Bally’s Bronx New York City Casino Resurrected After NYC Mayor Vetoes Council Decision
After New York City Mayor Eric Adams overruled a City Council vote that rejected the company's request to rezone a section of the 222-acre parkland and golf course it oversees, Bally's Bronx is back.
The Bally's Corp. land-use application to rezone a portion of Ferry Point Park for a commercial development was rejected by the NYC Council earlier this month by a vote of 29–9. After paying an estimated $60 million to The Trump Organization in 2023 to acquire the management rights, Bally's has been running the Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, Bally's Golf Links at Ferry Point.
Adams vetoed the council's decision on Wednesday. The mayor's long-rumored decision stemmed from his conviction that every municipality chosen for a casino resort ought to have access to this kind of economic opportunity.
"The City Council’s decision to treat the Bronx differently than other boroughs goes against the publicly stated, in-favor positions of the Bronx borough president and other councilmembers representing working-class neighborhoods across the Bronx,” Adams said. “By rejecting the land-use application for this casino bid while approving three others in Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn, the City Council is putting its finger on the scale — and this is precisely the type of action that leads New Yorkers to lose faith in their elected leader.”
However, some New Yorkers are becoming even less trusting of the mayor as a result of Adams' veto.
Motivations of the Mayor
Adams is the underdog to win reelection this November. The Democrat-turned-Independent has a mere 8% chance of winning a second term, according to punters on Kalshi, the political betting exchange. The front-runner, with predicted chances of 80%, is New York State Representative Zohran Mamdani (D-Queens).
Adams claims that his veto was only intended to give the Bronx a chance at one of the three downstate New York casino options that are currently available. These multibillion-dollar projects are anticipated to transform each community's future by bringing steady tax income, well-paying jobs, and related economic benefits.
The mayor may have hidden agendas, according to some.
Vito Pitta, Adams' campaign attorney, is connected to the Bally's Bronx bid. Frank Carone, Adams' former campaign chair and chief of staff, is also.
In the event that President Donald Trump loses the November election as predicted, there is also conjecture that Adams is looking for a position in his cabinet. Should Bally's be granted casino privileges on the Ferry Point Park property, Trump's corporate empire might receive a payment of $115 million.
The $115 million fee was part of the deal when the Trump Organization sold Bally's the golf course management license.
The Bid Continues
Bally's Bronx will now move before its own Community Advisory Committee, a six-member body that needs to vote at least 4-2 in support of the $4 billion project before the New York Gaming Facility Location Board, after Adams vetoed it.
The casino resort will continue to face opposition from Republican New York City Councilor Kristy Marmorato, who led the "no" vote against the Bally's land-use application and whose 13th District covers the Bronx.
"I stand firmly with my constituents. We refuse to be a dumping ground for a project that, by the mayor’s own words, would bring an ‘economic boost to the surrounding community’ but not to the very neighborhoods it would disrupt,” Marmorato said in response to Adams’ veto.
A mayor's veto can be overridden by the City Council with two-thirds of the vote, or 34 votes.
