New York’s long-shot experiment with casinos in Manhattan ended [last] month with a thud. The collapse of four separate bids — in Hudson Yards, Times Square, near the United Nations and on the Far West Side — should prompt a sober reappraisal of how the state approaches economic development, and what role City Hall is willing to play in Midtown’s future.
The state process was flawed from the start. Companies lined up to invest billions of dollars in Manhattan projects, hired prominent lobbyists, enlisted well-known surrogates and promised enormous community benefits. Yet the drawn-out, opaque structure created by Albany set them up for failure. Community advisory committees established in 2022 gave neighborhood appointees the power to reject bids outright — and they swiftly did in three cases.
