The $1.18 billion plan to build an arena, hotel and retail complex at Belmont Park took a step forward Thursday, as the state accepted the project’s draft environmental impact statement.

Empire State Development’s board of directors voted unanimously to accept the environmental report during a meeting in Manhattan.

The project proposed by the New York Arena Partners development group, aims to bring a 19,000-seat arena, 250-room hotel and 435,000 square feet of retail and restaurants to 43 acres of the race track’s parking lots. NYAP is comprised of the Oak View Group, Sterling Equities and Scott Malkin Group. Malkin is also a partner in the majority ownership of the New York Islanders, which would be the anchor tenant for the new arena.

ESD voted to accept the DEIS over the objections of some members of the Elmont, Floral Park and Bellerose communities, who said that the draft environmental review doesn’t properly address the project’s local impacts.

Tammie Williams, an organizer with the Belmont Park Community Coalition which is opposing the project, wanted to know why the DEIS didn’t study the impacts of stadiums and arenas in other parts of the country to see if they are economic generators, increase job growth and fulfill promises made to local communities.

Richard Hellenbrecht, who represents the Bellerose Civic Association, said traffic is a “serious issue” and added that the Cross Island Parkway, the major thoroughfare that borders the Belmont Park property is already jam packed.

“I see little need for an arena,” Hellenbrecht told the ESD officials at the meeting, “and I see very little community benefit.”

The ESD presentation to its directors, however, asserted that the project is “consistent with the sound need of the municipality and the adjacent communities,” and “will transform the current vacant, underutilized, and deteriorated” property for the benefit of the municipality and the community.

Attorney Norman Siegel, who represents the Belmont Park Community Coalition, said the lack of full-time service to Belmont’s Long Island Rail Road station is “a huge, big problem.”

The ESD said the LIRR has agreed to run just two trains to Belmont on days when there are hockey games and other events scheduled at the proposed arena. The ESD also said the developers would contribute to the costs of improved rail service, but they didn’t say how much. An MTA board member has previously estimated that creating full service to the Belmont station would cost at least $300 million.

Still, Siegel said many details about the project remain unknown.

“How much taxpayers’ money will be spent on this?” he asked the ESD officials.

ESD announced it will hold public hearings on the environmental impact statement in January.