Aqueduct: Assemblyman seeks money for capital improvements

A New York state legislator said on Monday that he plans to introduce legislation that would require the New York Racing Association to spend $30 million of its casino subsidies annually on improvements to Aqueduct Racetrack.

Phillip Goldfeder, an assembly member who represents Ozone Park, where Aqueduct is located, said in a release that he considered Aqueduct an “eyesore” and that residents of Ozone Park have become concerned over “crime and violence” at the track. Goldfeder announced the plan three weeks after a man was charged with sexually assaulting a mentally disabled woman in a bathroom at the track.

By law, NYRA receives 7.5 percent of the net revenue from a casino located adjacent to the track, and roughly half of that subsidy is required to be spent on capital improvements. Goldfeder’s bill would amend the law to require NYRA to spend the entire amount on Aqueduct, rather than spread it out among the three tracks operated by the association, which also include Saratoga and Belmont Park.

“It’s time that NYRA stop neglecting our community and make the necessary investment to ensure that Aqueduct is safe and that we continue the economic growth that we need in Queens,” Goldfeder said in a release.

NYRA has been prioritizing its capital-improvement projects for several years, with much of the money spent initially on backside improvements for horsemen. NYRA also has significant plans for frontside improvements at Saratoga in upstate New York. All three of NYRA’s tracks are aging and in need of refurbishment.

Eric Wing, a spokesman for NYRA, said Monday that the association would “review any proposed legislation,” but added that NYRA “has a responsibility to all three racetracks.” He said NYRA spent $5 million of its 2013 capital-improvement budget at Aqueduct.

Goldfeder announced his plan at a press conference in front of Aqueduct on Monday. He was joined by Peter Ward, the president of a union representing hotel and motel workers, and Frank Galluscio, a Queens district community board member. Goldfeder also said at the press conference that he sent a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo urging him to support the legislation.

“We must reach out to the governor with the legislation that Assemblyman Goldfeder is proposing and reinforce that NYRA is taking our homegrown money,” Galluscio said in a statement. “I’ve grown up in this neighborhood, and I’ve seen the total deterioration of this building, and now it’s time to take action.”