Coney Island Casino Developers Pledge $200M for Community Trust Fund

^{Coney Island Beach and the Wonder Wheel in New York City, and another potential spot for a new casino. (Image: Licht Wolke / Alamy)}

The developers of a proposed $3 billion casino resort on Coney Island are promising to contribute $200 million to a community trust fund if the project wins one of the three available downstate casino licenses.

The announcement, made on Thursday, pledged money from Thor Equities and its gaming partners that would go to a board of local stakeholders, who could then determine what projects to use that money on.

Trust Fund Promise Comes Ahead of Key Community Meeting

The offer is reminiscent of one made by Roc Nation, which offered $250 million to the Hell’s Kitchen community in support of a Caesars Entertainment casino in Times Square. 

Potential projects could include improvements to the Coney Island boardwalk or local beautification efforts. However, the money is contingent on the project – known as The Coney – beating out several other major projects to earn a gaming license. 

“Coney Island is an incredible community and this $200 million trust will help make it even better for generations to come,” casino representative Robert Cornegy said in a statement. “The Coney is going to bring much-needed year-round jobs and economic development to Coney Island and if we are granted this gaming license this $200 million trust will supplement that by ensuring all of Coney Island benefits.”

The timing of the announcement appeared deliberately planned to generate good will ahead of a Thursday hearing by Community Board 13 about the casino proposal. And as with other proposed projects in and around New York City, there has been significant local backlash to the idea of a casino coming to the neighborhood.

The Thursday meeting will allow for public comment as well as a presentation from the casino’s team. The Land Use Committee for the board will vote on the rezoning proposal related to the casino on January 15, after which the full Community Board 13 will vote on January 22. 

As with the recent vote on the Hudson Yards casino proposal, these votes are highly influential but ultimately advisory, as the New York City Council and city planners have the final say on any zoning decisions. Unlike Hudson Yards, The Coney may still be able to put together a proposal even without a zoning change, as it is being built largely on private land – though it would require shorter buildings and no skybridges to connect them.

Coney Proposal Includes Convention Center, Concert Venue

The Coney, which Thor is developing along with Saratoga Casino Holdings, the Chickasaw Nation, and Legends, would include a casino, 70,000 square feet of retail space, a large convention center, a 500-room hotel, and a 2,500-seat concert venue. The plans also include more than an acre of open space for public use. Construction would take place on five acres of land between Stillwell Avenue, West 12^th Street, and Wonder Wheel Way.

Renderings released in May 2024 showed a future casino that incorporates many of the amusement park elements that have made Coney Island a popular destination for generations of families. But some locals see the glittering images as another reason to oppose the project.

“It’s clear to us that this is simply a catastrophic destruction of the entire neighborhood,” Coney Island USA, a nonprofit arts organization in the community, wrote on Instagram while sharing the renderings. “Make your voice heard…Please, don’t let these developers destroy our beloved arts organization and your neighborhood, the People’s Playground!”

Even if the Coney wins over it’s local community, that’s no guarantee it will earn a casino license. It is competing against around a dozen serious contenders for only three available downstate licenses, including projects backed by Las Vegas Sands, Caesars, Wynn, and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen.