Tensions boiled over at a heated public hearing Tuesday on a proposed $3.4 billion casino in Coney Island, as residents and developers made their cases before a six-member community advisory committee.

Residents divided on "The Coney"

Chanting and heckling filled the crowded Coney Island YMCA gym, where neighbors packed the room holding signs reading "Stop the Phoney" and "Yes to The Coney."

"At the end of the day, you go home to your comfortable place. We stay here. This is our house. Leave it alone," said Ann Valdez, a NYCHA resident in Coney Island.

Others voiced support. 

"I love Atlantic City, but Coney Island is Brooklyn, and Brooklyn is my home. Why we can't have a casino here?" said Barbara McFadden, resident leader of the NYCHA Sheepshead Bay Houses.

Residents lined up for hours to testify, underscoring deep divisions in the community.

"I can't connect a casino with progress," said Coney Island resident Rachel Morrison.

"I think it's only fair that Coney Island have resources for the residents who live here," said Deborah Carter, resident leader of NYCHA's Gravesend Houses.

Some opponents warned the project would change the neighborhood's character.

"What we're really being asked is to accept a future where our streets are privatized, our residents are displaced, and everything that makes Coney Island ours is traded for the profit of the developer," Roman, a local resident, said while addressing his elected officials.

Casino presentation disrupted by hecklers

Developers struggled to deliver their 20-minute presentation amid interruptions from the passionate crowd, but insisted the casino complex would be a major economic engine.

They said it would be "creating programs that allow people to advance" and funnel a "plethora of opportunities" in their facility. Their renderings present a sleek, state-of-the-art, resilient complex boasting a variety of facilities, and boasted that it would be the largest employer in the neighborhood.

"We'd have a 25,000-square-foot entertainment space. We'll have 20-plus world class restaurants, and we'll have up to 116,000 square feet of convention space," a developer said.

Supporters, including Randy Peers, president of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, argued the project could help Coney Island become less dependent on summer visitors.

"It's going to help make Coney Island a 12-month-a-year destination. The thing that stalls the local economy here in Coney Island is the fact that it's seasonal," Peers told CBS News New York's Hannah Kliger.

For others, infrastructure concerns loomed large.

"People have literally died waiting for an ambulance. They just can't get around the geography problem. The infrastructure is outdated. The electrical system is outdated," said Brighton Beach resident Ida Sanoff, who testified at the hearing.

The community advisory committee -- which includes Councilmember Justin Brannan, state Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, and representatives for Assemblymember Alex Brook-Krasny, Mayor Eric Adams, and Gov. Kathy Hochul -- will meet for a second hearing before voting Sept. 30 on whether to advance the project. Residents can submit written statements until that date.

The state will decide by the end of the year which applicants will receive three downstate gaming licenses. 

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