(The Center Square) – New York City Mayor Eric Adams has vetoed a bill approved by the City Council that sought to block a multi-million dollar casino project in the Bronx neighborhood, citing the need for jobs and investment.
The City Council voted 29-9 earlier this month against gaming giant Bally’s request to rezone parkland for commercial use at the Ferry Point property. The move effectively torpedoed Bally’s bid to secure the required land use and other zoning approvals needed for winning a state casino license.
The Bronx property is currently home to a city-owned golf course, but Bally’s paid the Trump Organization $60 million for the lease, according to the proposed development agreement. If the plan is approved, the city would shell out another $115 million to the company.
Adams said the council’s rejection of Bally’s plans “deprives the Bronx 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.
“A casino in New York City would bring good-paying union jobs and an economic boost to the surrounding community, which is why I have long advocated for a fair process with as many competitive bids as possible,” Adams said in a statement.
Adams said the Council’s decision to “treat the Bronx differently than other boroughs” goes against the Bronx borough president and other council members representing working-class neighborhoods.
“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 leaders,” he wrote.
Republican City Council Member Kristy Marmorato, who represents the Bronx, is among those who blasted Adams for overriding the council’s objections to the casino plan, calling it an “insult” to residents in the neighborhood who oppose the plan.
“We refuse to be treated as 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,” she said in a statement. “Our community is not for sale, and our quality of life cannot be sacrificed for the benefit of other areas.”
Bally’s boasted in a recent statement that the casino project would mean “a once-in-a-generation transformation” for the Bronx, creating good-paying jobs and channeling investment into one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods.
Adams, a Democrat who is running for reelection as an independent, has been criticized by other New York Democrats over his support for the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigration.
Democrats have also targeted Adams over his administration’s decision to enter into an agreement with U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement agents to reopen their offices at the notorious Rikers Island prison. That deal has been temporarily blocked by a state judge after the New York City Council was sued over the agreement.
