New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams has exercised his veto power over the City Council’s rejection of the Bally’s Bronx casino initiative, asserting that blocking this project while allowing similar ones in Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn demonstrates inequitable treatment towards the Bronx in the competitive landscape for downstate gaming licenses.

The veto, issued on Wednesday, effectively reverses the Council’s prior decision that denied a crucial zoning modification required for Bally’s casino development at Bally’s Golf Links located in Throggs Neck.

Two weeks earlier, the Council rejected the land use application, influenced primarily by local Councilwoman Kristy Marmorato’s opposition under a practice called member deference, which permits councilmembers to prioritize the views of local representatives regarding land use plans.

This casino proposal is one of eight vying for three downstate licenses, which the New York State Gaming Commission is set to grant by the conclusion of 2025.

If successful, Bally’s plan is expected to introduce a casino in the Bronx, which supporters claim involves a $4 billion private investment and the potential to create thousands of employment opportunities.

        
        
New York City Mayor Eric Adams
    

In his statement, Adams remarked: “The City Council’s choice to treat the Bronx differently than other boroughs contradicts the publicly expressed favorable stances of the Bronx borough president and other councilmembers representing the working-class communities throughout the Bronx.”

“By dismissing the land use application for this casino project while endorsing three others in Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn, the City Council is exhibiting partiality — and this kind of behavior erodes public trust in their elected officials,” he continued.

Blocking the application would have disqualified the Bronx project from consideration by the state Gaming Facility Location Board. The veto ensures that the proposal remains in the running for the subsequent phases of the licensing selection process.

The City Council has expressed its discontent with the veto, highlighting that it is the sole land use veto issued by the mayor thus far, and that it was employed in the context of a casino application instead of housing developments.

“Despite the self-serving rhetoric surrounding housing and land use from Mayor Adams and his second Charter Revision Commission within two years, the mayor has utilized his first and only land use veto for a casino application, not for housing,” stated Council spokesperson Mara Davis in a response to NY1.

The mayor’s office has not addressed local media inquiries regarding the involvement of his campaign attorney, Vito Pitta, who is registered as a lobbyist for the project, nor about Frank Carone, Adams’ former campaign chair, who has associations with Bally’s chairman.

The immediate step for the proposal involves a vote by a local siting committee comprising representatives from the mayor, governor, and local elected officials. If the committee approves it, the project will be forwarded to the state Gaming Facility Location Board for licensing evaluation.