Rensselaer

Two weeks before the state decides who gets New York's casino licenses, a coalition of local elected officials is supporting the proposed Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on the Hudson River across from the Capitol in Albany.

The coalition arrives as Rensselaer has agreed to pay Albany $1.1 million annually for a decade for backing the $280 million project on 24 acres at De Laet's Landing, according to political and casino insiders.

The deal is expected to address sharing Rensselaer's anticipated $5 million to $5.7 million in annual benefits along with job creation, renaissance on both banks of the Hudson and economic development. It's what many believe the state wants to see when it announces Dec. 17 which of the applicants will receive a license.

The action aims to weaken the position of its prime competition — a proposed casino in Schenectady.

Getting the politicians together for a 10:30 a.m. Wednesday news conference at the Albany-Rensselaer Amtrak station highlights the selling point of a casino near the passenger train depot plus the new political support for the two financially distressed river cities working together.

Since applications were submitted this summer to the state casino gambling siting commission, there has ben continuous speculation about which of the Capital Region's four remaining proposals has the desired economic development package — along with the political clout — to outmuscle its rivals for the one license expected to be awarded in this part of the state.

The agreement between Rensselaer Mayor Dan Dwyer and Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan shows the two are acting to push the project ahead of what is considered their top competitor — the proposed Rivers Casino & Resort at Mohawk Harbor on the Mohawk River in Schenectady.

Albany's support for the Rensselaer plan has been seen by many involved as a crucial element to Hard Rock winning the license.

Albany was in the running for a casino license early on with politically connected Rochester-based developer David Flaum's proposal on a site near Thruway Exit 23 at the Bethlehem town border. But when this evaporated, Albany's support became a desired commodity for Hard Rock and the other Rensselaer County proposal, Capital View Casino and Resort in East Greenbush.

Sheehan had given her support previously to East Greenbush in return for an $11 million payment over 10 years.

Dwyer dropped his request for an exclusive Albany endorsement to secure Sheehan's support for his city's site, sources familiar with the casino project said.

The new 10-year pact with Rensselaer gives Sheehan a second bet in the casino license competition while providing Dwyer with political capital for cooperating with his more influential municipal neighbor.

Republican Rensselaer County Executive Kathleen Jimino is one politician who could benefit from either site in her county getting the license, and she has walked a political tightrope by not favoring either one.

Dennis Gaffney, a spokesman for Sheehan, declined Tuesday to discuss what has developed between the two cities. Dwyer was traveling.

The casino license applicants have retained lobbying and public relations firms to navigate the nuances of the Empire State's political and regulatory web. Mercury, which bills itself as a "high-stakes public strategy firm," is working on the Rensselaer campaign.

Partners in the project include NYS Funding LLC, a partnership that includes Flaum Management, the Seminole Nation's Hard Rock Entertainment and the Chickasaw Nation's Global Gaming Consulting, the hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital Management Group and Capital District OTB, whose participation means casino income will be distributed among its member counties.

Assemblyman John T. McDonald III, D-Cohoes, and state Sen. Neil Breslin, D-Bethlehem, sent a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo supporting the Hard Rock site.

"There are a couple of important things that are going to be discussed about the casino. The focus is on economic development opportunities along the Hudson River waterfront," said McDonald, who represents Rensselaer and part of Albany in the Assembly and is seen as providing a link between the two cities with the added advantage of having been mayor of Cohoes for more than a decade.

The fourth Capital Region site is Howe Caverns Resort and Casino in Schoharie County.

The state is expected to award a total of four licenses with one each in the Capital Region and Southern Tier and the other two in the Hudson Valley/Catskills.

Staff writers Jordan Carleo-Evangelist and Rick Karlin contributed.

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