New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ continuance in that office despite threats of removal and calls for his resignation mean that he will continue to serve on Community Advisory Committees (CACs). These bodies are responsible for considering bids for casino licenses in downstate New York and reporting their findings to the Gaming Facility Location Board (GFLB). Although it is the GFLB making the final decision, CACs are the first step in the process of determining which of the current 11 bids will receive licenses.
Multiple parties involved in the bids have connections to Adams. However, the Mayor has, to date, been publicly non-committal in regards to which proposals he might favor. Although Adams is facing reelection in November, the current timeline for the licensing procedure all but assures his influence on the selection process in the meantime.
Adams’ role on CACs preserved
Since he was indicted on federal bribery and campaign finance law violation charges in September 2024, calls for Adams to resign have mounted. Those calls look like they might have been moot when New York Gov. Kathy Hochul confirmed that she was considering using the authority granted her by city and state law to remove Adams from the mayorship.
Hochul ultimately decided against that, however, citing New York City’s upcoming mayoral election in November 2025 and a desire to not “deny the people of this great city the power to make this decision for themselves.” Adams currently faces multiple challengers in June’s Democratic primary.
As those elections loom, Adams remains a key figure for the process of deciding which proposals will receive one of as many as three licenses to operate casinos in the downstate portion of New York. State law dictates that the mayor of New York City fill one of the six spots on each CAC.
CACs are first line of evaluation for bids
CACs are the first checkpoint for the viability of casino license proposals in New York. In order for a bid to proceed to consideration by the state’s Gaming Facility Location Board, proposals must receive a ⅔ majority vote in favor from the members of the appropriate CAC.
Because Adams serves on each CAC, his favor is crucial for any bid’s success. Parties associated with multiple proposals have connections of varying strengths to Adams.
People associated with SL Green, the real estate firm that is party to the Caesars Times Square bid, have been Adams campaign donors. SL Green has also contracted with Adams’ former chief of staff Frank Carone.
Steven Cohen, the businessperson behind the Hard Rock bid in Queens, has also been a major Adams donor. Many of the other nine bids have support from individuals with ties to Adams or have collaborated with firms that Adams has worked with in his time as mayor or past tenure as Brooklyn borough president.
At this point, Adams is seeking reelection. Regardless of that result, his current term will carry his influence on the downstate casino licensing process to near its completion.
Timeline for selections ensure Adams’ influence
The latest update from the New York State Gaming Commission calls for the licensing process to conclude by the end of December 2025. Although the commission can extend the timeline at its discretion, keeping to that time frame would mean that Adams would serve on the CACs even if he is not reelected.
That may, in turn, aid the process keeping to that timeline as Adams’ resignation or Hochul removing Adams might cause delays. For the foreseeable future, Adams will continue to play a significant role in determining where downstate casinos will be built and who gets to do the building.
