Silverstein’s Avenir is Our Community’s Nightmare
As a longtime West Side resident and member of Community Board 4, I have watched with cautious optimism as development reshaped our neighborhood. At its best, thoughtful planning has transformed old industrial blocks into vibrant residential communities. But at its worst, we’ve been left with broken promises, overgentrification, traffic-clogged streets, and neighbors left wondering who the city is really being built for.
Nowhere is that contrast sharper than at 514 Eleventh Avenue, the former Mercedes-Benz showroom site across from the Javits Center. When Silverstein Properties acquired the lot in 2015, they pledged to bring new housing – including as many as 1,000 apartments, hundreds of which were to be affordable housing units – to our community. Designs were floated for residential towers that would rise 60 stories or more, finally bringing badly needed homes to the West Side.
But instead of keeping that promise, Silverstein has abruptly shifted course. The latest plan for 514 Eleventh is no longer housing – it’s “The Avenir,” a $10 billion, 1.8million-square-foot casino and entertainment complex featuring 1,000 hotel rooms, 600,000 square feet of gaming and entertainment space, and 100,000 square feet of retail space and restaurants. This is not what our community was told to expect. A casino was never part of the deal.
The West Side is not the place for a 24/7 gaming hall. The site sits at the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel, which carries roughly 120,000 vehicles a day into and out of Manhattan. Local streets like 40th, 41st, and 42nd Streets are already gridlocked during rush hour. Adding casino traffic – taxis, rideshares, tour buses – would overwhelm our narrow residential blocks, worsen air quality, add to noise pollution, and endanger pedestrians. We are still fighting for basic pedestrian safety improvements along Eleventh Avenue; a casino would push us in the wrong direction.
It is also galling that Silverstien is pursuing a casino next to residential buildings they already own and operate, such as Silver Towers on 42nd Street. The message to their own tenants is clear: profit comes before quality of life. The message to New York as a whole is: corporate real estate interests run this city, not our elected representatives. Silverstein has shown that a large real estate company can break it’s promises and suffer no consequences. In fact, they are rewarded with tax breaks/credits, and other incentives. Our neighborhood should not have to bear the consequences of broken housing promises, while Silverstein chases quick casino revenue.
This isn’t the first time Silverstein has walked away from housing. In Astoria, Queens, the company recently abandoned a rezoning and residential development effort at Innovation QNS after years of touting its benefits. Once again, affordable housing was promised, and once again, the community was left empty-handed. Is there any wonder that our streets are teeming with homeless people? When do our representatives stand up to corporate interests? When will they stand up for everyday New Yorkers, that need affordable housing, and are worried about themselves becoming homeless. The pattern is becoming impossible to ignore: Silverstein is happy to talk about affordable housing when it helps win political support – but quick to cast those commitments aside when there’s a flashier, more lucrative project on the table. And, they do so with impunity, as craven politicians kowtow to corporate interests time and time again.
If this project is to move forward, the place for it is in Times Square, where there are already flashing lights and loud noise 24 hours a day. And I do not say this as a pejorative; it’s a bustling place. That is where the infrastructure already exists to handle more than 50 million annual visitors, where transit is abundant, and where a gaming destination can enhance – not undermine – the surrounding economy.
A casino in Times Square would help the gig economy. Artists, musicians and all those who work in the entertainment industry would benefit. A casino would fit right into the neighborhood of lights and be a compliment to “The Great White Way.” Theaters on Broadway would continue to thrive.
The far west side — Hell’s Kitchen is a predominantly residential neighborhood, where parents raise children, and small businesses serve their needs. Imagine how a huge casino would affect that dynamic. The residents were promised housing at 514 Eleventh Avenue. The west side should not be left with slot machines instead.
Inge Ivchenko, President of London Terrace Tenants, Association & Community Board 4 Member
