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Supervisor Bosworth and Councilwoman Russell Speak Out Against Casino Proposal


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 20, 2015
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Supervisor Bosworth and Councilwoman Russell Speak Out Against Casino Proposal
Thousands attend public forum at St. Brigid’s in Westbury and rally in front of old Fortunoff’s

Westbury, NY – North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth, Town Councilwoman Viviana Russell and Town Clerk Wayne Wink joined more than 2,000 local residents during a meeting in the St. Brigid’s School gymnasium on January 15th to oppose the proposed casino project planned for the shuttered Fortunoff Building in Westbury.

The forum that was hosted by Westbury Village Mayor Peter Cavallaro, invited elected officials from the areas that would be impacted by the casino. Cavallaro, along with Town officials, have led the way on the public opposition of this plan in recent weeks.

Supervisor Bosworth stood unified with the raucous crowd and said, “I have listened to you, as you reached out to me through email, letters and phone calls. You do not want this proposed casino and I am here tonight to express my strong opposition to the casino and to demand that this project never happens and that the casino is not built on this site.”

She finished by saying, “there is no traffic study, no environmental study, no real estate study, no study of any kind that OTB can come up with that can turn a bad idea into a good idea. This is just a bad idea.”

The proposed location for the casino is in the Town of Hempstead but residents in the adjacent communities in North Hempstead who are just north of Old Country Road would also be affected.

Councilwoman Russell, who represents North Hempstead Council District 1 that includes these areas including Westbury, New Cassel, and Carle Place, stated, “We will not be marginalized by OTB and their decision to impose this upon our community. They are in a position to make a decision to abandon this project and find a more suitable site or if one cannot be found more suitable, then forgo the idea altogether. If it was not clear to OTB before, it is clear now that the greater Westbury, Carle Place and surrounding communities do not want this and will continue to fight this until the idea no longer exists.”

Two days later on Saturday, January 17, Bosworth and Wink stood again with scores of residents in front of the old Fortunoff’s building on Old Country Road for the “Stop the CasiNO” rally, again calling on OTB officials to suspend the project.

Last week, Bosworth and Russell sent a joint letter to OTB officials stating their opposition to the proposal. The letter was also mailed to more than 8,000 residents of Westbury, New Cassel and Carle Place that reside in the Town of North Hempstead, with a cover letter clearly stating their stance.

Bosworth and Russell are expected to attend another community forum regarding this issue on Wednesday, January 21st with the Carle Place Civic Association at 8pm at the Carle Place High School auditorium.



Supervisor Bosworth speaks to the crowd at a media briefing prior to the public meeting, flanked on her right by Councilwoman Russell.

 


Supervisor Bosworth speaks to more than 2,000 residents on Thursday night.

 


Supervisor Bosworth at the “Stop the CasiNO” rally at the old Fortunoff’s on January 17 along with Town Clerk Wayne Wink.

 

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