Mayor Eric Adams vetoed the City Council’s zoning decision on the Bally’s casino in the Bronx on Wednesday, allowing the project to move forward.
The veto comes two weeks after the council rejected a zoning change the casino company needed to move forward in its pursuit of a gaming license. The state is set to issue three gaming licenses for the New York City region by the end of the year. There are eight applicants for those licenses.
The Bally’s project is fiercely opposed by the local councilwoman, Kristy Marmorato. She convinced the council to vote against the proposal in a practice typically referred to as member deference, when the entire council defers to the local member on local land use matters.
In a statement on Wednesday, the mayor said he was simply trying to even the playing field for Bally’s so it could go on to compete for a state license.
“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,” his statement reads. “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.”
The mayor failed to mention that his campaign lawyer, Vito Pitta, is a lobbyist on the project. His campaign chairman, Frank Carone, has also worked for the company’s chairman.
The mayor says the council’s decision would have deprived the Bronx of the ability to even compete for this economic development and investment. His veto reverses that decision. It’s unclear if the council will move to override the veto.
For now, the Bally’s Bronx project, which would build a casino at the company’s golf course in Throggs Neck, Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point, will proceed to the next phase of the competition. A local committee comprised of representatives from the local elected officials, including the mayor, will now get an up-or-down vote on the project. If approved, it will head to the state Gaming Facility Location Board for consideration. That board will make the final decision on who gets a license.
NY1 has reached out to the local councilwoman and the City Council for comment and is waiting for their response.