Broadway Workers Make Voices Heard At Caesars Public Hearing

After two lively public hearings to discuss the $5.4 billion Caesars Palace Times Square casino proposed for 1515 Broadway, the question is: Will there be an encore performance at the state level?

Thursday’s hearing that carried into the evening at the Broadhurst Theatre had some recurring themes from the first session last month: Broadway-based union members in near-unanimous opposition, construction-based union members in staunch support, and a mix of others who saw economic opportunities as well as fears of increased crime and traffic.

While there was no torch song to send out the nearly 180 speakers and others who attended, the drama will now build as the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) overseeing public sentiment for the proposal has between now and Sept. 30 to hold a vote on sending it to the New York State Gaming Commission for consideration.

The CAC must have a two-thirds majority vote to send the application forward to the commission, which will award up to three $500 million licenses for downstate venues. The Caesars Palace Times Square proposal is one of three based in Manhattan, along with The Avenir and Freedom Plaza.

Holliday opens, Sharpton closes

The Caesars group opened the hearing with a 30-minute pitch similar to last month’s. This time, civil rights activist Al Sharpton joined SL Green CEO Marc Holliday, Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez, comedy club Carolines on Broadway founder Caroline Hirsch, and former two-time New York Police Department Commissioner Bill Bratton on the dais.

Supporters and representatives from the multiple organizations the project has aligned to back the venue marched from Times Square to the Broadhurst Theatre ahead of the hearing.

Perhaps emboldened by Sharpton’s presence, Holliday was aggressive. He balanced the benefits of the $250 million community investment program and ripple effects of the Caesars Rewards program to Times Square businesses with direct challenges to opponents of the proposal.

Holliday mentioned the marquees atop theaters on Broadway that were lit up in the morning with “No Crime. No Chaos. No Casino.” He called the Broadway League, the national trade association for the New York theater industry, “self-interested” and said it “had been running an underhanded smear campaign against this project.”

That remark caused an uproar at the Broadhurst, where many Broadway-based union employees had already assembled. An overwhelming majority of them sported red T-shirts to identify as casino opponents.

Undeterred by the ire, Holliday further claimed the Broadway League “was funded predominantly by a wealthy multi-generational theater owner protecting his own interests at the expense of the community.”

Bratton, Lopez, and Hirsch respectively touched on security, entertainment, and local business impact, but Sharpton held the hammer as closing speaker. Long a formidable presence in New York City, he framed supporting the casino as a vote “against the oligarchy” and said Roc Nation’s presence would mark the “first time we will have an institution on Broadway that has diversity at an ownership level.”

“And you’re not just given a token,” Sharpton added. “Jay-Z is no token. He’s the token booth.”

The IATSE represents

One got a sense there would be a strong union turnout Thursday from employees on “The Great White Way” from the first hearing. More than a few Broadway-located employees groused at the Aug. 14 hearing that it was held during Wednesday matinee show hours and across town at Scandinavia House.

At the Broadhurst in the heart of Broadway on 44th Street, IATSE union employees from multiple locals showed up en masse defending their turf. They had no pretenses in viewing a casino at 1515 Times Square as an existential threat to their industry.

Employees from locals representing wardrobe designers, ticket takers, and ushers appeared unanimous against the proposal. Many recounted their first experiences with Broadway, sparking a passion for theater and how it could be taken away with a casino.

Bill Huebner, who is part of Local 764, noted that while he worked on traveling tours for musicals in Las Vegas, performances of both The Lion King and Phantom of the Opera on the Strip were truncated “to get people back out on the floor to gamble.”

“They are not doing this out of the kindness of their heart,” he said, “they’re doing it to make a profit. This is a very special culture. People come to New York to do things they can’t do anywhere else. Eat food from around the world, see the Brooklyn Bridge, go down to the World Trade Center.

“If you want to gamble, you can stay at home,” he added, noting that most states have casinos.

Befitting Broadway flair, some opponents took creative license to express themselves. One broke out into song, a second read a poem that closed, “This Caesar compendium must be sent to absenteum.”

Danny Whitman, the executive director of Broadway Cares and Equity Fights AIDS, almost got completely through a Letterman-like top seven reasons against it before his two minutes expired. One Broadway producer offered her remarks while balancing her toddler on her hip.

Multiple representatives of Encore Community Services, a non-profit organization that provides services to the elderly, also spoke out in opposition.

Other pockets of support found

There was some union support for the proposed casino beyond labor and construction locals. Saum Eskandani, an Actors’ Equity member and Las Vegas native who also had worked on West End productions in London, said that the “two most vibrant, prosperous and most secure places on earth to be employed are Times Square and Las Vegas Boulevard.”

Sebastien Silvestri, CEO of the Dinex, Chef Daniel Boulud Restaurant Group, saw an opportunity for growth in the restaurant industry around Times Square based on his participating in casino openings in Las Vegas, Singapore, and Macau.

Manhattan Plaza residents also made their voices heard, though it can be argued their opposition was less strident compared to The Avenir proposal — which is in far closer proximity to them on the West Side. In the end, opponents outnumbered proponents to the Caesars Palace Times Square proposal for the second hearing by a roughly 3-to-2 margin.

Jay-Z read, not seen

Roc Nation founder Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter was not on the dais Thursday, but the muliple Grammy award-winning rapper granted an interview to City & State New York explaining why he wants to bring a casino to Times Square.

“Our plan is the only one that transforms an existing building into a project that creates massive opportunity without displacing the neighborhood,” he said in response to what differentiates Times Square from the other seven applicants. “With limited space inside – no retail and just one theater – visitors will naturally flow into surrounding Broadway shows, restaurants, and shops.

“Add to that the unmatched access to mass transit and the global recognition of Times Square, and it’s clear this is the venue that makes the most sense for New York City.”