City Council Kills Bally’s Casino Dreams

UPDATED: July 14, 2025, 10:33 p.m.: Just as the casino competition was headed for the final stretch, the vision for the Bally’s golf course in the Bronx appears to have hit the end of the road.

The City Council on Monday voted against the company’s request for zoning changes needed to turn a portion of the city-owned golf course at Bally’s Golf Links into a $4 billion casino complex, which would have included a 500-room hotel and 2,000-seat entertainment facility.

The question posed to the Council was whether they should disapprove the zoning changes. Twenty-nine said yes, nine voted no and four abstained. Notably, Speaker Adrienne Adams voted in favor, while Majority Leader Amanda Farías was one of the nine who voted against the motion to disapprove.

Adams has spoken out against efforts to weaken member deference. The city’s Charter Revision Commission is considering changes that would combat the ability of local Council members to kill land use actions.

Bally’s needed the zoning changes, which included demapping the site as city parkland and granting a zoning designation to allow a mixed-use development, to move forward in the state’s competition for one of the three downstate casino licenses up for grabs.

Bally’s Chair Soo Kim said the firm is still processing the decision and figuring out its next steps. He feels that local Council member Kristy Marmorato kept moving the goalposts.

“We met every request made by the Councilwoman, even as it changed,” he said when reached for comment Monday night. “It’s incredibly disappointing.”

Following the tradition of deferring to local Council members on land use issues, the Council aligned with Marmorato, who opposed the project.

“This is not real economic development,” she said. “It’s a casino, and we all know what casinos bring: No sustainable growth.”

City Hall condemned the City Council’s vote Monday night. A spokesperson wouldn’t confirm if the mayor plans to veto the decision.

“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,” a City Hall spokesperson said in a statement. “We are reviewing our options in response to this vote.”

Before the full council vote, the Subcommittee on Zoning & Franchises voted to disapprove the zoning changes, while the Land Use Committee, after calling a brief recess during its vote, voted against disapproving it.

Ahead of the subcommittee vote, Marmorato emphasized her conversations with community members.

“I’ve done the work, I’ve sat with my community, with the applicant and with my colleagues,” she said. “My community has made their voice crystal clear, they did not want a casino, and I was elected to represent them, not outside interests.”

She urged her colleagues to vote down the Bally’s application and invoked member deference.

“This is how we value each other’s communities and their wishes,” she said.

During the subcommittee meeting, Council member Lynn Schulman called for disapproval of the zoning changes, saying that Ferry Point Park was never meant to be a regional destination and that Bally’s proposed changes to nearby roads did not go far enough to accommodate the expected influx of visitors if a casino is ultimately built there.

Bally’s has pledged $75 million in transportation upgrades as part of its casino plan, including a new overpass on Lafayette Avenue, two new MTA bus stops at Ferry Point Park and widened roads.

Council member Rafael Salamanca, who chairs the Land Use Committee, said that he supported the zoning changes, not out of disrespect for Marmorato but because he wanted to give Bally’s the opportunity to compete for a casino license and give the Bronx a chance at reaping the economic benefits of having a casino.

“We shoot ourselves in the foot and deny ourselves opportunities,” he said.

Ahead of the City Council vote, he said, “Once again, the Bronx is being left behind.”

Bally’s acquired the golf course’s lease from the Trump Organization in 2023. Per the deal, if it lands one of the casino licenses, it must pay Trump $115 million, according to the New York Times.

The City Council has largely approved the zoning changes needed by those competing for a casino license, even as some members held their noses at the idea of a casino ultimately being built. Last year, the Council approved a text amendment that allowed gaming facilities to open in commercial and manufacturing districts, removing an initial hurdle for those applying for a license. The idea was to level the playing field in at least one respect, as many applicants needed additional state- and city-level approvals.

With Bally’s now likely out, seven other teams are competing for a casino license.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to include a statement from City Hall.