SL Green taps NYC Mayor's former chief of staff Frank Carone to help in its Times Square casino bid

Frank Carone, former Chief of Staff for New York City Mayor Eric Adams, is joining NYC real estate giant SL Green in its bid to open a casino in Times Square. Carone, a former power broker with the Brooklyn Democratic Party who helped Adams’ rise in politics, has signed a contract with the legal firm Greenberg Traurig, which is representing SL Green in its efforts.

In a statement retrieved by Politico, Carone said he will “help create a diversified community engagement hiring plan as part of the proposal for a Times Square gaming destination.” He also pledged not to lobby, something city law temporarily bars him from doing given his recent departure anyway.

SL Green tapped Mayor Adams’ recently departed chief of staff as it bids to open a Times Square casino with gaming giant Caesars Entertainment and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. The partners would refurbish a building at 1515 Broadway and transform it into a gaming destination, according to plans unveiled late last year.

The company is competing for one of three gaming licenses that the State of New York will award in the downstate area. Other sites proposed for a casino license include Citi Field–Willets Point, the Aqueduct Raceway, Hudson Yards, Coney Island, Midtown East, Fifth Avenue and the Trump Golf Links in the Bronx.

Rendering for the proposed Caesars Palace at Times Square

The move by SL Green further underscores the company’s relationship with Adams, says Politico. As a candidate, he praised SL Green’s famed One Vanderbilt skyscraper, and as mayor he rolled out his bid to host the Democratic National Convention from the tower’s summit, even though the convention itself would be held across town. 

Adams and Carone have run staff meetings out of One Vanderbilt, the mayor has partied with celebrities there and SL Green’s employees showered him with campaign donations. Winning over Adams is one key goal for casino operators and developers, although they also need support from Gov. Kathy Hochul, borough presidents and city and state lawmakers.

“We are very excited to be working with Frank to ensure that Caesars Palace Times Square maximizes job opportunities for under-represented communities across all five boroughs of New York City,” bid representative Jeremy Soffin of BerlinRosen said in a statement, as per the cited source.

The state was authorized through a 2013 amendment to the state Constitution to fill seven casino licenses. Four casinos have already been approved upstate, with the three yet-to-be awarded to be downstate.