Silverstein Properties’ plan to build a casino at 41st Street and 11th Avenue in Midtown will not move forward after the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) voted against the proposal. The six-member committee rejected the plan in a 4-2 vote on Wednesday.
This decision comes shortly after the CAC also turned down SL Green’s casino proposal. That rejection prompted an emotional response from SL Green CEO Marc Holliday, who criticized the committee and called their decision “despicable.”
The Silverstein proposal, developed with Rush Street Gaming and Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment, was called Avenir. It was envisioned as a $7 billion project that would have included a 1,000-room Hyatt Hotel, restaurants, bars, and a 150-seat entertainment venue. The company also promised to help convert office space into 2,000 housing units in Community Board 4. While no specific properties were named, Silverstein stated at its first public hearing last month that it had identified 92 possible sites for conversion and planned to evaluate another 146. Moving forward with these plans would require acquiring those properties.
The makeup of Silverstein’s CAC included appointees of elected officials who have publicly opposed adding a casino in Manhattan, such as Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal.
On Wednesday morning, Silverstein’s team requested that the CAC delay its vote because the committee had sent what it described as “a very significant request” late Tuesday night—asking Silverstein to add $1 billion more in housing to its proposal. Dino Fusco of Silverstein said there was not enough time to consider this new demand and argued that the vote should be postponed. A spokesperson for Silverstein said this late request “taints the CAC process.” Angel Vasquez, appointed by Gov. Kathy Hochul to the CAC, agreed during the meeting that delaying the vote would have been appropriate.
Despite these concerns, the CAC declined to postpone its decision.
