The Bally’s Community Advisory Council (CAC) voted Monday morning to approve the gaming company’s application to build a $4 billion casino, hotel and entertainment complex in Ferry Point Park.
The 5-1 approval was one of many hurdles Bally’s needed to clear in its bid for one of up to three New York City-area casino licenses expected to be awarded by the state by the end of 2025. If it receives a license, Bally’s Bronx will likely become the largest private development project in borough history.
The CAC considered testimony from two public hearings and written comments from hundreds of residents. For Bally’s to continue through the process, a two-thirds majority approval vote by the group of elected officials’ appointees was required.
Danielle Volpe, who was appointed by Republican Council Member Kristy Marmorato representing the East Bronx, was the only member to vote against the project. The Bronx Times reached out to Marmorato for comment and has not yet received a response.
In explaining her vote, Volpe said she was “deeply concerned” about the company’s financial stability and that the project would bring “traffic, crime, and instability” to the borough.
“What is being offered to us through this casino proposal is not worth the burden it would place on the Bronx,” she said.
Volpe said her vote reflected the will of local residents. “This proposal is unresponsive, dismissive, and disconnected from the surrounding community,” she said.
CAC Chair Lisa Sorin voted to approve but said she was committed to honoring the community’s concerns by holding Bally’s accountable for its promises. At the meeting, the committee stated that the company increased its prior financial commitment to a Community Benefits Fund from approximately $27 million to $32 million per year upon the facility’s opening. The fund will create a long-term revenue stream for specific local organizations, including youth, sports, arts and senior groups.
“Great cities make hard choices,” and it’s impossible for any development project to have zero impact on residents, said Sorin.
However, “A ‘yes’ today is not a blank check for tomorrow,” she said. “It is a mandate to deliver, measure, and course-correct in partnership with the people most affected.”
Following the vote, Bally’s Chair Soo Kim shook hands with a few attendees who watched the proceedings.
Addressing the media, Kim said that the work has just begun. “We’re just happy to get to the stage where we’re actually now at the starting blocks.”
Kim said his company listened carefully to both sides and were “mindful” about concerns regarding traffic, public safety, environmental impact and more. “All these concerns, we’ve met in spades,” he said.
Bally’s was committed to ongoing investment in the Bronx, “not a one-time giveaway,” said Kim. “This a continuous engine that allows the Bronx to be more self-sufficient.”
Bidding wars
In a statement, Borough President Vanessa Gibson, who appointed Sorin to the CAC, praised the vote and said Bally’s “represents a significant economic opportunity.”
“We have consistently stated that the Bronx should have an equal opportunity to compete in this process for a downstate license from the beginning,” she said.
“At a time when we continue to see our City grow more unaffordable and families struggle for basic necessities, it is important to ensure our borough has a fair and equitable chance to secure good-paying jobs with pathways to future careers, mixed-use spaces, investments in our infrastructure, and long-term growth for our residents and families.”
The competition for New York City-area casino licenses has recently intensified as the field of options has narrowed.
As of today, three proposed casino projects have been approved by their CACs, and four have been ruled out.
In addition to Bally’s, Resorts World in Queens and Empire City in Yonkers were approved by their respective CACs, and a vote will take place tomorrow morning for Metropolitan Park in Queens.
However, three proposed Manhattan casinos — which would have been in Hudson Yards, Times Square and along the East River near the UN Headquarters — were rejected earlier this month, and the Coney Island casino bid was rejected in a late afternoon vote Monday.
Long road to approval
As Bally’s proceeded through approvals over the past year, it appeared that residents in the immediate neighborhood largely opposed the project, while others in the borough were generally more open to it.
The same dynamic played out in the CAC vote by its six members: Sorin, appointed by Gibson; Volpe, appointed by Marmorato; Alex Porco, appointed by Sen. Nathalia Fernandez; Matt McKay, appointed by Assembly Member Michael Benedetto; and Paul Philps, appointed by Mayor Eric Adams.
In the Bally’s decision — as with the recent vote on the Just Home supportive housing proposal — Marmorato stood alone among her colleagues, saying her opposition reflected the will of her constituents.
Community Board 10 voted last March against Bally’s land use (ULURP) application to “alienate,” or make public, a small portion of Ferry Point Park to clear the way for casino construction. While their vote was only in an advisory capacity, many residents expressed their concerns regarding public safety, loss of parkland, traffic congestion, possible environmental hazards and other issues.
Later, non-Bronx City Council members sided with Marmorato when they rejected the land use application in a July 14 vote by a margin of 29-9, with five abstaining and nine absent, but the other Bronx members voted in support (except Pierina Sanchez, who abstained).
Just when it looked like Bally’s was dead in the water, Mayor Eric Adams took the unusual step of overriding the council vote.
Bally’s promises of significant community investment were key to winning the approval of many elected officials.
In their negotiations with the CAC, Bally’s added more funding on top of the originally proposed amount, most of which will be directed directly to the CB10 community.
To address public safety concerns, Bally’s also agreed to fund NYPD substations at $5 million per year, up from $3 million, to avoid pulling from existing NYPD resources that locals say are scarce.
In addition, Sorin said the community can expect a job apprenticeship pipeline, local hiring commitments, a 24-hour hotline with guaranteed response, and several other benefits read aloud at the final meeting.
Ultimately, CAC members other than Volpe stated that the potential benefits of the Bally’s Bronx casino outweighed their concerns.
“The work does not end with this vote; it begins with it, with holding the applicant and ourselves accountable to the standards we set today,” Sorin said.
This story was updated at 4:40 p.m.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
