Times Square casino proposal rejected
The Community Advisory Committee has voted against advancing Caesars’ proposal to compete for a New York casino licence.
US.- Plans for a casino in Times Square have hit the end of the road after a vote by the Community Advisory Committee (CAC), whose approval was needed for the project to advance in New York State’s casino licensing process. The committee voted 4-2 against the proposal, putting an end to the bid submitted by SL Green Realty Corporation, Caesars Entertainment, Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and Live Nation.
The proposed site at 1515 Broadway would have housed the casino alongside The Minskoff Theatre, home to The Lion King, and Viacom’s offices. The $5.4bn proposal would have seen an office tower redeveloped into a Caesars Palace-branded hotel, gambling and entertainment complex.
The initiative led to months of debate within the Broadway community, with theatre marquees and signage recently displaying both support and opposition. The Broadway League, the Shubert Organization, and IATSE led the resistance, arguing that a casino in the area would negatively impact New York’s theatre district and disrupt the surrounding neighbourhood.
Their concerns were echoed by a coalition of more than 35 organisations, including the United Federation of Teachers, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the Ali Forney Center, and local advocacy groups such as the Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood Association and the Westside Neighborhood Alliance.
SL Green CEO Marc Holliday said the outcome showed a failure of leadership and a missed opportunity for economic development. Supporters of the casino, including Actors’ Equity and musicians union Local 802, had argued that the project would bring jobs and improve safety in the area.
With the committee’s rejection, the Times Square casino proposal joins a growing list of stalled efforts to bring gambling to Manhattan. Had it received committee approval, it would have moved forward to the state’s Gaming Facilities Location Board, which is expected to award up to three casino licences by the end of the year.
Another proposal for a casino in Manhattan, Rush Street Gaming, Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment and Silverstein Properties’ $7bn Avenir casino proposal on the West Side, has also failed to secure the votes needed to move forward.
Wynn and Related Companies had already withdrawn a proposal for a casino at Hudson Yards after failing to get rezoning permission before the Community Advisory Committee reviews began. That left three proposals for casinos in Manhattan out of the eight New York casino proposal submitted for CAC review.
The rejections of Caesars’ Times Square and Silverstein’s Avenir casino proposals leave just one contendor left for a casino in Manhattan: Soloviev Group’s Freedom Plaza project, which would build an $11.2bn development south of the United Nations headquarters on the east side of Manhattan.
The respective Community Advisory Committees for each New York casino proposal were required to hold at least two community hearings to seek public feedback before voting on whether to advance each proposal. The committees have until September 30 to complete voting.
