Times Square Casino Proposal Is Voted Down After Mounting Opposition

New York|Times Square Casino Proposal Is Voted Down After Mounting Opposition

The bright lights of Broadway will not include a casino marquee.

A proposed casino in Times Square that had faced intense opposition, including from Broadway groups and theaters, will not move forward after a key vote on Wednesday struck it down.

The $5.4 billion plan for a resort in the heart of Midtown Manhattan had the backing of high-wattage supporters, including the gambling giant Caesars Entertainment, one of New York City’s biggest commercial developers, and Roc Nation, the rapper Jay-Z’s entertainment and sports company.

But the proposal could not overcome a surge of resistance from local residents and, in particular, theater owners and producers who said a casino would have threatened the local entertainment industry and harmed the neighborhood’s character.

The casino, Caesars Palace Times Square, was among eight gambling facilities that have been jockeying for one of three new casino licenses in the metropolitan area that will be awarded by the end of the year.

Each casino must be approved by a Community Advisory Committee, whose six members are appointed by elected officials and whose vote takes into consideration the proposal’s local support. Members of the committee for the Caesars Palace facility struck it down on Wednesday by a vote of 4 to 2.

Immediately afterward, the chief executive of SL Green, the developer whose building at 1515 Broadway would have hosted the casino and hotel, confronted members of the advisory committee, calling them despicable.

“We’ve met the standard and then some,” the chief executive, Marc Holliday, told them. “The benefits you denied this community and this city and state, you have to live with that history forever.”

Jason Laks, the president of the Broadway League, an industry trade organization, celebrated the decision. His organization helped lead the largest opposition group, No Times Square Casino Coalition.

“This was a vote to protect the magic of Broadway for the 100,000 New Yorkers who depend on it for their livelihoods, and for the tens of millions who come from around the world to experience it,” Mr. Laks said in a statement.