NEWS & NOTES

Vornado Realty Trust’s chief executive revealed last week that the company is not likely to continue its quest for one of three downstate casino licenses in downstate New York. Vordnado’s proposal, for a casino at the former site of the demolished Hotel Pennsylvania across from Madison Square Garden in Midtown Manhattan, was one of 11 possible bids for a New York City casino. While the state is making three downstate licenses available, it has been widely speculated that two will go to the current racino licensees, Genting’s Resorts World in Queens and MGM’s Empire City in Yonkers. Last week, Vornado CEO Steven Roth said on an earnings call that the company is not likely to pursue the license. “It’s highly likely that we will not pursue the casino license,” he said.  •  As Atlantic City deals with homeless people living under and around its iconic Boardwalk, Mayor Marty Small Sr. announced during a press conference that the new Boardwalk Improvement Group has been working since early this year to make visitors and residents feel safe there. BIG was started by the city, state and Casino Association of New Jersey, Mayor Marty Small Sr. It now includes an internal app called See It, Click It, Fix It, which is shared by all BIG members, so quality-of-life problems can be easily reported to all and addressed. Small added that the city has a new homeless outreach initiative in which social workers engage with homeless citywide.