The Empire State Development Corporation of New York on Monday approved an environmental impact statement for the construction of a hockey arena for the New York Islanders at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, clearing a hurdle toward the ultimate groundbreaking on the project. The approval, on a unanimous voice vote, was a major step in the process to begin construction of the project, which also includes a hotel and 350,000 square feet of retail space, built on property at Belmont that is currently used for excess parking. Officials for the New York Racing Association, which operates Belmont, have expressed approval for the project, although construction is likely to lead to short-term and even possibly long-term changes to racing schedules on the NYRA circuit. The approval came at the end of a three-hour hearing that included 2 1/2 hours of public comments in which a string of residents and officials of the communities surrounding the site registered negative comments about the project’s scope and impact on traffic and congestion in the area. Many of the residents and officials urged the development corporation, a state agency, to allow further study of the impact on local traffic before allowing the approval process to go forward, though some advocated for the agency to reject the project outright. On the flip side, some other residents did express approval of the project, including many members of the local business community, officials of unions representing the construction industries, and several employees of the New York Islanders, some of whom read letters of support from other citizens or organizations into the record. Jon Ledecky, a co-owner of the Islanders, also appeared briefly during the public-comment period to thank the staff of the development corporation. Just prior to the meeting, the state of New York announced that it would add a new main-line station of the Long Island Rail Road about a half-mile from the site of the development that would include shuttle service to the property, in part to address community concerns over traffic. An existing train station at Belmont Park is served by a spur of the LIRR that encounters frequent delays at rush hour. It was announced earlier this year that additional trains will run to that stop after the project is completed. Due to the scope of the construction, NYRA, which operates Belmont Park, moved up the start of its Saratoga meet this year in anticipation that groundbreaking at the site would begin in early July. The timeline for the construction of the entire project is approximately two years. Officials of the Economic Development Corporation opened the hearing by detailing the ways in which the project’s original plan had been changed to address community concerns, including an 85,000-square foot reduction in the retail space and a 150-foot height limit for the hotel, down from 250 feet.