If Silverstein Properties and its partners secure one of three available downstate New York casino licences, they would build their Avenir integrated resort on Manhattan’s West Side, minutes from the Javits Center.
The Javits Center, thus, was the forum of choice for Avenir’s first public hearing Wednesday, hosted by the project’s community advisory committee. With a deadline of 30 September, the six-member committee must host at least one more hearing before casting a binding vote. The vote is to reflect the amount of public support and Silverstein needs four of six ‘yes’ votes in order to advance.
Avenir is one of three bids located in Manhattan, the most of any New York City borough. As the region with the highest population density in the city and in the country, many communities and interests stand to be affected by a multibillion-dollar casino development. Unsurprisingly, the two Manhattan-based hearings (Avenir and Caesars Times Square) have been the longest of any held thus far.
Over the course of the five-hour hearing on Wednesday, more than 100 speakers touched on every facet of the proposal, both positive and negative.
Silverstein engendered goodwill with Manhattanites as a landlord in the community and because of its role in redeveloping the World Trade Center site after 9/11, as mentioned by many speakers. But that goodwill was far from unanimous.
Addressing New York casino concerns head-on
The Avenir partners gave a thorough presentation prior to public comment, geared toward specific points the CAC raised from a previous presentation on 16 July.
First to present was Silverstein CEO Lisa Silverstein, whose father Larry founded the company in 1957. Silverstein owns the now-vacant land parcel on the corner of 41st Street and 11th Avenue. The developer has built multiple residential buildings nearby, but says a casino is the only way to develop that land because of higher costs and infrastructure needs.
Avenir is arguably the New York casino bid that has evolved the most since its introduction:
- The design changed from two conjoined structures to a single one.
- Partners Destinations by Hyatt and Rush Street Gaming have been added.
- Affordable housing commitments have been raised to 500 units.
- A free community art gallery is also planned for the ground floor, encompassing a whole city block along 11th Avenue.
The project now sports a $7 billion price tag.
“Our site is fully zoned and shovel-ready,” Silverstein said. “There is no converting, tearing down, rezoning or moving tenants around that is required. It is an empty lot in a low-density area. This area of the West Side needs the economic driver to further transform this neighbourhood, activating it with more vibrant life and commerce, all of which brings more safety.”
To emphasise community engagement, Silverstein COO Dino Fusco said a separate conference room had been reserved for any follow-up questions after the hearing. The company’s “very long history building residential properties” should assuage concerns about housing commitments, Fusco said, which is a hot-button issue for the borough.
Traffic and safety plans for an urban NYC hub
The other biggest issues related to Avenir are traffic congestion and potential crime. These concerns were addressed in the presentation, but were still among the most-cited points from detractors, namely local residents unconvinced of the promises.
Connor Lacefield, an environmental consultant, said the ideal transportation breakdown to the property would be:
- 40% by subway
- 25% on foot
- 20% by car
- 15% by bus
This is in stark contrast to bids outside Manhattan and Coney Island, which are promoting thousands of parking spots. Silverstein is proposing a free shuttle service to prevent bottlenecks and other incentives to decrease car travel. But there would still be impact from added car arrivals, especially at intersections surrounding the site.
“The intersections in this area would be the most affected by the Avenir, but even here, the Avenir’s vehicle trips would be a very minimal addition to the neighbourhood traffic, only about 2% of the total trips,” Lacefield said.
Silverstein security chief Bill Dacunto laid out some added security benefits, including an NYPD substation, on-site EMTs and medical facilities and partnerships with local community safety groups.
Rush Street CEO Tim Drekhoff spoke for his company’s role in managing the Avenir casino. Original partner Greenwood Gaming is still with the project, but has not been as prominent in proceedings. Rush Street operates regional casinos, mostly in suburbs of big cities like Chicago and Philadelphia. The company has also operated Rivers Schenectady in upstate New York since it opened in 2017.
“We’ve never acquired a casino, we develop them from scratch,” Drekhoff said. “We’ve been the first casino in each one of our host cities. We’ll bring that specialised experience to the far West Side.”
What groups are most supportive of New York casinos?
The New York casino bids have unearthed a somewhat common theme: unions, business groups and vendors are supportive; residents of the actual site communities largely are not. Having developed several high-rises nearby, Silverstein is well-established with unions, which have been a prominent force throughout the process.
“Silverstein Properties has been a steadfast ally of the building trades for decades,” said Mike Vastarelli, business representative for the NYC District Council of Carpenters. “Their commitment to union labour isn’t just talk, it’s action. Year after year, project after project.”
One of the project’s biggest outreach efforts relates to food insecurity. If selected, Avenir would partner with Rethink Food, a nonprofit that redistributes commercial food waste to underserved communities. Rethink, in turn, is partnered with numerous similar organisations throughout the city. A fair number of Avenir supporters were from the food industry.
“When we heard there was going to be a casino project, we reached out to all of the providers, everybody who had a proposal, and not a single one responded to our email,” Rethink CEO Matt Jozwiak said. “[Avenir] came to us and said, ‘We’re concerned about excess food, we’re concerned about sustainability, we’re concerned about affordability and we want to partner with Rethink Food to make as many meals for low-income New Yorkers as possible.’”
Rivers Schenectady also sent a contingent of staff roughly three hours south to Manhattan. Among them were HR workers, casino employees and security guards who raved about Rush Street’s career-building culture.
Local residents make their opposition heard
While there were some residents of Silverstein buildings who heaped praise, many others were quite critical. Speakers were asked to give their ZIP code, and it seemed as though the majority from nearby 10036 and 10018 were opposed.
“I’m going to ask our elected representatives that we vote for, not for people who live in other places, to please defend us against this predatory business,” said local resident Jacqueline Lowry.
Many argued that Silverstein’s existing residential buildings offer proof they can develop properties without casinos. Although the project’s housing commitment was raised to 2,000 units with 500 considered affordable, that did not seem to land with locals.
“The clear and pressing need for real estate development in New York City is housing, not a casino,” said resident Webb Seager.
Ex-Tropicana employee broaches NY iGaming expansion
One of most interesting testimonies Wednesday came from a man named James Jorasch.
Jorasch was an accountant at the Tropicana Las Vegas in the 1980s, and explained that casino revenue inevitably plateaus and then dips. Once the dip starts, states look for ways to fill that gap. The answer in recent years, he said, has been to legalise online sports betting or iGaming, both of which are prevalent on the East Coast.
There has been little traction in legalising iGaming in New York thus far despite multiple legislative efforts in recent years. However, the state’s top-performing online sports betting market speaks well for future iGaming potential. This presumption is enough of a threat that Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts both referenced fears related to online-retail cannibalisation when pulling out of the New York casino race altogether earlier this year.
The topic of online expansion likely will only begin once the casino process is settled. But might it have been better to start those conversations now? To this point, Jorasch is unique among speakers to broach the topic of gaming expansion after licences are awarded.
“Whether the casinos get part of that revenue or not is a decision that needs to be made, I think today, before we approve the casinos,” Jorasch said.
The Avenir’s first New York casino hearing was mostly positive, but Manhattan is crowded with three different bids.