Related Companies and luxury hotel and casino giant Wynn Resorts aren’t making any friends at the High Line.
Friends of the High Line, a nonprofit that advocates for the preservation of the High Line and its use as a public open space, is rallying support to oppose development plans for the park that include building a casino, apartment tower, office building, public school and daycare, the New York Times reported.
Related and Wynn joined the race for a downstate casino license earlier this year with a $12 billion pitch for Hudson Yards also slated to deliver more than 1,500 apartments, a resort hotel, 2 million square feet of office space, a public school and day care.
Opponents of the plan claim the development, which is slated to build three skyscrapers on the 13-acre stretch between West 30th and West 33rd streets, will block views of the city, create gusty winds and cast long shadows that could hurt local business.
Their biggest gripe is a plan to build a 200,000-square-foot, 20-story podium that would hold a casino and skyscraper with 1,750 hotel rooms. Friends of the High Line head Alan van Capelle told the Times it would be like having six Costco warehouses stacked on top of each other and “will gravely endanger the High Line experience.”
The High Line generates $50 million a year in local spending, according to data the group commissioned from economic development and consulting firm HR&A.
Related told the Times it has made efforts to resolve objections to the plan by meeting with the High Line group and making “substantive changes” to the plans, but the group did not express any further objections after those changes.
In defense of the plan, Related says there will still be almost six acres of public green space and points out the project will generate thousands of union jobs. State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal told the outlet the group has had a relationship with Related, which has donated millions of dollars to the group since the park opened.
Related and Wynn need support to be able to move forward with the project. In order to obtain one of only three licenses in the state to run a full casino in the city, they need to win majority approval from a panel of six people chosen by elected officials.
The New York State Gaming Facility Location Board is overseeing the application process and expects to announce winning casino proposals by the end of 2025.
-Christina Previte