A packed public hearing on the proposed $11.1 billion Freedom Plaza drew divisions as unions, business groups, and some residents touted jobs and housing while many locals denounced an underground casino as a threat to neighborhood life. The Community Advisory Committee convened its first hearing with turnout spilling into hallways and onto the street. The panel will collect community input to advise the state Gaming Facility Location Board, which will decide among competing proposals for downstate licenses. The Soloviev Group and Mohegan propose transforming a 6.3-acre First Avenue site with residential towers totaling 1,049 units (513 affordable), hotels, a democracy museum, retail, daycare, and nearly five acres of parkland. Supporters emphasized 17,000 union jobs; many warned the casino would worsen neighborhood conditions.
A packed public hearing on the proposed $11.1 billion Freedom Plaza development drew sharp divisions Thursday night as unions, business groups, and some residents touted jobs and housing, while a majority of vocal locals denounced the plans for an underground casino as a threat to neighborhood life. The Community Advisory Committee convened its first of two public hearings at Scandinavia House on Park Ave. on Aug. 28. Turnout was so high that crowds spilled into hallways and onto the street as they waited
The Soloviev Group and Mohegan, the developers behind Freedom Plaza, are seeking to transform a 6.3-acre site from East 38th to 41st streets along First Avenue with a bid that would include two residential towers with 1,049 units, 513 designated as affordable, two hotel towers, a museum dedicated to democracy, retail space, a daycare center, and nearly five acres of public parkland.
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