“If you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.”
Or so goes the saying which derives from the exploits of George C. Parker, who spent much of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries “selling” New York City landmarks to unwitting marks, and most prominent among the landmarks was the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, which had been completed in 1883. (See a blog post by Marina Amaral for a good summary.) “I have a bridge to sell you” outgrew its original context and became an oft-used idiom (if you believe that…) to denigrate the gullible. But a recent New York City story about building a bridge made me think of the idiom’s origins.
My June 8, 2019 photograph of the Queensboro Bridge (in the background) from Roosevelt Island. I discussed the photo in an earlier article.
Steve Cohen is a very wealthy businessman and the owner of the New York Mets. Citi Field, the New York Mets’ home, is in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens. Mr. Cohen is adamant about building a casino on property he owns adjacent to the stadium. Alas for Mr. Cohen, he needs to win the right to build his casino from the New York State government. His chance’s of winning one of the small number of casino licenses could be negatively impacted by local opposition. I will note that despite New York voters (do not blame me, I voted NO) having approved a casino referendum in 2013, it does seem that many attempts to actually build one of the vice mills runs into significantopposition.
As reported by Katie Honan of The City in an April 1, 2025 article titled Mets Owners Are Already Drilling at Citi Field – Without NYC Casino Bid Being Settled, one key opponent of Mr. Cohen’s casino dreams up until recently had been John Liu, a New York State Senator representing parts of Queens near where Mr. Cohen is seeking permission to build his would-be casino. Ms. Honan notes in her report that Mr. Liu went so far as to co-author an op-ed in the New York Times on March 3, 2024, opposing New York City casinos while accusing casinos of targeting Asian Americans. While Mr. Liu asserts that he still opposes casinos in New York City, he stated that there is significant support in his community for them – thus leading him to seek a compromise for no longer standing athwart Steve Cohen’s efforts to prey on Asian-Americans (or something). Thus, and despite his prior on-record opposition to Mr. Cohen’s casino plans, Mr. Liu “announced he would introduce a bill this week that would allow development on the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park near Citi Field where Cohen has pitched his ‘Metropolitan Park’ casino project.” (Aside: Mr. Liu is not the State Senator representing Metropolitan Park, that is Jessica Ramos, who remains opposed.) What prompted Mr. Liu’s qualified change of heart when it comes to Mr. Cohen’s casino? According to the report, Mr. Liu reached a “signed grant agreement” with Mr. Cohen providing that if Mr. Cohen receives a license for his Metropolitan Park casino, Mr. Cohen will then fund the building of the “Skypark” pedestrian bridge, which had been first proposed in the 2000s and “would cross west of 39th Avenue over Flushing Creek.” However, Mr. Cohen will only fund this bridge if he receives the casino license, and the article notes that even then “the [bridge] would require approvals from a host of city and state agencies, including the Department of Transportation, the Parks Department, Department of Environmental Protection, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the grant agreement shows.” In the event that Mr. Cohen wins the license but the Skypark bridge is not approved, delayed, or otherwise not built, the agreement with Mr. Liu provides that “Cohen and his company will have to pay out $100 million in annual $10 million installments to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, the agreement says.”
Taken together, it appears that Mr. Liu flipped his position on the Metropolitan Park casino plan – which we should reiterate would not be built in an area he represents – in return for Mr. Cohen’s promise to look into building a bridge that was first proposed somewhere in the neighborhood of two decades ago and which may not be built even if Mr. Cohen receives the license. This “deal” is (charitably) a gamble (pun intended).
George C. Parker is long gone, but people in New York City still have bridges (real and imagined) to sell you.
I am the Brooklyn-based administrator, editor, and main author of The New Leaf Journal and The Emu Café Social. By day I am a legal research specialist and writer. I write about my interests in my articles which include, but are in no way limited to, anime, current events, feeds and feed readers, Linux and open source, philosophy, plants, reading, video games and visual novels, and walks in Brooklyn.
