Montreign Casino Brings Hope to Struggling Monticello

  • The entire Apollo Mall stands in crumbling ruin, its retail signs and parking lot spaces all that remains of its previous success.
  • Brick and asphalt remnants spell “Tova!” inside the fenced-off area of the Apollo Plaza Mall. The meaning is unknown but it is presumed to have been made by trespassers.
  • The former entrance signs of the Apollo still stand despite their rusted appearance. Though every year a new Apollo restoration/rebuilding plan is proposed, each one grander than the last, the mall still sits, slowly collapsing on itself.
  • An abandoned Rite Aid sits on Broadway in Monticello. Like many other businesses in the village, it struggled to stay open with few customers to serve outside of the village’s residents.
  • The Shoprite Plaza in Monticello is home to only a few remaining open stores such as a Subway, GameStop and jewelers.
  • The Monticello High School is one of the few bright spots in the county and Monticello as a whole.
  • Just across the highway from the Apollo, the casino “Montreign at Adelaar” is under construction after Monticello won a New York State bid for a new casino. Construction is expected to finish in 2018.
  • The top of the Montreign casino can be seen over the trees from both Route 17 and the streets of Monticello. It is a symbol of hope for residents, who expect the casino to restore tourism and increase commerce.
  • Enthusiasm for the new casino is apparent in the village as new buildings, such as a completely re-done Mobil station and the Taco Bell just past it, have sprung up in recent months.

All photos by John Camera

Edited by Tom Perpetua and Megan Mirabito

 

 

John Camera

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