There is continuing talk about having a casino at Belmont Park, on the Queens-Nassau border, run by the Shinnecock Nation. In addition to a casino, it has been proposed that a new Nassau Coliseum be built on that site. For all those things to happen, the State Legislature would have to set aside some land and a developer would have to put up the funds for the Coliseum.

Another serious idea under consideration is to allow development of natural gas in an upstate area known as the Marcellus Shale. Public comments are being accepted during the next three months, and then the state will decide how to do it safely and effectively.

Once again, Pennsylvania has led the way in creating new jobs by encouraging the extraction method called hydrofracking. A recent report by the Pennsylvania Labor Department states that in 2010, more than 70,000 new jobs were created by the gas industry, and that more than 70 percent of them were for Pennsylvania residents.

Getting gambling and approving hydrofracking will not come easily for New York state. Either option attracts vehement opposition from various groups who will try every way possible to prevent either one from happening. But New York, like the rest of the nation, can’t recover from its recession without taking bold action. And it’s hard to ignore the success of the state of Pennsylvania. After all, it’s our next-door neighbor.

Jerry Kremer was a state assemblyman for 23 years, and chaired the Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee for 12 years. He now heads Empire Government Strategies, a business development and legislative strategy firm. Comments about this column? JKremer@liherald.com.