A Skypark Bridge to Sell You
CommentaryNicholas A. Ferrell“If you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.”
Or so goes the saying which derives from the exploits of George C. Parker, who spent much of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries “selling” New York City landmarks to unwitting marks, and most prominent among the landmarks was the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, which had been completed in 1883. (See a blog post by Marina Amaral for a good summary.) “I have a bridge to sell you” outgrew its original context and became an oft-used idiom (if you believe that…) to denigrate the gullible. But a recent New York City story about building a bridge made me think of the idiom’s origins.
Steve Cohen is a very wealthy businessman and the owner of the New York Mets. Citi Field, the New York Mets’ home, is in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens. Mr. Cohen is adamant about building a casino on property he owns adjacent to the stadium. Alas for Mr. Cohen, he needs to win the right to build his casino from the New York State government. His chance’s of winning one of the small number of casino licenses could be negatively impacted by local opposition. I will note that despite New York voters (do not blame me, I voted NO) having approved a casino referendum in 2013, it does seem that many attempts to actually build one of the vice mills runs into significant opposition.
As reported by Katie Honan of The City in an April 1, 2025 article titled Mets Owners Are Already Drilling at Citi Field – Without NYC Casino Bid Being Settled, one key opponent of Mr. Cohen’s casino dreams up until recently had been John Liu, a New York State Senator representing parts of Queens near where Mr. Cohen is seeking permission to build his would-be casino. Ms. Honan notes in her report that Mr. Liu went so far as to co-author an op-ed in the New York Times on March 3, 2024, opposing New York City casinos while accusing casinos of targeting Asian Americans. While Mr. Liu asserts that he still opposes casinos in New York City, he stated that there is significant support in his community for them – thus leading him to seek a compromise for no longer standing athwart Steve Cohen’s efforts to prey on Asian-Americans (or something). Thus, and despite his prior on-record opposition to Mr. Cohen’s casino plans, Mr. Liu “announced he would introduce a bill this week that would allow development on the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park near Citi Field where Cohen has pitched his ‘Metropolitan Park’ casino project.” (Aside: Mr. Liu is not the State Senator representing Metropolitan Park, that is Jessica Ramos, who remains opposed.) What prompted Mr. Liu’s qualified change of heart when it comes to Mr. Cohen’s casino? According to the report, Mr. Liu reached a “signed grant agreement” with Mr. Cohen providing that if Mr. Cohen receives a license for his Metropolitan Park casino, Mr. Cohen will then fund the building of the “Skypark” pedestrian bridge, which had been first proposed in the 2000s and “would cross west of 39th Avenue over Flushing Creek.” However, Mr. Cohen will only fund this bridge if he receives the casino license, and the article notes that even then “the [bridge] would require approvals from a host of city and state agencies, including the Department of Transportation, the Parks Department, Department of Environmental Protection, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the grant agreement shows.” In the event that Mr. Cohen wins the license but the Skypark bridge is not approved, delayed, or otherwise not built, the agreement with Mr. Liu provides that “Cohen and his company will have to pay out $100 million in annual $10 million installments to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, the agreement says.”
Taken together, it appears that Mr. Liu flipped his position on the Metropolitan Park casino plan – which we should reiterate would not be built in an area he represents – in return for Mr. Cohen’s promise to look into building a bridge that was first proposed somewhere in the neighborhood of two decades ago and which may not be built even if Mr. Cohen receives the license. This “deal” is (charitably) a gamble (pun intended).
George C. Parker is long gone, but people in New York City still have bridges (real and imagined) to sell you.
Curated Related Posts
Nicholas A. Ferrell
I am the Brooklyn-based administrator, editor, and main author of The New Leaf Journal and The Emu Café Social. By day I am a legal research specialist and writer. I write about my interests in my articles which include, but are in no way limited to, anime, current events, feeds and feed readers, Linux and open source, philosophy, plants, reading, video games and visual novels, and walks in Brooklyn.