Final votes were as follows:
Carl Wilson, Chair: No
Laura Smith: Yes
Chris Carroll: No
Matthew Tighe: No
Richard Gottfried: No
Peter Hatch: Yes
By voting against the project, CAC members indicated that they did not believe it had adequate public support. Of all the proposals, Caesars Times Square fielded the most public comments, more than 12 hours across two hearings.
Broadway and the theatre industry were the biggest opponents of the $5.4 billion project from the beginning. Despite pledges of collaboration and various partnerships with theatre groups, opposition from organisations like the IATSE union and Broadway Cares apparently proved too much to overcome.
“Caesars Entertainment would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the members of the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for their time, dedication and thoughtful consideration throughout the evaluation process,” the company said in a statement to iGB. “We respect their decision and appreciate the opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue about the future of Times Square.
“While we are disappointed by the outcome, our commitment to New York remains unwavering. We are proud of our strong partnerships across the state as anchored by our Caesars Sportsbook platform, where we continue to invest and innovate to serve New Yorkers.”
CAC process disjointed for Caesars Times Square
In some ways, the hearing on Wednesday was indicative of a process that has at times felt discombobulated.
Laura Smith, appointed to the Caesars Times Square CAC by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, spoke out about the disjointed process before ultimately voting in favour.
“As the mayor’s representative on this committee, I want to express my disappointment that today’s vote was scheduled earlier at the request of some CAC members,” Smith said. “By moving today’s vote forward, we have effectively lost two weeks of deliberation.”
Most CAC members were appointed to their committees, and had no experience with such processes. Because of this, they leaned heavily on the consultants hired by the state, and their availability to serve as a group was hard to nail down. This has led to a wide range of outcomes throughout the bids.
For example, Caesars hearings ran for 12 hours, while Metropolitan Park’s hearings ran for five. In another example, the Bally’s Bronx CAC held a dedicated meeting to propose amendments to its project, whereas the Caesars committee promptly rejected an amendment proposal with virtually no consideration on Wednesday. The amendment was submitted by Caesars the day before the hearing.
Conversely, former Assemblymember Richard Gottfried, appointed by Senator Liz Krueger, praised the process before voting no.
“I think it’s been an open and deliberative process, as good or better than anything I’ve seen in state and local government,” Gottfried said.
Dingnews.com 18/09/2025