Photo by Nancy Lane
TRIPLE DOWN: Celeste Ribeiro Myers, John Ribeiro Jr. and his son John F. Ribeiro started No Eastie Casino, a group of people opposed
Anti-casino community group gives Suffolk frowns
By Frank Quaratiello
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
The driving force behind opposition to a Caesars Palace at Suffolk Downs is a pair of East Boston natives who said a resort casino will destroy the community they love.
“We’ve already got the airport. I feel like a casino will blow us out of the water. It will be the tipping point,” said Celeste Ribeiro Myers of the group “No Eastie Casino.”
Myers, 40, an executive assistant, and her brother John F. Ribeiro, 42, a computer scientist, started the Neighbors of Suffolk Downs group in 2010 and then No Eastie Casino last year. The two groups have a few dozen core members and an email list of nearly 500, Ribeiro said.
"There’s not a single community in the country that’s better off by having a casino,” he said. “There’s not one net positive.”
“I’m worried about traffic, increased crime and the burden to infrastructure,” said Myers, a mother who worries about drunken drivers from the casino careening down neighborhood streets. “I’m concerned about the impact on small businesses.”
Myers and Ribeiro are up against City Hall, fighting a proposal that already has the support of Mayor Thomas M. Menino.
“We’re hitting the streets,” said Ribeiro, a father of three who now lives in neighboring Winthrop. “This week, we were out in different business districts and stopped in about 50 businesses, and we found nearly everyone was opposed to the casino.”
In fact, even though Suffolk Downs is only formally rolling out its proposal today, the ground war for votes in East Boston and Revere, which will also cast ballots on the resort casino, has begun in earnest. Myers said she doesn’t believe some local officials — some of whom she has campaigned for in the past — are representing the best interests of their constituents.
“The deck is stacked against the community,” she said. “It seems like they are advocating for Suffolk Downs, not the community.”
Menino spokeswoman Dot Joyce countered Boston needs the “economic benefits” of a resort casino: “In major metropolitan cities like ours, we’re always competing. One of the ways we remain competitive is by having an entertainment venue that is popular in other cities.”
“Suffolk Downs, as it is, can’t survive,” Joyce added. “This is about retaining jobs and expanding an industry that has been there.”
Ribeiro and Myers don’t see it that way.
“Boston is doing much better than any other city in the country that has a casino,” Ribeiro said. “We don’t need it.”
“We’ve already got the airport. I feel like a casino will blow us out of the water. It will be the tipping point,” said Celeste Ribeiro Myers of the group “No Eastie Casino.”
Myers, 40, an executive assistant, and her brother John F. Ribeiro, 42, a computer scientist, started the Neighbors of Suffolk Downs group in 2010 and then No Eastie Casino last year. The two groups have a few dozen core members and an email list of nearly 500, Ribeiro said.
"There’s not a single community in the country that’s better off by having a casino,” he said. “There’s not one net positive.”
“I’m worried about traffic, increased crime and the burden to infrastructure,” said Myers, a mother who worries about drunken drivers from the casino careening down neighborhood streets. “I’m concerned about the impact on small businesses.”
Myers and Ribeiro are up against City Hall, fighting a proposal that already has the support of Mayor Thomas M. Menino.
“We’re hitting the streets,” said Ribeiro, a father of three who now lives in neighboring Winthrop. “This week, we were out in different business districts and stopped in about 50 businesses, and we found nearly everyone was opposed to the casino.”
In fact, even though Suffolk Downs is only formally rolling out its proposal today, the ground war for votes in East Boston and Revere, which will also cast ballots on the resort casino, has begun in earnest. Myers said she doesn’t believe some local officials — some of whom she has campaigned for in the past — are representing the best interests of their constituents.
“The deck is stacked against the community,” she said. “It seems like they are advocating for Suffolk Downs, not the community.”
Menino spokeswoman Dot Joyce countered Boston needs the “economic benefits” of a resort casino: “In major metropolitan cities like ours, we’re always competing. One of the ways we remain competitive is by having an entertainment venue that is popular in other cities.”
“Suffolk Downs, as it is, can’t survive,” Joyce added. “This is about retaining jobs and expanding an industry that has been there.”
Ribeiro and Myers don’t see it that way.
“Boston is doing much better than any other city in the country that has a casino,” Ribeiro said. “We don’t need it.”
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