The New York Islanders, developers of the arena and retail project at Belmont Park, and politicians and league officials celebrated a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new arena Monday. They also included a little bit of news affecting this season’s schedule.
An enthusiastic Gov. Andrew Cuomo kicked things off by calling it a transformative project, while jokingly threatening commissioner Gary Bettman with the New York State Police if the “man of his word” league head couldn’t guarantee more games at Nassau Coliseum.
“God bless other parts where they play but there’s no place like Long Island” for the Islanders, Cuomo said.