The consortium of developers behind The Coney casino bid for one of three lucrative New York City casino licenses is having a PR week from hell. The latest controversy emerging in the New York Post Sunday is the backlash ignited by Brooklyn’s Community Board (CB) 13 Chair, Lucy Mujica Diaz, who questioned the Muslim faith of residents pictured wearing shirts sponsored by The Coney.
The religious debate now raging around The Coney perhaps takes attention away from another potential misstep earlier this week. The consortium that includes Thor Equities, Saratoga Casino Holdings, The Chickasaw Nation, and Legends, came under fire for sponsoring children with branded uniforms at a basketball summer camp.
Diaz’s Facebook post referenced the Quran’s view “that games of chance [are] abominations of Satan’s handiwork,” and featured a photo of Muslim residents in The Coney shirts. Marie Mirville-Shahzada, founder of Afadila Community Services and a Muslim mother who Diaz directly attacked, has called for Diaz’s removal as CB chair.
publicly accuse a loving Muslim mother of disabled children with betraying her faith”
Councilman Ari Kagan blasted Diaz’s use of religion to “sow discord and amplify intolerance,” demanding an apology and sensitivity training. Kagan added it was “totally inappropriate [to] publicly accuse a loving Muslim mother of disabled children with betraying her faith, family, and the community.”