Little-noticed in the continued hubbub over Gov. Cuomo’s proposed gambling-conventioneering complex in Queens is the mass-transit part of it.

Genting, the company that Cuomo favors, has produced a fact sheet on its “New York Convention and Exhibition Center” that shines some light, or maybe not.

In the document, dug up by a Streetsblog commenter, Genting says this:

[Genting’s] RWNY and the state would work alongside the MTA to help fund and introduce uninterrupted subway service between Midtown Manhattan and the New York International Convention and Exhibition Center.

Take out your handy subway map, and notice what a long trip it is from Midtown Manhattan to Aqueduct. (The station has limited hours right now.) From the first stop in Brooklyn, it’s 20 stops on the A train. Nor do you save much by taking a different train and switching later. HopStop says it’s an hour and 12 minutes from Grand Central; it is likely longer on evenings and weekends.

The MTA can not just simply create a super-express train for gamblers and conventioneers; it could not bypass other trains, local and express, all along the rest of the route.

And as anyone who has ever endured a commute to a far outer borough knows, being dependent on just one train line is risky. When a line in Manhattan is down for whatever reason, it’s easy enough to walk to another one. Not so once you leave Manhattan’s density.

One presumes that the reason Genting wants subway access is so that its patrons can visit Manhattan easily and quickly when they’re not attending convention sessions of gambling.

But the long nature of this trip would make such excursions difficult. Conventioneers couldn’t take an hour to, say, see the Empire State Building, between sessions, or take in a Manhattan dinner with colleagues, without a good three-hour round trip.

And let’s hope it doesn’t snow.

You may also like

The Attorney General’s MFCU SNAFU

Attorney General Letitia James' latest fight with the Trump administration focuses on New York's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, a federally funded agency housed in James' office. On T Read More

Healthcare Revelations in the Enacted Budget Financial Plan

The state financial plan published on June 10 disclosed key information about healthcare revenue and spending that lawmakers had not made public when approving the annual budget two weeks before. Read More

Federal Suit Traces Medicaid Fraud to the Top of NYS Government

The Trump administration's latest salvo against Medicaid fraud takes aim at a different kind of target – two high-ranking New York officials along with a major state contractor. A Read More

It Is Time to Rethink the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

Before budget negotiations, Gov. Hochul warned that unless New York changes its climate plans, New Yorkers could face a $2.26-per-gallon increase in gasoline prices. The reason is the so-called “cap-and-invest” scheme, under which energy companies wou Read More

Healthcare Highlights in the New State Budget

Governor Hochul's focus on affordability seems to have skipped over the healthcare portions of the new state budget. The deal finalized May 27 Read More

Lawmakers Consider Hiking Fees for Filling Prescriptions

UPDATE: The proposal discussed below passed the Assembly Friday evening by an unofficial vote of 133-0. Having previously been approved by the Senate, the bill will head to Governor Hochul's desk for her signature or ve Read More

Lack of Common Sense on Energy in the Budget

Lack of Common Sense on Energy in the Budget Anyone hoping the governor would make even modest, common-sense changes to New York’s disastrous energy policies will be disappointed. The energy portion of the budget is out, and the nons Read More

Budget Deal Reportedly Earmarks $100M for 1199 and Extends MCO Tax

As Governor Hochul and legislative leaders rush to finalize the overdue state budget, outlines of some healthcare-related deals have begun to emerge from the closed-door negotiations. Read More