Jay-Z’s Caesars Times Square Casino Bid Pledges to Support LGBTQ+ Health

Caesars Entertainment is hoping to sweeten its bid for a New York casino license by pledging $5 million to support Manhattan LGBTQ+ communities.

In partnership with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and developer company SL Green, Caesars said that it would donate $3 million to the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center for a new Center for Excellence in Sexual Health and $2 million to assist Callen-Lorde’s operations in Chelsea.

Callen-Lorde is a healthcare facility that is geared toward assisting LGBTQ+ communities “free of judgment and regardless of ability to pay,” per their website.

Committed to improving public health

The group’s donation would only occur if the bid for Caesars Palace Times Square—a $4 billion project at 1515 Broadway in Times Square—is approved for one of three available casino licenses.

The new sexual health facility would be dropped into Hell’s Kitchen, a neighborhood of more than 65,000 residents west of Times Square. It would treat patients with a variety of needs, including access to quick and accurate testing and treatment for HIV and sexually transmitted infections.

It would also have check-in kiosks, self-swab stations, patient rooms, and lab equipment.

“The team behind Caesars Palace Times Square has taken a real and genuine interest in the health and wellbeing of the Hell’s Kitchen community,” Callen-Lorde Chief Executive Officer Patrick McGovern said in a statement. “With this funding, Callen-Lorde’s express clinic model will offer rapid, same-day test results [for sexually transmitted infections] and immediate treatment through an in-house retail pharmacy, reducing the typical 72-hour turnaround to just one hour.”

Despite the commitment to public health, the group’s proposal, which would transform the Viacom and MTV Studios building into a casino-resort, remains highly controversial. 

Among a variety of potential issues, the planned location would be adjacent to one of the most famous Broadway theatres, Minskoff Theatre, home of The Lion King. A variety of theatre groups and unions have already voiced their opposition to a theatre-district casino, suggesting that extra foot traffic and economic changes would negatively impact the theatre experience.

Garnering more support 

Although many individuals in the theatre community are against the proposal, the Actors Equity Association union, along with more than 200 nearby businesses and organizations, supports the casino.

The recent commitment to Callen-Lorde also means that the casino group has a new ally in the LGBTQ+ community,

“At SL Green, we believe that vibrant neighborhoods are built on strong institutions, and Callen-Lorde is exactly that,” SL Green Senior Vice President Brett Herschenfeld said in a statement. “We are proud to support the expansion of their critical services in Hell’s Kitchen, where this state-of-the-art facility will dramatically improve access to rapid testing and treatment for New Yorkers most at risk. This is the kind of community-centered innovation our city needs.”

In an attempt to gain approval from state officials, Caesars Palace Times Square also committed to adding public safety resources, better sanitation, and planting trees in the area.

The window to submit casino license applications closes on Friday. New York gaming regulators will debate over a variety of proposals, including those at Citi Field, Ferry Point Park, Manhattan, and The Bronx, among others.

Two would-be license suitors with proposals involving Hudson Yards and Nassau County recently collapsed.