A rendering of the proposed on line casino for Occasions Sq. in Manhattan.
Courtesy of SL Inexperienced
The group pitching a Occasions Sq. on line casino will donate $5 million to a neighborhood LGBTQ+ sexual well being clinic if the state approves their on line casino license software, New York News has realized.
Caesars Palace Occasions Sq.—a joint bid between leisure corporations SL Inexperienced, Caesars Leisure, and Roc Nation—would convey a on line casino and leisure complicated to the middle of Occasions Sq.. Nonetheless, it has confronted pushback from group members and state officers.
In a transfer to entice state officers to approve the challenge, Caesars Palace will grant the Callen-Lorde Neighborhood Well being Middle, an LGBTQ+ well being non-profit, $2 million to assist present tasks and $3 million to construct a brand new Middle for Excellence in Sexual Well being — however provided that the on line casino is accepted.
Based on Patrick McGovern, Callen-Lorde’s chief government officer, the funding would permit the Firm to supply fast screening for sexually transmitted infections (STI) to extra sufferers with new expertise and services.
“The 20,000-square-foot facility in Hell’s Kitchen will include check-in kiosks, self-swab stations, exam rooms, and on-site lab equipment capable of delivering rapid STI results for over 15 patients at a time per machine,” McGovern mentioned in an announcement. “This high-volume, tech-enabled model is designed for efficiency, confidentiality, and inclusivity — ensuring that those most impacted by HIV and STIs can access innovative, potentially life-saving care.”
The donation goals to handle disparities in STI transmission charges, together with amongst LGBTQ+ communities and communities of coloration, in keeping with a press launch shared completely with New York News.
Caesars Palace is competing with not less than eight different websites for 3 downstate on line casino licenses within the coming years.
The proponents’ promise is the newest in a collection of efforts to persuade group members and state lawmakers to assist its on line casino proposal. In June 2024, the businesses introduced a $250 million group funding program that may assist composting, avenue timber, native companies and infrastructure.
Brett Herschenfeld, senior vice chairman at SL Inexperienced, mentioned in an announcement that Callen-Lorde is an instance of “strong institutions” that the event agency likes to assist.
“We are proud to support the expansion of their critical services in Hell’s Kitchen, where this state-of-the-art facility will dramatically improve access to rapid testing and treatment for New Yorkers most at risk,” Herschenfeld mentioned. “This is the kind of community-centered innovation our city needs.”
The businesses pitch themselves as constructing a on line casino the “New York way,” in keeping with a press launch shared with New York News, and declare the on line casino will convey a whole lot of thousands and thousands of {dollars} to the world and bolster tax income. Their supporters embrace some union leaders and high-profile Occasions Sq. companies, in addition to influential builders across the metropolis.
However critics — together with main native representatives — say the on line casino would overcrowd Occasions Sq. and harm each Broadway theater and native companies. A number of outstanding New York Metropolis organizations — akin to academics’ unions, theater teams, activist teams, and neighborhood associations — have joined the No Occasions Sq. On line casino coalition, which argues the on line casino would improve congestion and crime whereas slowing cultural and financial improvement.
State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D-47), who’s operating for Manhattan Borough President, mentioned he’s “100% opposed” to a Occasions Sq. on line casino due to gaming’s antagonistic impacts on psychological well being.
“They prey on addiction, they prey on our most vulnerable,” Hoylman-Sigal mentioned throughout a Might 30 debate for borough president on NY1. “I haven’t had a single constituent come as much as me and say, ‘Senator, let me have a casino in my neighborhood.’ It’s not going to occur below my watch.
An identical proposal for a on line casino in Hudson Yards was scrapped in Might after the native Metropolis Council member, Erik Bottcher, going through group pushback, labored to craft a brand new plan with builders to construct extra housing and workplace house somewhat than the on line casino.
Bottcher, who additionally represents Occasions Sq., mentioned in a Might 19 assertion that he made the choice after in depth group enter.
“This casino proposal did not meet the high bar of community support that such a consequential project demands,” Bottcher wrote. “I have always said that any development of this scale must put the needs of New Yorkers first — and that means housing.”
The on line casino proposal is at present present process environmental evaluation and had its first digital scoping session on Might 28. Earlier than being reviewed by the state Gaming Fee, the proposal first has to cross the Neighborhood Advisory Committee, a neighborhood group made up of six individuals — the governor, mayor, the native state senator, native state meeting member, the borough president and the native metropolis council member every appoint a consultant.
McGovern mentioned the on line casino is an amazing alternative for the town, and Callen-Lorde seems to be ahead to working with the three corporations.
“The team behind Caesars Palace Times Square has taken a real and genuine interest in the health and well-being of the Hell’s Kitchen community,” McGovern mentioned.
