NEW YORK (AP) — Plans to build the Big Apple’s first full-service casino in the heart of the city have run out of luck.
A local panel on Monday rejected the last of three Manhattan proposals that had been among those vying for a new state license to operate a Las Vegas-style casino in the lucrative New York City market.
The proposal — a six-acre project near the United Nations headquarters dubbed “Freedom Plaza” and operated by Mohegan, the gaming company run by Connecticut’s Mohegan Tribe — was denied by a state-commissioned community advisory committee on a 4-2 vote.
A Jay-Z-backed plan to build a Caesars Palace casino in Times Square and another proposal for a gambling resort on Manhattan’s West Side in the Hudson Yards area were both voted down by two other local boards last week amid local opposition.
As in those votes, committee members in Monday's decision appointed by Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams were in favor of the Freedom Plaza project, but panel members representing local lawmakers said no.
“To be clear, this is not simply a rejection of a new casino in Manhattan — it is a rejection of new housing, new schools, billions of dollars in investment, and more for the borough,” said William Fowler, an Adams spokesperson.
The other local politicians, all Democrats like Hochul and Adams, said in a statement that residents voiced concerns during public hearings about the development's impact on congestion and public safety in the area.
Michael Hershman, CEO of the Soloviev Group, which was the lead developer on the more than $11 billion project, said Manhattan — the “undisputed capital of the world” — deserved the resort, which “would have attracted visitors while serving the needs of its community.”
Ray Pineault, CEO of Mohegan, argued the review process “did not allow for a recognition of the impact we could have had on the broader community of New York and the many individuals who would have benefited from new jobs, housing, and community benefits.”
Five proposals still remain in the race for up to three gaming licenses.
Among them is a proposed Bally’s casino on a Bronx public golf course once run by President Donald Trump’s company, a gambling hall envisioned for Coney Island’s iconic boardwalk in Brooklyn, and a Hard Rock casino proposed next to Citi Field in Queens, where the New York Mets play.
Two “racinos” — slot parlors built alongside horse racing tracks — that are already located in Yonkers and in Queens are also seeking a license to become full-fledged casinos with live table games such as blackjack and poker.
Local board approval is required for proposals to advance to the next stage in the competition. State gambling regulators expect to make their final decision in December.
Adams, who is running for reelection as an independent, has expressed surprise at the early demise of the some of the more high profile projects.
“Casinos can bring jobs. It can bring stability, tourism,” he said in a television interview ahead of Monday’s vote. “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.”
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Associated Press reporter Anthony Izaguirre in Albany contributed to this story.
Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo
FILE - A vacant lot is on 1st Avenue by the United Nations building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on March 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
Hawaii’s Big Island was threatened Saturday with its first possible direct hit from a hurricane in 155 years as Hurricane Lala roared in the Pacific Ocean and gusty wind, waves and rain pounded the region.
The National Hurricane Center said Lala’s maximum sustained winds increased to 75 mph (120 kph), making it a Category 1 hurricane. The storm's center was forecast to move over or near the island’s southern end by the evening, lashing its worst winds at volcanic slopes thousands of feet above sea level.
Whitecap surf slammed ashore nonstop, howling winds whipped the tops of palm trees, and waterways swelled with fast-moving runoff from relentless rain that blew nearly sideways.
Gov. Josh Green, noting rainfall of 2 inches (5 centimeters) an hour, said “people should be sheltering in place now.”
Forecasters said higher elevations on the island, dominated by the towering Mauna Kea volcano, could get as much as 25 inches (63.5 centimeters) of rain. That could cause life-threatening mudslides in a mountainous area where people live off the grid in improvised housing.
Earlier the governor called it an “enormous storm,” capable of destructive flooding and even the possibility of wildfires kicked up by strong winds across the island chain. Electricity was knocked out for 32% of customers on the Big Island, according to poweroutage.us.
The island, population 210,000, is Hawaii's largest.
Bobby Camara, a 75-year-old lifelong resident, said he planned to “hunker down, cross my fingers, hope the lights don’t go out” at a care home just outside Hilo. He said gas stations were busy as people sought fuel for chain saws and vehicles.
“I think stocking up is part of life over here. ... You learn to be self-reliant,” Camara said.
Mike Caputo, who lives in Keaau, near the Big Island's east coast, said his power generator was ready and a 10,000-gallon (37.8 kiloliter) home water tank was full. He said the main concern was flash flooding and fallen trees, especially albizia, a common tree.
“They’re not very sturdy, but they grow extremely large,” said Caputo, 50, a local fire captain. “They can make roads impassable."
The Big Island was under a hurricane warning, and tropical storm warnings were issued for the islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Oahu, Kauai and Niihau.
A Category 3 hurricane hit the northeast corner of the Big Island in 1871, according to research by a University of Hawaii atmospheric scientist. The latest forecast has Lala striking “very close to the southern tip of the Big Island,” said Vanessa Almanza, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Honolulu.
Shelters were opened, events were canceled and ranchers were urged to leave their cattle in pastures, rather than structures that might collapse. “It doesn’t take landfall to create destruction,” Almanza said.
Indeed, Christine Matsuda, who lives in Waimea, on the northern side of the island, said “big gusts every few minutes rattle the whole house.”
“We're finding unexpected leaks in places that don't see water under normal conditions,” Matsuda said.
The hurricane center predicted 8 to 12 inches (20.3 to 30.5 centimeters) of total rainfall across Maui and the lower elevations of the Big Island, and 4 to 6 inches (10.2 to 15.2 centimeters) across the island chain. Many Hawaii residents are still dealing with the aftermath of devastating floods in March.
As winds ramped up across the islands, Almanza said dry and breezy conditions outside the storm would elevate fire concerns.
In 2023 the Maui town of Lahaina burned during extreme winds as a hurricane passed far to the south.
“Since the fire, everybody is way more aware of weather in general and our environment and things that are happening,” said Archie Kalepa of Lahaina, who is known in the area for his surfing, paddling and other ocean skills.
Kauai, which is several islands northwest up the archipelago from the Big Island, is where Hurricane Iniki made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in 1992 — an El Nino year like this one, when a warming of the Pacific near the equator increases Pacific hurricane activity and affects weather patterns across the globe.
“It did $3 billion worth of damage. It destroyed thousands of homes, and it did kill six people,” said Steven Businger, a University of Hawaii scientist. “We just can never know if a storm is going to turn.”
Associated Press writer Jennifer Sinco Kelleher in Honolulu contributed.
People walk along a path at Waikoloa Beach Resort as Tropical Storm Lala strengthened on the Big Island of Hawaii, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Sandbags are seen at a Hawaii County Department of Public Works sand pile ahead of Tropical Storm Lala in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. The tropical storm is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane as it approaches Hawaii, with up to 25 inches of rain possible on the island of Hawaii, also commonly known as the Big Island. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Casey Delaries makes a sandbag in preparation for Tropical Storm Lala in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. The tropical storm is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane as it approaches Hawaii, with up to 25 inches of rain possible on the island of Hawaii, also commonly known as the Big Island. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Shaheer Faltas, left, and his father-in-law, Joe Brosnan, fill sandbags in preparation for the arrival of Tropical Storm Lala in Captain Cook, Hawaii, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
This satellite image released by NOAA shows Tropical Storm Lala over the Pacific Ocean, near Hawaii, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (NOAA via AP)
