NYC Mayor Eric Adams Throws Lifeline to Bally’s Bronx Casino by Vetoing Land-Use Rejection

^{Adams's veto is aimed at supporting fair opportunities for casino plans in the city. (Photo: Lev Radin / Pacific Press via ZUMA Press Wire)}

New York City Mayor Eric Adams kept hope alive for a Bally’s casino in the Bronx on Wednesday, as he vetoed the New York City Council’s rejection of a land-use change necessary for the project to go forward.

The veto will keep Bally’s among the eight bids still fighting for three downstate casino licenses available in New York which are expected to be awarded at the end of 2025.

Adams: City Council ‘Putting Its Finger on the Scale’ with Land-Use Rejection

Bally’s is hoping to build a casino resort on the site of Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point – a course formerly known as Trump Golf Links – with a promised investment of $4 billion into the project. The former association with President Donald Trump has created some controversy over the proposal, as when Bally’s purchased the lease for the golf course in 2023, the agreement included a $115 million additional payment to the Trump Organization if a casino license was awarded to the site.

However, with the site classified as parkland, Bally’s needs approval from both the state legislature and New York City to build there.

Mayor Adams already helped secure a last-minute home rule message from the City Council in June. That resolution was necessary for the state legislature to vote on a parkland alienation bill for the Bally’s casino site, which both houses were able to do in the dying days of the 2025 legislative session.

But the City Council still had to vote on land-use changes itself. Earlier in July, the council voted 29-9 against those changes, seemingly dooming the project unless Mayor Adams chose to veto that decision.

To the council's shock, Adams proceed to strike their decision with a veto indeed. In a statement explaining his decision, Adams said the move was not to be seen as an endorsement of the Bally’s casino, but rather an effort to give all casino projects in the city a fair shake. 

“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 wrote. “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. 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.”

City Council Can Still Override Mayor’s Veto

However, Adams’ veto is not the last word on the subject. The City Council has 10 days in which it can override the mayor’s veto, though that would take a two-thirds vote from the council.

That target might be achievable, since the City Council has a history of honoring the wishes of the local member when it comes to land-use issues. The rejection was extremely overwhelming despite coming from Kristy Marmorato (R-Bronx), a member of the Republican minority in the board. Much of the opposition to Marmorato’s position came from Democratic members representing other Bronx neighborhoods, which Adams cited in defending his veto.

A veto override would require 34 votes from the 51-member City Council. And while there were only 29 votes against the land-use change in June, there were also four abstentions. Even that only adds up to 42 votes, meaning nine other councilmembers could weigh in on the issue as well. 

Adams’ decision drew a sharp rebuke from the City Council, which seemed to indicate a showdown over a veto override vote will be coming.

“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,” City Council spokesperson Mara Davis said in a statement. “Mayor Adams has issued the first and only land use veto during his tenure for a casino applicant, not housing.”

The Bally’s casino proposal is competing against several other high-profile bids in and around New York City. That includes the Metropolitan Park bid next to Citi Field, Caesars Palace Times Square, and two existing racinos that wish to expand into full casino operations, among others.