"This is Sherwin's real passion," artistic director Paul Kellogg told the New York Times. "To make a deal is a very long job. You have to deal with agencies in the city and community interests and so on. It just takes forever."

New York City Opera has wanted to leave its current home, the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center, for some time. The company submitted an application to be part of a new performing arts center at the former site of the World Trade Center, but was not chosen. NYCO is now reportedly considered moving into a new opera house to be built on Amsterdam Avenue, near Lincoln Center.

Gullong has worked at New York City Opera for the last ten years; previously, she directed Arts International and worked at the Municipal Arts Society, the New York Shakespeare Festival, and Lincoln Center.