In New York’s East Midtown, near the United Nations Headquarters, a new public park could appear: nearly 2 hectares of waterfront land between First Avenue and the East River. For now, the site is an empty space left behind after the demolition of an electrical substation. Tomorrow, it could become Freedom Plaza.
The project promises 1,670 m² of lawn, two residential towers of 50 and 60 stories designed by BIG, 2 km of walking paths, a 213-meter-long waterfront promenade, a playground, an amphitheater, a water garden, the Museum of Freedom and Democracy, food pavilions, and a community center.
Infrastructure, long-term maintenance, security, and the cultural program would all be funded by the developer. This is because the project’s implementation depends on obtaining one of three licenses to open a casino in the city. The developer, Soloviev Group, expects to receive the license by December 31. If approved, this would be the first full-scale casino in New York City.
At present, there are only video lottery terminal (VLT) gaming facilities within the city, such as Resorts World Casino in Queens, near John F. Kennedy International Airport. They do not have tables with live dealers, only slot machines and electronic games. By Las Vegas standards, these are not considered full-scale casinos. There are several casinos elsewhere in New York State, but they are quite far from the city itself. The city has also recently awarded licenses for three new casinos.
Video visualization of the future Freedom Plaza.
By the way, if Soloviev Group sounded somehow familiar to you, you were not mistaken. The owner of Soloviev Group, Stefan Soloviev, inherited his business empire from his father, Sheldon Solow, five years ago.
Sheldon Solow (1928–2020) was one of New York’s wealthiest billionaires and was born into a family of immigrants from the Soviet Union. Interestingly, Stefan changed his surname to the original family name of his grandfather.
According to Forbes, Solow was one of the wealthiest residents of New York, with an estimated net worth of $4.4 billion. He ranked 167th on the 2020 list of the richest American entrepreneurs.
Solow’s most famous property is a 50-story office building completed in 1972 in Manhattan, near Central Park. The skyscraper was named the Solow Building, and its tenants include hedge funds, private equity firms, and the fashion house Chanel.
