Bally’s bid to build a casino in the Bronx has been given a second chance after Mayor Adams on Wednesday vetoed a City Council measure that would have killed the proposal.
The Council, which voted to shut down the proposal last month, could still override the mayor’s veto with a two-thirds majority vote.
Adams said his decision will “re-level the playing field and allow the Bronx to have a seat at the table, rather than give an unfair advantage to the other bidders and boroughs.”
“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 Council members representing working-class neighborhoods across the Bronx,” the mayor said in a statement.
Frank Carone, the mayor’s campaign chairperson, is a consultant on the Bally’s project, and Vito Pitta, the campaign’s lawyer, has also been a lobbyist for the casino bid.
“To make myself abundantly clear, this is not an endorsement or expression of support giving a leg up to any casino bid over the others as the City Council has tried to do, but an action I feel is necessary to best ensure a fair and competitive process,” Adams said.
Carone said Wednesday he has had “zero” conversations with the mayor about the Bally’s bid. Pitta didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
The Trump Organization also stands to gain $115 million if the casino goes through.
The Council voted 29-to-9 against the proposal at a July 14 meeting, following an unofficial practice called “member deference” by lining up behind local Council member Kristy Marmorato, who opposes the project, which would be in her district.
The mayor has indicated he wants to chip away at member deference, and his Charter Revision Commission has moved forward ballot proposals to limit the practice.
Mara Davis, a spokesperson for the City Council speaker, slammed the mayor in a statement, saying he should put his efforts toward building more housing instead of protecting the Bronx casino bid, which doesn’t include any housing.
“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,” Davis said. “The Council will consider its next steps on this land-use application.”
Marmorato and a spokesperson for Bally’s did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Bally’s would need city approval to change the potential casino site’s zoning from parkland to mixed-use development.
With Chris Sommerfeldt
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