UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) - Polls have closed in a suburban New York community deciding whether to back a $400 million referendum for a new hockey arena and ballpark.
Voting ended at 9 p.m. Monday. Results on whether to replace the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum will be released after 11 p.m. Nassau County residents already pay some of the nation's highest property taxes.
Supporters include many business civic groups. They see the plan as a last-ditch effort to keep the NHL's New York Islanders from relocating when the team's lease expires in 2015.
Taxpayer concerns include a struggle to close a $100 million-plus budget deficit. Critics say the county shouldn't finance a construction project that would benefit the Islanders' millionaire owners.
The county legislature and a state fiscal watchdog agency still must approve the project.