Related and Wynn Drop Bid for Hudson Yards Casino After Bottcher Says He Is Not on Board
The proposal was supposed to cost $12 billion and drew huge support from the unionized construction industry because of expected jobs. But it was opposed by advocates for the High Line and, ultimately, City Council Member Erik Bottcher.
| 19 May 2025 | 05:38
Related says it will no longer pursue its bid to obtain a casino license to build a gambling mecca at Hudson Yards with Wynn Resorts. Related plans to focus on housing and a possible a hotel on the large undeveloped parcel. City Council Member Erik Bottcher came out against the casino plan on May 19. (
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City Council Member Erik Bottcher said he could not support the casino bid proposed by Related Cos. and Wynn Resorts but is backing a Related proposal that will center on housing with an additional acre of public parkland. (
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The casino bids need to procure the support of a local City Council member. Erik Bottcher, who represents the district on the west side that covers Hudson Yards, where the Related Cos. and Wynn Resorts wanted to build a casino, came out against the proposal on May 19. (
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It’s snake eyes for Related Companies and Wynn Resorts.
Shortly after City Council Member Erik Bottcher said he could not support the bid by the Related Cos. to try to obtain a casino license for its proposed $12-billion Hudson Yards project, the real estate developer said it was dropping the bid.
Its gaming partner in the bid, Wynn Resorts, had announced its withdrawal from the project earlier, on May 19. That comes despite the City Planning Commission voting 9 to 2 to advance the proposal back in February.
In its place, Related is proposing a largely residential project on the undeveloped western half of Hudson Yards and has already struck a deal with the City Council.
Opponents of the four-tower complex that would have contained the casino included Friends of the High Line, which said the project would harm the ambiance of the park, built on the New York Central rail lines. Opponents said the casino plan was trying to alter the terms of a 2009 agreement on Hudson Yards that Related Cos. had signed with the city. The huge parcel on the far west is one of the most valuable undeveloped parcels in Manhattan.
Bottcher’s “no” was enough to sink the deal.
“After months of listening to my constituents and weighing what’s best for the future of our community, I’ve made my decision: I will not support a casino at the Western Rail Yards,” Bottcher said in a statement on May 19.
”This casino proposal did not meet the high bar of community support that such a consequential project demands. I have always said that any development of this scale must put the needs of New Yorkers first—and that means housing.”
Bottcher said Monday that under a new deal, Related has reached an agreement to reduce the height of the four towers it had proposed and will build a one-acre park next to the High Line Park. That will bump up the public-park portion from 5.6 acres to 6.6 acres. It also bumps up modestly the number of affordable-housing units to 400 from 324, provided the developer is able to take advantage of a NYS 485-x tax break.
The casino that was supposed to be at the center of the project will now be office towers under the new proposal and possibly a hotel.
“The totality of these changes means that we can move forward with a plan that will create critically needed housing at all income levels, provide tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs for working men and women, create a now-6.6-acre public park with activated spaces, and still deliver more than $2 billion in revenue for the MTA and our subway systems,” Related CEO Jeff Blau said in a statement.
The development comes as casino bids need to be submitted by June 27 to the NYS Gaming Commision. Three licenses will be awarded downstate, although some think that Yonkers and Aqueduct Racetrack may be favored since they already have “racinos.” Construction advocates are pushing other projects that would bring in more jobs for new construction.
There are currently nine entities expected to bid for a downstate casino license. Most of the proposed projects in Manhattan have faced community opposition.