Soloviev: Give Us Casino, We'll Give You Affordable Midtown Housing

MIDTOWN, NY — The Soloviev Group announced Thursday that their development at the long-vacant plot of land next to the U.N. Headquarters and the FDR Drive will now include 513 affordable apartments.

But it comes with a catch: the approval of a controversial casino license.

The Soloviev Group has long aimed to develop the 6.7-acre vacant site as the home of one of Manhattan's first casinos, and said that the approval of their license, so far met with disapproval from community groups, would help make at least a third of the 1,325 total apartments planned for the site affordable to those making under 80 percent of AMI — less than $102,000 for a family of three.

"We are dedicated to mitigating the housing crisis within our community and intend to develop more than 500 affordable units, while also introducing meaningful economic and social benefit initiatives,” said Michael Hershman, CEO of the Soloviev Group.

The casino, said said Ray Pineault, the CEO and president of Mohegan, the proposed operator, would help fund the permanently below-market rate units.

“The revenue generated by the project’s entertainment and hospitality component will allow Freedom Plaza to deliver the affordable housing program and expansive publicly accessible green space, with many more details yet to be announced,” Pineault said in an announcement.

Hershman reportedly confirmed to the New York Times that the affordable units are totally contingent on the approval of their basement Casino.

“We’re not required to do it,” Hershman told the Times of the affordable housing component.

So far, local groups, like Community Board 6, have not been keen to welcome in the casino, but they have appreciated recent scaled-back plans for the gambling center, according to a meeting in April.

Reshma Patel, the budget and governmental affairs committee chair for Community Board 6 told the Times that she remains unconvinced, but that other could be enticed by the new affordable units.

Why can’t we do all these things without a casino?” she wondered to the Times. “I can’t speak for everybody, but there will be people now who will reconsider."

In September, the Soloviev Group announced a field of lights art show in the vacant, over gown plot, featuring over 17,000 stemmed fiber-optic lights.