Walsh: Protect Charlestown By Providing Extension to Review Casino Documents

Marty Walsh, Boston's newly-installed mayor, took scant little time since his inaugural to involve the city in the pending casino talks. 

In one of several requests to the state's Gaming Commission, Walsh asked that Boston be granted an extension to review 43,000 pages of documents on the impact of the two proposed casinos in city's adjacent to Boston; Wynn's resort casino complex in Everett, across from Charlestown's Sullivan Square and Mohegan Sun's venture in the Revere portion of the Suffolk Downs race track.

It is estimated that approximately 60 percent of the casino’s estimated traffic would make its way through Charlestown's Sullivan Square, said Jeffrey Dirk, a traffic engineer with Vanasse & Associates Inc., at an August meeting of the Charlestown Waterfront Coalition.

An initial request for a delay was denied by the Commission this past Friday.

“We believe this unrestricted route is the best path forward to protect the residents of East Boston and Charlestown, and the City of Boston as a whole,” he said in a Monday release reported in The Daily Free Press.

“These applicants must have a more open dialogue with the people of Boston, particularly those neighborhoods that will be most impacted.” he said

Walsh also asked the commission to recognize Boston as "host" committees for both casino projects, which would result in significant pay outs to the city to mitigate the impact of the facilities to the surrounding communities. 

The Mohegan Sun and Wynn projects are currently competing to obtain the sole Greater Boston resort casino license.