofstra is starting a medical school this year). Nassau County is among the wealthiest and most highly educated in the country how can we not solve this issue!

JE May 14, 2011 at 12:56 pm

Frank and MerrickGuy, I'm glad there are still people like you here on the island. Thank you both for your very positive suggestions and hopes for our community.

Frank May 16, 2011 at 07:18 pm

Hey Everybody, read this and please comment:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/sports/a-companys-small-town-arenas-leave-cities-with-big-problems.html

Frank May 17, 2011 at 08:21 pm

Funds Needed : $400,000,000
Debt Service Reserve : $45,455,000 Cost of Issuance Financed : $9,091,000 Total Bonds Issued : $454,550,000 portion not finance-able : $9,091,000 Gross Monthly Payment : $3,524,121 Less Reserve Interest : $265,154 Net Monthly Payment : $3,258,967 You need 42 million/year to pay off this bond in 20 years. View link on the stats on the NY Islanders from Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/31/hockey-values-09_New-York-Islanders_312071.html Key takeaways: Revenue $62 mil Operating Inc. $-5.6 mil Player Expenses $40 mil Gate Receipts $22 mil (aka ticket sales) We need $42 million/yr, Islanders produce $22 million/ yr. Q.E.D OMG this deal Stinks!!!

Frank May 17, 2011 at 08:22 pm

OMG... You stupid Union members and islander fans, the price of this build would cause, at a minimum, a tripling of the current islander ticket. To fund this nut, the whole arena would be business box seats, while you suckers get the privilege of $150 dollar nose bleed seats!!!!
You knuckleheads would end up not going to a single game at those prices, thereby driving any needed revenue to fund the bond into the ground. And in the end, the taxpayers take in the butt. OMG OMG You need 6 hockey teams, 100 conventions, and a permanent 5 ring circus to pay that nut!!! OMG OMG OMG this deal stinks! SUCKER SUOZZI, MUNGO and FAT KAT are frickin nuts!!!! You blew the lighthouse project for this mess... OMG OMG OMG OMG this deal stinks!!!!!!

Frank Koester May 31, 2011 at 01:46 pm

AHHHH :) I cant wait till all the LI BS is behind me and I move off this VERY over priced island in a few months. I'm counting the days. Just to give you an idea. My property tax here is 10K a year in ELMONT!!!! Where I'm going is $17oo a year on a 1/4 acre. This place dont deserve my $$$$$. Bunch of CROOKS!!!!!

monty May 31, 2011 at 06:17 pm

congrats, Frank Koester on making the escape. It's a decision you will never regret; just wonder why it took so long to make. The unions have no problem simply raising your taxes every year so they can retire early and live off you. For years, we have all been under the assumption that there's no place like NY. Fact is, there is an entire country outside of NY, where people actually get to keep a lot more of their money, enjoy great weather for 12 months rather than four, live in comparable housing at half the cost, enjoy uncrowded roadways, and no longer have to deal with the NY attitudes. You will find that there's a whole new life outside NY. Good luck and enjoy. So where are you headed to?