A legal case initiated by the Village of Garden City challenging the rezoning of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum site by neighboring Hempstead to develop a commercial casino resort has been dismissed.
Registered in Nassau Supreme Court last year, Garden City accused Hempstead of harming the village and its 23,000 residents through the rezoning of the arena grounds. The lawsuit aimed to invalidate the environmental assessment and rezoning due to concerns about the casino resort’s impact on local infrastructure, roads, and emergency services.
Although Las Vegas Sands withdrew from the $5 billion project in April 2025, Garden City persisted in opposing the rezoning to prevent potential future developments at the Coliseum owned by Nassau County.
In 2024, Las Vegas Sands signed a 42-year lease with Nassau County for the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, known as The Hub. The company’s original plan was to replace the aging Coliseum with a large casino, resort, and entertainment complex, but they backed out due to fears over New York’s potential legalization of online gambling.
The Town of Hempstead, home to almost 800,000 residents, is the most populous township in the US and includes Hofstra University.
Legal Case Dismissed
Judge Gregg Roth of Nassau Supreme Court dismissed Garden City’s lawsuit on the basis of lack of standing.
It’s ironic that there are currently no plans from any party to develop a casino or anything else at The Hub,” Roth stated.
The judge deemed Garden City’s case premature and speculative, stating that mere allegations of harm to the community character are insufficient without concrete evidence of actual damage.
The Village of Garden City opposed Sands’ project from the start, passing a resolution in February 2023 against a casino in Nassau County.
The resolution highlighted concerns over security issues associated with casinos like criminal activities, human trafficking, substance abuse, and problem gambling, claiming that a casino would permanently alter the surrounding communities’ character.
Future Prospects
Despite Sands looking for a new developer to assume the Nassau Coliseum lease and paying the county $54 million, the property is still zoned for commercial gambling. However, the New York State Gaming Commission has no more casino licenses to issue.
The Coliseum could potentially be renovated into a racino offering video gaming terminals, similar to Jake’s 58 casino owned by Suffolk OTB. However, Nassau Downs OTB, a licensed off-track betting operator, currently shows no interest in such a large-scale project.