Along with the university’s opinion that a casino would have a negative impact on the area, Hofstra officials believe local leaders violated the law in their early considerations of the project. In its lawsuit filed in Nassau County’s Supreme Court with the Nassau County Planning Commission named as a defendant, Hofstra’s legal team argues the county isn’t including the public as mandated by open meetings laws.<\/p>\n
\nThe proposed transfer of the Nassau Coliseum lease to Las Vegas Sands needs to receive a full airing to the public which the planning commission has failed to do,”<\/strong> declared Adam Schuman, an attorney representing the university.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nHofstra’s complaint levies multiple allegations against the county, including that the planning commission failed to properly notify the public and make available the necessary materials about the proposed lease transfer prior to the March 2 meeting. Additional allegations allege the commission conducted the meeting prematurely before the lease negotiations with Sands were complete, and that the planning commission voted prematurely to close its public comment period before the public had adequate time to mull the issue and reach an opinion.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit additionally contends that the Nassau County Planning Commission violated executive session rules. Nassau County Director of Communications Christopher Boyle said Hofstra should focus on its students.<\/p>\n
“Hofstra University would be better off spending their students’ tuition on education rather than frivolous lawsuits,” Boyle opined.<\/p>\n
Casino Far from Approved<\/b><\/h2>\n
The Sands casino pitch for Nassau County certainly isn’t a done deal. The planning commission hasn’t yet recommended to the Nassau County Legislature that it approve transferring the Hub\/Coliseum lease to Sands.<\/p>\n
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The county legislature is the only local government entity that can fully approve the lease transfer. If that were to happen, and should the bid also receive zoning approval, it would be officially entered into the bidding pool for the Gaming Facility Location Board to consider.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The bidding pool is expected to include numerous pitches from several other major casino operators, including Caesars Entertainment, Wynn Resorts, Mohegan, and Bally’s Corp.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hofstra University on New York’s Long Island has filed a lawsuit against Nassau County. The suit is based on allegations that county officials held a discussion on the proposed $4 billion integrated casino resort proposed by Las Vegas Sands. That would violate the state’s open meetings laws. On March 2, the Nassau County Planning Commission […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":269377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,60],"tags":[85917,84343,83407,85916,85915,34],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Hofstra University Files Lawsuit Against Nassau County<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n