In March, Related Companies CEO Jeff Blau boasted of the “generational benefits” that a Wynn Resorts casino would bring not only to the state of New York but also to the area of Hudson Yards.
Christine Quinn apparently agrees.
The former speaker of the New York City Council, who now serves as the CEO of the nonprofit Women in Need (WIN), expressed her support for the proposed Wynn New York City project that would bring a casino and resort to the west side of Manhattan.
“I am ready for thousands of jobs for homeless moms working with Wynn New York City.”
Quinn: Wynn New York City provides assist to city
Quinn has a deep roots within New York City. Elected to the city council in 1999, she held her seat for 14 years and was elected as the speaker in 2006 and 2010 – the first female to do so.
Quinn sought the mayoral office in 2013 but ultimately finished third in the primary. Two years later, she became the CEO of WIN.
According to the nonprofit’s website, WIN’s mission is to “provide families with the resources they need to achieve independence and break the cycle of homelessness permanently.”
In a video posted to the Wynn New York City website, Quinn shared how she envisioned more supportive and transitional housing with services to help homeless families get back on their feet. Related, she added, was the company she contacted to assist.
Wynn New York City apparently helps do just that.
“I’m supporting Related and Wynn New York City’s bid for the Hudson Yards because it is the one that most recognizes that the biggest problem facing this city is that of homeless families with children.”
Friends of the High Line again pushes back on proposal
Related and Wynn have continued to emphasize the positives of their proposed project as they look to earn one of three downstate licenses, which could open the door to offer online casinos in New York once lawmakers legalize iGaming.
That includes their most recent release of renderings of the luxurious facility.
The tandem have highlighted that Wynn NYC would create 5,000 permanent union careers as well as 35,000 union construction jobs. The development would include a 5.6-acre park in addition to 1,500 new housing units that includes 324 affordable apartments, not to mention a public K-8 school.
However, Related and Tandem face ample opposition, notably from Friends of the High Line, a nonprofit organization and a public park in Manhattan.
High Line launched a campaign that any development “protects the iconic nature and experience” of the area. More recently, Joshua David and Robert Hammond – who founded Friends of the High Line in 1999 – penned an op-ed in the New York Daily News.
In the article, David and Hammond noted that Wynn NYC “would wall off the city views and eviscerate a hard-won, community-supported plan for a more balanced development centered on a major, riverview green space.”
“From the perspective of people walking on the High Line, the ‘magical sensation of floating in the city’ that this newspaper so eloquently wrote 10 years ago would be blocked by a hulking structure that the developer calls a podium (200 feet high according to their papers), whose placement would block those iconic views. Inside the podium: a windowless Vegas-style casino floor. From magic to mundanity.”
