SL Green added another prominent player to its casino bid as New York City’s biggest office landlord plots out its Times Square dream.
The former chief of staff of Mayor Eric Adams, Frank Carone, signed a contract with Greenberg Traurig, Politico reported. The law firm is representing the SL Green/Caesars bid.
Carone said in a statement he would “help create a diversified community engagement hiring plan.” He is temporarily barred from lobbying after his departure from Adams’ administration, but he can still provide a working knowledge of City Hall.
Carone is a controversial figure, known to pull the levers of power in New York City. In 2019, he represented the Podolsky brothers in a $173 million sale of 17 dilapidated apartment buildings for well above their appraised value. Watchdog groups cried conflict of interest, as Cardone was an ally and fundraiser for then-Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Carone may provide SL Green a connection to Adams, but the downstate gaming licenses need approval from Gov. Kathy Hochul, along with other New York lawmakers, before they are issued by the state.
In October, SL Green announced plans to turn the office building at 1515 Broadway into a casino in partnership with Caesars Entertainment. Caesars Palace Times Square would take up eight of the tower’s 54 floors,occupying 250,000 square feet with dedicated space for restaurants and entertainment options to operate below a five-star, 800-key hotel slated for development.
In December, SL Green brought in another heavy hitter for its Times Square bid: Jay-Z. The Brooklyn native’s company, Roc Nation, is the landlord’s other partner on the project and its set to oversee entertainment at the proposed casino.
Many of the city’s top real estate companies are vying for one of three gaming licenses from the state, proposing locations ranging from Hudson Yards to Coney Island to the ground around Citi Field. Two of the contenders, the Resorts World/Genting at Aqueduct in Queens and the Empire City/MGM at Yonkers, already have gambling and are expected to hold an edge in the bidding, leaving competition for one remaining license.
— Holden Walter-Warner
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