EAST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) — A proposed casino on the East Side was rejected by a Community Advisory Committee, becoming the third Manhattan casino to suffer the same fate in less than a week.
The Freedom Plaza casino was proposed for a tract on the East Side near the United Nations.
The casino is the third to be rejected 4-2 by a Community Advisory Committee, going the way of two other casinos in Manhattan, where politicians are highly skeptical of putting a casino in their borough.
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, City Council Member Keith Powers, State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, and Assemblymember Harvey Epstein released the following statement:
“As elected representatives of Midtown East, we commend the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for conducting an inclusive, transparent, and collaborative process that prioritized gathering comprehensive community input.
Over the past three months, the CAC has heard extensive feedback from thousands of concerned local residents, business owners, and workers, as well as the Freedom Plaza Project team. Our neighbors on the East Side of Manhattan have communicated to us, and to the CAC, through hours of public hearings, significant concerns regarding increased congestion, public safety, and the quality of life concerns this project would introduce into our community.
For this reason, we support the CAC’s decision today to not advance the casino proposal at Freedom Plaza.
We look forward to continuing to work with the Soloviev Group to accomplish the goal of activating this site for permanent affordable housing, green space, good-paying jobs, and more.”
