Bally's casino project in the Bronx gains green light by Mayor Adams

New York City Mayor Eric Adams vetoed a bill that would deny the rezoning of Bally's new casino project, raising the green light for the construction of the megaproject.

The planned exterior of the Bally's Bronx Casino from Throgs Neck, Balley's Corporation.

The project, according to the New York Post, will be an approximately 500,000-square-foot, 500-room hotel included, casino facility which is expected to generate $10 million per year, or a 1% giving pledge, to community benefits programs, per a compromise proposed by the casino company.

The casino's construction, however, garnered a quite large oppositional force from conservative Bronxites that would rather leave the site as a golf course, formerly a Trump-branded golf course.

"It's another destabilizing influence on a neighborhood," said one local resident.

Yet, many community economic developers have cited positivity to the program, believing that it would add thousands of jobs, and develop the already-poor Bronx economy.

Mayor Adams today, in a shocking turn of events, vetoed a City Council action to delay or even end the proposal entirely by preventing rezoning required by Bally's to construct the casino. In turn, the construction of the facility is now in play.

Local councilwoman Kristy Marmorato, one of the sole Republican members of the Bronx constituency, expressed her opposition to the construction of the casino in her district. It "did not meet the standards her community deserves," Marmorato stated.

Mayor of New York City Eric Adams.

Nevertheless, the construction of the casino now has free reign to begin as rezoning can now occur.

Adams cited the Bronx's laggard economy as his reasining for the veto. He stated that his legislative action, "will relevel the playing field and allow the Bronx to have a seat at the table, rather than give an unfair advantage to the other bidders and boroughs."

If the casino was to be built, it would become the first every Bronx-native casino.

Usually, most Bronx gamblers would travel up north to Westchester County to the Empire State Casino at Yonkers raceway. The construction of Bally's Bronx would add greater competition in the casino monopoly that the EPC currently has in Northern NYC.