New York’s downstate casino sweepstakes hit a true inflection point this week: the Community Advisory Committees (CACs) voted down two of Manhattan’s splashiest concepts—the Caesars/SL Green Times Square plan and Silverstein’s West Side project The Avenir—as the September 30 deadline for local approvals bears down. The rejections narrow the field and shift momentum toward Queens, the Bronx and Yonkers as the highest-stakes gaming contest in U.S. urban development barrels ahead .
Under New York’s rules, each bid needs a two-thirds CAC majority to advance to the state selection stage. For most city proposals, that means four of six votes; for MGM Empire City in Yonkers, it’s four of five. The New York Gaming Facility Location Board (GFLB) won’t consider projects that fail locally, making CAC outcomes the practical gatekeeper.
The Times Square bid—backed by Caesars Entertainment, SL Green and Roc Nation, the entertainment powerhouse founded by Jay-Z—fell 4–2 on Wednesday after a year of fierce neighborhood pushback led by the Broadway League, which warned a casino could undercut the theater district’s cultural and economic fabric. Supporters highlighted tourism potential, minority ownership opportunities, and Roc Nation’s promise of local hiring pipelines.
Jay-Z himself had positioned the project as a chance to “reimagine Times Square for the 21st century,” but the CAC wasn’t persuaded. Result: the Times Square casino is dead for this cycle.
Minutes later, the CAC dealt a similar 4–2 defeat to The Avenir, a $7B Hell’s Kitchen proposal from Silverstein Properties with Rush Street and Greenwood as gaming partners. That double-hit effectively wipes out Manhattan’s most visible bids and resets the map for the final stretch.
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Elsewhere, the spotlight swung to Freedom Plaza—Soloviev Group with Mohegan—which held its second public hearing at Scandinavia House. The $11B plan near the U.N. bundles a casino with two hotel towers, residential components and a Museum of Democracy. Mohegan’s Nelson Parker said internal polling shows support nudging up from 61% (Dec. 2024) to 66% (Sept. 2025), though local critics remained vocal about dropping a gaming floor into a dense residential zone. No CAC vote has been scheduled yet.
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Across the East River, Resorts World NYC in Queens is pressing its case to convert from a VLT racino to a full commercial casino via a $5.5B phased expansion. A second CAC hearing drew overwhelming support—including from state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr., who called the property a “proven commodity” for Ozone Park and the state. The pitch leans hard on speed-to-market, existing labor/zoning frameworks and shovel-ready status.
In the Bronx, Bally’s is still alive—but not unscathed. Instead of forcing a vote, the CAC issued a sweeping amendment request that sets conditions across nine buckets (local hiring, traffic mitigation, parkland, environmental quality and a community benefits fund). Bally’s faces a Sept. 19, 5 p.m. ET response deadline; silence counts as rejection of the amendments. It’s the first time any CAC has formally tried to reshape a bid mid-process, signaling real leverage—and real uncertainty—before Sept. 30.
With Manhattan’s two headliners out, attention consolidates around:
- Resorts World NYC (Queens)
- MGM Empire City (Yonkers)
- Bally’s Bronx (Ferry Point)
- Coney Island (Brooklyn)
- Freedom Plaza (Manhattan East Side)
- Citi Field/Queens concepts still in play.
The CAC outcomes now dictate which of these can even reach Albany.
What’s next: CACs must complete hearings (minimum two per bid) and votes by Sept. 30. Projects that clear that bar move to the GFLB for full scoring and negotiation, with up to three licenses expected to be awarded afterward. Given Wednesday’s high-profile denials, stakeholders should expect intensifying community concessions, revised benefits packages and rapid-fire politicking over the next two weeks.
