New York City Mayor Eric Adams Vetoes Zoning Plan, Saves Bally’s Casino Project

New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday threw an unexpected lifeline to Bally’s Corp. and its pursuit of a New York casino operator’s license.

Adams vetoed a City Council zoning measure that would have left Bally’s casino plans dead in the water. He said that the Council’s decision to leave out the casino deprived the Bronx borough of “the ability to even compete for a $4 billion private investment that would deliver 15,000 union construction jobs, 4,000 permanent union jobs, and more than $625 million in community benefits.”

The plan will return to the City Council, where a clear majority vote could still override the veto.

A temporary life raft

The general belief was that Bally’s did not have a chance of landing an operator’s license after the Council voted 29-9 against the company’s land-use application, which aimed to rezone part of its Golf Links at Ferry Point property to allow for commercial development.

Without approval from the council, Bally’s wouldn’t have had a place to build a casino, even if it had received an operator’s license.

The project had faced pushback for several reasons, including predicted increases in crime and traffic. Councilwoman Krista Marmorato (R-District 13) was a key voice in the opposing group.

While Bally’s is still alive and in the hunt for a license—three of which are available for eight high-profile applicants—that may be short-lived. Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-District 28) said that the veto was just another sign of Mayor Adams’ lack of integrity.

“Mayor Adams has issued the first and only land use veto during his tenure for a casino applicant, not housing,” a statement read. “This administration’s hypocrisy and unethical conduct is well documented and has been witnessed by all New Yorkers, so the mayor’s words have no credibility.”

The Council can override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote of all Council members.

Were ulterior motives involved?

Despite vetoing the Council’s decision, Adams was clear in saying that he did not outright support the casino. Rather, he said that the Council effectively depriving the casino of the chance to receive a license gave an unfair advantage to bidders from New York’s other boroughs.

“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.”

If the Council doesn’t override Adams’ veto, the project needs at least four votes of support from a six-person Community Advisory Committee before it can advance to the New York Gaming Facility Location Board, which will choose the three licensees before the end of the year.

Adams is up for reelection later this year as an Independent. His campaign lawyer, Vito Pitta, was hired as a lobbyist for Bally’s. 

Bally’s had previously opined that it had been treated unfairly due to its ties to President Donald Trump.

The company purchased the lease to the Ferry Point golf course from The Trump Organization for $60 million. Included in the sale agreement was a clause that Trump would receive $115 million if Bally’s was approved to operate a casino on the property.