Field Narrowing With Metropolitan Park Vote on Tuesday
Updated Post: September 29, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Another day, another step forward for Steve Cohen’s Metropolitan Park. Per Celia Bernhardt of City & State New York, The Coney, a Coney Island casino proposal was voted against 4-2. However, in the Bronx, Bally’s cleared a major hurdle for a casino on the grounds of the former Trump golf course in the Yankees borough.
Carl Campanile of the NY Post reports that Bally’s won approval from a state siting board on Monday to move to the next round with a bid for one of the three gaming licenses up for grab. The committee voted 5-1 in its favor. The next step for Bally’s is to go to the state gaming facility location board for further review.
Four proposals, including Cohen’s Metropolitan Park in Queens remain. The vote for Cohen’s vision will be held on Tuesday, September 30.
Updated Post: September 22, 2025 at 3:52 PM
While the Mets may be on the outside looking in of the playoff race, Steve Cohen and company are inching closer to bringing his dreams for Metropolitan Park to life. Matthew Haag of the New York Times reported Monday that the last standing proposal for a casino in Manhattan, next to the United Nations building, was officially rejected and would not receive a gambling license. This comes after two more proposed casinos in Manhattan were rejected in mid-September.
Five remaining proposals for the coveted New York State gambling license (up to three are awarded per year) remain. One is in Yonkers, while the other four, including Cohen’s Metropolitan Park, are in other boroughs. Per Haag, the remaining proposals will be considered by their advisory committee before the end of September. If they can clear that hurdle, which the remaining Manhattan casino, dubbed “Freedom Plaza casino,” could not (they were voted down 4-2), the approved applicants will then be voted on in December by the Gaming Facility Location Board before licenses are distributed.
Original Post: September 17, 2025 at 7:05 PM
The chances of Mets owner Steve Cohen’s $8 billion Metropolitan Park earning a casino license got a little better Wednesday as two proposed Manhattan casinos were voted down by local advisory committees. Six potential projects remain in the running for up to three downstate gaming licenses. Decisions are expected by the end of the calendar year.
The plans rejected Wednesday were the Avenir, a projected $7 billion development that was planned for a site near Hudson Yards by Silverstein Properties, and Caesars Palace Times Square, which was backed by rapper Jay-Z, his company Roc Nation, its parent Live Nation, Caesars Entertainment and SL Green Realty. Both lost by a 4-2 vote.
Cohen’s plan, a joint venture with Hard Rock International, would locate a casino next to Citi Field. Developers say it will create 23,000 jobs, including 6,700 permanent jobs. The rest would be temporary construction jobs. Critics say the project will cause gambling addictions and hurt the local community. The plan includes 20 acres of new park space, 5 acres of community athletic fields, bike paths and playgrounds, a food hall and a music museum.
Each project is required by the state to include at least $500 million of investment in the communities where they plan to build.
The five other projects that remain in the running along with Cohen’s are Bally’s for its Throggs Neck Golf Course, Thor Equities in Coney Island, Soloviev Group’s Freedom Plaza on the east side of Manhattan, Resorts World in southeast Queens and MGM Empire City in Yonkers. Resorts World and MGM Empire City are licensed electronic-only gaming halls looking for full-casino licenses.
The local advisory committee votes are due by the end of September. If a proposed casino clears that hurdle, it moves to a final review by the Gaming Facility Location Board, which is set up by the state Gaming Commission. That board has said it expects to decide on the licenses by the end of the year.
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