WILLETS POINT, Queens -- A casino complex next to Citi Field is now one big step closer to becoming reality.

Unlike four other proposed sites in New York City, the location next to the home of the New York Mets won approval from its local community advisory committee. The vote on Tuesday was unanimous, but the process is by no means finished.

State gaming agencies still need to decide whether the Citi Field site will receive one of the three Downstate New York licenses available, and despite the unanimous vote on Tuesday, not everyone supports the project.

It costs $8 billion, all of which would come from private funding. The 50-acre project is called Metropolitan Park. It would take up more land area than Ellis Island and Liberty Island, combined, and would feature a convention center,

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