Broadway theater owners take on rappers over Times Square casino bid

Broadway theater owners squared off against rappers Wednesday in a monumental fight over whether to open a casino in Times Square.

Sixteen theaters lit up their marquees and digital billboards with a “No Times Square Casino” message before and during the first state hearing on the gaming facility proposed at 1515 Broadway — home of the Minskoff Theatre and “The Lion King” Disney musical.

The partnership backing the casino proposal includes Caesars Entertainment, SL Green and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation — and put up rapper Fat Joe and radio host Charlamagne tha God to testify on its behalf.

The Broadway League, meanwhile, has spearheaded the opposition to the gambling club, along with nearby West Side merchants and neighborhood groups that are part of the No Times Square Casino Coalition.

“A casino will create a black hole in Times Square,” Jason Laks, president of the Broadway League, told The Post during the hearing.

“It will bring traffic congestion, crime and chaos that we don’t need.”

But the casino bidder brought some bold-faced hip-hop celebrity firepower to testify before the Community Advisory Committee — including Fat Joe, whose real name is Joseph Cartagena.

“I’m so excited about the project. New York City is the epicenter of entertainment,” the Bronx-born Cartagena, who looks svelte after shedding 200 pounds, said.

He mentioned nearly $100 million in benefit programs that will aid many needy New Yorkers, including minorities while alluding to his own Latino heritage.

“Times Square deserves the casino, deserves the jobs… I love to see you guys in Times Square,” he said.

Charlamagne tha God, whose real name is Lenard Larry McKelvey, host of the iHeartRadio morning show “The Breakfast Club,” also gave the Caesar’s Palace Times Square casino bid a plug.

Laks, of the Broadway League, claimed the bald-faced celebs ended up at the front of the line to testify, while others in the theater district complained that the hearing was held during matinee showtimes, limiting the ability of Broadway workers to appear.

More than 150 people testified with polar opposite views of the project’s impact on the area.

Supporters said the casino would be a boon for Times Square while others argued it would degrade the Great White Way and surrounding neighborhoods.

“We need storytelling — not slot machines,” said Bob Hofmann, vice president with the Shubert Organization, the largest owners of Broadway theaters.Members of the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network also showed to support the casino bid.

The project will be rejected if it doesn’t get the OK from the six CAC members. The reviewers of the proposal include reps for the governor, mayor, Manhattan borough president, local state senator and assembly member and city council member.

If it is approved by the CAC, the Caesar Palace bid would then be evaluated by the New York Gaming Facility Location Board, which will recommend up to three casino licenses by December 1.

The state Gaming Commission will then make the final decision on licensing for bidders who make the final cut by year’s end.