6-acre light installation at proposed Midtown East casino site to open in December
All renderings courtesy of the Soloviev Foundation
A sprawling light installation coming to the site of a proposed casino in Midtown East is opening next month. Designed by Bruce Munro, Field of Light at Freedom Plaza includes 17,000 low-light, fiber-optic stemmed spheres that change hues and create a dreamlike landscape across six acres near the United Nations headquarters. Free tickets are now available to book to visit the installation, which officially debuts December 15. The display is financed by the Soloviev Group, which owns the vacant land and is looking to build a mixed-use development called Freedom Plaza, anchored by a casino.
“Field of Light at Freedom Plaza stands for boundless imagination and the freedom to dream. It is my hope that it warms hearts and inspires both young and old to take from it and create something of their own to pass on to others,” Munro said.
The Soloviev Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Sololiev Group, is spending roughly $1.5 million to finance the light installation and maintain it, according to the New York Times. Michael Hershman, CEO of the Soloviev Group, told the Times that the installation is a “gift to New York.”
“New York City has always been and continues to be a global epicenter of freedom and the creative spirit,” Hershman said. “We are thrilled to share this transformative experience with our community and the world.”
The Soloviev Group is one of many developers contending for three casino licenses up for grabs in the New York City area, as 6sqft previously reported. Earlier this year, the developer unveiled its proposal to build Freedom Plaza, a 1,200-room hotel, two residential towers with condo and rental units, more than four acres of public green space, and a human rights museum that will display slabs from the Berlin Wall.
Freedom Plaza would be anchored by a partially subterranean casino operated by Mohegan. The initial proposal also included plans to construct a giant Ferris wheel on the site, but that idea has been abandoned.
To make its proposal even more appealing, Soloviev Group last month announced the project would be designed by renowned architects at Bjarke Ingels Group and include more than 500 permanently affordable apartments. As 6sqft reported, the two high-rise apartment towers would share a podium and include 1,325 total homes, including 513 studio to three-bedroom apartments priced below the market rate.
Field of Light will be on view for 12 months and will be open from Thursdays through Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. The installation’s December dates are already sold out, so reserve tickets for January here while you still can.
Editor’s Note 11/2/23: The original version of this article was published on September 21, 2023, and has since been updated with information on the installation’s opening.
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This field of light display alone is a wasteful ridiculous sucker of energy. Being next to the United Nations, those lights could instead show a map of global communities affected by climate change & climate refugee movement.haha. Just a stupid idea replacing another stupid one?
The entire site should be dedicated to climate change education and have wind turbines along the shore(the type that least harm birds, solar, and other demo alt tech projects for NYC city students and world scholars.
There should be a museum to climate change and along with the United Nations organizations show the impact of loss of agricultural land, animal habitat, species, flood and potential flood land and path of climate refugees. It can show (animated or physical model) projections over time & include history of warnings from Buckminster Fuller to Greta Thornburg (sp) and known academics and institutions. Wok the UN and governments have done…If you want you can also have some solar powered rides and of course a combo public park & learning center.
It should show the economic, humanitarian and political implications of climate change globally and suggest solutions, and proven solutions and steps being taken globally.
Think out of the box and fund it by angel philanthropists. If you want a building, make it a super green model that can be toured, and a combo low income housing and tourist hotel.
Stop hogging our waterfront and air by profiteers. If you want to get deep, show the NEGATIVE impact of casinos on native American Tradition communities, not through an income and job creation lens. (I don’t mean those who stamp themselves Indian casinos, just because some folks w/ blood are in on it) PS the AMAZON is an essential study