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[NYguy]

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/10/nyregion/united-nations-casino-installation.html

An Installation That May Give Way to a Casino
The developer of a site near the U.N. plans a temporary “Path of Liberty” installation while he awaits a casino decision.





By James Barron
Dec. 10, 2024

The word is semiquincentennial, the term for a 250th anniversary. Hershman — the chief executive of the Soloviev Group, the development firm that hopes to build a casino on a six-plus-acre site near the United Nations — is planning a display on the site to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

That is not until 2026. But Hershman decided to get a head start with giant video screens and interviews from across the country. The installation, “Path of Liberty: That Which United Us,” is being underwritten by the charitable arm of the company and will open in the spring, months before state regulators decide which applicants to license for up to three new casinos in the New York City area.

Hershman said his company would do nothing with its site on First Avenue — except for “Path of Liberty” — “until we learn if we get the license.” If not, the company will go back to its original plan, which he said was to build apartments and commercial space.

“Path of Liberty” will replace a walk-through installation with 17,000 lights that closed recently. Hershman said he decided on “Path of Liberty” after becoming “frustrated” by the national debate about democracy “because it was political.”

“It wasn’t much about thinking back to how the country came into being,” he said. “I thought to myself, we ought to start thinking about how to celebrate this.”