Freedom Plaza casino plan rejected as Manhattan falls out of New York casino race

Freedom Plaza, an $11 billion casino and entertainment project proposed along Manhattan’s East Side, was voted down Monday morning by its community advisory committee (CAC), ending the last remaining bid for a casino in Manhattan.

The six-member panel voted 4-2 against the proposal, falling short of the required two-thirds majority needed to advance the bid for state-level consideration. The rejection makes Freedom Plaza the third Manhattan-based casino project to be turned down within a week, officially eliminating the borough from contention for one of the three downstate casino licenses expected to be awarded later this year.

The Freedom Plaza project, led by Soloviev Group in partnership with Mohegan Gaming, would have transformed over six acres of land near the United Nations headquarters between East 38th and 41st Streets. The proposed development included a casino, two hotel towers, residential buildings, retail space, restaurants, public parkland, a community center, a daycare facility, and a Museum of Democracy.

Voting against the proposal were CAC chair Sandra McKee, along with Reshma Patel, Celeste Royo, and Jasmine Narula. Voting in favor were Nichols Silbersack and Jennifer Sta. Ines.

McKee offered a brief statement following the vote: “I’d like to thank everybody who participated in the process. It’s been a very robust review of all the work that’s been done by the community and the applicants. I vote nay.”

Despite submitting several last-minute revisions just days before the vote, including a commitment to making all 1,080 proposed residential units permanently affordable, the amendments did not sway the majority of the committee. The affordable housing pledge was described by some as the most significant concession yet among all casino applicants in the race.

Freedom Plaza now joins Caesars Palace Times Square and Avenir Hudson Yards, both of which were similarly rejected in 2-4 votes last week, each within minutes of their respective hearings. None of the Manhattan proposals received support from their respective CAC chairs, and in all three cases, only members appointed by Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams voted in favor.

Michael Hershman, CEO of the Soloviev Group, stated after the vote that the plan would have "revitalized" the Midtown East neighborhood. “Manhattan is the undisputed capital of the world, and it deserves a fully integrated resort that would have attracted visitors while serving the needs of its community,” he said in a statement.

While Manhattan is out of the casino race, five proposals remain in the running: Resorts World NYC in Queens, MGM Empire City in Yonkers, Bally’s Bronx, The Coney in Brooklyn, and Metropolitan Park near Citi Field in Queens. Both Resorts World and MGM are scheduled to face committee votes on Thursday.

Mayor Adams expressed disappointment over the recent string of rejections. “Casinos can bring jobs. It can bring stability, tourism,” he said during a television interview. “So, I was surprised at some of the negative votes. Let the final process make the decision. We should not be stopping them at this local level.”

State gaming regulators are expected to make the final decision on the licenses in December. Until then, the fate of the remaining bids hinges on local community approvals, which are set to conclude by the end of the month.