NYC Mayor Supports Bally’s in Securing Crucial Council Approval for Casino Proposal

A last-minute intervention by Mayor Eric Adams helped keep alive Bally’s proposal for a casino in The Bronx despite the objections of local Councilmember Kristy Marmorato.

The City Council voted 32-12 Wednesday, with seven abstentions, to adopt a home-rule resolution that clears a path for state lawmakers to pass a bill that would alienate parkland for a casino at Ferry Point Park in Throggs Neck, a requirement for Bally’s plan to proceed. Its proposed casino complex would include a 500,000-square-foot gaming hall, a 500-room hotel with a spa and meeting space, retail shops, a 2,000-seat event center, and two parking garages with capacity for up to 4,660 vehicles.  

The mayor provided a message of support on Wednesday, that lowered the threshold for passage of the home rule resolution from 34 votes, or two-thirds of the Council, to a bare majority of 26 votes. 

Aside from Councilmember Pierina Sanchez, who abstained, every Bronx councilmember, including Majority Leader Amanda Farías, Eric Dinowitz, Kevin Riley, Oswald Feliz, Althea Stevens and Rafael Salamanca, voted in favor of the resolution. 

“Voting in favor of this sets the precedent that we reward lobbyists and special interest groups when they go around the local representation in local communities,” Marmorato, a Republican who is running for reelection, said during Wednesday’s vote. “It absolutely will pave the way for a casino to be built.”

“Mayor Adams supports a fair process with as many competitive casino bids in New York City as possible, each of which would bring good-paying union jobs and an economic boost to the community,” William Fowler, a spokesperson for the mayor, said in a written statement. “It does not matter which proposal is selected by the state so long as it’s in New York City. We would be supportive of more than one selection in New York City, but that requires more than one competitive proposal.”

The Council’s home-rule message is required for the passage of the parkland alienation legislation introduced earlier this year by the two state lawmakers representing the site, state Senator Nathalia Fernandez and Assemblymember Michael Benedetto. 

If Bally’s were to win one of the three highly competitive downstate casino licenses expected to be issued later this year, it would pour $115 million into the Trump Organization’s coffers as part of a deal Bally’s negotiated to purchase what had been Golf Links in 2023, the New York Post reported last month. The casino operator reportedly paid $60 million for the golf course, according to Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. 

Adams has vowed not to publicly criticize Trump, whose Department of Justice earlier this year dropped criminal charges against the mayor that had included wire fraud and bribery. Fowler, the mayoral spokesperson, said there was no connection between that private agreement and Adams’ support for the project moving forward. “None whatsoever,” he said. 

Still, the mayor’s help in getting the home-rule resolution passed was the latest blow to the tradition of member deference, in which lawmakers back the position of the local member concerning land-use decisions. 

In 2022, Marmorato’s predecessor Majorie Velázquez flip-flopped on a major rezoning vote after pressure from both Adams and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. Veláquez’s abrupt change on that rezoning, which allowed for taller and denser buildings and cleared the way for a 349-unit housing development, shattered voters’ confidence in their representative and was a major factor in her loss to Marmorato. 

“The Mayor’s Office, powerful outside interests and lobbyists did everything they could to force this proposal forward — behind closed doors, without transparency, and without respect for the residents of District 13,” Mamorato said in a statement after the vote. She noted that the casino plan still has to go through the land use project, and said “our community will not be steamrolled by special interests, and I will not stop until this harmful proposal is defeated for good.”

State lawmakers also joined their municipal colleagues in rejecting member deference. State Sen. John Liu passed a bill last month to alienate parkland to build a casino on property next to Citi Field in Flushing, bypassing opposition from State Sen. Jessica Ramos, who represents the district where the casino would be built. 

Through its nonprofit arm, Bally’s has tried to garner local support, funding a free bus shuttle service between the golf course and Hutchinson River Parkway. And with the help of Attorney General Tish James, Bally’s purchased Catholic all-girls Preston High School that was headed for closure for $8.5 million. 

Before Wednesday’s Council vote, Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala said members were “voting on allowing The Bronx an opportunity to submit an application.”  “I think from a lens of equity, it’s only fair that they have that opportunity,” she said.