Caesars Palace Times Square Gets Mixed Support at Public Hearing

Caesars Palace Times Square seems to have the support of workers and residents in Midtown for the economic boost and safety benefits it could provide. 

The Community Advisory Committee (CAC) responsible for recommending a thumbs-up (or down) for SL Green Realty, Caesars Palace and Roc Nation’s casino proposal held a hearing on Wednesday morning. During the meeting, residents expressed confidence that the casino would add to the surrounding entertainment ecosystem and create union jobs.

But others accused the Caesars Palace Times Square partners of flooding the hearing with paid and union member supporters who drowned out detractors of the proposal.

“This is already a commercial area, so it won’t displace tenants or replace potential housing sites,” one speaker said. “Raising my family in New York City, I know how much we need the housing. The proposal site is an existing office building in a nonresidential district, so it won’t take vacant land that could be used for new homes. A lot of other New Yorkers will agree with me; we don’t want casinos in residential districts.”

Jason Laks, the president of The Broadway League, and Nadia Swanson, the director of advocacy and global programs at The Ali Forney Center, were opposed on the basis that the applicants were not working in good faith with the community, with the latter stating that casinos attract crime such as human trafficking.

“Casinos are known businesses where trafficking and violence occur at high volumes,” Swanson said. “Trafficking, like youth homelessness, remains largely unseen because the indicators are invisible to most. Casinos are an attractive place for youth. They’re open 24/7. It is large and [youth] can be invisible without being kicked out. [They have] access to drugs and alcohol. This casino would cause tremendous harm to the unhoused youth who rely on services in this neighborhood and would be targets for those that seek to harm.”

The partners are seeking to establish a gaming facility in Times Square at 1515 Broadway. Gaming tables would be located above street level, on the same levels as the facility’s hotel rooms. A new theater for “The Lion King” on Broadway would also be housed on the building’s upper floors.

Danny Whitman, executive director of Broadway Cares and Equity Fights AIDS, said that with tourism being a critical factor in the city’s economy and visits to the United States declining due to national politics, the CAC and gaming commission need to give the area every advantage to compete for foot traffic.

Other speakers argued that the jobs being created could help homeless New Yorkers in the area get off the streets.

The applicants have offered programs to curb gambling addiction and invest in community programs, such as offering opportunities for ordinary New Yorkers to buy equity in the venture.

As part of a larger $250 million benefits package, Caesars Palace Times Square had promised to contribute $22.5 million to a trust for Manhattan Plaza, a 1,600-unit housing development at 400 West 43rd Street reserved for performing artists.

But the partners rescinded the contribution after community members voiced concerns about how the money would be spent, according to Bisnow.

The CAC for Times Square consists of Peter Hatch, the former commissioner of New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection; Chris Carroll, the Manhattan Borough President’s Office chief of staff; the New York City Department of City Planning’s Laura Smith; Carl Wilson, the chief of staff for Councilmember Erik Bottcher; former State Assembly member Richard Gottfried; and Matthew Tighe, the chief of staff for Assemblymember Tony Simone.

The other Manhattan casino proposals include Larry Silverstein’s partnership with Rush Street Gaming and Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment on the far West Side, and the proposal from Soloviev Group and Mohegan near the United Nations.

There is also Thor Equities, Saratoga Casino Holdings, the Chickasaw Nation and Legends’ proposal in Coney Island, Brooklyn; the Bally’s proposal at the former Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point in the Bronx; Steve Cohen’s development plans near Citi Field with Hard Rock Entertainment; Resorts World New York City’s bid to transform its current facility in Southeast Queens into a Las Vegas-style casino; and a proposal seeking to turn MGM’s Empire City Casino in Yonkers into a full-fledged gaming destination.

The CAC will ultimately provide guidance to the New York Gaming Facility Location Board on whether the proposal, which will hold another hearing in September, will be a benefit or detriment to the surrounding community.

The New York State Gaming Commission is expected to award applicants with three of the available downstate permits by Dec. 1. 

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.