Votes on Eight Casino Proposals Delivers a Mixed Bag of Results
Among the approximately eleven operators initially interested in one of the three downstate casino licenses being issued, only eight submitted their final applications by the June 30, 2025 deadline. September 17th delivered the announcement of the rejection of the first two submissions by the Community Advisory Commission (CAC) — Caesars Palace Times Square and The Avenir on the Far West Side. The Freedom Plaza proposal in Midtown East was similarly rejected on September 22, eliminating Manhattan as a possible location for the casino. Some of the proposals in the outer boroughs were more successful. While The Coney proposal for Coney Island Brooklyn was rejected on September 29th, a few days prior on September 25th, the Resorts World New York City in Jamaica, Queens, along with MGM Empire City in Yonkers became the first two proposals to secure unanimous approvals by the CAC. On September 26 Bally’s in Ferry Point, Bronx joined the approved proposal list — making it the first brand-new casino bid to advance to the final round, and more recently on September 30th Metropolitan Park in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens was approved. Four proposals will now advance submissions to the New York Gaming Facility in the hopes of securing one of the three new commercial casino licenses to be awarded by year-end. According to the article by Crain’s New York, after betting heavily on “turning an aging Times Square office property [1515 Broadway], a vacant lot by Hudson Yards, and a development site by the United Nations,” developers SL Green, Silverstein Properties, and the Soloviev Group” seemingly have no choice but to look more seriously at other options.” Optimism among “many in the industry predicted that all three companies would still find good uses for the sites,” citing the May 2025 shift in direction by the Related Companies of its casino proposal with Wynn Resorts following opposition from the community and local elected officials. Instead, Related has decided to move forward with a plan to build 4,000 residential units of which roughly 50% would be designated for affordable housing, plus an additional 139 units nearby of permanently affordable units as part of a June 2025 agreement with the city of the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) model, enabling Phase 2 of Hudson Yards development over the western portion of the West Side Rail Yards to finally move forward.