As NYC STI rates reach a 30-year high, new health center would serve Hell’s Kitchen community
Today, Caesars Palace Times Square, the bid from SL Green, Caesars Entertainment, and Roc Nation to bring a state-of-the-art gaming and entertainment destination to 1515 Broadway in Times Square, announced a $2 million commitment to support Callen-Lorde’s existing services in Chelsea and a $3 million commitment to Callen-Lorde Community Health Center for a new Center for Excellence in Sexual Health. The center, located in Hell’s Kitchen, will be designed to expand access to rapid, high-quality HIV and STI care. The commitment is contingent on the Caesars Palace Times Square bid successfully obtaining one of three downstate gaming licenses.
New York City is experiencing a surge in sexually transmitted infections, with STI rates reaching 30-year highs. While expanded testing post-COVID explains part of this increase, it also underscores a persistent gap in access to timely diagnosis and treatment—particularly among LGBTQ+ New Yorkers and BIPOC communities. These populations continue to bear the disproportionate burden of both HIV and STIs, with Black and Latino men accounting for 81% of new HIV diagnoses in 2019 and transgender women of color comprising 90% of new diagnoses among transgender individuals between 2015 and 2019.
“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,” said Patrick McGovern, Chief Executive Officer of Callen-Lorde. “With this funding, Callen-Lorde’s express clinic model will offer rapid, same-day test results and immediate treatment through an in-house retail pharmacy, reducing the typical 72-hour turnaround to just one hour. The 20,000-square-foot facility in Hell’s Kitchen will include check-in kiosks, self-swab stations, exam rooms, and on-site lab equipment capable of delivering rapid STI results for over 15 patients at a time per machine. This high-volume, tech-enabled model is designed for efficiency, confidentiality, and inclusivity—ensuring that those most impacted by HIV and STIs can access innovative, potentially life-saving care.”
“At SL Green, we believe that vibrant neighborhoods are built on strong institutions, and Callen-Lorde is exactly that,” said Brett Herschenfeld, Senior Vice President at SL Green. “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 addition to this new healthcare partnership, Caesars Palace Times Square has also committed to new public safety resources, enhanced sanitation, and even a tree-planting program to bring hundreds of new trees to Midtown streets—all of which makes Hell’s Kitchen cleaner, safer, and greener for all its residents.
Caesars Palace Times Square is the only gaming proposal designed the New York way. The proposal would re-use an existing office building at 1515 Broadway, located in the heart of New York City’s iconic entertainment district, and will be designed with a limited number of restaurants and hotel rooms to create excess demand for dozens of existing establishments in neighboring communities. The coalition supporting the bid now includes more than 200 organizations and businesses including local restaurants, hotels, residents, unions and Broadway stakeholders who stand to benefit from—rather than compete with—this exciting new project.
About Caesars Palace Times Square
New York City has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invest in Times Square and New York City with significant commitments to public security, sanitation, and live performances as well as partnerships with neighboring theaters, restaurants, hotels, and landlords. Caesars Palace Times Square will revitalize and reenergize New York’s economic engine and cultural capital. SL Green Realty, Caesars Entertainment, and Roc Nation are partnered on a bid to win one of three new gaming licenses and convert the existing office building at 1515 Broadway into a state with a world-class gaming and entertainment destination.
About Callen-Lorde
Callen-Lorde has been at the forefront of LGBTQ+ health for over 55 years, growing from two volunteer-run STD clinics into a nationally recognized network serving over 23,000 patients across New York City. It operates three full-service sites and is a licensed diagnostic and treatment center, a federally qualified health center, and a leader in gender-affirming care. The organization provides integrated services spanning primary care, behavioral health, sexual health, adolescent care, and pharmacy. It is New York State’s leading provider of PrEP and the largest outpatient transgender health provider in the U.S. Callen-Lorde’s legacy includes rapid response to public health crises, including Mpox in 2022.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250624660925/en/
Contacts
Media Contact: cpts@berlinrosen.com
