Freedom Plaza Team Focuses Pitch On Manhattan East Side Community

The Freedom Plaza group proposing to build a casino, two hotel towers, and two residential towers on the East Side of Manhattan focused on the importance of the community in detailing its plans to the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) on Thursday.

The $11 billion Freedom Plaza proposal is led by the Soloviev Group, Mohegan, and Banyan Tree. Soloviev Group CEO Michael Hershman presented most of the pitch to the CAC in this initial meeting and was backed by representatives from Mohegan, the Bjarke Ingels Group architecture firm, and Jamie Smarr, CEO of the NYC Housing Partnership.

The CAC for Freedom Plaza voted Sandra McKee, the chair of Manhattan Community Board 6, as its chair. McKee was tabbed by state Sen. Kristen Gonzalez. The rest of the committee:

• Nichols Silbersack, deputy policy director appointed by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul
• Jennifer Sta. Ines, Manhattan deputy borough commissioner at NYC Department of Transportation, picked by New York City Mayor Eric Adams
• Reshma Patel, also a member of Manhattan CB 6 selected by New York Assemblyperson Harvey Epstein
• Celeste Royo, senior urban planner for Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine

One spot on the CAC remains open. The representative for New York City Councilmember Keith Powers has yet to be named after his first choice, Molly Hollister, was unable to serve.

Freedom Plaza is one of three Manhattan-based proposals among the eight submitted to the New York State Gaming Commission. The CAC requires a two-thirds majority — four votes — to advance the applicant to the New York Gaming Facility Board by Sept. 30.

Should it fail to hold a vote by that date, the applicant is deemed rejected. The board would then make its selections for the licenses Dec. 1, which will be followed by the commission license consideration before the end of the year.

The casino as a community engine

After a video presentation to the committee, Hershman spoke at length about the positive relationships Freedom Plaza representatives have built with the East Side community in moving forward with their proposal. There were deliberate decisions in having the casino gaming space not visible at street level, with Hershman emphasizing, “I made it clear from the beginning that I didn’t want to bring Las Vegas to Manhattan. That was not my objective.”

“We have always lived in the neighborhood,” he continued, referring to the Soloviev Group’s history as a realty and development company that has built throughout New York City. “Wherever we go, we understand that we have a social responsibility to give back to the community. And that is what a lot of this is about.”

Hershman then went on to detail some of those goals Freedom Plaza could reach with the casino license, most notably the two residential towers that would create more than 1,000 residential units. Housing in Manhattan continues to be a hot-button issue, and both Freedom Plaza and The Avenir are pledging to not only build units, but also affordable ones. Hershman said close to 600 units would be “permanently affordable housing.”

Freedom Plaza will also be giving 2% of its net revenue back to the community annually, in addition to a pledge of $5 million immediately payable upon receiving the license. Hershman, who expects $250 million going back into the community over the first 20 years, added the group will not ask for a say in how that money is spent, expecting the community to create its own advisory board for such tasks. He added the property would oversee the five-acre park that is part of the proposal but keep it open to the public.

Hershman also described the genesis of the $150 million IPO the Soloviev Group announced in May for New York City residents, likening it to the public shares held by Wisconsin-based fans of the Green Bay Packers. Hershman also said that his group is willing to bring its pledges for housing and community projects under contract.

Big plans require big labor

Mohegan President and CEO Ray Pineault described his background in gaming, which includes Mohegan’s near-30-year presence in Connecticut as well as its membership in the National Council on Problem Gambling. Pineault served as treasurer in the NCPG for eight years and discussed Mohegan’s recent efforts with Yale University to make responsible gambling help available to all residents of Connecticut. He said the project would create 17,000 direct jobs between construction and permanent casino positions.

Pineault gave way to Nelson Parker, chief strategy officer for Mohegan, who detailed some of the hotel plans being built in conjunction with Banyan Tree from the Singapore-based Banyan Group. Parker said there would be approximately 1,250 hotel rooms in total, with approximately 30% of them suites with more than 650 square feet. Parker also said a spa would encompass an entire floor of one of the towers, which would be more than 40,000 square feet of space.

Following the presentation, the Soloviev Group released statements of support from labor unions and trade groups SEIU 32BJ, The Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, and the Building and Construction Trades Council of New York.

Smarr addresses housing

NYC Housing Partnership President Smarr said he threw his support behind Freedom Plaza because the residential towers were part of the proposal and the affordable units are what he called “fully inclusive” and the “true intent of the city’s inclusionary zoning law.” He pointed out the median price for a house in New York City is currently $1.2 million, and estimated the affordable units would be worth approximately one-third of that amount.

“The units won’t be put in a separate building away from the others,” he stressed. “It will be inclusive with this overall development. So again, that’s why the housing partnership is here today, to second this proposal. So to sum up, Freedom Plaza will provider the most inclusive housing opportunities in a large-scale development project that New York City has ever seen.”

The CAC’s duties and responsibilities

Besides choosing whether to vote an applicant forward, the most important duty each Community Advisory Committee has is to hold at least two public hearings to solicit comment. That is in addition to reviewing public comments submitted on a project and voting to reflect the public support or lack thereof.

A CAC can “solicit changes to a bearer’s application,” but there are limits to the changes that can be made. Additionally, any “promise, commitment, or obligation” a bearer makes to be considered in discussion with the committee must be “reduced to writing” prior to the Sept. 30 deadline. The committee has the power to request a bidder change or modify its application, but that also must be put in writing prior to the deadline.

One thing the CAC cannot do is make any changes or modifications necessitating change to the Environmental Quality Review Act.