History museums and blackjack tables might not seem to cater to the same audience. But two developers bet that including cultural institutions in their proposals to open new casinos in New York City would entice community leaders to approve their bids.SL Green Realty, Manhattan’s largest commercial office landlord, wanted to convert a Times Square tower into a gaming resort with $5.4 billion of total direct investment in partnership with Caesars Entertainment and Roc Nation, owned by rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z. The joint venture would have financed the $15 million development of a civil rights museum, a long-standing dream of social justice advocate Reverend Al Sharpton, near the Broadway skyscraper.Further east, the Soloviev Group, one of the nation’s largest property owners, joined hotel and casino operator Mohegan Sun with a proposal to redevelop a vacant site on First Avenue between 38th and 41st Streets into a $11.2 billion casino complex with new apartment buildings and five acres of waterfront parkland. The plan also included a museum dedicated to freedom and democracy, featuring works by international artists as well as pieces of the Berlin Wall.In the end, both gambits failed. Two key panels of individuals representing New York state and city elected leaders, known as Community Advisory Committees (CAC), rejected both of their bids this month, citing staunch neighborhood opposition, increased traffic congestion, and negative effects on quality of life in their neighborhoods. After the vote on September 17, SL Green CEO Marc Holliday, who could have received a $10 million bonus from his firm if he secured a casino deal in Times Square, told panel members, “What you did here today was despicable, a display of cowardice.” A spokesman for the SL Green-Caesars-Roc Nation proposal sent an additional statement saying, “While we disagree with the outcome of this process, we remain committed to advocating for positive change in the city we love.” Soloviev Group CEO Michael Hershman released a statement after the September 22 vote, saying he was “humbled” by the process. He added, “Manhattan is the undisputed capital of the world, and it deserved a fully integrated resort that would have attracted visitors while serving the needs of its community.”The proposals were part of a multi-year process through which New York State will determine which developers to award up to three new casino licenses in the New York metropolitan area by the end of this year. More than a dozen developers and casino operators prepared bids with an array of amenities, including hotels, schools, concert venues, thousands of units of affordable housing, and new museums. Several developers dropped out before the state’s June 27 submission deadline. Other proposals, including one for Coney Island, were rejected by their community panels. As of September 29, plans to expand existing racinos in Yonkers and Ozone Park, Queens, as well as a new idea for a resort in the Bronx, received their sign-offs from their respective CACs. Another committee will vote on a proposal to build a casino in the Citi Field parking lot in Corona, Queens, on September 30. Once all the CACs have voted, the state’s gaming facility location board will ultimately determine which bids receive a license.The inclusion of a museum within a proposal appeared to do little to sway community leaders. Richard Gottfried, a former Manhattan assemblyman and a CAC member, told Hyperallergic that the prospect of a civil rights museum was not a significant factor in considerations of the Times Square casino. Though it was discussed “in the presentation by the applicant,” he said, “members of the committee did not talk among themselves [about it] very much.” He ultimately opposed the proposal because he feared the resort would detract from the Broadway theater industry, and because he did not trust the applicant to keep promises for future housing units.One rival bidder even told Hyperallergic that the inclusion of a cultural institution as an amenity was merely a cynical ploy for public approval, rather than a sincere effort to improve communities. “It’s straight up politics for these folks,” said the bidder, who asked to remain anonymous.Now, the fate of two cultural institutions dedicated to the history and struggle for freedom in the United States remains unclear. Soloviev Group developers still plan on opening their democracy museum and are looking at additional options going forward. An SL Green spokesman referred questions about the civil rights museum to the National Action Network, whose spokeswoman said the museum “is still happening and there are many supporters,” but did not comment on its future location or who those supporters are.To some arts industry leaders, the combination of casinos and cultural institutions is not as far-fetched as one may think. Tom Finkelpearl, former commissioner of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, compared incorporating a museum within a casino complex to a luxury office tower or condo development that offers space to a theater on its ground floor. Still, he warned institutions of the potential tradeoffs that come with accepting such funding.“Museums have to be cautious about what this does to their reputation,” Finkelpearl said, predicting that cultural institutions “will come under all kinds of fire if they’re seen as the group that opened the door for this use that people don’t want in the neighborhood.”He added, “Partnering with a casino can sour your relationship with your community.”