BREAKING NEWS: CACs Say ‘Strike Three, You’re Out’ to all Manhattan Casino Projects
NEW YORK—The Community Advisory Committee for the $11.1-billion Freedom Plaza project rejected the plan by a 4-2 vote on Monday, thus killing the proposal on Manhattan’s East Side. The vote, combined with two other negative CAC project votes last week, means that there will be no casino development projects in Manhattan considered for gaming licenses by the New York State Gaming Commission later this year.
Freedom Plaza, which was to be located in the Murray Hill section of Manhattan, totaled 3.9 million square feet of development. The project, proposed by the Soloviev Group and Mohegan included two residential towers, offering 1,049 units, including 513 units of (nearly 50%) affordable housing. Freedom Plaza’s signature nearly five-acre park covers 70% of the site and is designed by one of the world’s leading urban landscape architects. The project includes approximately 400,000 square feet of gaming space, 140,000 square feet devoted to food and beverage and more than 1 million square feet of hotel space.
With the denial by the Freedom Plaza CAC, there remains five casino proposals for up to three full downstate casino gaming licenses to be awarded by the New York State Gaming Commission by year’s end: two existing Video Lottery Terminal gaming facilities: Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts (Yonkers) and Resorts World NYC (Queens), as well as three development proposals— Metropolitan Park (Queens), The Coney (Brooklyn) and Bally's (Bronx). There was a total of eight original applicants for a downstate casino license. Last week, the CACs for the Manhattan-based Avenir and Caesars Palace Times Square rejected those projects, each by a 4-2 vote.
According to the New York State Gaming Commission website: the CAC for the Empire City project has scheduled a final vote on the $2.3-billion project on Thursday, Sept. 25, at 10 a.m., while the Resorts World New York City CAC has scheduled a final vote at 3 p.m. the same day. At press time, the CACs for the Bally’s, the Coney and Metropolitan Park have all held the mandatory two public hearings, but have yet to schedule a final vote. The CACs are mandated to vote on the projects by Tuesday, Sept. 30.
In response to community input, Freedom Plaza officials presented modifications to its plan at a CAC hearing on Sept. 15. Freedom Plaza announced a substantial increase in its housing commitment, raising the total number housing units to 1,080 and affordable units to 600, up from the previously planned 1,049 overall units and 513 affordable, as well as the new addition of apartment units for growing families.
“The increase to 600 homes that working people can afford is the direct result of listening to the elected leaders and the community, and it affirms our core belief that development must serve the people who live and work here,” said Michael Hershman, CEO of Soloviev Group. “We have stood ready throughout this process to work with local leaders to deliver an application that maximizes the community benefits to the greatest extent possible as a result of this license, and with this expansion in housing we believe we are addressing the requests that have been made to date.”
Freedom Plaza officials also announced a new partnership with Settlement Housing Fund, a nonprofit that has preserved more than 8,900 homes for low- and moderate-income families since 1969. Soloviev Group and Mohegan have committed $1 million to support the organization's work at Tanya Towers. Located at 620 East 13th Street, Tanya Towers provides 138 permanently affordable apartments, many of which are home to residents living with disabilities, are seniors, or are veterans.
In a press announcement on Sept. 15, Freedom Plaza reported that more than 3,000 individuals had submitted comments to the CAC advocating for Freedom Plaza, joining the 10,000 Manhattan residents and 250 local small businesses who previously signed a petition supporting the proposal. A September 2025 poll conducted by Tulchin Research poll found that nearly two-thirds of Manhattan voters supported the project and 58% of voters in Midtown East were specifically in favor. Despite the reported project support, the CAC rejected the plan, thus taking it out of consideration for a gaming license.
