The Hudson Yards casino project from Wynn Resorts is still up in the air. Mark Levine–Manhattan borough president–announced his opposing stance on the issue, adding more hurdles for license bidders. Currently, there are 11 companies in the running for a downstate casino license.

In a recent interview, Levine gave a complete rejection of the rezoning plans, leaving no room for casino bidders to obtain a license after abiding by certain criteria and conditions. Apart from saying that he believes the plan isn’t good enough, the Manhattan borough president didn’t give a lot of explanations.

Levine did reject the rezoning plans, but that was more about housing concerns than the casino itself. According to the plans, the casino would have to be located in the Western Rail Yards neighborhood. In 2009, the city agreed to develop thousands of housing units, with some estimates putting the number at 5,700.

The Wynn proposal, which is just one of 11 companies bidding for a license, will be worth a whopping $12 billion. It includes three towers, each containing a hotel and 1,500 apartments, of which only 324 would be considered affordable. Of course, the biggest attraction would be the casino tower itself, and it’s expected that casino visitors would fill the lobby in no time.

Gambling, whether online or in person, is a huge source of profit for all US states, and New York is no exception. While online gambling still isn’t regulated in the State of New York, New Yorkers have the option of playing at offshore, fast payout casinos for real money. Being offshore, they have the advantage of being able to offer higher payouts and bonuses, which is a huge draw for many New Yorkers.

Of course, they can also play in person in one of many New York-licensed commercial casinos in the state. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like the Wynn Resort’s proposal for a new casino will come to fruition any time soon, leaving New Yorkers with one less option for playing the most popular casino games.

The rejection has everything to do with the rental vacancy and the astronomical rent prices. Statistics show that, in February 2025, the average rental price in New York was $3,878 per month. That’s 149% higher than the national average – and we haven’t even touched upon Manhattan yet.

If an individual wants to rent an apartment in Manhattan, they have to set aside $5,000 on average per month. With the rental vacancy in the area being around 2%, it’s evident there’s a need for more housing in the area.

The city officials don’t want to create an environment in which kids won’t be able to grow up and rent an apartment once they come of age. That’s why the focus is put on building more affordable units, which is in direct clash with the Wynn Casino’s proposal.

It seems like the only way to win Levine’s support is to add more affordable housing units to the proposal. Unfortunately, that’s not very economically doable, as it would require first paying for the $2 billion platform over the rail yards. The original plan has already gone through four changes which, aside from creating 1,500 new housing units, would result in 5,000 new jobs at the resort and 35,000 construction jobs.

Levine’s rejection of the proposal could come with further consequences. His opposing stance will most likely impact the final ruling of the New York City Council, which will take place later in the year. Some council members, like Erik Bottcher, are likely to consider Levine’s opinion when giving their votes.

The Wynn proposal isn’t the only one to face some opposition. Hudson Yards, as well as the majority of the bids, have already faced significant pushback. Out of eleven proposals, four of them need zoning changes, which require great adjustments. The only one who had some luck with his proposal was Steve Cohen, the owner of The New York Mets. He received a favorable outcome from a group of community boards voting, which ruled in favor of him rezoning some parts of the Citi Field complex.