Bally’s plan to build a casino on a former Trump-owned golf course in the Bronx appears all but dead after the City Council rejected a key rezoning needed for the project. On Monday, the Council voted 29–9, with four abstentions, in favor of a motion by Council Member Kristy Marmorato to deny the land-use changes required to construct the gaming facility at Ferry Point Park, according to Crain’s. The proposal is one of eight projects seeking a downstate gaming license.
While Bally’s has yet to confirm its withdrawal from the race for a license, the land-use changes were a prerequisite for the project. Another person close to the casino bid told Crain’s it was now highly unlikely the proposal could move forward.
The proposal initially received City Council support in June, when members voted 32–12 to pass a home rule resolution allowing state lawmakers to advance legislation to “alienate” roughly 16 acres of public parkland—a required step whenever city-owned park space is repurposed for private use.
The plan advanced with support from Mayor Eric Adams. While a home rule action typically requires a two-thirds majority, the threshold drops to a simple majority when accompanied by a formal message of support from the mayor. Without Adams’ endorsement, the resolution would have fallen two votes short, as 6sqft previously reported.
However, the proposal faced criticism from local elected officials and community members who feared the impact of having a casino in the area. The site is also near a prominent casino in Yonkers that is competing for a full-scale gaming license.
On Monday, Marmorato, who represents the area, said the developers had come “to the table a little too late, with promises too vague and a process too flawed to rebuild the trust that was already lost in our community.”
She added: “This is not real economic development. This is not housing, a hospital, or community improvements. This is a casino,” as reported by Crain’s.
Soo Kim, chairman of Bally’s, said he was “surprised and disappointed” by the Council’s rejection of the bill. He told the New York Times that he believed the company had satisfied all of Marmorato’s conditions regarding community benefits and questioned whether she had negotiated with Bally’s “in good faith.”
Leaders of the Bronx County Democratic Party expressed support for the project, while most other members of the Bronx council delegation either voted against Marmorato’s motion or abstained. The vote exemplifies the Council’s tradition of member deference, where lawmakers typically back the wishes of the local representative on land-use issues, according to the Times.
Adams has five days from the time of the vote to exercise his veto power, with a two-thirds Council vote needed to override the veto. William Fowler, an Adams spokesperson, told the Times that the administration was “reviewing its options in response to this vote.”
Fowler continued: “The City Council’s disapproval of this Bronx bid pits boroughs against one another and leaves the Bronx unable to even have a shot at benefiting from the potential of new jobs and new investment in their community.”
Bally’s proposal sought to bring a 500,000-square-foot gaming hall to Ferry Point Park in Throggs Neck. The plan includes a 500-room hotel with a spa and meeting space, retail shops, a 2,000-seat event center, and two parking garages with space for up to 4,660 vehicles.
The company purchased the operating license for the former Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point in September 2023 for $60 million, gaining control of the site after the city’s attempt to seize the golf course from the Trump Organization was unsuccessful. Shortly after, the company removed the large Trump sign that greeted drivers exiting the Whitestone Bridge, hoping to strengthen its bid for a gaming license.
Seven casino proposals remain in the running for one of three downstate gaming licenses set to be awarded this year.
These include New York Mets owner Steve Cohen’s $8 billion “Metropolitan Park” next to Citi Field, the Bjarke Ingels-designed Freedom Plaza near the U.N., “The Avenir” complex across from the Javits Center, a Jay-Z-backed Caesars Palace casino in Times Square, a proposal in Coney Island dubbed “The Coney,” Resorts World NYC in Jamaica, Queens, and MGM Empire City in Yonkers, which is seeking a license to expand into a full-scale casino.
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