NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Caesars, the gambling company behind Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, is vying for a license to build a casino in Times Square, but they’re stepping on a lot of toes in the process.
The Broadway League, the trade association of Broadway theater operators, put out a statement condemning the proposal.
“The addition of a casino will overwhelm the already densely congested area and would jeopardize the entire neighborhood whose existence is dependent on the success of Broadway,” said the League. “Broadway is the key driver of tourism and risking its stability would be detrimental to the city.”
State Sen. Brad Hoylman, who represents the district that includes Times Square, had similar reservations about a potential casino.
“I have to say I’m extremely skeptical about a casino in Times Square,” Hoylman told the New York Daily News in a statement. “Casinos bring a lot of baggage with them. They prey on the most vulnerable, they have an impact on congestion and traffic, and those are concerns that have to be addressed.”
Caesars submitted the proposal alongside SL Green Realty. The casino would be housed in the real estate company’s skyscraper at 1515 Broadway.
That building currently houses the Minskoff Theater, where the Lion King is playing.
Developers intend to keep the theater in the event they’re granted a license. Other areas in the building would undergo renovations to make it ready for gamblers.
A letter from the two companies advocating for the casino obtained by The New York Times drew the ire of a different constituency — New Yorkers who don’t like to be spied on.
The companies proposed releasing “surveillance drones” and setting up 50 new artificial intelligence camera systems each capable of surveilling over 85,000 people per day.
“If the city makes this high-stakes bet on casino surveillance, the whole effort will go bust,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “And I worry they’ll gamble away the future of our public streets. For generations, New Yorkers have used Times Square to protest injustice and march for a better future, but this plan will give us a techno dystopian nightmare instead. At a time when our cars, subway rides, and buses are more monitored than ever, adding a new fleet of drones and AI cameras will rob us of the right to even walk down the street untracked. The system will waste money, be ripe for abuse, and it won’t do a thing about the real drivers of crime.”
An SL Green spokesperson told Gizmodo the company is working with former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, who helped develop the plan.
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